The Unfinished Bike Tour - The KATY Trail and Route 66
- Kevin Ansel
- Nov 17, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 25, 2025
We took the train from our home in Southern California to St. Louis, Missouri, to start the tour where we left off last summer. The route took us to St. Charles, Missouri, where we joined the KATY rail trail. The KATY Trail is a converted railroad that is 240 miles long with the majority of it following the Missouri River. This area is full of history with Lewis and Clark beginning their epic journey from here. Like Lewis and Clark, we would be traveling west. We spent six days on the KATY riding the crushed limestone surface along the beautiful tree lined path. On this tour we were only using hotels and motels for our accommodations. This allowed us time to explore the small quaint towns near the trail. After we finished the KATY trail in Clinton, Missouri, we headed south and picked up Route 66 in Joplin. Already having ridden 400 miles, we would follow Route 66 the remaining 1,800 miles west to its finishing point on the Santa Monica Pier in Southern California. The tour would take us through seven states; Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Since we were following the original Route 66 as much as possible, it gave us the opportunity see and visit many iconic attractions en route. This included sights such as the Blue Whale in Catoosa, Oklahoma, the U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas, the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, Route 66 Auto Museum in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, and the old mining town of Oatman, Arizona, where wild donkeys roam the streets. In total, we visited or saw 53 different attractions, museums, classic café’s, roadside statues, monuments, or historical markers. Since we were traveling west, we delt with many days of very strong winds. What they say about the prevailing winds blowing from the west is true. We faced 15 to 20 mph headwinds every day from Oklahoma to Williams, Arizona. This made the tour very challenging. Once again, the people we met along the route were kind, friendly, and curiously interested in our journey. It was wonderful to see how benevolent the American people truly are. This tour completed our fourth time bicycling across this great country. The beautiful landscape and countryside always make us feel in awe at the wonders of nature. It is one of the things that makes us go back out on tour. Until next time……
Watch the video below........
