GMRR Day 22 - Galena, IL to Prairie du Chien, WI

The link to today's route and ride statistics can be found here.

Today was quite a day on the bike.  We headed out, and it seemed like we had hardly left the parking lot when we were headed up a hill that topped out around 18%.  After more up and down, after about 10 miles we crossed the border into Wisconsin.  The countryside we rode through was quite nice.  We had our first SAG stop after only 20 miles in the little town of Dickeyville.  We had earned the stop because we had already done a lot of climbing.  Dickeyville is the home to the Dickeyville Grotto, which is an over the top religious setting, which I believe was privately built. Here are a couple of shots to give you a feel for it.

Front view of the grotto

Back area of the grotto.

We went by a lot of farms which look a lot like this one.

The farms were on rolling land, and often were interspersed with trees.  Our second SAG was in the little town of Beetown, and I had an opportunity to capture my roommate Ken Mercurio just before town.  The background in this photo is similar to a lot of today.

The SAG was in a little park in Beetown, and I loved the sign.

Just before coming into Prairie du Chien, we crossed the Wisconsin River.  It is about to join the Mississippi.  It is a significant river on its own.

All in all, it was a nice ride in pretty country, albeit with almost 5000 feet of climbing.  Tomorrow should be an easier day, as we will be mostly riding up the river on fairly level terrain.  Just three riding days to go, it does not seem possible.

GMRR Day 21 - Moline, IL to Galena, IL

The route for today's ride and the ride statistics can be found here.

Today started out on fairly level terrain, and on a nice bike path along the Mississippi.  The route and the ease of riding kept much of the team together for the first miles.  Here is a shot of two different groups moving up the river.

Young geese being shepherded along.

Our cyclist in a looser gaggle than the geese.

The scenery was quite different for today's ride.  We were along marsh land along the Mississippi, and in woodsy terrain with many fewer farms than we have been seeing.  Here are some shots to give you an idea of what I saw.

This looked to be a wildlife conservation area.

Woods along the road in last third.

Farm on a ridge and more wooded farm land.

The work on today's route was all after the second SAG.  We hit the hills, and had several challenging climbs.  Some of that shows in the hilly terrain reflected in the above photos.  When we got to Galena, it is a lovely little town.  The downtown seems to be thriving.  Ken tells me Trip Advisor rates it one of the top ten most charming downtowns, and I can see why.  We stopped at a root beer shop there and had a lovely root beef float.  Here is a shot to give you at least some feel for the town.

Looking north up the main street.

Me riding up the street in Galena.

Our motel is a couple of miles from the downtown area, and of course most of the way there was uphill.  I stopped along the way to get a shot of a home for my wife.

All in all, it was a successful day on the ride.  Tomorrow promises more hills.

GMRR Day 20 - Galesburg, IL to Moline, IL

The link to today's route and ride statistics is here.

Today was another great day to be on a bike.  The weather was pretty good, the winds were not too bad, although we had headwinds for a 10-12 mile stretch, and cross winds much of the rest of the day. I felt pretty good, and the short day and the fact my wife would be waiting made the miles go quickly. There wasn't much new to report early on.  We were either in farmland or small towns for 50 miles.  I did take a picture of a church, I believe in the little town of Alpha.  It is one of the nicer ones we have seen.

Once we were in Rock Island, we eventually moved on to a bike path along the river with 6 or 7 miles to go.  It is always great to be riding along the river.  Of course, what do I spot on the Iowa side of the river but that American stalwart, a floating casino.

Once I was in, I was met by a wonderful greeting party.  My wife, Sara, her daughter Jeannie, and son-in-law Don had all driven over to spend the afternoon.  What a treat.

While we were walking back along the river from having lunch, we noted a blue heron standing in the river, apparently fishing.  You will note the river is not very deep where he is.

Finally, you may be aware that Moline is headquarters for John Deere.  In honor of my cousin Jim Bingman, who has a miniature John Deere museum in Bellingham, here is a shot of the John Deere Pavilion near the hotel.  Corporate headquarters was a few miles away.  I was too late to get in to the pavilion on a Sunday afternoon.

Tomorrow and Thursday are the last big mileage days as we close in on the end of this adventure.  See you then.

GMRR Day 19 - Keokuk, IA to Galesburg, IL

The link to today's route and ride statistics can be found here.

We managed to evade the rain for another day.  As I said yesterday, we barely made it in to Iowa, and this morning we immediately left.  We left the hotel, went across the bridge, and were back in Illinois. I am using my roommate Ken's photo of the dam and lock that are just upstream of the bridge from Keokuk to Illinois because mine was terrible.  The photo focuses on the lock, with the dam in the background.  Apparently, from what I learned in Nauvoo yesterday, this part of the river had rapids, and the Mormons made money portage goods around them.  This dam creates safe passage, but requires a lock.

Once we were over the bridge, we rode along the river to Nauvoo.  I have given you the Nauvoo story already, so I will move right along.  Once we left Nauvoo, the scenery did not change much all day.  Ken said you only need one picture to tell today's story, because one cornfield looks a lot like another. So here is a cornfield from today.

I did spot an interesting home on the way out of Dallas City, the site of our first SAG.  It just seemed completely out of character with the rest of the city and the region.

Our second SAG was in the town of Roseville.  In view of the Memorial Day weekend, I thought the folks here did it right.  They have flags all around the cemetery.  It made for an impressive and most appropriate display.

A final note on today's route from Keokuk to Galesburg.  If you look at the map, you will note we basically stairstepped our way from one to the other, alternating East bound legs with North bound legs.  The North legs were great, with a lovely tailwind, while the Eastbound legs had an almost direct crosswind.  Not bad, but you had to maintain balance and direction.  As you look at the flags above, that was a cross wind section.  All in all, it was a pretty good day to be on a bike.
Galesburg is best known as the hometown of Carl Sandburg.  They have the usual boyhood home and downtown statue, but I haven't made it to either.  Ken showed me photos from an earlier visit, and I don't feel compelled to put out the effort to get there.
Sara and her daughter and son-in-law are coming to see me in Moline tomorrow.  I guess I will have to hustle to get in early.

GMRR Day 18 - Hannibal, MO to Keokuk, IA

The link to today's route and ride statistics can be found here.

Today started out in a slight drizzle.  It had rained a fair amount overnight, and was still coming down a little when the riding started.  It did not last long, so no big deal.  The other interesting point about today's ride was that while we started in Missouri and finished in Iowa, 99% of the ride was in Illinois.  We left the motel in Hannibal, and immediately crossed the river on I-72 in to Illinois.  Then after a lovely day of riding (we had a very nice tailwind for most of the ride, which we richly deserved), we crossed a bridge in to Iowa and were at our motel.
We started doing some riding along the river, which is always a treat.  Here is a shot of how this looked.

We also spent a fair amount of time riding in fairly newly planted cornfields.  Here is a shot Ken took of me in farm country.

We had one substantial hill on the ride.  It was about 0.3 miles long, and topped out in the 12-14% grade area.  This is enough to make me work hard to get over the top, and Ken captured me doing just that.  It also has the river in the background.

A highlight of the day came after we got in.  The staff offered to take us up to Nauvoo to see the sights there.  Lots of Mormon history was to be had.  We visited the Joseph Smith Visitor Center, took a wagon ride, saw the temple, and had custard downtown.  There was also a band of high school age kids playing dressed in period outfits behind the visitor center.


The Nauvoo Mormon temple.

Joseph and Hyrum Smith statue across from the temple with a fabulous view of the river.

Mormon band at the visitor's center.

Downtown Nauvoo from the custard shop.

To wrap up the day, after dinner, we took a side trip of Grand Ave in Keokuk.  I had read in a brochure that this was where the upper crust in town took residence.  We saw some great houses, and were flabbergasted to look up the listing prices for some of them.  Here are a couple of them.


The second one lists for $275,000.  This is a huge home on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. Not quite what we would expect to pay back home.
The town also was having an event where bands were playing outside at different locations around town.  We came by three of them.  Most were rock bands, but the one I got a shot of was a big band.

Midwestern living in a smaller community looked pretty good.  At any rate, it was a good day all around.  We have a little longer ride tomorrow.  See you then.

GMRR Day 17 - Louisiana, MO to Hannibal, MO

The link to today's route and ride statistics is here.

First, due to last night's internet issues, here are a few photos from yesterday.  I should mention that we have finally had some tailwinds, so the long ride was not so bad.  The course was nice, with a fair amount of riding along the river.   As I said, we spent most of the day in Illinois, even though we started and ended in Missouri.

View looking back at St Louis from about 10-12 miles upriver.  We had worried about rain, but no problems.

Riding along the Mississippi in Illinois.
 
Brussels Ferry coming to pick us up to cross the Illinois River.

House on stilts along the river.

Downtown Louisiana.  We ate on the left corner.  The river is straight down the street.

Finally, to close the day, here is a Louisiana house for my wife.  To give you a feel, the Louisiana High School Class of 2016 was 51 students strong.

Now to turn my attention to today.  We woke up to a steady rain, and the prospects were iffy for the morning. The good news is the rain stopped about an hour before load, and, at the most, we had maybe a few drops for the rest of the day.  The humidity was up there, and my jersey was soaked when we got in.
The ride was short and sweet, with a few of the famous Missouri hills and rollers thrown in.  I saw 15% grade on a least two hills, and several at 10% or so.  None of them were so long I couldn't make it, so it was just a good challenge.  We had one SAG stop in New London, which is noted for the courthouse.  Here it is.

Once we got in to Hannibal, it was Mark Twain and more Mark Twain.  He is clearly a major source of revenue for the city.  Ken and I took the tour of the boyhood home, Becky Thatcher's house, and a couple of related museums.  Here are some highlights.

Mark Twain's boyhood home.  The interior tour shows how they lived.  He was the sixth of seven children.  Pretty tight quarters.

Becky Thatcher's home across the street.

Main tourist street in Hannibal.  Note the Hotel Mark Twain in the distance.

And finally, a statue of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.  I very much enjoyed wandering around town, and learning more of the Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain story.

GMRR Day 16 - St Louis, MO to Louisiana, MO

The link to today's route and ride statistics is here.

Today will be short and sweet with no pictures.  There is apparently a major system upgrade for the internet underway in Louisiana, but for the next couple of weeks, no internet in the motel.  I am using my phone personal hotspot, and do not want to burn all my data.
The ride today was very nice, and mostly took place in Illinois. After riding out of St Louis on a nice bike path, we entered Illinois on the Old Chain of Rocks bridge, and were in Illinois until we popped out a few feet before our motel.  To give you a feel, the Welcome to Missouri sign is after the motel.
I will plan to give you a few photos tomorrow to show you what today was about, but for now...

GMRR Day 15 - Off Day in St Louis, MO

Today was a very busy day in St Louis.  My roommate Ken and I started the day at the Gateway Arch.  We took the tram to the top, which is an interesting trip up and down, with fabulous views from the top.  Here is a sample of the ones I took.

Looking west at St Louis

Looking east to Illinois

Looking down on Busch Stadium

I then decided to take my brother John Paul's advice, and go see the Fox Theater.  Unfortunately, after a 2.7 mile walk, I learned I should have done my homework.  When I asked about touring the theater, I was told there had been a tour that morning, and there would be another one on Thursday. Not much help, so I will have to take his work for it that it is a neat place.  Here is the outside.


Since I had walked all that way, I decided to explore the St Louis University Campus.  Here is the sign and some fountains.

There was also a neat campus church, established in 1841, on the corner.

There was also a terrific old house, the Samuel Cuppers home, on campus.  It was built in 1888, and has been beautifully restored.  They give you a self guided tour book to walk around with with information on the home and furnishing and items in each room.  It is very well done.

The Samuel Cuppers home.

Since I was now almost 3 miles from the hotel, I decided to head back.  I saw a number of interesting buildings on the way back, including Union Station and City Hall, shown below.

Union Station


City Hall

All in all, a most interesting day.  Now to get some rest for our 108 mile ride tomorrow.