Sunday, November 29, 2009

2009 cycling season in review

This year wasn't my best when it comes to cycling. My finances didn't allow me to take a weeklong trip this year; my hope was to have done RAGBRAI, but that fell through because my money had to be spent elsewhere.

Except for the diehards, the cycling season in the St. Louis area generally ends in early November. We were lucky to have a mild November, so the season went a little bit longer than normal. Here's hoping for a few mild days in December, including next Sunday when Interstate 64/Highway 40 in St. Louis is open to bikes for one day only before it's reopened to cars next Monday.

Without a multiday highlight ride this year, I had to look at individual rides for my highlights of the year.

Longest ride of the year: OK, a 60-mile ride normally wouldn't be my longest ride of the year, but it was this year. That came in July, when I rode connected Madison County Transit trails, including the Quercus Grove Trail extension, from Collinsville to Staunton and back.

As a metro-east cycling enthusiast, it thrilled me to know that you can ride from Collinsville to Staunton and back on trails and designated road routes. As I wrote earlier this year, it is now possible to ride from downtown St. Louis to Staunton on bike trails or designated on-road bike routes.

The ride was noteworthy because I didn't start until after 4 p.m. and rode the last eight miles after sunset. That was because I had to fix a flat tire on the Quercus Grove Trail between Hamel and Edwardsville on the way back home.

Most interesting rides: Those took place in the Chicago area Nov. 11-12. On the 11th, I rode 20-plus miles on the Green Bay Trail between Evanston and Highland Park, and I followed that up with a 30-mile ride from Evanston to downtown Chicago and back.

I rode my sister Teresa's hybrid on both rides, and that seemed to be a good choice. I was surprised that so much of the Green Bay Trail is crushed limestone. I guess I'm really spoiled by the MCT trails down here. Still, because it runs along the Metra lines that head north from Chicago through Evanston and into Wisconsin, it is relatively secluded and yet give you easy access to the downtown areas of the northern suburbs.

I particularly was impressed with the ride from Evanston to downtown Chicago. My initial plan was to do a short ride through the Northwestern University campus and along the lake because my back was hurting. But once I started riding, the pain subsided and I decided to ride into the Chicago. The question was how to get from Evanston to the Lakefront Trail, and I was surprised how well the on-road bike routes are marked in Evanston and Chicago. I had no problem at all finding my way to the Lakefront Trail, and I was impressed how cars and bicycles could co-exist on the roads I traveled up there.

I felt truly fortunate the same mild weather that extended the cycling season in the St. Louis area also blessed the Chicago area that week.

Favorite club ride: I enjoy every ride I do with the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society because it a chance to see some of the nice rural scenery in St. Clair, Madison, Monroe and Clinton counties.

However, the rides I particularly enjoyed were the rides I led out of the Lau-Nae Winery in Red Bud, Ill. The closing of Ravissant Winery in Belleville forced us to find new sites for our Winery Rides in addition to the Hidden Lake Winery near Aviston.

I wasn't familiar with all the roads in the Red Bud area, so an initial search on Google reveals some routes with promise. However, I learned quickly that just because it shows up on a map, it doesn't mean the roads are suitable for road bikes. Three of the roads that looked promising degraded to dirt and gravel, Fortunately, that allowed me to find some roads that our riders enjoyed,

Many of the roads north and west of Red Bud are filled with rolling hills -- nothing really difficult, but hilly enough to make things interesting. There's some pretty country in Randolph and Monroe counties, and the folks at Lau-Nae were very happy to have us.

Tour de Stooges: Our numbers were considerably lower this year -- 375, compared to the 600 to 700 we're used to getting. However, the quality of the ride ranked among the highest of the 12 editions of the Tour de Stooges I've led. Despite forecasts of 30 to 80 percent of rain, the people who came out saw lots of sunshine and little wind.

I'm looking forward to the 13th edition on May 1, and I can tell you we are making some changes to the ride to make it more affordable for those of you on a budget.

Labels: Belleville Area Bicycling Eating Society, bicycle rides, Chicago, MCT Trails, Tour de Stooges

Roger 0 comments links to this post 11:29 PM

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Riding the MCT Quercus Grove Trail

Despite not being able to go on RAGBRAI this week as I had originally hoped, I decided to get as many good rides in as I can this week.

As one of those, I decided to check out the new sections of Madison County Transit's Quercus Grove Trail, which links the Illinois communities of Edwardsville and Staunton. I wrote about the dedication of the new sections early last week,

Taking advantage of the delightful temperatures Monday afternoon and evening, I took off from Collinsville on the MCT Schoolhouse Trail, took the Goshen Trail into Edwardsville and hopped on the Nickel Plate Trail to the Quercus Grove Trail.

Navigating the trails through Edwardsville can be somewhat difficult. MCT has plans to build an underpass for the Nickel Plate Trail underneath Troy Road/South Buchanan Street in Edwardsville that will simplify things considerably. Until then, you need to do this:

• Coming from the south on either the Goshen or Nickel Plate trails, you will need to go left on the spur that takes you to the Nature Trail.
• Instead of turning right on the Nature Trail toward Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, turn left and go through the underpass.
• Turn left onto the Nature Trail.
• A short distance north, the paved trail goes to the left. Stay straight on the crushed limestone trail.
• Take the limestone trail to Troy Road/South Buchanan and use care in crossing the busy street.
• The Nickel Plate Trail resumes to the right side of the concrete barriers. Take the trail to the intersection of Springer Street and Schwarz Road.

At that point, the Quercus Grove Trail begins to the north; the Nickel Plate Trail continues to the east. You'll navigate some sidewalks and alleys to the intersection of Illinois Routes 143 and 157. Cross the intersection, turn left on the sidewalk, then turn right onto the Quercus Grove Trail.

The Quercus Grove Trail has an asphalt surface between Edwardsville and Hazel Road. After that, you'll travel 2.75 miles on crushed limestone trail to Jerusalem Road. Turn right on Jerusalem, which is an oil-and-chip road, cross Route 157 and turn left on an asphalt stretch of the trail and ride into Hamel.

Once in Hamel, the off-road trail ends for a little bit, and you'll want to turn onto Route 157 -- an old alignment of U.S. Route 66 -- and take that to the intersection of Illinois Route 140. Route 157 ends there, but the old alignment of Route 66 continues north as a frontage road to Interstate 55. Take the frontage road one block to Schroeder Ave., turn left, then immediately turn right onto the trail.

For a short distance before reaching Worden, you'll share the road under a railroad overpass, but the trail resumes and skirts the eastern edge of Worden on its way to Staunton.

Before reaching Staunton, there is a 0.6-mile stretch of limestone trail between Spangle Road and Illinois Route 4, but the the rest of the trail between Hamel and Staunton is paved.

A round trip from Collinsville to Staunton is about 60 miles, a good day ride I recommend. You'll have to get off the trail for a little bit, but there are places to get a snack or perhaps a full meal in Edwardsville, Hamel, Worden and Staunton. You can navigate the limestone sections of the trail with a road bike. If you don't want to take a road bike out on limestone trails, then a hybrid's your best bet.

If you want to ride on a road bike, make sure your tires are in good shape before riding those sections. I found out the hard way on the way back from Staunton in the evening. I got a slow leak in the rear tire -- of course -- on the limestone stretch between Jerusalem and Hazel roads. That pretty much assured that I was going to be pushing the edges of dusk by the time I got back to Collinsville.

While the Schoolhouse Trail is downhill from Maryville to Collinsville, the dusk brought out the deer along the trail. I met up with three of them along the trail -- close enough to startle me, but not close enough to run into me.

Labels: MCT Trails

Roger 3 comments links to this post 12:16 PM

Sunday, July 12, 2009

MCT dedicates new portions of Quercus Grove Trail

As of this weekend, cyclists now can ride on bike trails or designated on-road bicycle routes all the way from downtown St. Louis to Staunton, Ill. -- a one-way trip of 44.8 miles.

On Friday and Saturday, Madison County Transit dedicated two sections of the MCT Quercus Grove Trail, a section between Staunton and Worden on Friday and a section between Worden and Hamel on Saturday. The two new sections tie into an existing section of the MCT Quercus Grove Trail between Edwardsville and Hamel. Click on the image of the map to see details of the new sections of the trail.

Here's how you can ride from St. Louis to Staunton, a Macoupin County community best known among St. Louis-area cyclists as being the host city of the Tour de Donut bicycle race:

• St. Louis Riverfront Trail, from the Laclede's Landing section of St. Louis to the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. Distance: 11 miles.
• Old Chain of Rocks Bridge and Chain of Rocks Road to the MCT Confluence Trail. Distance: 2.8 miles.
• MCT Confluence Trail to the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site: 3.6 miles.
• New Poag Road from the Lewis and Clark site to the MCT Goshen Trail in Edwardsville: Distance: 6.9 miles.
• MCT Goshen Trail to the MCT Nickel Plate Trail. Distance: 1.25 miles.
  
• MCT Nickel Plate Trail to MCT Quercus Grove Trail. Distance: 1.6 miles.
• MCT Quercus Grove Trail to Staunton. Distance: 17.6 miles.

Generally speaking, it's an easy trek from St. Louis to Staunton. Using the route I plotted, the most significant hill is on New Poag Road on the northern edge of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus. I don't think the hill is all that difficult, but if you want a more gradual climb with a few extra miles, you can turn south from New Poag Road onto the MCT Bluff Trail, turn east on the MCT Nature Trail, then turn north on the Nickel Plate Trail in Edwardsville to the Quercus Grove Trail.

North of Edwardsville, there's a hill on the Quercus Grove Trail after you cross Old Carpenter Road. After that, it's a pretty flat trek to Staunton.

The stretch between Hamel and Staunton has few trees, meaning there's little to block the wind. That's good if the wind's at your back. Not so good if that wind's in your face.

There are places near or or near the Quercus Grove Trail to grab a bite to eat or something to drink. The Springer's Creek Winery is located on the trail at Chapman Avenue in Edwardsville. Scotty's Route 66 Bar and Grill is along the trail in Hamel. The Yellow Dog Saloon is a couple of blocks west of the trail on Wall Street in Worden.

Just south of Staunton at Illinois Route 4 is Decamp Junction, which has the added attraction of a softball field that conjures up images of "Fields of Dreams" because the chain-link outfield fence is only a few feet away from farm fields.

Staunton has several bars and restaurants. The restaurants range from Hardee's to Italian and Chinese restaurants.

While the bicycle/pedestrian-only part of the trail ends at Sixth Street, the trail goes up Union Street to the Duda Garden. As I've written about before, a group of Staunton-area trail boosters are trying to develop the ITS Trail, which would start at Duda Garden and head up to Benld and tie into an existing short trail between Benld and Gillespie.

The long-term goal is to build trails through Macoupin and Sangamon counties that would link St. Louis and Springfield, Ill. The (Springfield) State Journal-Register recently wrote about the ITS Trail and its goal to boost economic and residential development in Staunton and nearby communities.

Madison County Transit, of course, deserves tons of credit for developing such an extensive system of trails on old railroad rights-of-way. But the people of the Staunton area also deserve credit. The community has embraced the Tour de Donut, and that has encouraged interest in bicycling in that community. On Saturday, more than 1,200 cyclists descended on Staunton for Tour de Donut, and people in that community know bicyclists can have a sizable economic impact on a community.

Labels: Illinois, MCT Trails, St. Louis

Roger 0 comments links to this post 10:17 PM

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Notes on Madison County trails

Here's a couple of notes of interest about the Madison County Transit network of bicycle trails:

Schoolhouse Trail closure: Fortunately, I found out about this one before I took off riding on the MCT Schoolhouse Trail on Friday afternoon. A segment of the MCT Schoolhouse Trail was closed at Lakeview Acres Road in Maryville on Friday, and it will be closed for subsequent days in coming days. The road is being reconstructed at the trail intersection.

You may be able to walk your bike around the construction, but you might want to consider alternative routes. The suggestions I'm making is based on riding up trail from Collinsville to Edwardsville. Obviously, you would do these in reverse if you're heading south from Edwardsville.

If you're comfortable riding with traffic, you can turn left off the trail at Main Street in Maryville, turn right on Illinois Route 159, turn right on Vadalabene Drive, turn right on Illinois Route 162, turn left on Old Troy Road, then rejoin the trail at the parking lot just north of the intersection.

Otherwise, you can turn right off the trail at Main Street, turn right on Lakeview Acres Road (that portion of the road is not being worked on), turn left on the Interstate 55-70 frontage road and turn left onto a spur trail just east of Wilson Heights Road. The spur trail ties into the Schoolhouse Trail and you can head north toward Edwardsville.

MCT is asking cyclists to use caution on the Schoolhouse Trail through August because stabilization work will be taking place at the trail's intersection with Lakeview Acres Road.

Dedication set for new section of trail: MCT will be dedicating the Worden-Staunton leg of the Quercus Grove Trail at 10 a.m. July 10 near the Staunton water tower at Sixth Street. The dedication had been scheduled for November, but it was postponed because of bad weather. The dedication takes place a day before the Tour de Donut, which also begins and ends in Staunton.

The Worden-Staunton section of the trail has been open for months and has been getting quite a bit of use. In the near future, MCT will be building the Hamel-Worden section of the trail, meaning you will be able to use bike trails or designed on-road bike routes to ride all the way from downtown St. Louis to Staunton.

If you're inclined to ride from Edwardsville to Staunton before the completion of the trail, you can take the Quercus Grove Trail from Edwardsville to Jerusalem Road, take Jerusalem Road to Illinois Route 157, cross Route 157 to rejoin the Quercus Grove Trail, turn left on Staunton Road (crossing Route 157 again), veer right at the Worden Road intersection, turn right on Brakhane Road, turn left on Main Street in Worden, turn right on Kell Street, then turn left onto the trail near the eastern edge of Worden and take the trail into Staunton.

Labels: MCT Trails

Roger 2 comments links to this post 2:21 AM

Sunday, March 22, 2009

On the trails of Madison County

Yes, that's me in the rear view mirror of Doug Kaufman's bike as we rode 37.5 miles on the trails of Madison County.

Doug's birthday was more than a month ago, but several of his good friends got together today for a ride on the trails of Madison County. Since I know the trail system very well, I got to pick today's route.

Joining us on today's ride were Roger "The Answer Man" Schlueter, Brad and Kathy Weisenstein, and their youngest daughter, Rose.

We started on the Nature Trail on the southern edge of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. I first wanted to take the gang on a 31-mile circuit on the Nature, Schoolhouse and Goshen trails, but I was quickly vetoed on that idea. It turned out the rest of the folks didn't want to ride to Granite City, despite my assurances that most of the Nature Trail was nice.

Instead, we headed up to Edwardsville to the Goshen Trail, shown at left, and I decided we were going to hop on the Heritage Trail and take that to Marine.

Things started out well, but Doug noticed my seat seemed a bit low. It was. When we got to the Heritage Trail intersection, I decided to try to fix it. I got the seat where I wanted it, but I put too much muscle into tightening the bolt. It broke.

Fortunately, we were close enough to The Cyclery bicycle shop in Edwardsville to get a new seat post attachment. It added a bit of distance to the ride, but that was OK. Soon, we were on our way to Marine.

I took a bit of ribbing for my pronunciation of Marine. It sounded a bit like "Maureen" to them. Maureen is a friend of ours who was invited to come along, but she didn't. "Maureen's in St. Louis," my friends reminded me.

The Heritage Trail between Glen Carbon and Silver Creek is a bit rough because it is an oil-and-chip trail maintained by the village of Glen Carbon. Between Silver Creek and Marine, it is an asphalt trail maintained by Madison County Transit. Despite the rough trail, everyone enjoyed the scenic trail.

We stopped for lunch at the Parkview Cafe in Marine. We got there shortly before closing time -- 2 p.m. -- but the folks there were happy to serve us!

We had a pleasant surprise on the way back. Most of the time during the spring, the wind blows from the west or the south in this part of the world. Today, the wind was coming from the east and made our ride a lot more enjoyable.

On the way back, my friends told me I had a wardrobe malfunction in my bike shorts. Fortunately, it was warm enough to take off my jacket and wrap it around my waist to hide the malfunction.

"Make sure you destroy those shorts when you get home," Doug said.

Rose was a real trooper today! By the time we returned to the Goshen Trail intersection, Rose was game. Even though she's an eighth-grader, she agreed with the rest of us that we wanted to take the Heritage Trail to downtown Glen Carbon, then ride the Nickel Plate Trail back to Edwardsville. That added about 3 miles to the ride.

It wasn't the fastest ride I've ever done, but it was one of the more enjoyable. It's always fun to ride with Brad, Doug and Roger, and having Kathy along was great. Kathy rode with her aunt on the 1985 version of the Bicycle Across the Magnificent Miles of Illinois ride that went from Chicago to Edwardsville, the first weeklong ride I ever did.

"This bike likes to go far," Kathy said while on the road. Here's hoping that Kathy's able to do a weeklong ride again sometime in the near future!

In honor of his birthday, Doug treated us to cans of guava juice at the end of the ride. Cheers!


From left, Doug Kaufman, Roger Schlueter, Roger Kramer,
Brad Weisenstein, Kathy Weisenstein and Rose Weisenstein.

Labels: bicycle rides, Illinois, MCT Trails

Roger 1 comments links to this post 9:23 PM

Thursday, October 23, 2008

New Madison County trail open

In the near future, Madison County Transit's new 9-mile Staunton-Worden Trail will be formally dedicated, but that hasn't stopped people from using the trail.

I haven't had a chance to ride the trail yet. But when I've had to travel to the Benld-Gillespie area for planning meetings for the Tour de Coal in recent weeks, I've noticed cyclists and walkers using the trail.

The formal dedication of the trail -- which is mostly asphalt with a small stretch of crushed limestone -- had been scheduled for Friday at the intersection of South Union and Sixth streets in Staunton, Ill., but the dedication has been postponed because of a forecast of cool, wet weather. No date has been set for the dedication.

However, an introduction of the trail for children still is on for 10:30 a.m. Saturday. All young people and parents with smaller children who wish to ride or walk on the trail are invited to gather at the South Water Tower Park in Staunton for this event.

A brief history of the trail and what was there before the trail will be presented, followed by a ride/walk on the trail. The distance you ride or walk is up to you, but the walk/ride will be limited to the trail segment between Sixth St. and Route 4, so that no road crossings are involved.
That is about 2 miles one way, which should burn some energy and get everyone ready for a free hot dog, chips and a drink back at the water tower at noon, compliments of the Staunton City Council.

The trail is built on former rights-of-way for the Illinois Traction System and the Chicago-Northwestern Railroad. The ITS system was an electric railroad that once connected St. Louis and Springfield, Ill.

MCT is now taking bids for a new trail that will connect Hamel and Worden, which will make it possible to ride on trails or designated bike routes all the way from the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis to Staunton. The long-term goal is to create a trail that will link St. Louis and Springfield.

Until the new trail is built, cyclists riding from St. Louis or Edwardsville can turn off the MCT Quercus Grove Trail at Staunton Road just south of Hamel, travel north on Staunton Road to Brakhane Road, turn right on Brakhane Road and ride to Worden. Once in Worden, turn left on Main Street, then turn right on Kell St. Stay on Kell St. until you get to the Staunton-Worden Trail trailhead, which on the east edge of town.

Labels: Illinois, MCT Trails

Roger 0 comments links to this post 7:09 PM

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Hitting the trails

What a great day to have been off work! I got in 23 miles on the trails in Madison County. Nothing particularly earth shattering about the ride, but I do have some news for people who haven't been on the trails for a while.

One of the few complaints I've heard about the system is that it was easy to get lost on the trails -- especially in the Edwardsville area -- because of a lack of signs or trail markings.

When you hop on the trails this spring, you will notice painted markings on the trails at intersections. The markings are fairly close to the intersections, so you will have to keep your eyes open for them. Signs also have been placed near some of the key intersections.

You may want to avoid the Nickel Plate Trail between Glen Carbon and Pontoon Beach. The trail is closed at Illinois Route 157 because MCT is constructing an underpass at the busy highway. Seasoned cyclists can use Glen Crossing Road, Route 157 and Illinois Route 162 to get around the construction, but I wouldn't recommend that detour for people who are uncomfortable riding on busy roads.

Also, users of the Glen Carbon Heritage Trail need to use caution at the Goshen Trail overpass. There's lots of wet, loose gravel that can cause a spill if you're not careful.

Labels: MCT Trails

Roger 0 comments links to this post 12:21 AM

Friday, November 16, 2007

McKinley Bridge dedication

Just a reminder: The dedication of the refurbished McKinley Bridge, which connects St. Louis with Venice, Ill., will take place at 9:30 a.m. Saturday on the Illinois side of the bridge.

After the dedication, the bridge won't be open to vehicles until later this month, when the two vehicular lanes will be open to the public. Illinois Department of Transportation construction engineer Ted Nemsky told the Belleville News-Democrat that "very minor" steel repairs remain, bridge and bike rails need to be installed, and some touch-up painting needs to be completed.

Once the bridge is open to cyclists, there will be no direct connections -- for now, anyway -- from the bridge to any existing trails, the Riverfront Trail in Missouri and the Madison County Transit's Confluence and Schoolhouse trails in Illinois, but you can use streets and highways to get to them.

A trail to connect the bridge with the bridge with the Confluence Trail is likely to be finished in 2008. Until then, you can use Illinois Route 3 to get to 20th Street in Granite City, the southern trailhead of the confluence trail. The trail is on the west side of Route 3. Between the bridge and 20th Street, Route 3 has a wide, paved shoulder.

There also will be a direct connection from the bridge to the Riverfront Trail. Until then, you can take the bridge to the North Broadway intersection in St. Louis. Turn right on North Broadway, turn right on East Grand Avenue, turn left on Hall Street, turn right on East Prairie Avenue, and that will take you to the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing stop on the Riverfront Trail.

Someday, MCT hopes to connect the Schoolhouse Trail to the bridge, but that's many years down the road. I suppose you can go from the bridge to the Route 3/Broadway intersection in Venice, turn right on Route 3/Broadway, stay on Broadway when Route 3 veers to the right, turn right on Second Street in the city of Madison, turn right on Illinois Route 203 (McCambridge Avenue), turn right on Harrison Street and hop on the trail there.

However, I would advise you not take to use option unless you're sure of where you're going and feel comfortable riding in urban areas. A wrong turn could put you in some dicey neighborhoods in the Venice-Madison area.

Labels: Illinois, McKinley Bridge, MCT Trails, Missouri, St. Louis

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:01 PM

Saturday, October 27, 2007

St. Louis-area bicycle projects

Two St. Louis-area bicycle project made the news this week.

First, the dedication of the rebuilt McKinley Bridge is slated for Nov. 17, the Belleville News-Democrat reported today. The 92-year-old bridge -- which links the city of St. Louis with Venice, Ill. -- was originally built for railroad traffic, and two lanes were automobiles were built on the outside of the original bridge in the 1930s. Railroad traffic stopped on the bridge in the 1980s, and the bridge was closed in 2001 because of unsafe conditions.

When the bridge reopens, the two inner lanes of the bridge will be used for automobile traffic, the 12-foot south outer lane will be used for a bicycle-pedestrian path, and the 12-foot north outer lane will be used for maintenance purposes.

In a related project, the Great Rivers Greenway District wants to turn a mile-long former Illinois Traction System trestle into a bicycle-pedestrian trail that would connect city streets near Cass and North Florissant avenues in St. Louis by an overhead ride to the Riverfront Bike Trail, near the McKinley Bridge. The Greenway District didn't have a price tag for the project but would like to begin construction within five years, the Post-Dispatch reported.

The Illinois Traction System, later known as the Illinois Terminal Railroad, once carried rail passengers from St. Louis into Illinois cites such as Granite City, Edwardsville, Alton, Grafton, Springfield, Peoria, Decatur, Champaign-Urbana and Danville. The McKinley Bridge was part of that system.

Much of the current Madison County Transit trail system is on former ITS rights of way, as is some of the Vadalabene Great River Road Bikeway between Alton and Grafton.

In Macoupin County, Ill., a short trail linking the communities of Benld and Gillespie is on a former ITS right of way, and the ITS Trail Committee is trying to obtain the right of way for a trail to link Staunton and Benld. The seven-mile Interurban Trail between Springfield and Chatham also is on a former ITS right of way.

The long-term goal is to develop a system of trails that will link St. Louis and Springfield.

Labels: Illinois, McKinley Bridge, MCT Trails, St. Louis

Roger 2 comments links to this post 11:29 AM

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Jogger attacked on MCT Nature Trail

If you live in the St. Louis area, you pretty much had to be hiding under a rock Monday to have not heard about the attack on a female jogger that took place Sunday on the Madison County Transit Nature Trail in Edwardsville.

The good news is that Edwardsville Police have a suspect, although he was not in custody as of this morning. Also, the woman escaped his attacker and suffered only minor injuries.

The crime got big play in St. Louis-area media outlets, including the one I work for, the Belleville News-Democrat. My hope is that the extensive coverage prompts people to be more careful while using the trails, but that it doesn't create paranoia that prompt people to stop using the St. Louis region's trails.

The attack in Edwardsville also brought back reminders of an August 2006 attack that took place on the MetroLink Trail in Belleville. No suspect has been arrested in that particular attack. That attack prompted the organizers of the Tour de Belleville bicycle ride, which will take place July 13, to use proceeds from this year's ride to purchase emergency telephones that will be installed along the trail.

Police and MCT believe trails are generally safe places to be. Edwardsville Police Lt. Scott Evers said there have not been any other attacks on the miles of MCT Trails that go through his city, and MCT released this statement on the trails:

"Thanks to existing security measures and a solid working relationship with law enforcement agencies in the communities served by the MCT bikeway system, tens of thousands of individuals safely enjoy the trails every year. MCT continues to believe that the trails are safe and that this was an isolated, unfortunate incident."

Nevertheless, Edwardsville Police offered several tips to stay safe on the trails, including cycling, running or walking with a friend or in groups and exercising only during daylight hours.

Here are some links to coverage on the attack:

Belleville News-Democrat
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The (Alton) Telegraph
Edwardsville Intelligencer
KSDK-TV
KMOV-TV
KTVI-TV
KPLR-TV

Labels: MCT Trails, safety, trails

Roger 0 comments links to this post 9:18 AM

Monday, April 02, 2007

MCT Nature Trail closes Tuesday

As I mentioned Thursday, Madison County Transit will be resurfacing the MCT Nature Trail because of massive cracks in the pavement. On Thursday, the timetable had not been set.

That's no longer the case. Beginning Tuesday, April 3, the MCT Nature Trail will be closed from Sand Road, south to Anderson Lane in Pontoon Beach for reconstruction. The trail will reopen in this area on June 1. For your safety, MCT is asking cyclists to avoid the trail in this area.

Thanks to MCT's extensive trail system, you'll still be able to ride on a trail between the Granite City/Pontoon Beach area and the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon area while work is being done on the Nature Trail. Instead of using the Nature Trail, you can use the Nickel Plate Trail, which intersects with the Nature Trail near Long Lake, and take the Nickel Plate Trail through Glen Carbon into Edwardsville.

Labels: MCT Trails, trails

Roger 0 comments links to this post 8:25 PM

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Thank God for duct tape!

Way back in November, I had to buy a roll of duct tape during the BubbaFest bicycle tour of the Florida Keys to keep my bike pump on my rental bike for the trip.

It's a good thing I had that duct tape today.

Several of us from the Belleville Area Bicycling and Eating Society did an informal ride on the MCT Trail system with a finishing stop at the Vintner's Cellar Winery in Edwardsville. It was a bright, sunny day with winds from the west of about 22-24 mph, but the winds weren't the worst of it for me.

When I took the bike out my car, I noticed a small bump in my front tire. I probably should have something about it then, but I thought it would make it through a 13-mile ride.

About three-quarters of the way through the ride, the bump was getting more noticeable. I deflated the tube and found that the Kevlar bands were starting to separate. I figured a couple of layers of duct tape would see that tire through, and I was back on the road.

As I was pedaling north on the Goshen Trail, I started hearing a pinging sound. I thought at first it was a brake pad that was rubbing, but that wasn't it. Less than 100 yards later, my rear tube popped.

While examining the tire, I noticed interior fibers of the tire stick out of it. Sure enough, the Kevlar bands were separating in the rear tire as well. Out came the duct tape again, and I put three layers of it over the gash. Fortunately, my buddy Charles Beil was in the vicinity and helped me get back on the trail.

The tires made it the final three miles back to the winery. It looks like I get to go the bike shop tomorrow!

Labels: Belleville Area Bicycling Eating Society, MCT Trails, repairs, wine

Roger 0 comments links to this post 7:58 PM

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Work planned for MCT Nature Trail

Madison County Transit soon will be replacing the pavement on a section of the MCT Nature Trail between Pontoon Beach and Edwardsville, Ill., that is in dire need of repair.

Dan Corbett, a friend of mine and a member of MCT's board of trustees, said the board today accepted bids on the project.

The section of the Nature Trail that will be affected by the repairs is between Chain of Rocks Road just outside Edwardsville and the junction with the MCT Nickel Plate Trail near Long Lake in Pontoon Beach.

That section of the trail will be closed during the repaving, but no exact timetable has been set for the work.

At the moment, that section of trail is open, but please use caution and watch for warning signs and cones -- especially if you ride a road bike. The cracks in the pavement can easily catch a road tire.

The reason why the section of the Nature Trail has deteriorated so much is because of the soil conditions beneath the trail surface, Dan said. Work will be done to the bed beneath the trail to make it better suited to handle an asphalt trail.

Thanks to MCT's extensive trail system, you'll still be able to ride on a trail between the Granite City/Pontoon Beach area and the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon area while work is being done on the Nature Trail. Instead of using the Nature Trail, you can use the Nickel Plate Trail between Long Lake and the eastern end of the Nature Trail.

Labels: bicycling, MCT Trails, trails

Roger 0 comments links to this post 1:42 PM