We began day four in Portland and ended up in Marthasville. Neither of us slept very much the previous night. We had some noisy camping neighbors and several cars driving on the gravel slowly near the campground. Neither of us could understand the traffic. There is nothing in Portland! (Eddie’s YouTube video for days four and five)
On day four, I began to worry about the top of my head burning, so I turned into “Prison Toby.” We stopped at McKittrick and enjoyed some time catching up with our friend Ova at the 1896-built mercantile. Much of the day’s scenery included open farmland, woods, and a view of the river.
Ova towed a bike trailer. He hated it! If you plan on biking the Katy, do not get a bike trailer. Ova said he could pack too much gear, which added too much resistance. In loose gravel, the small tires slowed him down to the smallest gears, making the ride extremely difficult.
This section of the trail has little to no water. One biker said he went 40 miles with no water. McKittrick has water from a frost-free hydrant in a grassy area to the left of this building. All the fixtures and flooring seen in the picture above are original to the 1896 store.
At the McKittrick stop, I noticed my knees were swollen. They didn’t hurt, but they were enormous!
We arrived in Marthasville at around 3 pm and camped at the Little League field for $5 each. There were 6-8 other bikers camping, and at 6:15 pm, local cars full of kids began parking all around our tents as games were about to begin. Eddie and I chose the grass near the outfield, and I enjoyed some Cracker Jack while watching the little guys play. We had a meal with a 54-year-old retired veterinarian named Kurt at a restaurant to the left of the blue building in the picture above. Kurt had a belt-driven bike and enjoyed a solo ride on his new retirement.
On day four, we biked around 40 miles. It was the earliest we’d stopped for the day and the most interesting campsite! I used the shower, and the ball complex had a nice covered pavilion, snack bar, and water available. Lea is the contact for this campsite, and her info is found here. She has some crazy stories of going to pick up drunk bikers who thought they could ride to a nearby winery, only to discover they were too drunk to bike or find their way back to town!
Toby DeHay 