I rode from St Charles to Boonville on the Kay trail following the
Adventure Cycling Lewis & Clark route. The former rail line trail is
dead flat and so straight you can't see the next turn much of the
time. Most of the larger towns are on the south side of the river,
the trail is on the north. Few bridges to cross over. Most are
narrow or falling apart or overloaded with traffic. The guide book
published is woefully out of date regarding restaurants & businesses.
I found most were closed up. Because riders have been killed on those
bridges, the book recommends calling a taxi to haul you over. Phbt.
I waited for a sizeable gap in traffic and sprinted across. Plan on
hauling enough food to get you thru a day if you don't want to wander
off the trail very far. Expect seriously steep hills if you do. My
32x24 wasn't low enough for those roads. In those 2 or 3 days of
riding the Katy trail in July, I saw 1 other cyclist.

Mo has done a good job with trailheads & trail maintainence. As good
as any other state. Wild life is blue buntings, speedy little lizards
and turtles in the side creeks. No river boat traffic to speak of.
The whole area shows better times in the past (except for 1993).

Mo is like Illinois in 1 respect, 80% of the population is
concentrated ( StL/KC) so little money gets spent on the rest of the
state.

Rick