Story & photos by Brian Gleason
Southern Missouri has fantastic motorcycle roads. Two of my favorites in the St. Louis area are State Routes100 and 94, which both have their eastern ends nearby in St. Louis and St. Charles counties. These roads also stretch westward along the Missouri River to the Missouri capital, Jefferson City, with SR-100 along the southern bank and SR-94 along the northern bank.
The ride is an all-day affair if you really crunch the miles. Otherwise, two days makes it comfortable to connect the eastern cityscape and western countryside.
I decided to ride the route on my 2022 Can-Am Spyder RT Limited as the 2016 Indian Roadmaster is no longer road-worthy thanks to an impatient driver who ended my two-wheeled riding career and nearly my life in 2021. With some permanent injuries to my left leg, I can no longer shift a standard motorcycle. Thankfully, Can-Am makes a reverse trike, which is matched perfectly to my abilities, so I can continue to enjoy one of my passions – exploring the U.S. while straddling a go-fast machine. The Spyder is so much fun to ride, but I miss leaning into turns and the magic of counter steering.
I live on the western side of the St. Louis metro, so I started at the intersection of the first Interstate in the U.S. (I-70) and SR-94 headed eastward through the old-town portion of St. Charles. I passed the Boschertown Bar & Grill, where you can get a great burger if you are hungry. Here, SR-94 finally opens up to rural Missouri highway speeds of 55 mph. Missouri two-lane highways come with sweepers and a few tighter turns, and you can also find a few on the eastern stretch of SR-94 and many more out west too.
I passed several corn and bean fields, and having grown up in Iowa, this was a nice reminder of my youth. The “knee high by the fourth of July” saying is outdated. I’m 6-foot-4, and the corn is already taller than I am, reaching 7 feet high by mid-June. Be warned that tall corn creates dangerous “corn corners,” which can hide crossing traffic, as well as farmers who are working their fields, so be vigilant for all forms of farming machinery moving around.
I took the time for an excursion to visit Portage Des Sioux – named for a Native American legend that tells us how the Sioux once evaded the Osage by carrying their canoes from this spot on the Mississippi River 2 miles south to the Missouri River.
SR-94 continues east past the towering Sioux Power Plant in Machens and into West Alton, where I stopped to pay my respects to a friend buried in the local cemetery. From here one of my route options would be to head north on U.S. 67, cross into Illinois at Alton to visit the local motorcycle bar, Fast Eddie’s Bon Air, and then head northwest along the scenic Mississippi River Road.
Instead, I turned south on U.S. 67 to I-270, then back east to take I-170 south past the Boeing plant. I reconnected with I-70 and battled traffic eastward to downtown St. Louis, where SR-100 starts just south of the ever-stunning Gateway Arch.
I started in the morning and rode the route clockwise because timing is critical to minimize traffic. SR-100 partially follows Route 66 with urban driving for 30 miles through “the woods” (Maplewood, Brentwood, and Wildwood), the Grove, and other fun places to visit for eating and drinking. I stopped at Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken for a great meal and eventually made it past SR-109 on the western edge of the metropolis, where I finally got to stretch my motorcycle’s legs again at highway speeds.
I had seen the rearing stallion statue many times but had never stopped at Stovall’s Grove Rockhorse Saloon, so I made sure to get a picture this time. Then I continued on to Grey’s Summit and crossed over I-44. Nearby are other great roads such as Wild Horse Creek and Secondary State Route T, but today I stayed on SR-100 as I was committed to riding every mile.
SR-94 from St. Charles to “Jeff City” is one of the best motorcycle roads in the state, bettered only by SR-19 between Salem and Eminence. Riding eastward past the vineyards and local wineries of Augusta and into Defiance is the road that made me fall in love with Missouri riding when I moved here over 20 years ago.
I ventured 35 miles to Marthasville to connect with SR-94 and took that south past Dutzow to Washington. SR-100 west started me back on my route. The road narrows to two lanes for the rest of SR-100 and winds a bit through New Haven to Hermann. The Pickney Bend Distillery is a local favorite.
Hermann is a fantastic German town with wineries, restaurants, bed and breakfasts, and my favourite sausage establishment, The Hermann Wurst Haus, which has over 65 varieties of sausages and other meat products. My favorite bratwurst flavor is the potato, cheddar, and bacon, and I always stop and resupply when I pass through.
The road west of Hermann was worth the wait. The curves and hills are amazing. This is my favorite type of road with hills hiding part of the winding path as it forms a herringbone weave in front of me. Because I was a lone rider, I slowed over the crest of the hills to ensure safety, but many hills had me nearly lifting out of my seat as the road dropped down to the Gasconade River.
Knowing rain was in the forecast, I skipped riding through Frankenstein (no relation to Mary Shelley’s monster) and Bonnots Mill, which are interesting towns a few miles off of SR-100.
The western end of SR-100 intersects with U.S. 50, and Jefferson City is 20 miles farther west. After a quick gas stop, I went north on U.S. 54 to connect to the western end of SR-94 just north of the Missouri River. I pulled over for a photo of the state capitol building and then started winding my way back towards home.
SR-94 straightens out for a few miles but starts curving again east of Mokane. Two miles north on Secondary State Route P in Starkenburg is a beautiful church — the Shrine to Our Lady of Sorrows. Crossing SR-19, north of Hermann, the SR-94 curves get serious again. The Katy bike trail parallels the road and there are several crossings, so beware of our human-powered cyclist friends.
Seven miles east brought me back to Marthasville, where I started the day and completed my two-day loop. Secondary State Route D east of Marthasville passes the Emmaus Village, which is purported to be haunted. After a satisfied sigh, I headed 35 miles back home on some other great roads to once again beat the rain by mere minutes. No free bike wash for me that day.
As I rode toward home, I reflected on the changes to some of my favorite roads as St. Louis has pushed westward over the last 20 years. My lesson is to enjoy these roads while they are here.
Brian Gleason has spent the last 30 years exploring the U.S. on two and three wheels including riding in all 50 states.