After being home from Florida for a month with nothing much to do, I was desperate for a bike ride. My first thought was the Katy Trail; but I was worried that recent rains would have made the trail too soggy. So I thought about the Madison County (Ill.) Transit Trails just northeast of the St. Louis area - the co-called Metro East. The MCT trail system is a collection of about 10 interconnected, mostly paved, trails totaling over 135 miles. Some years ago I had biked from the Watershead Trailhead in the small village of Wanda near Roxana, Il to the Amtrak station in St. Louis and enjoyed it very much.
There are a variety of loops to choose from. I settled on a two day ride starting at the Wanda Trailhead in the Northwest, biking to Troy in the Southeast, spending the night, and returning via a different route. The details:
Drive about 2:15 to the Wanda Trailhead
Watershead Trail
Goshen Trail
Short road ride to the Super 8 in Troy, Il near the I55 & Il 162
A different road route back to the Goschen Trail
Glen Carbon Heritage Trail
Nickel Plate Trail
Quercus Grove Trail
Short ride through downtown Edwardsville
Watershead Trail
Back to Wanda
It was difficult to settle on two days with low probability of rain. In fact I made and canceled reservations at the Super 8 twice before settling on May 21 and 22.
32.1 Miles
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