The Clinton Community Center provides free long-term parking for people riding the Katy Trail, and the police patrol the lot regularly. Before leaving our car, we went inside and filled out a form with our vehicle description and tag number, our expected return date, and emergency contact information “just in case.” Ominous or comforting?
Parked and ready to roll
After that, all we had to do was unload the bikes, strap on the panniers, and we were on our way! It was half a mile from the Clinton Community Center to the westernmost Katy Trail access and another half a mile to the official Clinton Katy Trail trailhead, where we paused for an official beginning-of-trail photo.
Clinton trailhead
Jana and Tom fresh on the trail
Vine-clad grain elevator, Calhoun
An hour or so into our ride, we pulled in at the Calhoun trailhead for a quick break. We were about to resume when we heard a startling explosion! It was Tom's rear tire, and he wasn't even on the bike at the time! We changed the tube, no problem, but there was no denying that the tire looked bad. We pressed on with our ride, hoping to make it to Sedalia, where we could get a new tire.
Well, we only made it a couple more miles before the new tube went flat too. Crap, the tire was hopeless, and now we were nowhere near a road. So we draped Tom's panniers across my bike to get some weight off his wheel and walked both bikes back almost a mile to where the trail passes underneath Highway 52. Then we pushed his bike up an embankment to the road, where we could hopefully summon help.
At this point, Tom called AAA, because they supposedly offer roadside assistance for bicycles as part of our membership. AAA dutifully called a tow company, which subsequently called Tom and said they wouldn't pick up a bike and rider. Another call was placed to AAA, and when they were no help at all, I told him to hang up the phone, and I'd ride back to the car and rescue him myself. We needed to get going!
Beneath the highway with a broken bike
By the time we self-rescued, it would be too late to bike to Sedalia, so on to Plan B, which we were making up on the fly! As I raced back to Clinton to pick up the car, Tom tried to call the bike shop in Sedalia. They didn't answer, and their outgoing message said they were probably there but couldn't pick up the phone because they were either working on bikes or eating barbecue! There was nothing to do but show up and hope for the best.
Hours had now passed since first leaving Clinton, but we'd only made it 11 or so miles from the car. So an hour after leaving Tom, I was back at the car with my bike loaded, and 15 minutes after that, I picked him up on the side of the road. We would still make it to Sedalia today, only by car instead of by bike!
On the drive to Sedalia, we stopped at the Windsor trailhead to see “The Spirit of '76,” also known as “The Pride of Windsor.” If you're at least our age, you remember when almost everything in the U.S got painted red, white, and blue for the bicentennial in 1976. This patriotic caboose was the Katy's contribution to the celebration.
Spirit of '76
Finally, at 4:30, we pulled up to Pro-Velo Cycle Sport in Sedalia, open until 6:00 on Tuesdays. Had they been closed, we would have had to formulate a Plan C! They had Tom's tire – at a reasonable price even – and we also bought two tubes and a new rim strip. Ebby changed out the tire for us while we waited for just 10 extra bucks. He also inspected the front tire and pronounced it good, then told us the best place to park in town for the next few days. Trip saved!
Pro-Velo Cycle Sport, Sedalia
Lodging: Chelsea's Corridor airbnb, a spacious one-bedroom apartment above Chelsea's Antiques at the edge of Sedalia's downtown historic district - a great location, with nearby restaurants and a craft beer store on the corner. You can bring your bikes inside, though it might be difficult up the steep stairs, but since we unexpectedly still had our car with us, that didn't apply. Instead, we parked in a free public lot right across the street, with our bikes still loaded. This place was great!
Chelsea's Corridor airbnb, second floor
Chelsea's funky decor
We spent a nice evening strolling through the downtown, getting some grub at Fitter's 5th Street Pub, and grabbing some awesome brews at the Craft Beer Cellar to enjoy in our awesome apartment. It was an eventful first day of our bike trip. Let's hope the rest of the trip is less eventful!
Downtown Sedalia
Cool old building
Bicycle art
Jana recovers from our eventful day
Day 1 bike mileage: Jana 24.2, Tom 13. Better luck tomorrow!