Days 18, 19 & 20 (265 Miles)

Day 20 to Sedalia, Missouri (94 Miles) & Day 21 resting

We left Jeff. City on the KT Trail on the advice that although highway 50 to Sedalia might be 30 miles shorter it would definitely not be worth the day on the side of a busy shoulderless road.

On time and having Joe's tyre (that had gone flat in the night) fixed by 9 am we were on route riding the trail enjoying relatively easy riding and some great scenery next to the Missouri River. Unfortunately 20 miles upstream we reached a closed/flooded KT trail. After an hour walking the heavy gravel detour we were advised (by a passing highway warden) that we could rejoined the trail but might have to ride in a few inches of water. Of course a few inches turned into the best part of a foot and we/the bikes/panniers got very wet. There should be some good pictures to follow but we are currently having technical difficulties.

Eventually having passed the flooding and pressing on we reached Booneville (where the KT leaves the river) by late afternoon and after a quick feed decided to try and save a good day by aiming to ride another 30 - 40 miles to Sedalia before dark. Of course we didn't make this and following trail rules we had to leave the trail at sundown to take none other than highway 50 (which turned out to have an annoyingly generous shoulder) f0r the last 10 miles into town. As a final rubbing of salt in the wounds Joe's back tyre blew out about 5 miles from town and we finished a terrible day with another hour and a half walk into town.

We didn't get to bed until gone midnight at which point we decided a rest day was very much needed tomorrow.

Day 19 to Jefferson City, Missouri (89 Miles)

The Katy Trail proved to be a good choice of detour as we clocked up some good miles and reached Jeff. City early enough to enjoy a ride around the sites in the light looking for a place to stay.

Day 18 to Union. Missouri (82 Miles)

We braved the roads south of St Louis to meet up with the old Missouri-Kansas-Texas railway which for the large part of Missouri has been renovated into a bike trail (the M-K-T or "Katy Trail"). Apart from being particularly unpopular on the roads (being told repeatedly to "please get off the road" but with varying styles and wordings) the day went without any major problems.