KATY Ride Day 8 - Defiance to Alton

 And we're done.

Here I am, right back where I started from, where I left my truck in the parking lot of the Amtrak parking lot in Alton, Illinois.

It's always sad on the last day of the bike ride. I always want to keep going. So today, I pedaled along fantasizing about how I would get to the end and my truck would be gone. Or it would be a charred husk. And I would have no choice but to ride the rest of the way home. It's only 850 miles. It would only take 2 1/2 weeks.

My truck was fine. It might as well have been sitting in my driveway.

The parking fee was $8/day, and I was gone 10 days, but it's $35 if you lost your ticket. Instead of "losing" my ticket, I decided to do a test and see if the maximum charge would be $35, so as not to create an incentive for people to dishonestly "lose" their ticket. Nope. They charged me $80.

Here's Jim and I at the end of the KATY Trail in Machens.

Machens is not actually a town anymore. The trail just goes for 3 miles from the last town into some corn fields and ends, right next to a railroad track that is still in use. There are many "NO TRESSPASSING" signs at the end of the trail, which is aggravating since you can see the road just on the other side of a corn field, and there is a lane that crosses the railroad track to get to the road. 

If only there were some way to get to the lane without going past a NO TRESSPASSING sign.

Success. This path is not posted. It's to the left, just past the bathrooms. No NO TRESSPASSING signs were observed and ignored from the Machens trail head to the public road. Note this would not be the case if you go the other direction from the public road to the trail head. There is a sign on the lane, Machens Road, facing the highway, at the start of the corn field after the houses.

We discussed the situation at Machens with other riders over the past few days. 

Other riders: "I hear it's all private property around the trail head, and you have to backtrack."
me: "If it's not posted, you can go through private property."
Jim, an actual lawyer: <rolls eyes> "True, but out here you may get shot at."
me: "No, it would be easier to sic dogs."

Keep in mind the old wisdom that you don't have to be able to outrun the dog, you just have to be faster than the guy you're riding with.

The KATY Bunkhouse in Defiance turned out to be really nice, given that it is a bunkhouse with no common areas and the bathroom and showers are in a different building.

It's spartan for sure, but it's super clean, newly renovated, and there is a Keurig machine out in the hallway.

The bunkhouse apparently was once a workers dorm for a vineyard. There are grape vines growing outside the window. This is Missouri wine country.

There are strawflowers planted in front of the bathrooms.

There are no services to speak of between Defiance and St. Charles. But instead of being a very rural area like it's been the past few days, this looks like a very affluent outer suburb of St. Louis. There are occasionally giant tract mansions near the trail. It's like the C&O Towpath between White's Ferry and Washington DC. Minimal services, because the very rich people who live there don't want the people on the trail leaving the trail.

There are lots of places to eat in St. Charles. We had BBQ at a trailside restaurant.

After St. Charles, the trail goes along the top of the levee, since the railroad track have washed away in floods. Then it's 20 miles of the trail going through corn and soybeans to Machens. Alton is 15 more miles, which starts with empty farm roads through the corn and soybeans, then the shoulder of the highway to the bridge over the Mississippi. 

We took a break at this forlorn playground in West Alton, Missouri.

The traffic is heavy on US 57 to get to the bridge, but the shoulder is huge so no big deal.

The bridge has a dedicated bike lane. Farewell, Missouri. 

For dinner, we investigated St. Louis pizza, which is supposed to be unique. 

This is from Peroni's, which is supposed to be the best St. Louis style pizza. It's really good, and it is unique. It uses yellow cheese. I forget what it's called, but it tastes like American. The crust is thin, crispy, and yeasty. The overall effect of the yellow cheese makes it taste kind of like a hamburger casserole or a hot dish.

I'm dropping Jim off at the airport momentarily. Since there are many motels in St. Louis, I didn't book one in advance, and I told Jim he gets to book the last motel, and he can choose. Which gives him an opportunity to escape my frugal ways, and impress his wife Suzanne with his good taste.

Jim chose the Motel 6.

Here is the Strava track: https://www.strava.com/activities/16173557154