SpringGetawayonMissouri’sHistoricKatyTrail春游密蘇里凱蒂步道By

MattCrossman文/馬特?克羅斯曼

Shewas60orso,andpedalingherbikeontheKatyTrail,anearly240-milepathacrossMissouribuiltonanoldrailway.Sheheadedwest,andIpassedherheadedeastonthefinalmorningofmyfour-dayquesttoridethefullroute.Straw-coloredhairmarbledwithgrayfelloutofherbikehelmet.Crinklesshotfromhereyes,evidenceofalifetimewearingthat

mammoth[1]

grin.橫貫密蘇里州的凱蒂步道長(zhǎng)約240英里，建在一條舊鐵道上，一位花甲之年的女士正在這條小道上踏車而行。我計(jì)劃用4天騎完全程，就在第4天早晨我向東行進(jìn)之際，與西行的她擦肩而過(guò)。她戴著自行車頭盔，頭盔下露出麥秸色的頭發(fā)，其中摻雜了幾縷銀絲。她的眼角皺紋綻開，證明她這輩子是個(gè)笑口常開的人。

Alittleenviously,Ifoundmyselfwondering,Whathappened,thatdayandinallthedecadesbefore,tomakehersmilelikethat?What’shersecret?I

tuggedon[2]

mybrakestostop,turnaroundandchaseherdowntoask.ButIlethergo.I’dratherimagineheranswer.

心生些許嫉妒，我禁不住想：當(dāng)天發(fā)生了什么，過(guò)去幾十年里發(fā)生了什么，讓她的笑顏如此燦爛？她有何秘訣？我捏下車閘一把停住，想掉頭追上她問(wèn)個(gè)究竟。然而我任憑她遠(yuǎn)去，寧可把她的回答留給想象。

ThatwasonaTuesday.IhadarrivedonthepreviousSaturdaywiththreefriendsattheKaty’swesternmosttrailheadinClinton,Missouri,inasourmood.那天是周二。上周六，我就和三個(gè)騎友到達(dá)了位于密蘇里克林頓的凱蒂步道最西端，當(dāng)時(shí)我心事重重。

Oneofmyfellowridersworksinagriculture,andaswesetout,henarratedthefieldswepedaledthrough.Soybeans,hesaid,andthensoybeans,andthen–hey,look!–moresoybeans.We

crested[3]

nohills,roundednoturns.Nothingchanged.Justmilesofsameness.Aftermonthsofchaos,Ifoundthemonotonycomforting.同行的一名騎友從事農(nóng)業(yè)工作，啟程后，但凡我們?cè)竭^(guò)的田野，他都能娓娓道來(lái)。他說(shuō)：這是大豆，這也是大豆，這——嘿，快看！——還是大豆。沒(méi)有翻山越嶺，沒(méi)有峰回路轉(zhuǎn)，風(fēng)平林靜，一路如常。歷經(jīng)數(shù)月的煩亂，我覺(jué)得這種單調(diào)頗給人慰藉。

Deepinonefield,westoppedforadrink.TwomenfromColoradobroke,too,and

struckup[4]

asociallydistantchat.WetoldthemwewereridingtowardourhomesnearSt.Charles,ahistoriccommunityjustoutsideSt.Louisthat’sbestknownasthelaunchpointofthe

LewisandClarkexpedition[5].Weclimbedbackonourbikes.“Haveagreatride,”oneofthemsaid,andinalight-heartedreferencetotheirspeed(slow)relativetoours(lessso),headded,“We’llneverseeyouagain!”途經(jīng)一片田野深處，我們停下補(bǔ)充水分。偶遇兩個(gè)來(lái)自科羅拉多的男人也在這里歇腳，幾個(gè)人便隔著社交距離聊了起來(lái)。我們告訴他倆，我們幾個(gè)家住圣查爾斯附近，正往那兒騎，那是個(gè)歷史悠久的縣城，就在圣路易斯市外，因是劉易斯與克拉克西部遠(yuǎn)征的起點(diǎn)而聞名。聊罷，我們?cè)俅慰缟狭塑?。只聽見兩人中的一個(gè)說(shuō)：“一路順風(fēng)！”接著又輕松地補(bǔ)了句：“咱們?cè)僖惨姴恢耍　边@是在打趣他們的速度（慢），跟不上我們（沒(méi)那么慢）。

Ipushedthepedalswithmore

verve[6]

afterthat.UsuallyI’mtheonewhosparksconversations.Iaskaboutthecityonyourshirtortheteamonyourhat.OntheKaty,people

pesteredmewith[7]

questions.ItstartedwiththeColoradans.Itcontinuedforfourdays.休整后我踩起車更有勁了。平日里通常都是我挑起話題，我會(huì)讓人說(shuō)說(shuō)印在襯衫上的那個(gè)城市或是帽子上的那個(gè)球隊(duì)。在凱蒂步道上，我成了輪番發(fā)問(wèn)的對(duì)象。那兩個(gè)科羅拉多人開了頭，之后連續(xù)四天都是別人對(duì)我發(fā)問(wèn)。

“Whereareyoufrom?”“你老家在哪兒？”

“Howfarareyouriding?”“你要騎多遠(yuǎn)？”

“Thoseshortsarehideouslytight–whyareyouwearingtheminpublic?”“你那短褲緊得嚇人——干嗎穿這么緊的褲子出門？”

TheidlesmalltalksprungasmallleakintheanxietyIcarried,anditslowlyspilledoutbehindme.Ididn’trealizeIhadgivenintoisolationuntilIsteppedoutofit.Soon,insteadofcravingshelterfromthestorm,Iranlikeafoolintotherain,headtiltedback,drinkingbigdrops.Icouldn’twaittogettothenextstopto

yakitup[8]

withstrangersIfoundthere.這些閑言碎語(yǔ)讓我背負(fù)的焦慮裂開了一條小縫，在身后一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)灑下。直到走出孤獨(dú)，我才意識(shí)到自己早已陷入孤獨(dú)。旋即轉(zhuǎn)念，風(fēng)暴中我不再渴望避風(fēng)港，而想像個(gè)傻子一樣跑進(jìn)雨里，高仰著頭，喝著瓢潑的雨水。我迫不及待要與下一站碰面的陌生人嘮上幾句了。

(Credit:)

TheKatyTrailhasalwaysbeenathrough-wayfortravelers.Forabout100yearsfollowingtheCivilWar,trainsrumbledalongtrackscontrolledbytheMissouri-Kansas-TexasRailroad(nickname:MKT,orKaty).Theroutefellintodisrepairinthe’70s.In1987,thestateadoptedthecorridorwithavisiontoestablishKatyTrailStatePark.Apioneerconversionofitskind,itremainsthelongestrails-to-trailsbikepathintheU.S.凱蒂步道是觀光客的必經(jīng)之路。南北戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)落幕后近一個(gè)世紀(jì)里，無(wú)數(shù)列車在密蘇里—堪薩斯—得克薩斯州際鐵路公司（昵稱MKT或Katy“凱蒂”）運(yùn)營(yíng)的鐵路上隆隆駛過(guò)。20世紀(jì)70年代鐵道敗落失修。1987年，密蘇里州要興建凱蒂步道州立公園，便接管了這條走廊。作為此類改造工程的先行者，凱蒂步道至今仍是美國(guó)最長(zhǎng)的鐵路改建自行車道。

Flatandwide,theKatydrawsbothfamiliesforshortexcursionsandenduranceathleteswhowanttopileonmiles.(Ifallsomewhereintheambitiousmiddle.)Hikers,runnersandbikerssharethegravelpathinspring,summerandfall,joinedbycross-countryskiersandevenmushersinwinter.Historicdepotsconvertedtotrailheadspopupevery9or10miles,soyoucaneasilydriveanywheretoparkandhoponforashortout-and-backride.One-waycyclistscanhireashuttleservice–that’swhatwedid–orride

Amtrak[9]

withtheirbikesbetweenSedaliaandHermann.凱蒂步道平坦寬闊，吸引著喜愛短途郊游的家庭和意欲長(zhǎng)途跋涉的耐力運(yùn)動(dòng)員。（我處于兩者之間，躍躍欲試。）春、夏、秋三季，遠(yuǎn)足、跑步和騎行者會(huì)在這條礫石小徑上同行；到了冬季，越野滑雪者，甚至雪橇手，也會(huì)加入進(jìn)來(lái)。每隔9到10英里就有一個(gè)步道起點(diǎn)，由歷史悠久的火車站改建而來(lái)，因此可以很方便地驅(qū)車在公園任何一處?？浚瑏?lái)一場(chǎng)短途往返騎行。單程騎手可以租用班車接送（我們就用了這一服務(wù)），或者帶著自行車搭乘全國(guó)鐵路客運(yùn)公司在錫代利亞市和赫曼兩市之間穿梭的列車。

Ifyouaren’tridingorrunningtheKaty,you’rechasinganentrepreneurialdreamalongit.B&Bs,breweries,cafesandwineriesdotthefulllengthofthetrail.Asdosomesurprises:DrewLemberger,anArmyveteranwhoownstheMountNeboInnnexttoMeriwether,hasworkedasariverguide,fishingguide,boat-makerandsommelier.ItookabreakfrommyridetojoinoneofhisMissouriRivertours.Beingonthewater(inaboatthecaptainbuilthimself)providedanintimacywiththeriverthatcarriedLewisandClarkthatIwouldhavemissedonthetrail.Somethingofanornithologist,too,Lembergerpointedoutpelicans,geeseandvultures.Henosedustowardatreeholdinganest.Abaldeaglesoaredabove,circled,thencameinforalanding.LembergerturnedtheboatbacktowardRocheport,andasgoldenclifffacespeeledpast,offeredupsomewisdomfromalifespentonthe

BigMuddy[10]:“Neverhangyourfishingclothesnexttoyour

tuxedo[11].”如果不是在凱蒂步道上騎行或跑步，那就是在沿途追逐創(chuàng)業(yè)夢(mèng)。民宿、啤酒廠、咖啡館和葡萄酒莊遍布步道全線。這一路還有些意外發(fā)現(xiàn)：德魯?倫伯格爾是一名陸軍退伍老兵，經(jīng)營(yíng)著自己的尼波山旅館（就在梅里韋瑟咖啡廳隔壁），他還是游河向?qū)?、釣魚教練、造船匠和品酒師。我中斷騎行，參加了一趟倫伯格爾導(dǎo)覽的密蘇里河船旅。（乘坐船長(zhǎng)自己建造的小船）在水上徜徉，讓我與這條曾承載劉易斯和克拉克的河流親密起來(lái)，那是若只在步道騎行便會(huì)錯(cuò)過(guò)的一種親密感。倫伯格爾指給我們看鵜鶘、鵝和禿鷲，頗有幾分鳥類學(xué)家的模樣。他小心翼翼地帶我們駛近一棵筑有鳥巢的樹。只見一只白頭雕翩翩騰空、盤旋，然后緩緩著陸。倫伯格爾調(diào)轉(zhuǎn)船頭，向羅什波特駛?cè)?，掠過(guò)一片片金黃的崖壁，作為一輩子在“大泥河”上生活的人，他蹦出了一句人生箴言：“千萬(wàn)不要把釣魚服放在晚禮服旁邊?！?/p>

Thenextday,ourfinalmorning,we

stirredtolife[12]

beforedawn.Weplannedtocover110miles,sowecouldn’tdawdle.Thestreetslayempty,thesunbarelyarumor.ThestateCapitoldomewatchedoverusfrombehindaswerodeacrosstheriverbacktothetrail.Thecloudswavedanominousombreofgraytobluetopurple,anapparentrealstormreplacingthemetaphoricalonethatfollowedmethefirstday.次日，也就是騎行之旅最后一天的清晨，天沒(méi)亮我們就出發(fā)了。我們打算騎110英里，所以不能磨蹭。街上空無(wú)一人，太陽(yáng)幾未現(xiàn)身。我們?cè)竭^(guò)密蘇里河重回步道，密蘇里州議會(huì)大廈高高的穹頂被