What does it take to ride the Katy Trail in Missouri?
A great bike? No, you don’t need a great bike, nor an expensive bike. The best bike to start riding is the one you have. Now, maybe you don’t want to attempt all 240 miles on a BMX, but people do crazier things. Just get out on the trail, one mile, two miles. Find out what your riding style is. You’ll eventually find the best bike for you. Or, if you’re lucky enough, the bike will find you.
Extreme fitness? No, extreme fitness is not needed. You don’t need to ride all 240 miles your first time. You can ride one mile, two miles, there are no laws about how far you ride (unless you want to put the 237.7 decal on your car, then you will be arrested if you did not, in fact, ride from Clinton to Machens). But seriously, the Katy Trail is perfect for cyclists (and non-cyclists) of all fitness and non-fitness levels. It is relatively flat, and even if you had to push your bike up an incline, who cares? Coasting down the other side is still way fun!
Tight cycling shorts? OMG! No! You don’t need special clothes just to ride a bike. If you want to wear the cycling kits, by all means, show them off. But if you want to wear cargo shorts, then rock those humongo side pockets all day long.
A desire to ride the Katy Trail? Yes! This is all you need! This, and a calendar. Open up your calendar right now and schedule an appointment with the Katy Trail. OK, it’s official, you’re going to ride the Katy Trail, whether it’s that one mile on your old BMX this afternoon, or all 237.7 miles over the course of a week on your carbon fiber that’s gathering dust in the garage.
We have the best rail trail in the United States here in Missouri. It would be a shame to get to the end of 2026 with it still on your bucket list of trails to ride.