Great Rivers Bicycle Route
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The Adventure Cycling Association Great Rivers Bicycle Route is a 1,333 mile (2146 km) route that follows or crosses the Mississippi River, the Ohio River, the Tennessee River, the Cumberland River, and much of the Natchez Trace. This is a route of subtle beauty, replete with farmland, woods, caverns, rivers, and waterfalls. There's quite a bit of history along the route passing through Nauvoo, Illinois, the town from which the Mormons were driven in the 1800s, and Hannibal, Missouri, Mark Twain's hometown. Riders also pass a pirate's cave on the Ohio River, an old Civil War fort, and antebellum homes in Natchez, Mississippi, and St. Francisville, Louisiana.
Although titled the Great Rivers Bicycle Route, there are hardly any long stretches along rivers. Instead, the route cross many of the great rivers that feed into the Mississippi. The route can be ridden from mid-spring to late fall, and even into the winter on the southern portion. Due to changing local conditions, it is difficult to predict any major wind patterns. High summer temperatures and humidity can cause discomfort for those not used to either. Tornadoes are common in Illinois and Missouri, occurring mostly in May and June.
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[edit] Great Rivers Bicycle Route
Starting in Muscatine, Iowa, the route follows the west side of the river, beside the Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge. Riders will particularly enjoy the 11-mile stretch between Nauvoo and Hamilton, right alongside the Mississippi River. After crossing the bridge into Hannibal, Missouri, the route enters a town most famous as the boyhood home of Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain). This town has tourist sites based on characters and places from his books, e.g., Tom Sawyer's fence, Becky Thatcher's home, Grant's Drug Store, and Mark Twain's Cave. The route heads southward into hilly farm country. There is a side trip into St. Louis, Missouri to see the famous Gateway Arch. Granny gears may be required off and on until Cape Girardeau, where riders cross back into Illinois. This means more farm country, and then crossing the Ohio River by ferry into Kentucky. Granny gears again, and then a very pleasant ride along The Trace Road in the Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area, an expanse of woods where buffalo roam. No commercial vehicles are allowed on this road, and a 45 mph speed limit is strictly enforced. The route on the Natchez Trace follows a two-lane road in a national park that continues through Alabama and Mississippi, with no commercial traffic or services permitted. All services, except for occasional campgrounds, are off the route in nearby towns. Riders will encounter fellow bicyclists and enjoy many hiking trails, boardwalks, waterfalls, and historical sites along the Trace. At the end of the Trace, travellers can visit the antebellum homes in Natchez, Mississippi. After that, it's a long day's ride through the rural countryside into St. Francisville, Louisiana. The spur route to Baton Rouge connects to the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport for transportation home.
[edit] Terrain
The route starts out flat as it follows the floodplain of the Mississippi River. After Hannibal, Missouri, the route becomes more difficult, with numerous steep, roller-coaster hills the norm throughout the Ozark Mountains in Missouri. The southern part of Illinois is generally rolling. Then it's back to the roller-coaster roads in Kentucky and Tennessee until reaching the Natchez Trace. The Trace begins with a slight downhill and then levels off with rolling-flat terrain for the remainder of the route through Mississippi and Louisiana.
[edit] Logistics
Services are generally plentiful in towns along the route. Missouri state park campgrounds are superb, with gorgeous grounds, showers, and even laundromats. Illinois state park campgrounds are not of the same caliber and may have outhouses and no showers. The convenience stores in the southern states often have "southern cookin' foods" that you would normally not find up north.
