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Reply to Transport from Machens to St. Louis AmTrak station
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Dr. Skeep from Tucson, AZ on 3/16/2015 9:21:27 AM:
Planning on riding Clinton to Machens late May - early June, car to Clinton then AmTrak back to Sedalia and retrace trail to Clinton. Just noticed how far the eastern trail end is from the St. Louis AmTrak station. Any ideas on the best way to traverse that distance? Our city buses here in The Baked Apple have bike racks. St. Louis? Or is there a connecting bike trail, as worked out nicely last year at the end of my GAP / C&O ride from G'town to my rental car on the Capital Crescent? Thnx for any suggestions.

 
chris from St. Louis on 3/16/2015 10:30:33 AM:
The site has directions to get you downtown to the Amtrak station, but that is about 40-50 extra miles. You could, instead, get off the Katy Trail at the Page bridge around mile marker 40, cross east to Creve Coeur Park (about three miles), take that southwest to Creve Coeur Mill road (about two), stop at the intersection of Creve Coeur Mill and Olive and catch the eastbout Bistate #91 bus (yes, it has racks) to the metrolink station (Delmar) and catch the eastbound metrolink there to the arena station, which is also an Amtrak station. If you don't mind riding in traffic, you could instead of getting on the bus at Olive and C.C. Mill Road take Olive east, turn right at Lindbergh and go to the Kirkwood Amtrak station. That is about six to eight miles and much faster than the bus, but these are four-lane roads driven by people who don't really share the road well. Hope it helps.

 
ArkyKenny on 3/16/2015 11:35:25 AM:
I'm with Chris: Just ride it. By the time you make arrangements, wait, build in time, etc., you'll come out ahead by riding it.

It's like driving to the airport, parking, getting there early, dealing with delays, flying, picking up your luggage, renting a car, etc.--All to fly somewhere that would take you 3 hours to just get in the car drive to. Why bother?

 
BikerBoy from Edwardsville, IL on 3/16/2015 9:12:10 PM:
You have several options. 1) Finish in Machens and continue riding to the Alton, IL Amtrak station. It's about 15 miles, but you would have to change trains in STL. 2) Finish at Machens and bike across the bridge into Alton and take the bus (mct.org), which has some express routes to downtown St. Louis. Those buses have bike racks because the bus system also operates the trails on the Illinois side (very convenient!). 3) Finish at Machens and continue riding the 37 miles to the St. Louis station (most of this route is on the MCT trails, which are very safe and scenic). 4) Finish at Machens and turn around and ride back to St. Charles, then get a shuttle from Lococo House (or several others) to Amtrak. There is also bus service from St. Charles to downtown via Metro bus, but I can’t advise as to the bike racks. Lococo also offers shuttles all the way to Clinton, if you want to make your life real easy.

 
Dr. Skeep from Tucson, AZ on 3/17/2015 7:46:09 PM:
Thnx to all of you for these helpful ideas. Clearly I've got more planning to do but, for me, that's part of the fun. I learned a lot the last couple of years on the GAP / C&O and The Big Mick in S. Dak (I recommend checking that brilliant railtrail out soon before the local anti-bike ranchers take big chunks of it back as the result of a recent SCOTUS decision. Boo.) and there's always more to learn. Thnx again, guys. See you down the trail.

 
Desertpig from Tucson on 3/18/2015 5:12:17 PM:
"Dr Skeep"-- I see you are in Tucson. A friend and I rode the Katy Trail- Clinton to Machens and back to Clinton- last Sept. We live in Tucson and would be happy to share Katy Trail info with you.

 
oldgeezer from Beaufort, on 3/27/2015 7:57:14 AM:
I would rather ride to Machens and then ride back to Washington, MO to catch Amtrak. I have ridden in the traffic from the Katy to Union Station in St. Louis. Too many motorons to deal with. If you do decide to ride back to Washington, let me know on this forum, and I'll pick you up at the Dutzow, Augusta, Matson, or Defiance trail head and transport you to the Amtrak station in Washington. I belong to WarmShowers.org and have done this for 2-3 different people. If you are not familiar with WarmShowers.org, check it out.

 
Rehab from Central Illinois on 3/29/2015 8:55:41 AM:
One other option which I plan for heading back to central Illinois is to finish at Machens and take back roads to the ferry which crosses to Grafton Illinois. From their, I am staying the night at Pere Marquette SP and then cycling to Alton Amtrak station. One caution, the ferry to Grafton only runs on Friday through Sunday each week.

 
Pseudio on 3/29/2015 9:30:46 AM:
Oldgeezer, are there many hosts from warmshower at the west end and east end of the KT? There seems to be a big need not just for touring cyclists but city people to get to the KT and back from StL and KC cities and beyond.

 
oldgeezer from Beaufort on 3/29/2015 6:45:26 PM:
Pseudio, there is some around the KC and St Louis area. Another close to the Katy is around Hermann. You can sign up for warmshowers.org for free. Then you can look up members where you plan to ride. My last 4 guests were from Mexico, Russia, Riverside Beach, and Seattle. I let them camp on my 7 acres with a 100 waterfall and pond. The only requirement is, you have to be on a bicycle touring. A tour can be an overnight, weekend, or cross country tour.

 
oldgeezer from Beaufort on 3/29/2015 6:51:57 PM:
Two other sites are couch surfing and globalfreeloaders. They don't require you to be on a bicycle. For warmshowers, you need to be on a bicycle. Dr. Skeep, I apologize for hijacking your post.

 
Dr. Skeep from Tucson, AZ on 4/16/2015 3:36:16 PM:
Well, Oldgeezer, I'm deeply offended, but what can I do?

Beaufort? As in SC? Best deviled crab I ever had in my life was in Beaufort. (The army kidnapped and enslaved me for 21 months in a futile effort to keep the VC out of Saigon, so I spent most of my time at Ft. Stewart, GA, and a buddy had a beach house on Pawleys Island.) And the River Runner from Washington, after a Machens out and back, is what I'm doing.

Desertpig (and javelina are one of the best reasons to live here, eh) -- Sorry for the delay. Been busy with taxes and whatever. Did you camp? What were your impressions? Best and worst aspects? Advice? I'm only doing 45 - 50 miles a day. Thnx.

 
oldgeezer from beaufort, MO on 4/18/2015 3:22:09 PM:
Dr. Skeep, I live near Beaufort, MO. But I was born in Vidalia, GA and graduated High School and College in Savannah, GA. Big ole rattlesnakes at Fort Stewart!!! I did my basic training in Columbia, SC at Fort Jackson in 1970. They put me out because of a lung disease and asthma.

Let me know for sure when you are getting close to Washington, MO. I'll come out and ride with you and by you a beer! Or meet you at the Landing in Washington. It is right across the street from the train station. Your call.

 
Dr. Skeep from Tucson, AZ on 4/21/2015 5:22:59 PM:
Oldgeezer, I expect to be comin' across the Bridge of Death c. 9-ish AM on May 6, if Allah wills it. Red and white helmet, and probably with my bright yellow backpack rain cover down for visibility. Too early for beer for me, but I'm sure I'll be jonesin' for real coffee. Ideas?

Vidalia, GA? I was eating Vidalia Sweets before they were "Vidalia Sweets". Still probably my favorite onions, although many people now seem to favor the Walla Walla Sweets. They're different enough that you can really like both.

And, of course, Savannah is only my favorite small city in the whole country. Three of us big eaters almost put Mrs. Wilkes out of business back in the summer of '69. (And her place is just about my favorite eatery in the U.S.) Love Savannah even when the air temp is 98 and the relative humidity is 99%.

I did Basic with the 82nd Airborne at Ft. Bragg, NC, and we thought you guys at Ft. Jackson were, oh, what was the polite term, not real men. But maybe we were wrong. (And fer sher those of us who got drafted were pissed off and thus almost always wrong.)

Hope to see you in Washington. Let me know.

 
KC Trekker from Kansas City on 8/28/2016 7:58:35 PM:
I'm planning on bicycling the Katy Trail from West to East this summer, and knowing myself, I know I'll have to do the WHOLE Katy Trail from Clinton to Machens, just for a sense of completion :-)

I combed through this thread looking for info. Thanks everyone. I'm putting 2 links below from Google Maps using their bicycle roads recommendations from the east end of the Katy Trail in Machens MO to the AmTrak station in St. Louis MO. I've not ridden either, so advice would be helpful.

The first option is 28.8 miles, about 7 miles of which are on the St. Louis Riverfront Trail. Google Maps estimates 2h 32m for the trip. TrailLink says this is a gritty urban trail:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Machens,+MO/St.+Louis+Station,+430+S+15th+St,+St.+Louis,+MO+South+15th+Street63103-2607/@38.7665209,-90.3556913,40243m/am=t/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m15!4m14!1m5!1m1!1s0x87df38d35775efb9:0x2e566698bf6bc8f!2m2!1d-90.332336!2d38.9031043!1m5!1m1!1s0x87d8b3132b238a59:0x8ac2905109de0e6e!2m2!1d-90.2036115!2d38.624216!3e1!5i1

Here's what TrailLink.com says about the St. Louis Riverfront Trail: http://www.traillink.com/trail/st-louis-riverfront-trail.aspx

The second option is 37.6 miles, close to 20 of which are on the MCT (Madison County Transit) Confluence trail, an estimated 3h 10m trip:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Machens,+MO/St.+Louis+Station,+430+S+15th+St,+St.+Louis,+MO+South+15th+Street63103-2607/@38.7665209,-90.3556913,40243m/am=t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x87df38d35775efb9:0x2e566698bf6bc8f!2m2!1d-90.332336!2d38.9031043!1m5!1m1!1s0x87d8b3132b238a59:0x8ac2905109de0e6e!2m2!1d-90.2036115!2d38.624216!3e1

Here's what TrailLink.com has to say about the MCT Trail, and the most recent review (2016) says it is in need of repair, more like a gravel road not suited to a road bike.

Again, any advice is welcome.