2001 Katy Kids

Aimee Blust – turning 13 just before the ride, lives in the city of St. Louis and goes to St. Anthony of Padua School. She is the fourth of six kids and has four brothers and one sister. This is her first year of doing long bike touring rides. She has been a camper since first grade. Besides bicycling and camping, she likes to play softball, volleyball, soccer and basketball. She is also a Girl Scout. She liked getting practice on the training rides and learned that practice makes perfect! She expects the Katy Trail ride to be fun and tiring!

Dennis Blust – is 15, and is Aimee’s older brother, number three in the family. He goes to St. Mary’s High School. Dennis is the Katy Kids’ veteran; he has three years of long bike tours to his credit. He has been camping for ten years and makes a great campfire! Dennis, also athletic, plays baseball, soccer, basketball and volleyball. He likes coming to the training rides to get some exercise and has learned rules of the road that will help him when he starts to learn to drive soon. As a third year Katy Kid veteran, he expects this ride to be smooth and ride every mile.

Cortez Brown – is 12 and lives in the city of St. Louis. He goes to Oakville School District in St. Louis County. He is one of the middle of six kids, with five boys and one girl in his family. He has been riding for several years, but some of the training rides were longer than he was used to. He has gone camping for four years. He plays basketball and does track. The best part of the training was going downhill! Since Cortez usually rides a one-speed BMX bike, he has learned how to shift gears on his 21-speed bike. Though the group went on an overnight training ride, he's not sure what to expect with 300 bicyclists. He thinks he might have lots of fun. 

Shaun Lane – is 14 and lives in the city of St. Louis. He goes to Hoech Middle School in St. Louis County. Shaun is the oldest of three boys. This is his first year of long rides but his third year of camping. Shaun likes to play football, playing running back on the team. He liked the training rides, because the adults helped him with breathing techniques so he could ride faster. He learned safety rules and more about fixing bikes. Since it is his first ride, he is expecting a challenge.

Ashley May --is 15 and lives in the city of St. Louis. She goes to Clayton High School in St. Louis County. Ashley has one younger brother. This is her second year in the program, doing long bike rides. She has been camping five years. Ashley is best known for playing basketball – but she also likes playing volleyball against the Missouri Department of Natural Resources team! She likes going on the training rides to meet new friends and get exercise. She has learned to operate a bicycle, pitch a tent and how to ride in traffic on the training rides. She expects to meet new people, complete the entire ride, and learn something new each day.

Anthony (Tony) Scott -- has just turned 12 and is the youngest of the group. He lives in the city of St. Louis with his grandmother, the celebrated "Grandma Ruth," who likes to take pictures of the Katy Kids. Tony goes to AAA Busch Middle School in St. Louis City. He is the youngest of two boys, though he considers his cousin Charles another brother. This is his first year of long bike rides. He has camped twice. Tony plays soccer, basketball, football and likes track. Tony likes the training rides, having gotten faster and learned how to shift gears. He expects the Katy Trail ride to be really long and hard.

Brian Scott – is 14 and just graduated with honors from AAA Busch Middle School in the city of St. Louis. He is Tony’s older brother and grew a lot in the last year! Brian is a second year veteran of the Katy Kids Program, and had little trouble recruiting his younger brother for the ride. He has been camping for three years. He participates in basketball and track. Brian loves everything about the training rides, getting faster all the time! He has learned to pace himself better on the training rides. He expects to complete every mile of the Katy Trail ride, even if he has to walk!