Week Four

Up early. Judy fixed scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast; great send-off breakfast!

Drove back to Clinton, arriving at the trailhead of the Western Terminus for the KATY Trail. Met up with Sherri Kole and her mother Marge Ellison. Sherri is from Idaho, and Marge is from Reno, NV. Also, a very pleasant surprise. A 70 yr. old woman from Clinton, Marilyn Baugh, had read about our ride, and came out to wish us well.

Off and pedaling, for a 73 mile day.

We devised a new "leap frog" plan of Charlotte and me riding and moving the van. Sherri will ride the whole way, and Charlotte and I will take turns.

Much of the route from Clinton to Sedalia traverses lands once dominated by prairie. Although most of the land has been converted to farmland, prairie plants can still be seen along the trail. The high point of elevation of the KATY Trail is located about 1 mi. East of Bryson. Windsor was first called Belmont, but the name was changed to that of the 900 year old castle of the English monarchy.

Sedalia's motto "rails, trails, and ragtime." Scott Joplin, composer of 'The Entertainer," etc. lived in Sedalia for a while. Sedalia is home of the Missouri State Fair, is the half-way point of this first day on the KATY Trail. The former MKT train depot was a great spot for our lunches of ALMOND BUTTER (thanks, Verne), Ezechial 4:9 bread, and lettuce.

Between Sedalia and Boonville, the trail passes through Clifton City and Pilot Grove and is the transition from the Osage Plains into Ozark borderlands. The KATY passes over the I-70 just South of Boonville.

Lost about an hour in Boonville when we were inadvertently trying to follow the directions to the Immanuel Lutheran Church in St. Charles when we were in Boonville. Oh well.

We stayed in the lovely country home of Don and Sharon Meyer. The home could be featured on HGTV. We had a great meal of grilled hamburgers and fixings with brownies for dessert. We got to take the leftovers for our lunch tomorrow!

Each of us had an upstairs bedroom to herself. Half of the second floor was open, with nostalgic toys from byegone days around the edges. Much of the wood in the house was from an old family farmhouse. Even some of the sinks were re-done for use in this lovely home.

First day of riding as a trio. Sherri is riding the whole trail, and Charlotte and I are trading off riding and moving the van along.

Miles ridden:
Sherri-74;
Charlotte-43,
Marie-40.6
Road Change: 0
Route Miles on KATY Trail - 72.8

With love from the KATY Trail,
Charlotte Reicks
Sherri Kole
Marie Nemec

Charlotte and Sherri rode over the Missouri River Bridge on the dedicated bike/pedestrian lane, while I bought gas for the van, and drove to New Franklin.

Bike For The Cure 99 went through New Franklin, where four trails meet: the Santa Fe Trail, the KATY Trail, the Lewis & Clark Trail, and the Boonslick/Road. I enjoyed the reminiscing.

Drove on to Rocheport. I noticed men in white period costuming coming out of the restaurant adjacent to the trail. There is a group which is reinacting the Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery, 200 years later to the day. They had some sort of keelboat on the river, at Diana Bend.

I rode West about !/2 mi. to the only tunnel on the old MKT Railroad. Because of the accessability factor, we decided to only make one more switch in van drivers between Rocheport and Jefferson City. Sherri and I rode into a headwind for 25 miles, very tiring for me. Charlotte moved the van to the trailhead at Hartsburg, and rode West to meet us.

No villages of any size in that 25 mile stretch. There were towering bluffs on one side, and the Missouri River on the other. McBaine was destroyed in the huge flood of 1999. Lots of corn growing in these river lowlands. Providence, Easley, and Wilton weren't even wide spots along the trail.

I was pretty exhausted by the time I finally got to Hartsburg. Charlotte and Sherri were already eating their cold hamburger lunch, and I was very happy to join them. It was very hot, humid, and I was hungry!

Charlotte and Sherri rode the last leg, into Jefferson City. I drove the van to the trailhead, again, with memories of 1999. Sherri's mother Marge returned from visiting some relatives, and she, Sherri, and an aunt are staying in the Holiday Inn Express.

Charlotte and I made our way out to Lohman, to spend the night at the home of the Ehrhardt's, who hosted us in 1999. Del and Art have built a new home, and two of their daughters and their families live in adjacent homes. It is so verdant, so pastoral ... We enjoyed the lively intergenerational family style meal of spaghetti, bread, salad, and strawberries for dessert. (Del's spagetti recipe, plus others, will be in the "Bike for the Cure" cookbook, to be published in 2005.)

Just three more days riding; this is the fourth week Charlotte and I have been on the road.

Need to finalize some of the details on the end of the ride in St. Louis.

Sorry this is short, but I wanted to get caught up.

Miles ridden:
Sherri-50;
Charlotte-40;
Marie-30
Road Change: 0
Route Miles on the KATY Trail: 120.4

With love and anticipation,
Sherri Kole
Charlotte Reicks
Marie Nemec

Great breakfast with Del and Art Ehrhardt. Such a wonderful couple who will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year.

Met up with Sherri, her mother Marge, and Sherri's aunt Lucille. Lucille took the train out from St. Louis to spend some time with Marge and Sherri.

Charlotte and Sherri left the trailhead about 8:20 am. I drove 11 miles East on the 94 Highway that pretty much parallels the KATY Trail all the rest of the way to St. Charles.

Tebbetts was platted as a railroad town in 1892. It was named after Lewis B. Tebbetts, a St. Louis investor. It's one of nine towns along the KATY Trail that carry the name of an early investor in the MKT Railroad.

Originally known as St. Auberts and Smith Landing, the settlement of Mokane dates back to 1818. With the advent of the railroad, a contest was held to rename the town. MissOuri KANsas and Eastern is the source of the name.

Portland had the Riverfront Bar and Grill, where we met John and Marie Elsner 5 years ago.

Decided to rendezvous in Rhineland for lunch. It's not often that an entire town gets to change its view on life, but Rhineland did just that. Approximately 30 houses that were in the floodplain were moved to higher ground after being innundated with six feet of water in the flood of 1993. The process began in 1995 and was completed two years later.

While waiting in Rhineland, we began to see hundreds of classic cars cruising the highway. Old Studebakers, Corvettes, muscle cars, you name it. This group had come up from Fort Worth, are headed to St. Louis, Davenport IA, and Green Bay WI.

We ate lunch in a shaded pavillion. Met a young man bicycling West to CA. We shared some food and some tips.

Since we had the wind at our backs, we decided to ride past the turn-off to Hermann, and ride some of tomorrow's miles today. Went another 7 miles to Gore (again, not even a wide spot in the road).

Loaded up the bikes, and drove back to McKittrick, another railroad town named for an investor. Marge and Lucille were waiting. Sherri is staying in a hotel tonight, while Charlotte and I are staying with Pastor Scheele and his wife Glenda, with whom we stayed 5 years ago on Bike For The Cure 99.

Drove over the Missouri River on a narrow two lane bridge to Hermann. Hermann was founded in 1836 by the German Settlement Society of Philadelphia. Germany's national hero (Hermann) who defeated the Roman legion in 9 A.D. seemed a fitting way to symbolize their dream of creating a "German Athens of the West," perched on higher ground overlooking the Missouri River.

Some rain tonight and a crack of thunder that really startled me. Only the Lord knows what tomorrow may bring.

Miles ridden:
Sherri-50;
Charlotte-34;
Marie-27
Road Change: one penny
Route Miles on the KATY Trail: 170.4

With love,
Sherri, Charlotte, and Marie

For over 3 weeks, we have had no rain, but today, the rain came down! Pretty much all day, it sprinkled, heavier at some times than others. Sherri and Charlotte were game to ride, so by far they did the lion's share.

Treloar was named after Wm. Treloar, a teacher at Hardin College in Mexico MO. He was the first Republican to be elected from the 9th Congressional District. Originally called Holstein, but re-named about 1900.

Marthasville was named for the wife of Dr. John Young, the town founder. It's the oldest town in Warren County, dating back to a French Village on the site in 1766. The village was called La Charette, and was the Westernmost European settlement when the Lewis & Clark Expedition went up the Missouri River in 1804. Daniel Boone and his wife Rebecca arrived in the area in 1799. Daniel and Rebecca were originally buried nearby on a tree-covered knoll overlooking Toque Creek. The arrival of the KATY Trail in 1990 probably has revived Marthasville as much as the MK & T Railroad did almost a century earlier.

Dutzow was established in 1833, by Gottfried Duden, a German settler. It was part of the whole "Rhineland" area.

Augusta was founded in 1836 by Leonard Harold. Originally called Mt. Pleasant, the town changed its name to Augusta to honor the founder's wife. Until the 1870's Augusta was a popular riverboat landing. Then the Missouri River changed its course and cut Augusta off from the river. Fortunately, the railroad was soon to follow.

We ate lunch in Augusta, on the covered patio of a restaurant that was closed at the time.

On through Matson, another area associated with Daniel Boone. The town was named for Abraham Matson, the grandson of the man who bought the original Boone claims.

Defiance is also associated with Daniel Boone. Boone came to Missouri in 1799 after spending most of his life in No. Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia. Spain still owned what became the Louisiana Purchase. Boone was a pioneer, scout, Indian fighter, and trader who lived had 8 children, and lived to be 86. He died in 1820.

Weldon Spring is named after John Weldon, who came to this area in 1796 with a Spanish land grant. Nearly 150 years later, the U.S. Government acquired thousands of acres for the construction of a TNT plant. After WWII, the property was given to the Univ. of Missouri for an agricultural experimental station. Later, the Conservation Dept. purchased over 7000 acres from the Univ. and created the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area.

By now the rain was finally letting up. Marge, Louise, and I couldn't find the way to Green Bottom, so we decided to drive on to St. Charles.

St. Charles has a rich historical past. Founded as Les Petites Cotes (The Little Hills) by French Canadian fur trader Louis Blanchette in 1769, this area became the headquarters for the fur trading industry along the Missouri River. By 1791, a second Catholic Church was built, dedicated to San Carlos Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan and patron saint of Charles IV, King of Spain. On the day the church sas dedicated, the town changed its name to San Carlos. San Carlos was "Americanized" to St. Charles in 1804 during the formalization of the Louisiana Purchase. In subsequent years, St. Charles, like many other Missouri towns, was greatly affected by Western expansion, German immigration, the 1849 California Gold Rush, the railroad, and river trade. St. Charles served as the state capital for five years, until the new Capitol in Jerfferson City was ready for use.

Excitement was mounting as we anticipated the arrival of Charlotte and Sherri. Once two riders we met in Augusta came in, we knew it wouldn't be too much longer. Sure enough, about 4:15 pm, in rode two water-logged, gritty ladies! Their bicycles were covered with grit from the trail, but spirits were good. What an accomplishment for Sherri, who rode the entire length of the KATY Trail, 225 miles. Charlotte rode 160 miles, I rode 106.

After some Kodak moments, we loaded up the bikes, and headed for the church. This time, the directions matched the locale, and we were there within 5 minutes, no sweat! While Charlotte made arrangements with the church, Sherri and I took Hope, Annie, and Sherri's bike (yet unnamed) to the car wash to remove all the grit.

Since the church didn't have showers, Marge invited us to shower in their motel room in the Best Western, Again, another challenge! Couldn't find it for a while; even the locals had no idea where it was. But ... tad ah ... we finally succeeded.

After we three bicyclists got cleaned up, we went to a Steak and Shake restaurant. Cute 50's motif. Couldn't brag about their specialty hamburgers; too flat and too dry! But their desserts were outstanding!

What remains is the ride into St. Louis tomorrow. After talking to numerous people, we decidced it best not to ride amongst regular traffic. St. Louis isn't particularly bicycle friendly,. We will go back to the Chain of Rocks Bridge and catch the Riverfront Trail to the Gateway Arch/Adam's Mark area.

Miles ridden:
Sherri - 55;
Charlotte - 48;
Marie - 7

With love from St. Charles, and one more day's adventures ahead,
Sherri Kole
Charlotte Reicks
Marie Nemec

After consultation with different bike shops, the TrailNet people, and discussion amongst ourselves, we decided that it wasn't safe or feasible to ride in from St. Charles. St. Louis appears to not be a bicycle friendly city.

We decided to ride from the Chain of Rocks Bridge into downtown St. Louis. We were able to get started in a timely fashion, despite having to get a flat tire on Charlotte's bike fixed.

Marge and Louise wore their ride T-shirts, and so did all three of us riders. That looked so cool!

First we rode our bicycles across the historic Chain of Rocks Bridge. This bridge connects Missouri and Illinois, and was a vital link on Route 66. It is open to foot traffic and bicycles. Workers were erecting new bicycle rack with Route 66 motif ends. Cool! Also, on the bridge, there's Route 66 motif displays.

After riding over to the Illinois side and back, we headed South on the Riverfront Trail. There was a dedicated paved bike path which kept us off the busy city streets for almost the whole route.

It was a lot of fun riding as a threesome, despite having a headwind. We stopped midway to eat our almond butter/lettuce sandwiches. We enjoyed sitting on the banks of the levee and observing the Mississippi and its avain wildlife.

Kept moving to meet our 2 pm estimated time of arrival. It was exciting to get closer and closer to the Gateway Arch. Finally, we needed to turn West to get to the Adam's Mark. Got to the corner where we needed to turn, and waited 10 min. or so. Two men from the nearby CBS affiliate came over to film and interview us. We engineered our arrival to coincide with Convention attendees greeting us. I was interviewed afterwards, and was told later that indeed we were on the 10:00 pm news.

Charlotte and I left our bikes in the Bell Captain's locked closet, while Sherri took the wheels off her bike and put in the trunk of the rental car. Marge and Louise will take it to a bike shop tomorrow, for shipment back to Idaho.

I got a ride back to the Chain of Rocks Bridge parking lot (thanks to Marge, Sherri, and Louise) so that I could drive the van back to the area near the hotel. Parked the van in the Arch parking lot, and unloaded what I needed to take to the hotel.

Walked maybe .4 mile to the Adam's Mark. Had to shower and get ready for a one hour HDSA reception on a riverboat named the Becky Thatcher. Charlotte, Sherri, and I felt honored to be invited.

Back to the hotel to mingle with Hunt-Dis on-line friends. Got to visit with friends from past rides, including LeVone Howard, Debbie Peek, Annette and Shane Williams.

Ron's flights were both delayed due to a hailstorm in Denver yesterday. He finally arrived at the hotel anout 8:30 pm, rather tired, but it was so good to see him after almost four weeks of being on the road. Ron was hungry, so I thought I'd take him to Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. There were probably 100 people milling around, eating and visiting, at 11:00 pm.

It's hard to believe that this year's ride is over physically. Memories will live on in my heart and mind, of so many families and churches which took us in.

In previous E-mails, I have eluded to my next project, a "Bike For The Cure" cookbook. I have collected some recipes along the way. If anyone wants to submit favorite recipes, E-mail them to rmnemec@earthlink.net or mail them to: Marie Nemec 3087 - A 1/2 Road Grand Junction CO 81503

Now for some totals:
Miles ridden: 16
Total miles ridden:
Marie-606;
Charlotte-870;
Sherri-241
Total Road Change: $5.46

Donations will continue to come in, but as of June 5, $8889.53 has come in. That doesn't count donations given directly to me during the ride. I hope we can top the $10,000 mark, which will be tripled up to $30,000.

More later.
With love,
Sherri, Charlotte, and Marie