The main Queen City route is a beautiful, historic through the Missouri Ozarks. You'll see the old Frisco Highline and Leaky Roof railroad beds, Phenix Quarry - which produced marble for the Chicago Stock Exchange and Missouri Capitol, Walnut Grove - location of Laura Ingalls Wilder's On the Banks of Plum Creek, and more historical farms, barns, schools, and homes than you can shake a stick at.

The Missouri Ozarks are hilly. Most of those hills are reserved for the 80 and 100 mile routes, which feature 3100 and 4400 feet of climbing, respectively. Most riders consider the Century route quite challenging. If you're not quite up for the challenge this early in the season, you might consider a shorter route option. Since the route is out and back, you can shorten your route at any time by turning around.

Those looking for a more leisurely and supported ride can opt for the 24-mile no-drop guided tour of Springfield's nationally recognized trail and bicycle route system. This ride will take riders through Springfield on a mixture of bike paths, paved trail, and local roadways - with stops along the way to check out historical and other sites. Riders will stay together in a group with the guide, who is a long-time Springfield cyclist who spent a career developing the area's bicycle and trails system.

You'll be well supported, with SAG Stops every 8-16 miles and roving SAG ready to help if you run into trouble, and a delicious meal at the end of the ride - at our ride afterparty at Mother's Brewing Company.

Routes are well marked on the road with an orange "Q" and directional arrow.

The 2022 Queen City Century features the historic Frisco Highline Railroad - via the paved portion of the Frisco Highline Trail - and the Leaky Roof Railroad, a fascinating historical railroad important to the development of the region, which parallels our route between Ash Grove and Walnut Grove. The route is out and back from Best of Luck Beer Hall in downtown Springfield.

This out-and-back route starts in downtown Springfield and heads to the Frisco High Line Trail, Willard Trailhead to Ash Grove, Phenix Quarry, Walnut Grove, Willard Soccer Park, and Robberson Prairie Baptist Church. Riders can adjust ride length by turning around and whatever mileage midpoint they desire. The route visits or crosses several of the statewide and national bicycle touring routes that MoBikeFed helps develop and maintain in Missouri:

• Bicycle Route 66 (USBR 66) - Springfield
• TransAmerica Trail (USBR 76) - Ash Grove & Walnut Grove
• USBR 51: Downtown Springfield through Frisco Highline Trail section
• Butterfield Stage Experience mostly gravel bicycle route: Frisco Highline Trail through downtown St Louis section

Queen City Guided Ride - loop route - 24 miles

The guided tour/trail route option for the Queen City Century 2022 is a circuit of some of the best trails, scenery, and historic attractions of the Springfield area.

Route highlights:

• Butterfield Stage station location & historic marker (Park Central Square)
• Many historic markers, points of interest, Civil War (Park Central Square)
• Springfield Brewery District
• Historic Route 66 & Bicycle Route 66 (our route crosses historic Route 66 at St Louis Ave and at Chestnut) - Springfield was the birthplace of Route 66 & the Route 66 association met for many years at the Kentwood Arms Hotel on St Louis Ave. Springfield has an excellent Story Map highlighting historic Route 66 locations around the city
• Historic Rutledge Wilson Farm
• Historic Butterfield Stage Route between Springfield and Wilson's Creek National Battlefield (railroad crossing west of Nathaniel Greene/Close Park - the historic trail closely followed the present-day railroad corridor). This was the Wire Road and Military Road between St Louis and Fort Smith, and play a key role in Civil War battles and more.
• Trail of Tears route through Springfield and Trail of Tears historic marker on the South Creek Greenway Trail.
• Historic Gray/Campbell Farmstead, Botanic Garden, Kickapoo Edge Prairie, Lake Drummond at Nathaniel Green/Close Park

The route visits or crosses several of the statewide and national bicycle touring routes that MoBikeFed helps develop and maintain in Missouri:

• Bicycle Route 66 (USBR 66) - Springfield
• USBR 51: Springfield Park Central Square
• Butterfield Stage Experience mostly gravel bicycle route: Springfield Park Central Square and trail sections on the SW portion of the loop: 

The century route features four rest stops where you can rest, relax, and enjoy snacks, drinks, and restrooms. It also includes two water stops, with water and limited snacks available. The routes make double-use of most SAG stops, so that we have SAG stops every 8-16 miles along the entire course.

Note that most stops are fully stocked SAGs with volunteers, plenty of food, water, Gatorade powder, and restrooms. A few stops--marked on your maps a "Water Stops"--are more basic with water, a few snacks on hand, and no restrooms available. Check your map for details.

We will have roving SAG drivers on the course at all times. If you have mechanical trouble or need a pick-up for any reason, just call.

Whether you enjoy a short flat, ride or long road ride on beautiful country roads, Queen City Century has it for you! Many thanks to local riders who have spent many hours evaluating potential QCC routes and giving feedback and suggestions.

Because MoBikeFed has a RideWithGPS Club Account, you can use the RideWithGPS app to navigate the route. Even with a basic RideWithGPS account (FREE) you will be able to access all paid features of the RideWithGPS app on the QCC routes (and all MoBikeFed organizational routes), including voice navigation and offline navigation.

To get the QCC routes on your RideWithGPS app:

 - Visit the RWGPS event page here

 - Click the "RSVP" link to sign up for the event on RideWithGPS. If you don't have a RideWithGPS account already, it will prompt you to create an acccount.  Remember that all you need is the Basic (FREE) RideWithGPS account. Also, you will see instructions for downloading & installing the RideWithGPS app for your mobile device.

 - Now you can find the event in the RideWithGPS app under "More" and "My Events"

 - In the RideWithGPS app, tap the route you are planning to ride and "Save". This saves the route to your phone so you can ride even if you have no data connection - and also allows you to put your device into Airplane Mode in order to save battery.

 - When you navigate the route, you will hear voice navigation directions at turns, upcoming Rest Stops, etc (note this may require some setup in your app - in Settings make sure all audio & spoken alerts, chimes, etc are enabled - and make sure your phone's VOLUME is set high enough to hear them)

 - SUGGESTION: Once you start the ride, turn your phone to "Airplane Mode". This saves battery and should allow most phones to ride all day with navigation, without running down the battery.

 - SUGGESTION: Bring a battery backup/charger just in case.