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Notes along the Katy Trail

Here's a collection of items about the Katy Trail you may find of interest:

CARL EDWARDS RIDES THE KATY TRAIL: Before NASCAR driver Carl Edwards won last Saturday's Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 Nationwide Series race at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., he spent three days riding the Katy Trail from his hometown of Columbia, Mo.

I didn't write about it last week because I thought Dave Luecking of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch did a nice job of covering the ride on the newspaper's 10 Speed and Left Turns blogs. Dave accompanied Carl for 30 miles of his trek. Numerous other NASCAR bloggers have written about the ride.

The Memphis Commerical Appeal also picked up on Carl's Katy Trail adventure in its Friday editions. Despite Carl's fame on the NASCAR circuit, he was able to visit a pool in Washington, Mo., and a Sav-a-Lot store in Hermann in relative obscurity.

"We were a pack of sweaty guys on bicycles, we walk in there, sugar-depleted, buying bananas and Gummi Bears in the checkout line," Carl told the Commercial Appeal. "I saw they were going to have a show car at the store on Sunday. I said, 'Oh, so you are going to have a car here?' They were like, 'Sure,' and we talked about it for a while and no one recognized me. And there were pictures of me everywhere.

"The Save-a-Lot standups are smaller than I am, which throws them off at the store. 'You look like Carl, except you're taller, isn't that funny?'"

BICYCLEWORKS MARATHON ON KATY TRAIL: On Friday morning, volunteers from the St. Louis-based BicycleWORKS began a marathon on the 225-mile Katy Trail. Their goal was to start from St. Charles, Mo., and ride for as long as possible without sleeping 30 or more minutes. BicycleWORKS challenged people to donate 25 cents a mile. Even though the ride already started -- and may have ended -- I'm sure BicycleWORKS would appreciate a donation.

BicycleWORKS was founded in 1988 by a Shaw Neighborhood resident who saw the need to provide area youth with the opportunity to develop a skill and to challenge them to test the limits of their abilities. This vision combined with the universal appeal of the bicycle became the building block of this innovative organization.

BicycleWORKS is the first St. Louis program to use the bicycle as a vehicle to teach youth responsibility and good work habits. Its programs are structured and work-intensive. BicycleWORKS combines vocational training with educational enrichment and challenging physical and mental activity.

FULL ARTICLE ON MY KATY TRAIL RIDE NOW ONLINE: Last month, I rode most of the Katy Trail as part of the Missouri Department of Natural Resource's Katy Trail Ride. I recently posted the full account, complete with photos.

Although I had a few foibles on this ride, I hope I've balanced that out with the photos of interesting sights along the trail as well as positive remarks about the trail and the way DNR ran the ride.

Labels: bicycle rides, Carl Edwards, Katy Trail, Web site

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