Day 21 - Dubuque, IA

A big breakfast at the B&B gave us more than enough fuel needed for the day. The route designated by Google Map bike had us start on a rather narrow road for the first 8 miles, next to the railroad tracks, then take a side street going west.


Our side road was extremely quiet, proceeding past an old and deserted army base.


The road continued past lonely army storage units and other deserted buildings...then became a very rustic dirt road.


We then understood why google maps include the following statement: "Bicycling directions are in beta. Use Caution - This route may contain streets that are not suited for bicycling". We returned back to the narrow road with our additional 9 miles of travel.
We peddled cautiously to Hanover, then took a side road to get to Galena, IL. That beautiful, quiet road was a extensive climb to the ski resort.


We felt the hills, but the scenery was well worth the effort.


In addition to the vistas, we also passed some "unique" places.


What a wonderful surprise Galena was. It is a thriving town, whose Main Street seems to just keep going and going. There were so many restaurants and small boutiques all up and down the streets.


We visited only two shops; a adventure store and an authentic old soda fountain.
The final push to Dubuque, IA was somewhat hilly and very hot (mid 90's and humid).
The bridge over the Mississippi River was long, busy, and the small strip for cyclist could cause vertigo. It was wonderful to arrive safely at our hotel.
Looks like Tim truly looks up to the traveling folks of American Gothic, in downtown Dubuque.


The 95+ degree heat prevented us from a great deal of exploration, but we did wander into The Bank for a great dinner.

We are looking forward to a full night sleep without the sound of trains blasting their horns every couple hours. :-)

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Location:Locust St,Dubuque,United States

Day 20 - Savanna, IL

What a way to start the morning, ride two blocks and jump on a beautiful bike/ped path, knowing it would take us the 65 miles to Savannah.


The air temperature was perfect, the sky clear and the path was close to the river. We took a quick detour from the path to have breakfast at Cup O Joes in Moline. Busy place with the business people coming in all dressed up.
Once back on the path, we passed by larger industry, including acres and acres of huge John Deere equipment ready for big farm sales.


The path had a good number of people on it, walking, running, biking, taking their pooch out for a stroll.

As we traveled further from the Quad Cities, the path was routed on quiet residential streets. The street here, infront of a small library, was crowded with artwork done by children.


The bike path sometimes popped us our to the busier road, but we were still on a separate path. At one point the path took as a little further sway from the river, but through Native American mounds dating back to 200 AD. Close to a shaded picnic table area the chain on my bike broke. At least we were lucky to have a pleasant place to do bike repair.


We pulled out the tools to repair the chain until a new one could be purchased. After removing the broken link, and almost reconnecting the chain together, our chain tool broke! Amazingly, since we hadn't seen anyone for quite some time, we were so happy that minutes after our tool broke Jim came riding by with the tool we needed! He even wanted to see if he could help us with the repair.


With the bike ready to roll, we searched the closest bike shop in route. We needed to cross the river into Clinton, IA to find this duel car and bike repair shop.


We needed to wait for the bike staff to return from lunch, then he could provide us with my new chain.
When returning to Illinois, we could see a wonderful windmill from the bridge. It was a working windmill, sent over from the Netherlands to grind grain when the wind allowed.



The next stop we were looking forward to was Bucks Barn Golf Course. Formerly a farm, this golf course was in great condition.




We enjoyed 12 holes, then caught up to other groups and decided to get back on the saddle. Unfortunately, we had another flat tire waiting for us. The last 8 miles into Savanna were pleasant, except for the swarms of gnats in the wooded areas.


After we got to Granny O'Neils B&B and cleaned up, our stomachs were ready for dinner. Bill and Gigi wanted to drive us to Poopy's and join us for dinner. This popular biker bar and restaurant attracts thousands of bikers on the weekends. Our hosts also wanted us to see the lake from a special lookout high on the forested bluffs. The drive up there was a steep one, with lightening bugs sparkling the wooded areas. The evening ended with a nice chat as we enjoyed the tasty mint chip ice cream that Bill dished out for us.





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Location:Illinois 84,Savanna,United States

Day 19 - Rock Island, IL

It was so great getting on clean, freshly lubbed bikes this morning.



On top of that, the morning weather was wonderful and the forecast for the day was perfect.
The route today was wonderful; along country roads, on some designated bike paths and alongside the mighty Mississippi River.








It was such a comfortable day of riding, temps in the 70's and gentle breezes. We road 56 miles to Muscatine, IA which in 1914 became the Pearl Button Capital of the World, with more than 50 companies making buttons from the mussels that were pulled from the river.


We spent some time roaming the historic downtown and visiting the Muscatine Button Museum.


Muscatine also had a wonderful riverside park and bike path. Many people were outside enjoying this beautiful day.





The next 30+ miles to Davenport Il, were mostly scenic roads with thoughtful autos.


We rolled into the QuadCities and did some exploring around town; seeing the bridge to no-where, old architecture, and checking out a great brewery.


As we were touring around town, Tim discovered his front tire had a slow leak. We fixed it and decided that we should pick up a few items from a bike shop. We seeked out a bike shop after crossing the river to Rock Island IL. After getting to the shop, in a very round-a-bout way, we got some supplies and made our way to the hotel. Almost unbelievably, todays total milage was 100.2 miles!


A stroll along the riverfront of Rock Island allowed us stretch our legs, explore the area, and find a good place for dinner.


The quote beneath this mural:
We must continue throughout our lives to do what we conceive to be good. Black Hawk

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Location:22nd St,Rock Island,United States

Day 18 - West Burlington, IA

Last night severe storms lit up the sky and rumbled our hotel for a couple hours. The winds were also ferocious, beating the rain against the window. This morning, the hotel gal told us just how bad the storm was; doing major damage to a couple buildings in town! Yikes!
We hit the road today around 7:30, swerving around the debris on the road, mainly branches of various sizes. The weather started off overcast and cool yet dry. After crossing the river to IL, we road along the curvy river road to Nauvoo. This wonderful historic place, from the 1840 period, had more than 40 sites restored from the earliest Mormons.


We would have liked to explore this settlement, but we were a bit concerned about the changing weather.
We returned to the road with our goal to get to the next town before the storm.


The wind picked up and the wall of clouds got darker. We continued peddling, and within the hour we arrived at the next town, dry and feeling much more comfortable. The weather system broke up and the clouds dispersed!
Another safe bridge crossing brought us back to Iowa. We rolled into Burlington IA just before noon. We road around the historic downtown, stopping for at a busy diner for lunch.


Since we had time and the sky was still looking non- threatening, we decided our bikes needed a little TLC. Our hotel supplied us with rags and mini buckets, we added the elbow grease. We needed to rotate our tires, as our rear tires are wearing much faster than our front tire.


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Location:E Agency Rd,West Burlington,United States

Day 17 - Keokuk, IA

Yay! Today was cloudy, but storm free. We really enjoyed the roads and the people we met in route, starting with the lady walking her dog that informed us that we could continue on the almost hidden trail after the railroad tracks (but we would need to walk a section). She was so right... and the trail reopened up and became a wonderful, quiet road right along the river.


Our 26 mile trek to Quincy IL was so pleasant, quiet country roads, beautiful farm lands and comfortable riding.
The bridge crossing the Mississippi to Il seemed to be set up for our convenience. The construction cones allowed us to have our "safe lane" to Quincy.


We arrived in Quincy and found a wonderful restaurant across from Washington Park. Thyme Square Cafe not only had great breakfast, but also really nice people running the place. We then explored the downtown region of Quincy, enjoying the various architectural styles.








After browsing the Summer Art Faire in Washington Park, we returned to our bikes to depart. At that point we first met Terry and Glori, fellow cyclist donning RAGBRAI jerseys. We enjoyed chatting, and were appreciative of their input for the next portion of our journey. We checked out the river park and then headed down the road closest to the river.


While riding down the wonderful river road, we caught up with Terry and Glori.


They are a delightful couple from Quincy, who 35 years ago today were wed in California. It was so nice riding and chatting with both of them.
We continued on the road they suggested for another 30ish miles heading for the bridge crossing and the Iowa boarder.


The bridge crossing into Iowa was thankfully uneventful, but it provided a great vantage point to see a lock and damn that is currently on the national register of historic places. It was completed in 1913, and at that time it was the largest electricity generating plant in the world!


After cleaning up at our hotel, we checked out Maine Street and decided that we needed to toast Terry and Glori's 35th anniversary.


CHEERS!


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Location:Main St,Keokuk,United States

Unplanned Stay in Hannibal

I'm starting my blog writing at 10:15AM. We are still at the B&B in downtown Hannibal, cozy in our room, full belly after an absolutely delicious breakfast, watching the weather outside and the TV weather channel. It seems like there may be a window of opportunity for a couple hours of cycling time without thunder storms after 11:30, but at this point it is just wait and see.
This week is Lightening Awareness Week! The weather channel and news channels are providing tips to be safe and warnings to those that chose to be outside. We're listening and are concerned!

It was decided at 11:00 that we would not be cycling today! We worked on our route to adjust for a lost cycling day, chatted with the owners of the B&B, Kristine and Steve, then took time exploring the downtown. We had lunch at Lulla Belles, an establishment specifically designed as a brothel, but is currently a restaurant and B&B.





As the storm continued, we decided to duck for cover at the local movie theater. The Green Lantern was entertaining and a fun way to pass the afternoon.

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Location:Collier St,Hannibal,United States

Day 16 - Hannibal, MO

After a continental breakfast and a little bike maintenance, we hit the road right around 8:00. The forecast was for sunshine and temps in the 70's. Since we thought it would be an easy 45 miles, it would be a perfect day to "waller"; riding a slower pace and checking out all the sights.

It was wonderful riding along the Mississippi River on a country road with beautiful rolling fields of corn, soy or wheat.
The town of Louisanna along the water was our first stop.


It had some wonderful murals on it's old brick buildings.



Most of the country homes we passed in the midwest have enormous lawns to mow. It is very impressive the size and hills they drive their riding mowers on.


We found out that there are a lot of hills on this area along the Mississippi. The winds of yesterday were still in our face or at our side, just not as strong, but the hills today were a bit more relentless.


Unfortunately, once again our route was detoured due to flooding. We had to ride an extra 7 miles of steep hills to get to Hannibal. That "easy" day of riding certainly had it's challenges.
We arrived in historic Hannibal in the early afternoon. We found a wonderful B&B right in town that was $20 less than the hotel 4 miles out of town. It was an easy decision.


Hannibal is known for being Mark Twain's (Samuel Clemens) childhood hometown.


Below is the home where Samuel grew up.


We took a trolly bus tour to get a feel for this historic place. We learned about Mark Twain, the flood of 1993, and general history of Hannibal, including a stop infront of the B&B we are staying at to look at the architecture and learn that it was on, what was considered, millionaire's row!



Later in the afternoon we took a riverboat dinner cruise.


The weather was so pleasant and music and ambiance was special.


To top it off we enjoyed a wonderful sunset.


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Location:Bird St,Hannibal,United States