Dear Friends,
We're heading south in May! As spring blooms, we invite you to saddle up and cross the state of Missouri on one of the loveliest rail-trails in the country, the Katy Trail.
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For five days, you'll follow the trail, much of it in view of the Missouri River (Big Muddy) with the benefit of PBV amenities in friendly Missouri towns, often near bars and restaurants, distilleries and breweries!
BELOW: Riders enjoyed wood-fired pizza from a food truck
in our Sedalia campsite along the Katy Trail.
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ABOVE: Riders tucked in their lunch at a trailside restaurant
before continuing to Pork Camp on the Katy!
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Big Muddy
on the Katy
Pedal along the "Big Muddy"
aka the Missouri River!
May 13 to 18, 2022
$365 rider entry fee
Register NOW!
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5/13, Shuttle from Clinton, Gather in Defiance
5/14, 44 miles to Hermann
5/15, 45 miles to Jefferson City
5/16, 49 miles to Boonville
5/17, 40 miles to Sedalia
5/18, 43 miles to Clinton,
and optional transition to
Birds & Bees Bike Ride
in Southwest Iowa
on the Wabash Trace Nature Trail!
(Town to town mileage numbers above, not necessarily accurate
from campsite to campsite. But close!)
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Big Muddy
Amenities Include:
- All trail user fees
- Camping fees in our reserved campsites
- 5 days cycling, baggage transport daily
- Fresh-brewed morning coffee
- Daily refreshment stop on the trail
- Charging station for phones and devices (e-bikes welcome, charging available)
- Daily hot private shower and towel
- Cold beverages in camp (some free, some $1)
- Daily town maps
- souvenir Big Muddy t-shirt
- Optional tent rental
- Optional PHAT Room rental
- Optional breakfasts in camp
- Optional massage therapy
- Our cheerful Pork Crew to serve you.
RIGHT: Wendy in Sedalia
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Clockwise ABOVE: 1) PBV works with breakfast vendors like this charming cafe (inside the frog building pictured above!) to preorder your selected breakfast from vendors in camp or very nearby. With its sweet and savory breakfast items, this eatery is just next to our Boonville campsite. 2) In Jeff City, pre-ordered breakfast burritos, warm from the oven of La Chica Loca, ready to be claimed from the breakfast table, very near our coffee trailer! 3) Alicia, loving the Katy Trail, and 4) our friendly front desk in our Sedalia campsite. |
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Clockwise ABOVE: 1) Ashley helping riders get back on the Katy. She and all of our massage therapy friends are skilled in the art of making our muscles feel better! 2) rental tents--find your bags inside when you arrive in camp! 3) The Sedalia Visitors Bureau, talking to our riders in camp! By the way, you'll notice these beautiful fatty bikes, but you can ride the Katy Trail on a smaller tire, just not the super-skinny ones! |
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Bike Rental
and E-Bike Rental
Available
PBV has a small fleet of rental bikes and rental e-bikes available for any of our trail rides (or other rides). To inquire, please write to Pete@pkbelly.com. And of course, you can charge an e-bike, yours or ours, in camp during the ride.
ABOVE: E-bikes recently purchased and available for rent from PBV!
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Rental
Tents
Available
When you use our rental tent, our crew handles your set-up, take-down, and moving your bags throughout the tour. We're happy to place friends next to each other. Just be sure you have a common group name on your Birds & Bees applications.
Rental tents are just $250 for this tour. Two people can share and split that cost.
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PHAT
Rooms
Available
Live Large in a little PHAT Room, and you only unpack once on
Big Muddy!
Knotty pine interiors, laminate flooring. Mattresses, linens, blankets, pillows provided. Outlets next to your bed.
Switched lights at the head of each bed, and fans to circulate the air and provide white noise.
Rooms are air-conditioned: you can control the temperature in your room.
LEFT: Two room styles,
twin style top and center left
and queen style bottom photo.
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PHAT Rooms are offered at a much lower price than on RAGBRAI. On Big Muddy: Only $1500 per room. Rooms can be shared by up to 5 sleepers, but for more elbow room and ample space for your belongings, we recommend 2-4 room occupants. |
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Won't you join us?
Sign Up Now!
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MORE
Pork Belly Ventures
Trail Rides
We're sending all of our PBV Trail Ride invitations this month! In addition to Big Muddy on the Katy, here are more invitations to explore beautiful trails in Iowa and in South Dakota!
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The Black Hills Hundred
on the Mickelson Trail,
South Dakota
June 26-30, 2022
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Did you receive our New Year's Day invitation to come along on a four-day South Dakota trail ride? This one includes afternoon excursions by train and by coach into the hills, to Custer State Park, to Mt. Rushmore, and to Crazy Horse--and much more! The Mickelson Trail, with high bridges, ponderosa pine forests, and spectacular views, is among the most scenic in the country. Registrations are coming in strongly, but we still have room for you. |
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Please check out the Black Hills Hundred Invitation, June 26-30, below...
And register for the Black Hills Hundred right here...
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Birds & Bees Bike Ride
on the Wabash Trace
Southwest Iowa
May 19-23, 2022
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Rated one of the most beautiful rail-trails in the country, the Wabash Trace meanders south from Council Bluffs through several tiny towns to the Missouri State Line.
We overnight in Council Bluffs, Malvern, and Shenandoah, cycling at a rate of 22 miles per day, unless you take our extra mileage options. Live Entertainment in camp! Extra credit for those who take the Tri-State Challenge, touching Nebraska and Missouri, in addition to Iowa!
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ABOVE: Riders gathered to hear Billy and the Downliners on the last night of Birds & Bees at Boehner Pond in Malvern.
RIGHT: Nothing like sweatshirts, a bonfire, and toasted marshmallows on a cool May evening!
Check out the Birds & Bees Invitation Letter right here!
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Register for Birds & Bees right here:
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And Finally,
The KaBash!
Combine Two Spring Trail Rides
for 10 Spring Cycling Days!
Ride Big Muddy on the Katy Trail first, and follow it immediately with Birds & Bees on the Wabash Trace. The Katy plus the Wabash is what we call "the KaBash"! Jump into your 2022 cycling season with ten days of cycling on two beautiful trails!
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How The KaBash Works
Transition Day, May 18th: Big Muddy concludes on the west side of Missouri in Clinton. Grab lunch and drive three hours north to Southwest Iowa for your second trail ride, beginning midday on the 19th in Council Bluffs!
Hotel Stay near Birds & Bees Starting Point: PBV has spoken with the owner of the AmericInn by Wyndham on Woodbury Avenue, right at the I-80 exit nearest the Birds & Bees ride start. Near this hotel, you'll find a laundromat (next door), an espresso stop, a huge grocery store, HyVee, that serves breakfast and more. Just across I-80, you'll find a Village Inn Pancake spot, and a nice restaurant enjoyed by our families, named for our area code, "712." While our crew is transitioning from Big Muddy to Birds & Bees, we hope you'll find all you need at this conveniently located hotel, surrounded by amenities!
AmericInn by Wyndham
1000 Woodbury Avenue, Council Bluffs, IA 51503
Rate: $99.99 plus tax
712-314-5856
[There are many hotels along I-80 in Council Bluffs and three casinos. You're welcome to look for your brand of choice. We want you to know about the nearest one!]
Where Birds & Bees Begins!
We are deeply grateful for our partnership with New Horizon Presbyterian Church, where Birds & Bees begins and ends. It is located at 30 Valley View Drive, Council Bluffs, Iowa 51503.
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What happens on the 19th?
- Around midday at New Horizon Presbyterian Church, we'll begin checking folks in for Birds & Bees! Move into your rental tent, your PHAT room, or (for a donation) set up your indoor sleeping space in the fellowship hall of New Horizon.
- PBV will provide an afternoon shuttle to the Omaha side of the Missouri River, so that you can cycle back across the Bob Kerry Pedestrian Bridge to Iowa. "The Bob" is an architectural wonder! Follow the levee trails to the Wabash Trace trailhead park. The Nebraska Option is about 10 miles.
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- Then head south on the famous Taco Ride via the Wabash Trace, for supper at Tobey Jacks! The Taco Ride, about 20 miles out and back on the Wabash, is one of the biggest weekly rides in the country, and you can be a part of it. (The Taco Ride is a blast, but you do have the option of passing and resting up for your 22-mile Friday ride to Malvern!)
More Info for KaBash Riders in March/April...
A few weeks before the rides begin, you can expect a detailed schedule and your handy maps of Council Bluffs/Omaha, plus your daily rider route maps.
Questions?
If you have questions about transitioning from Big Muddy to Birds & Bees, please reach out to tammy@pkbelly.com.
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It's deeply cold around here, friends, which makes it even more enjoyable to cast our minds forward to May, when the landscape changes and our season begins. We'll have RAGBRAI news for you soon, but in the meantime, please consider joining us on one beautiful trail or another!
Our very best,
Tammy and Pete
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Feel The Wabash
To virtually experience rolling on the Wabash Trace, ride along with Pat for a bit. Just click on the image below!
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Pork Belly Ventures LLC
Tammy: 712.328.0161 h, 808-375-8921 c, tammy@pkbelly.com
Pete: 402-681-2613 c, pete@pkbelly.com
www.pkbelly.com
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