Max and I have decided to abandon this tour due to the oppressive heat and the unfavorable weather forecast. I'm writing this on the train to St. Louis.
We rode 22 miles to Sedalia yesterday. It was the high point of the ride!
Sedalia is a hot and dusty small city. I actually like it. It does not look half-abandoned, and has some cool stuff, like art commemorating it's contribution to Ragtime music.
This is in front of the historical MKT freight depot.
We checked in early to the fabulous historic Hotel Bothwell, and hid from the heat all day.
I love old hotels that still have nice restaraunts attached. The restaurant here was the Ivory Grille, and it was terrific. The hotel is next to the town square by the courthouse. We had lunch at a tavern on the square that had excellent pizza. We also killed an hour drinking smoothies at a cafe a block over while waiting to check in.
My plan was to make a short day of it and see how we feel. The weather forecast said solid rain tomorrow (not great on an unpaved trail) and then right back to the hot hot heat. Amtrak said plenty of room on the morning train to St. Louis for us and our bikes. So we are done.
You might wonder who rides a train line that goes between St. Louis and Kansas City twice a day. The answer is it's basically a party wagon for obese Missouri ladies making a day trip halfway across the state for a birthday party. They are all pounding Bloody Marys, cranking Shania Twain music, and having a great time. This is what America gets for the Amtrak subsidies. LOL. The conductor is great and is fully supportive of their efforts.
The car we are on is brand new, and it has a place to hang bikes at the end.
However, you are supposed to hang the bikes from those hooks, and we couldn't figure out how to do it without putting all the weight on the front wheel spokes! This is a really bad design!
The conductor said to just put our bikes in the vestibule at the end of the car. The next car is the engine, so nobody is going to go up there.
I feel bad ending the ride early, but Max doesn't mind, and physically I am just not feeling it. Max is having no problems, this is all me being undertrained and intolerant of the heat.
The KATY trail is cool, and I will make another go at it someday. Just not in summer.
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