Yesterday afternoon, after biking about 200 miles since Sunday, we arrived at Sedalia, MO. Sedalia is famous for, among other things, being the destination of the cattle drive on the old Rawhide TV show. I've been looking for Rowdy Yates, but I haven't seen him yet. It is also home of the world famous Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival, which happened to be in progress when we arrived. Scott Joplin was the king of Ragtime music. He lived in Sedalia for a while and wrote and published some of his famous works while living here. There are dozens of world famous ragtime performers playing on a dozen outdoor stages throughout town. Ragtime heaven. We had originally planned to spend last night here and then depart for Clinton, MO. this morning. However, the festival provided a good excuse for a much-needed rest day, so we are staying over tonight and enjoying the music today. We are camping at the Missouri State Fairgrounds, which is about two miles west of town on the Katy Trial. When we reach Clinton, we will spend one night and begin our return trip to St. Charles.
It has been a very interesting trip so far. The section of the trail from St. Charles to New Franklin closely follows the Missouri River and the route of Lewis and Clark. It was characterized by very flat and fairly monotonous terrain. We left the Missouri River at Boonville and climbed onto the Osage Plateau. Since then the trail has been more rolling, characterized by slight 1-2 mile hills. There has been a small town about every 12 miles along the trail. If the population of the town was greater than 50 people, there was a bar. If the population was greater than 200 people there were two bars and they grilled burgers. Most were open when we came through, so we could enjoy a cool one before wheeling along. Biker heaven. You just don't see this in the bible belt. It has rained almost every day, but it has always been when we were in our tents or near a good shelter, so we have stayed dry so far (knock on wood). The trail surface is excellent. It is hard and well drained, so the rain has not affected the biking.
Will post again when I can.
Myron
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