The Rock Island Trail

status of New Franklin dogs....

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gtnn2bkn from prairie home mo on 8/1/2007 10:33:49 PM:

noticed in a posting from 11/06 that a biker was bitten by a dog that lives near the trail just west of New Franklin. That prompted a string of posting, including one just this past month from a rider stating he was seriously injured in 06/06 and lawsuit pending. We were planning on biking from Boonville to Hartburg (haven't seen the tunnel or Native American pictographs yet). Now we are thinking we should just put in at Rochport (skipping Boonville and bypassing New Franklin completely). Does anyone know the status of these alleged "Councilman John James'" dogs ~ or any other such "beasts"??

Jim from St. Thomas on 8/2/2007 10:17:53 AM:

Dogs or not I would start at Rocheport anyway. I don't know if you can call any part of the trail ugly but the Boonville to Rocheport stretch comes pretty close. The tunnel is just a couple hundred yards west of the Rocheport traihead so you could still see it. Of course, if you start at Rocheport you will the scenic junkyard just west of New Franklin.

Trek Biker on 8/2/2007 3:46:16 PM:

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I've riden this stretch several times(early morning)and have seen many, many deer and indigo buntings. In the fall, the trees to the north are just as beautiful as those above the limestone bluffs.

Your odds of running into a dog or two along the trail are just as high in other places. If though, a dog or two will determine your course, also beware as you pass the homes east of Coopers Landing.

Jim from St. Thomas on 8/2/2007 4:44:22 PM:

"I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

That is indeed true - after all my wife married me..........

DougK from Troy on 8/3/2007 8:21:10 AM:

I walked that section of the trail in June and didn't encounter any problems

Anonymous on 8/3/2007 12:10:16 PM:

yeah, what jim said on 8/2/07 at 4:44 p.m., that goes for me to.

as far as the dogs go, i have ridden past new franklin a couple of time, the most i seen was a dog laying in the yard under a tree, and didn't even want to take the time to get up and bark.

personally, i do not care for the stretch between rocheport and franklin / new franklin. however, that is my own personal opinion, and i know others like it. i would also kinda beware as you pass coopers landing. i have also passed there a couple of times and it gave me the ebee gebees. don't know what it was, i just didn't care for it. like i said, personal opinion only.

i have also encounterd dogs along the trail, and the most was a couple of dogs just running in their yard as i passed, barked to say hi, and barked to say bye. that was the extent of it.

don't let the dogs change your course.

ever which way, be safe/

Rick from Wichita on 8/5/2007 12:02:21 AM:

Just rode half the trail, and saw about 7 dogs. The first two ran to the property line. The second group ran at us and the owner called it off. And the three that scared us trotted up the trail toward us...and then past us...two beagle types, and a medium sized scary looking mutt. Then I realized they all had tounges hanging down to the ground! No problem...We carried dog spray, and I had it out at that pointbut obviously didn't use it--but I would recommend it for peace of mind.

Peggy from Hutchinson, KS on 8/5/2007 5:28:23 PM:

My son and I just got finished riding the first half of the trail. We encountered a few dogs. In my opinion, one dog is too many. The ones that scared us the most were those running in a pack together. Turns out they were hotter and thirstier than we were! I recommend a can of mace. We turned ours in to the owner of the Globe hotel in Hartsburg who was going to pass it on to other cyclists who might need it. Just be careful.

gtnn2bkn from prairie home mo on 8/6/2007 12:12:18 PM:

Wow ~ thank you everyone for the comments, suggestions, recommendations! I appreciate very much your time and feedback. As a lifelong dog owner (shepherd, lab, mutts, and now a beagle)i don't scare easily; however, owners that do not manage their animals do!

If anyone else out there wants to comment about Coopers Landing further, please do: i'll be cking back in over the next few days before our little juant.

Now, if we can just get mother nature to ease off a little.....

Jay on 8/6/2007 12:20:50 PM:

For the past 3 years, I have ridden the Boonville to Rocheport section of the trail nearly every week, weather permitting, and have yet to have a run in with a dog. This past weekend I was nearly hit by two deer, but no dogs!

Murf from Jeff City on 8/7/2007 10:13:08 PM:

I have ridden by Cooper's Landing many times and never had a problem. There are some dogs around, and they may bark, but they have never been aggressive.

MAH from Blue Springs, MO on 8/8/2007 10:29:54 AM:

I've been riding the Rocheport to Jeff city section for 4 years and never had any problems with agressive dogs. My only problem was last month a friendly dog south of Coopers who ran out to my bike and ended up cutting in front of it and causing us both to hit the ground. As far as Coopers Landing, I always stop and get something cold to drink and watch the river for awhile. Also, tried the Thai food recently at Coopers and it was very good!

arlo from st. louis on 8/14/2007 10:16:01 PM:

We saw two dogs on our ride from Huntsdale to Weldon Springs. One was a beagle and he
was dragging a leash around and barely paid attention to us. The other was a yellow version
of Cujo and stormed down a hill and came at us very aggressively, but didn't bite.

There are some crappy, run down areas along the trail to be honest, but they are very brief.
Don't let it get you worked up. Few dogs actually attack people, but I'd carry some dog spray
just in case. A good bike shop will have the kind that sprays 10 or 12 feet. We got some and
when the dog charged us, we thought about how nice it would be if the spray wasn't buried
in our back pack.

gtnn2bkn from prairie home mo on 8/15/2007 4:40:18 PM:

okay folks: we made it ~ had a great time overall, despite the crazy heat. We did put in at Rochport and turned around at Huntsdale...will leave longer legs for the fall. And thanks for the tip on where to find the long shooting dog spray ~ doesn't hurt to have it "handy", i.e. front basket1 = )

Don from Dallas on 8/15/2007 5:00:58 PM:

I don't remember any dogs from our Aug 07 trip in that area. You can usually take your water bottle out and the threat of squirting them or an actual squirt will work. We usually have a lot more problems with dogs on country roads with a home every 100 yards.

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