Biking East of St. Charles

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kim from independence, mo on 5/29/2009 12:24:45 PM:

We had planned to bike on to Machens and then on roads to the Grafton Ferry to cross to Illinois and ride the Great River trails down to St. Louis. However, the ferry is closed. Any ideas on other options? We want to keep our road riding to a minimum, but would like to spend a couple more days biking over to Illinois and riding the trails next to the Mississippi.
We are considering riding from St. Charles to the Golden Eagle Ferry over the Mississippi and then riding to the Brussels Ferry over the Illinois to Grafton. Has anyone biked these roads?
Any help would be appreciated!!!

Bikerstuff from Saint Charles, MO on 5/29/2009 1:22:23 PM:

Kim,

Great alternate scenic route! That's my usual route when I am on a motorcycle. To cycle on this route, you're better be a Tour De France caliber. From St. Charles to Golden Eagle Ferry the terrain is mostly flat, but i don't remember seeing any shoulder to cycle on. You will be facing with cars and motocycles at 60MPH. The terrain from Golden Eagle Ferry to Brussels Ferry is extremely hilly and no shoulder. I have never seen cyclists on this alternate route except lots of motorcycles.

The Bear from Edwardsville, IL on 6/11/2009 8:07:44 AM:

You can take the back roads from Machens to the West Alton trail. Cross the bridge at Alton and either go north along the Vadalabene Great River Road Trail or go south and meet up with the Madison County Trails (85 miles, mostly paved).

A good map at www.mcttrails.org

cunninghamair from O''Fallon, MO on 6/14/2009 10:40:58 AM:

Unless you are a serious cyclist, I would avoid the Golden Eagle Ferry to Calhoun County.
We ride the Ride the Rivers century through this area and it is not fun. VERY hilly. No
shoulder but frequented by cyclists so drivers are aware. It can be done, but be
forewarned. (HINT: Let the cars off the ferry first, then you should have the road to
yourself) The Great River Road is worth it, once your across. Follow to the MRT and
check out the Chain of Rocks bridge and then on into downtown KC.

(http://www.confluencegreenway.org/locations/rt.php)
also, search mapmyride.com for the ride the rivers century for a route

Doug from Bluffton on 6/14/2009 4:34:44 PM:

Hey Cunning!: Where do you pick up the worm hole that gets you from Chain of Rocks into KC? Man THAT would make for a fast round trip! Great way to avoid AMTRAK!

kim from independence, mo on 6/16/2009 11:14:22 PM:

Thanks for the help! We opted to take a shuttle from St. Charles to Alton, where we rode the Vadalabene Trail north to Pere Marquette SP and stayed. We then rode back to Alton and got on the Confluence Trail to Granite City, stayed at the KOA there, and then crossed the Chain of Rocks Bridge and took the Riverfront Trail to the Arch. It was interesting to ride the different trails, and the ones in Illinois are not very well marked, but it made an interesting addition to our Katy Trail Ride. Our biggest disappointment was finding that the Vadalabene Trail went up into the hills and provided NO access to the Brussels Ferry, as we wanted to ride a ferry. The website for the Trail lists the Brussels Ferry as a possible stop, but you would have to backtrack a few miles and then ride the curvy 2 lane road with no shoulders for a couple of miles to get to the Ferry. This really isn't a good idea when touring with a trailer. We had to pass it up...

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