‘Cruisin’ on the Katy’ registration opens
Applications are now available for bicyclists who would like to participate in Katy Trail Ride 2009, a ride on the nation’s longest developed rail trail.
“Cruisin’ on the Katy” is the theme for the ninth annual week-long bicycle ride that takes place June 22-26 on Katy Trail State Park across Missouri.
Participation is limited to 300 people. Deadline for registration is May 22.
Sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Missouri State Parks Foundation, the scenic bicycle ride runs 225 miles from Clinton to St. Charles. It will include an additional 15 miles of road riding into and out of Jefferson City and Hermann.
Katy Trail Ride 2009 will allow bicyclists to experience the entire Katy Trail State Park, which takes travelers through many of Missouri’s rural communities, along open fields and between the Missouri River and its bordering bluffs.
Daily mileage ranges from 27 to 64 miles. Stops will include Pilot Grove, Jefferson City, Hermann and Augusta.
The registration fee includes breakfast and dinner daily, outdoor camping spaces each night, portable hot showers, gear shuttle, support stops, and a Katy Trail Ride T-shirt and water bottle. Evening activities and daily trivia questions will highlight this five-day ride.
Transportation between St. Charles and Clinton on June 21 or June 26 will be available along with roundtrip transportation from Columbia to Clinton on June 21 and St. Charles to Columbia on June 26 for an additional fee. Day trips are available for bicyclists who would like to participate in this ride, but do not have five days to spare.
The Katy Trail Ride takes 300 bicyclists through the many rural communities that border the trail, boosting the local economy. Riders purchase their lunch in a different community each day and several choose to stay in local hotels or bed and breakfasts rather than camp. Organizers also pay local establishments or organizations to provide breakfast and dinner daily to the participants and volunteers. Many businesses have developed in these small, rural communities since the trail was established and they rely on trail users for a big part of their business’ success.
For anyone who would like to help out with the ride, organizers are looking for volunteers to load or drive the luggage truck, load bicycles, assist participants at the registration and information booths and support stops, and serve as ride sweeps.
Volunteer information and applications are available at http://www.katytrailstatepark.com.
For more information about the ride or for an application, call the Department of Natural Resources toll free at 800-334-6946 (voice) or 800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf). Or, visit the Web site at http://www.katytrailstatepark.com.
