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Ride the Fault Line bike event starts June 22 in Sikeston
SIKESTON — Ride the Fault Line is back, and many cyclists will pedal through Sikeston and tour the Midwest in just a few days.
According to Rodney McConnell of Sikestons, the event’s founder, the seven-day tour will take place in four states: Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Every year, cyclists travel from all over to tour the Midwest and learn about earthquakes, rivers and the Civil War.
McConnell said approximately 150 people have registered for this year’s event which closed registration on June 8.
McConnell said Ride the Fault Line as a unique event that many cyclists enjoy.
The event kicks off Saturday, June 22, at the YMCA of Southeast Missouri in Sikeston. Check-in for the overnight site at the YMCA is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“Cyclists will stay at the YMCA Saturday and Sunday nights and some people will sleep in tents outdoors and some people will sleep in tents inside on the gymnasium floor,” McConnell said.
An orientation meeting for the cyclists will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday in the YMCA’s main gym, where they will learn how they will transport themselves from one overnight site to the next in their own vehicles. At 5 p.m., McConnell said, the cyclists will be able to visit the Hot Air Balloon Festival and enjoy food trucks, beer and wine, live music and tethered balloon rides.
On the second day of the event, Sunday, June 23, cyclists will have a meal-plan breakfast at 6 a.m. before beginning their ride to New Madrid, Missouri.
“Cyclists will visit the museum with explanatory exhibits on the great New Madrid Fault quakes of 1811-1812,” McConnell said. “With the event being named after the earthquakes and the fault lines, this is always pretty cool for the cyclist to see.”
McConnell said cyclists will also visit an authentic one-room schoolhouse, a restored Civil War-era mansion, and the Mississippi River observation deck. According to McConnell, the bikers will return to Sikeston in time to prepare for a visit to The River House Winery on the Mississippi River. Cyclists can drive or take the shuttle bus.
“Or cyclists can also stay around Sikeston,” McConnell said.
On the third day, Monday, June 24, bikers will ride west to Bloomfield, Missouri, to see the Stars and Stripes National Museum and Library, as well as other historical exhibits. Lunch will be served picnic-style on the return route.
McConnell said riders will be able to shower at the YMCA that evening before driving south to Malden, Missouri, for their second overnight stop of the week. Cyclists will set up their camp either indoors or outdoors at Malden High School.
Riders will return to the high school auditorium at 7:30 p.m. for a presentation by an expert speaker about the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum, which the cyclists will be able to tour while riding Tuesday’s route.
On day four, Tuesday, June 25, cyclists will be served breakfast at 6 a.m. before beginning their ride to Piggott, Arkansas. McConnell noted author Ernest Hemingway lived in Piggott nearly a century ago while writing his novel, “A Farewell to Arms.”
Riders will have the opportunity to tour the home where Hemingway lived with his second wife Pauline Pfeiffer and see his writing studio. McConnell said they then will have lunch at a couple local restaurants afterward and head back to Malden with dinner of their own choice at Malden restaurants.
On Wednesday, June 26, day five, McConnell said the cyclists will pack their gear and drive themselves to their new final overnight destination, Discovery Park of America in Union City, Tennessee.
According to McConnell, riders can park, select their campsites (indoors or outdoors), and eat lunch before beginning their short loop ride in Kentucky.
Cyclists will ride a 34-mile loop route to Hickman, Kentucky, where there will tour the historic buildings and then return to Discovery Park of America.
McConnell said they will have a meal plan dinner served inside the exhibit hall and there will be informational meeting for Thursday and Friday routes.
On the sixth day, Thursday, June 27, riders will have breakfast at 6 a.m. before beginning their ride to the Reelfoot State Park visitor center.
“Along the way, they can check the lakeshore and watch for bald eagles nesting,” McConnell said.
The visitor’s center will feature exhibits about earthquakes and local wildlife. If cyclists have enough time, they can canoe or kayak.
That evening riders will return back to Discovery Park and have a meal plan dinner inside the main building and will be followed by a presentation on Friday’s route, the Columbus-Belmont Civil War battlefield, according to McConnell.
“Any non-meal plan participants may drive to their choice of restaurants at Union City,” McConnell said.
The final day, Friday, June 28, cyclists will eat their final breakfast at 6 a.m., and McConnell said they will then ride north to one of Kentucky’s most popular state historic sites, “The Gibraltar of the West.” Riders will be able to visit a museum, see trenches where soldiers took cover during the Civil War’s early battles and more.
Riders will have choices for lunch and will make their way back to Discovery Park for the farewell fish fry and live music. McConnell said. The fish fry will begin at 5 p.m. and music will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Cyclists will then depart on Saturday morning, June 29.
According to McConnell, the majority of those who attend the seven-day event are not locals, and he explained why they travel to the Midwest.
“There are dozens of week-long bicycle tours in the United States and they occur throughout the country, and we think ours attracts its people because of our location and because we can offer them the portion of riding in four different states,” McConnell said. “There are a lot of cyclists out there who like to say they have rode their bikes in all 50 states.
McConnell continued: “Another reason why cyclists come is because of all the history that is emphasized. I go out of my way to find interesting things for them to ride by or stop by and see.”
McConnell said the event began in 2013 and was successful, but they had to take a few years off when COVID-19 struck.
“The COVID-19 interruption prevented the event for a couple of years along with people just being hesitant to mingle with strangers for a week so we took a couple years off after the pandemic and returned after that,” McConnell said.
McConnell said since COVID-19, they have had trouble building their numbers of participants but now their numbers are picking back up.
“After the pandemic our numbers were low for a while but they are now recovering,” McConnell said. “We used to have about 300 people every year, and we are hoping to get back to that.”