Several members have expressed interest in a 50+ Katy Trail ride. Please post if you're planning to come so that we can know what to expect. My vision for this ride is more social than hard core. I'm thinking that's appropriate for this type of ride. Mid July can be hot in Missouri, but we'd ride anyway and both of these routes are mostly shaded.

Saturday's ride will start at the St Charles trailhead at 10:30 to give any out-of-towners a little travel time. Ride west on the Katy until you're halfway tired, turn around and see if you guessed right. I have selected 3 lunch spots we can pick from: A micro brewery, a barbecue place, and a natural foods place.

Sunday's ride is the Trails of Madison County, Illinois. It starts at the Trail Headquarters in Collinsville near Culver's Restaurant at 9:00. I have selected a 26 mile route that's all on paved MUTs and a 32 mile route that also includes some lightly traveled roads. Lunch afterward at Culver's.

Who's in?




There is no fee for this ride and no services are promised. This is purely a social event over an indicated route. If you choose, you are welcome to ride along at your own risk.

Weather and luck providing, I'm at least planning to try for the Saturday event. The main problem is diagnosing and treating an intermittent electrical fault in my car, which occasionally turns it into a brick with wheels... Mo money, mo money...

Intermittent is bad. If your alternator is out it costs a lot but at least you know how high is up. Intermittent, you're never sure.

I can make Saturday, but have to be in Chicago Sunday to pick up my wife. She's doing the COPS ride, from Alton to Chicago!

ANd I missed part of your post wrt eating, you said microbrewey, and... what else? I faded out there...

With any luck, Mah Lady and I should be there on Sunday.
I look forward to meeting you all !

I hope to be there for both days.

BTW: I did the entire Katy Trail last week except for St. Charles to Machens. It was closed to to storm damage a couple of weeks ago. It should be cleaned up soon.

Two weeks out.

I've got Retro Grouch, JerrySTL, David Bierbaum and Dellphinus for Saturday. Dellphinus favors the micro brewery for lunch so Trail Head Brewery it is.

For Sunday I've got Retro Grouch, shadowman +1, and JerrySTL. Lunch at Culvers.

Post or PM me or something if there's anybody else. Also, if you can't make it for any reason, please let me know.

Anybody else?

Do you know I was about to show up Saturday at the location for the Sunday ride? Brain fart with much hydrogen sulfide!

Are we meeting near the old train station or closer to the parking lot near the Trail Head Brewery in St. Charles on Saturday?

Sunday I hope to ride; however, won't be able to eat. They changed the date for my colonoscopy to Monday morning and I have to start my prep. Ironic as I live much closer to Collinsville than St. Charles.

Near the Trail Head Brewery. Parking is much more convenient. I'll be wearing my 50+ jersey.

I'll probably be wearing a red and gray Katy Trail jersey. Blue helmet with a green bike. Little black KIA station wagon with Illinois plates: BIKE.

Retro - you're killing me. The one Saturday in July I am out of town. I would have loved to have done the Katy with you all. My regular riding group does a couple of Katy rides to Augusta each year. We begin at Creve Couer Park, then pick up the shorter distance riders along the way, catch lunch and micro brews at Augusta, then back home. Have a great ride, I will be watching for follow-ups.

So sorry, but what can I say?

It seems like there was a poster or two who preferred this date (I don't remember for sure). At any rate, You pretty much have to pick a date and just go with it. We'll see how it goes. Might try again next year.

The miss on the original posting was mine. I fully agree on picking a date and seeing how many show up. Sounds like a fun weekend, especially Saturday. So many choices---Hendricks BBQ, TrailHead Brewery, Llewellens (sp?). Have fun, hope I am home next year.

Argh! Looking at the forecast. Question: What are the plans in the event of thunderstorminess, currently predicted from Friday night till Saturday afternoon?

Retro does not start a ride in the rain.

I'll type an open post on the 50+ forum by 7:00 Saturday morning if I decide I don't want to risk it.

The weather forecast is looking better for Saturday morning with only 30% chance of rain.

I might get there early and ride from St. Charles to Machens and back. That part was closed last moth so I didn't get to actually do all of the Katy.

As it's about 26 mile round trip, I'd start around 8 am to be back in time for the main event.

I hear that the only good part of St. Charles to Machens segment, is the ability to say that you did it.

I wish they'd connect the Katy at Machens with the West Alton trail (and fix up the West Alton trail to be passable), so you could just MUP it all the way across the Clark Bridge and keep going down the Confluence or up the Sam Vadalabene trail.

The redone wheel in back is like greased lightening! Going down Kendall Hill on Edwardsville Road, I was keeping up with traffic just by tucking in and coasting! Thank you, spoke angel!

It's pretty boring. The other side of the Katy out near Clinton has places just as bad. The only thing that changes is what's planted in the fields.

Would like to do this sometime, can't this weekend. Have a blast!

Heehee! My browser now says "a couple of PM thunderstorms"

Are there any facilities at the trailhead for changing clothes and the like?

Edit: and as I speak, there's a huge rainy wad on the radar barrelling down on St. Charles now. I hate weather.

IDK. I kind of like the section from St C to Machens. While you dont have the bluffs or the river, you definitely do get that away-from-it-all feeling that I find to be the greatest thing about the trail. This section goes through a remote area and a good portion is shaded. I like seeing the river bluffs and the tree lines on the horizon. I talked to a couple on that section today and we all thought it was a great place to ride. To each his own I guess.

Any pics or reports on the Collinsville ride on Sunday?

I believe that it was cancelled. RG had a birthday party for his triplet grandchildren. They rescheduled a minor surgical procedure for today for me so I had to start prepping for it on Sunday morning and couldn't make the ride. As this is the 50+ forum, I bet most everyone can guess what that procedure was.