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.
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