Katy Trail mm 153-143 Hartsburg to North Jefferson

I road this stretch of the KATY Trail in February on a 65 degree day and road it today the 30th day of November on a 70 degree day.  It is as stretch that I use to ride frequently starting at Hartsburg and going toward North Jefferson, a short distance north of Jefferson City.  What appealed me was that Hartsburg is a pretty little community not far off of HWY 63.  It has had a bike shop in the past, now it has several restaurants and a winery.

It had a nice restroom, which until the last few years was open year round.....

Most of the restrooms along the trail are traditional "pit" toilets that do not require heat in the winter, and while acceptable, it is far nicer to have a nice warm restroom to change from my business attire into my riding attire.  With many meetings in Jefferson City, it was easy to pack a bike in the car, and after the conclusion of the meeting, take a ride.  So Hartsburg moved up my list of favorite starting points.  You can go west toward McBane or east toward North Jefferson both are nice rides.  While not spectacular, they are varied from bluff to field to river.

There are a nice number of riders that use the trail either from Columbia or Jefferson City, and usually a car or two in the parking lot at Hartsburg. I like to have some other riders on the trail.  Today I passed, or was passed by approximately six riders.  What interested me is the greeting, or really the lack there of that comes from all but two of the riders.  All but one of the riders were male.  The only female was the only one that was riding full-out fast.  She was on a bike with aerobars and was focused, but she could still wave a hand and say hello.  One of the men had earphones in his ears, and so one could conjecture that the tunes were pumping loud.  That does not explain that the others did not wave, nod or say any greeting or acknowledge any greeting.   I mean there are six riders in a stretch of 20 miles and two hours, that could not even acknowledge that the person they were passing or meeting was saying hello to them.....I am not expecting a long conversation on the beauty of the day, just a simple howdy.  Something has gone in this world....or I look at lot more frightening than I think I look....as a 60 year old man that looks a lot like Kris Kringle.......

It is fun to be riding on the trail on one side of the river and hear the train whistle from a train passing on the other side of the river.  Makes you wonder what you are going to find around the next corner of the rail trail.....

Katy Trail Bluffton-Steedman mm111-121

In my opinion the prettiest stretch of the KATY trail is between Bluffton and Steedman on either side of Portland. 

  It is a remarkable stretch as you ride between the bluffs and river.  It is not close to any urban area, so is relatively isolated.  I like to ride this early in the spring and late in the fall when the leaves are off the trees and you get good views of the river and the bluffs.  I often ride the entire stretch without seeing anyone, even in the town of Portland. I am sometimes think I am going to die in this stretch and they won’t find my body until after some dog drags a limb into town. Sorry that is meant to be humor…Actually one reason to ride this time of year is because if there are hunters they would have to be close enough to recognize a florescent orange shirt and yellow vest.....

I have ridden the KATY trail a number of times, and have only rarely seen evidence of horses on the trail.  Near Sedalia is a section that is clearly intended as a shared trail.  It is hard to hide the presence of a horse, they tend to leave lots of hoof prints in the trail not to mention frequent deposits of organic material.  I had not ever seen this sign before….I don’t know if it is an official sign or one that someone wanted to add for their own purpose.  

I find it interesting that bicyclists are to yield to everyone, and everyone yields to horses.  I wonder who made that decision. Why are horses so important?  I would think everyone should yield to hikers…..but it certainly difficult on a bike to go as slow as a horse is usually ridden, even an old codger like me rides faster.  Sure they can go faster for a short period of time, but they are usually not ridden that fast for very long. So what should we do when we come upon horses, stop?  This does not make sense. Why don’t we emphasize that everyone treats everyone with respect, and proceed carefully to insure the safety of all?

 

 I wonder what Lewis and Clark would would think of the speed with which we travel the same stretches that they painstakingly poled and paddled their way.  These two signs a short distance from each other represent almost a days travel....and only a few minutes for me.

Piggy's Bar BQ

Friday was a beautiful November day, work was not pressing so it was a good chance to get out and about.  For some reason I have not been eating BBQ.  To much work, not enough running around.....

I wanted some new BBQ and I decided to let my fingers do the walking and I found Piggy's Bar BQ in O'Fallon Mo.  It caught my attention because it indicated that it had won the Rural Missouri Magazine's Best BBQ in N.E. Missouri in 2008, 2009, 2010 & 2011. I have followed their competition, and while far from being a strictly objective process, it has lead me to some good restaurants.   Now understand, I have lived and traveled northeast Missouri for the better part of 40 years, and outside of St. Louis there has not been much that I considered good BBQ in Northeast Missouri. That sounds a lot more negative than I really intend.  It just that there has not been very many places that even served real BBQ.  Never-the-less the fact that one place had won the award for four years running indicated I needed to try it out. so a plan was made......

It was a nice place, easy to find on a main street a few blocks from I70.  It was not fancy, or large.  But was certainly clean and inviting.

I was there early, just as it opened.  They were busy cooking.....

I had the combo plate.  It came with "2 bones, 2 meats and 2 sides"  I am not that interested in the ribs, so I told them to hold them.  Brisket and pulled pork, slaw and potato salad.  The brisket was excellent.  Thin, full of flavor.  They had four sauces.  A sweet honey, a spicy, a sweet KC and a smokey.  None of those was particularly appealing, so I went without sauce.  It was a good choice, the brisket flavor came through delicate and very much to my liking.  The pulled pork tasted good, not great.  Being the first one in the restaurant on this day, I am guessing that I was eating some pork that had been cooked the day before, and reheated for today.  It was a little dark and would have benefited from a mustard based sauce. They lavished me with a huge quantity of meat, it filled a good size plate.  I was most disappointed in the sides.  Understand they were acceptable, just they appeared to be purchased not freshly made.  I do not understand why your  would spend all of the time to prepare quality meat, and then combine it with some off the shelf sides that were delivered by a truck and came in a plastic jar.  It is similar to what is sold in grocery stores and fast food restaurants up and down the street.....Of course I would have preferred fries, but they were not on the menu.  I had slaw and potato salad. 

I can see why Piggy's Bar BQ wins the  Rural Missouri Magazine's Best BBQ in N.E. Missouri frequently.  It is not a chain, it has good food, it is real BBQ, and obviously cooked right there.  It is a nice clean place, one you can take your wife to.....

I would go back for the brisket.....!