jakbikesdc

cyclotourists in MO,

I'm going to be in the Peck Ranch Conservation area, MO this summer for a summer field technician job working with songbirds. Before I start in May I will be in St. Louis to play a little bike polo with the STLPOLO crew. From STL, I am hoping to ride the KATY trail to Columbia, MO to play more bike polo with the COMOPOLO crew. After spending a day or so in Columbia, I am planning to ride south to the job site near Eminence, MO.

Would anyone have any suggestions for a route from Columbia to Eminence , MO? I noticed that google's new "bike there feature" sends me back east from Columbia 60mi. or so to cross the MO river at McKittrick on the KATY. Ideally, I want cross the MO River in Jefferson City, MO; but OMG that bridge looks scary!!! I've been carfree for 3years, and have ridden and played bike polo in many cities, so I have alot of riding experience. But from the looks of google's on street view, the Jefferson City bridge doesn't have a bike lane or shoulder?

Any suggestions? I'd rather cross the Jefferson City bridge than ride 60 extra miles, but maybe I'm missing another cross over point. Could I find a river boat?

And I'd be most appreciative if anyone had any route suggestions for riding from Columbia>Eminence.

Thanks,
Birdboi

John Bailey

According to Brett Dufur's Katy Trail Guidebook, there's a 6 ft. wide bike lane on the North bound bridge -- nothing on the South bound. You probably viewed the South bound.

John

EmmCeeBee

This isn't first-hand knowledge (after all, I'm 2000 miles away....) but when we rode the Katy Trail a couple years ago, there were quite a few Jeff City cyclists out for a lunchtime ride on the Katy Trail. They had just ridden over the bridge. Several googled links say that there's a bike lane on the northbound bridge, and it's used by both north- and south-bound cyclists.

Links that might help:

https://mobikefed.org/2009/12/katy-tr...erson-city.php

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_City_Bridge

From the wikipedia page:
-- Mark

emarg0ed

There is a bike lane on the bridge, as mentioned above. It's really nice

TonyS

Yeah that bridge was no problem whatsoever... the Katy Trail means smooth riding for as far as the eye can see!

jakbikesdc

Thanks for all the user info. I have seen these website entries. That's definitely encouraging.

Now I just need to figure out the southern portion of the route. Are there any great breweries along the ride that I definitely shouldn't miss out on? Who's knows of a really good local IPA in MO?
Does MO have Fat tire beer? I can't find it down in the FL panhandle...

capejohn

If your in St Louis during a full moon you may want to ride with THIS GROUP.

When the link load you need to fill in the **** with the proper letters in the address bar at the top of the page. But it's worth looking into and I'll bet that lots of the polo players do the Full Moon Fiasco's.

TonyS

Yes, we have fat tire. As for beer native to Missouri, try Boulevard. I don't drink beer but it sure does make my brats delicious, and my beer swilling friends say it's good to drink too.

Don't know about any breweries, but there are roughly 82 squijillion wineries along the Katy Trail. If you decide you want to visit any, they're a lot of fun. Good wine, too.

https://www.bikekatytrail.com/

If you haven't been there, the Katy Trail homepage has lots of info on where stuff is... and there's a book that will list EVERYTHING about every town along the trail...

https://www.pebblepublishing.com/comp..._guidebook.htm

It's an excellent book... I used it on my tour and I'm glad I did.

You're in for a great trip!

Dellphinus

Brewpubs
St. Charles- Trailhead
St. Louis- Schlafly, Square One
Columbia- Flatbranch

Columbia to Eminence? Stay off highway 19... 63 south to the ACA Transam might be the only viable way? GPS version of the transam here:
https://tsteven4.qwestoffice.net/

jakbikesdc

I finally finished my route on google. Of course, it can be easily changed.
It involves State hwy. B and a few other state hwys. I figure I'd rather be on a road with a narrow shoulder and low volume of vehicles, than a high volume road with a wider shoulder. Plus it seems to be more scenic that way.

Is there a way that I can post my completed map on bikeforums? I can't seem to locate a hyperlink that allows me to embed it?

OzarkKing

I was born and raised in Jeff City and frequently cycle across the bridge and it can be scary. Make sure you're not crossing at 8 am or 5 pm on a workday. As mentioned, it is the northbound lane meaning you are effectively riding head on into 50 mph traffic. Good view of the capitol and river though.

Myrkur

Here's another view of the lane.

Dellphinus

yes, on google maps, make it private, then copy the text from the "paste link" box (upper right) into your reply
example:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...d4c8733d6&z=13

jakbikesdc

Alright, thanks.

This is the route I'm wanting to take:
https://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF...83cca76cc90df1

jakbikesdc

Just wanted to give you all a little bike candy. I just recently invested in new Nitto North Road bars and a Brooks Champion B17 saddle that I got for a steal on ebay. These parts will be going on my GT but are currently being enjoyed on my fixed commuter.

updating this for the MO ride:

sknhgy 

IIRC getting on/off the bike lane on the West side of the bridge was the scary part.

I would not avoid it, though. Just look both ways before you cross like they taught you in school.

Dellphinus

I would not, under any circumstances, ride highway 19 from Salem to Eminence. I have not ridden it, but have driven it many times. Unless they've done major work on it to straighten/widen it, I would HIGHLY recommend you take 63/17/106 . Or ask some locals about other alternatives.

jakbikesdc

So I've edited it.

I can't seem to correct some of the stray lines.

https://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF...736579a3174f67

jakbikesdc

Woah, umm this is kinda late, but I did take hwy 19 last summer on the ride south. Very hilly, but it was fine in terms of traffic. Only had one close buzz. My journal for the ride: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/6924. This is the route I took...you can figure out the part from COMO to Mari-Osa from the CGOAB journal :https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/16582717

On the way back down south to FL w/ my gf I noticed that they have completed the bike/ped portion of the Jeff.City bridge....must be nice.

Enjoi.