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cleeland, on 31 May 2012 - 08:56 AM, said:
I've ridden Percy Warner a lot, and it's truly a gem. We don't have anything like it here in STL--nothing that combines geography, serenity, and variety. That said, there are still a lot of places to just ride your bike, and if you were willing to ride your bike to Percy Warner, then the CWE is a great place to start for riding.
One of my favorite "city-country" rides is the Riverfront Trail. Ride from the CWE to downtown (I would suggest NOT using Lindell--use something like Olive or Washington or even Delmar). The trail starts just a couple of blocks north of the Eads Bridge and goes all the way north to the Chain of Rocks Bridge. At that point you can either cross over and come back on a different trail on the Illinois side, you can turn around and head back on the same trail you went up, or you can continue north on the road underneath I-270 up to Columbia Bottoms and do its out-and-back on the road or trails. If you go all the way up to Columbia Bottoms and do its out-and-back you'll clock somewhere around 60 flat (relative to Percy Warner) miles.
If you want hills, there are no parks or trails close by that afford that. You can drive out to Babler, but it's honestly much more fun to just ride around the metro area. Clayton Road (starts at the southwest corner of Forest Park) is one of the "superhighways" for cyclists in STL; you'll often find at least 1-2 cyclists riding that road during the day on any given weekend.
One of my favorite "city-country" rides is the Riverfront Trail. Ride from the CWE to downtown (I would suggest NOT using Lindell--use something like Olive or Washington or even Delmar). The trail starts just a couple of blocks north of the Eads Bridge and goes all the way north to the Chain of Rocks Bridge. At that point you can either cross over and come back on a different trail on the Illinois side, you can turn around and head back on the same trail you went up, or you can continue north on the road underneath I-270 up to Columbia Bottoms and do its out-and-back on the road or trails. If you go all the way up to Columbia Bottoms and do its out-and-back you'll clock somewhere around 60 flat (relative to Percy Warner) miles.
If you want hills, there are no parks or trails close by that afford that. You can drive out to Babler, but it's honestly much more fun to just ride around the metro area. Clayton Road (starts at the southwest corner of Forest Park) is one of the "superhighways" for cyclists in STL; you'll often find at least 1-2 cyclists riding that road during the day on any given weekend.
