Reply to Country Inn & Suites On Historic Main Street in St Charles

We are planning to drive . . Is there a shuttle from here to Rock island trail ? Also is there a safe place to leave my car?

Call the Bike Stop Cafe in St. Charles, they provide shuttle services.
We stayed at the Country Inn and Suites, great hotel. Short walk to the BSC.

Key security idea: Some of you have discussed or considered parking your vehicle and shuttling back to it with your bike versus having a company drive YOUR vehicle to the opposite end of the trail where it will wait for you upon arrival/completing the trial. In 2021 I rode the Katy but began in Kansas, rode all the way to Illinois and back into Missouri, finishing at Gateway Arch and Busch Stadium. I took the Amtrak back to KC, so moving a car wasn’t an issue. A few months ago I rode the awesome Mickelson Trail in South Dakota. I only had a few days to ride and didn’t have a support person to pick me up. I considered using a shuttle, but decided I wanted to hire Black Hills Discovery Tours to drive my truck to Edgemont, at the other end of the trail. This is more expensive than the shuttle for a solo rider but would cost about the same as two riders, plus I don’t have to ride the shuttle that two hours back. Remember when considering the cost whether it’s the Katy or the Mick it takes two people to shuttle a vehicle because the driver needs a ride back. Back to key security….i was uneasy about my keys being left hidden in my truck for a day, or longer. I purchased a real estate type key box from amazon for $20. Originally I was going to return it and get my money back but decided to keep it for future trips or if I have someone coming to my house to leave a key. This box has a combination that can be set easily to whatever four digit code I want. To make it easy for Bill at Black Hills Discovery Tours I set the code to the last four digits of his phone number. I then locked the key box to the tie down hook in the bed of my truck, but if you have a hitch receiver or roof rack it could go there, maybe even to a door handle…you get the idea. The box is pretty rugged and would take time, tools and effort to force entry into. Obviously there is some risk of theft with keys inside the box, however people/thugs steal cars by breaking in then damaging the steering column or ignition all the time without keys available.
https://www.amazon.com/Capacity-Storage-Resettable-Combination-Waterproof/dp/B09NBQW6D2