(June 26) Our rest day in Kansas City was full of excitement and good times, as we watched our third baseball game of the trip and smashed enough of their world famous BBQ to make any doctor cringe haha. We left in our wake many precious memories and connections for future Bike4Alz riders. As we pedaled through our sixth state on the ride, we were able to hop off of the highways and onto the Katy Trail, a 300-mile bike trail running from Kansas City to St. Louis. We only rode a small portion of that as we left from Kansas City, but what we did ride was fun! There was inclimate weather as we left the city, and after a couple of hours of sitting around, we outlasted the storm. Even though it was a little delayed, it was nice to hop back on the bike and ride the 85 miles to Windsor.
(June 27) One thing that we didn’t know about the Katy trail before we decided to take it was that the trail is completely gravel… and our road bikes don’t have much suspension to smooth out the ride, so we felt every single bump on the rocky terrain... for 300 miles haha. The trail followed an old trail route through the woods, which inevitably led to sticks and limbs covering the road. Although the entry hazards were a bit bumpy, they simultaneously trained us to be the next batch of Japanese ninjas, as our reflexes are now faster than Jackie Chan’s haha. The Katy trail is also where we started to hit humidity for the first time, and it hit hard. But thankfully the trail is shaded and off the road, allowing us to avoid the heat from the pavement and permitting us to press through the 80-mile day from Windsor to McBaine.
(June 28) We once again saddled up and road the entire day on the Katy trail for 85 miles from McBaine, MO to Treloar, MO. These towns are very interesting because they are made almost solely for bikers on the Katy trail. It was a fairly uneventful day. After patching a few tires and replacing several tubes, we made it to our final destination. We had to drive a few minutes away from the trail to get to our lodging at Life Stream Church. We are thankful for you guys for showing us God’s Love and allowing us to crash at your beautiful church!
(June 29) This was a very anticipated day, as we traveled from Treloar to St. Louis for another rest day! We road the Katy trail again and after a brief 67 miles, we reached the “Gateway to the West!” A former Bike4Alz rider, Seth Bland, was gracious enough to let us crash on his pad and feed us for two nights! We couldn’t have asked for a better way to kickstart our rest day. On our rest day, we visited an assisted living facility and got to visit with Jeremy’s grandmother who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. It was also Wil’s birthday! And because of that, we went to yet another baseball game, the Cardinals vs. the Braves. It was a great day to fight Alzheimer’s and we look forward to returning to our home states here soon!
(July 1) After a great rest day, we embarked once again on our ride and rode to Murphysboro, Illinois. The rides after rest days are always to hardest, but we crushed this 90-mile day fairly easily and enjoyed the muggy southern Illinois weather. The scenery was starting to look very similar to what we are used to in Kentucky, and that excited us even more for the upcoming promised land. With some luck, we found lodging in the community civic center, where they fed us some wonderful food and took great care of us! Only one more day until we are back in the Bluegrass!
