thevcblog: KATY Ride Day 3 - Clinton to Sedalia

It was a beautiful day on a beautiful trail. It was maximum Midwestern wonderfulness.

Here's the start of the trail in Clinton.

I rang the bell at the Clinton trailhead. I understand there is another bell at the end of the trail in Machens, and it's a tradition to ring the bell at the start and finish of your ride.

There are pawpaw trees along the side of the trail.

I associate pawpaws with Appalachia, and I did not expect to see them here, but I checked and Missouri is in their native range.

We had lunch at the Sidetrack Cafe in Windsor. This is the town where the Rock Island Trail meets the KATY trail. The Rock Island Trail goes to Kansas City.

The Sidetack Cafe had a fried chicken special for Saturday, which totally hit the spot.

Right after lunch, we came to the highest point on the KATY Trail.

This created an opportunity to troll Jim at breakfast this morning. Jim does not like hills. Jim has been mentioning every day how he is very glad he trained all summer for this due to all the hills so far.

"You know we pass the highest point on the KATY trail today?"
<Jim looks concerned>
"There is an 8 mile climb to get there."
<Jim looks very concerned>
"We go up 200 feet. It's still a rail trail."

There are many interpretive signs about the habitat along the trail. Originally, this part of Missouri was tallgrass prairie. The prairie was replaced with farm fields everywhere, except along the 100 foot wide railroad right of way. The prairie lasted along the tracks for awhile, but eventually forest invaded. Now that the tracks are a rail trail, the Missouri state government is doing controlled burns to restore the prairie. So goodbye pawpaw trees. It looks like the burned areas are quickly being recolonized with Amur Honeysuckle though.

Our finish town is Sedalia, which is super nice. It's the birthplace of ragtime music, so there is this art in front of the historic train station, which is now a museum.

We are staying at the historic Hotel Bothwell, which is beautiful and affordable. I love when old hotels are still hotels.

Check out the lobby!

Jim sent his wife Suzanne a picture of the lobby. Suzanne has been horrified for years about the cheap sleazy motels I choose for our bike tours. Jim is trying to convince her that I have changed my ways. She knows better.

Dinner was at Fitter's, a nice tavern a block away. They have good wings.

But what they don't have, of course, is National Bohemian Beer, my preferred accompaniment for wings. Natty Boh is the preferred cheap grandpa beer of Baltimore. But the did have Shiner Bock, which is the Natty Boh of Texas, so I had that.

Until I discovered this prize:

Whoa! Stag Beer. The Natty Boh of central Illinois and Missouri. Stag, like Natty Boh, is brewed by Pabst these days.

Downtown Sedalia is just gorgeous. It's a perfect early fall evening, and I am totally having Midwest beauty overload.