Westmont to Iowa to Wisconsin and back

With summer winding down, I found myself with a totally free Saturday so I figured I would make a 400 mile trip out of it. I really didn't have a specific route in mind, but I knew I wanted to blast west quickly so that I would have some time to ride along the Mississippi river on the Iowa side.


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I started out at 6am, with the temperature at 54 degrees.


I got on I-88 and headed west, where I encountered some very interesting fog and/or low lying clouds. Picutes don't do it justice but it looked like a big wall.




I got off I-88 at the Rt 30 exit for Rock Falls, IL.



I took 30 west towards Clinton, IA.



Traffic was almost non-existant so I was riding over the Mississippi before I knew it.




In Clinton, I got on 67 and headed North. The road was great - rolling hills and sweeping curves, and not much traffic to speak of.




I ended up on 52 going North and it continued to be just as nice of a road. Approaching Bellevue, I started noticing more rock formations. I need to come back here to hike someday.





Closer to downtown Bellevue, there is a dam on the river.



Riding north from Bellevue, there are some more good views of the river.


I continued north into Dubuque so that I could cross east over the river.




This is 61/151 going east over the river.



I was now in Wisconsin and had done 200 miles. I filled the tank and got on 11 heading east. I ran into a group of dinosaurs that must have gone unnoticed by the rest of us until now.



I then got on W heading east (Wisconsin has these funny roads named with single letters). W is a very fun road where I let my bike stretch its legs.




I rode through New Diggings and stopped for a minute to stretch in front of this "saloon".


I went further west on W and got on 78 and crossed back into The Land of Lincoln.



Heading south I rode through Warren, IL.


I took a small detour to ride through Apple Canyon State Park. I couldn't find the canyon (or any apples) but the road through the park is fun.


I took 78 south to 20 and headed east back towards home. I ended up following a motorcycle cop for a while before he turned off.


I pulled into my driveway with 403 miles showing on my odometer. I felt surprisingly good when I got off my bike. I wore Bike brand bicycle shorts under my jeans, and used my beaded seat cover that I've had for years. The combination did wonders!


I also used my Throttle Rocker, however it kept slowly slipping for some reason. I may try to rough up the inside of it to give it some more traction against my grip. I need to eventually invest in a Throttlemeister...


This was my favorite ride of the summer. Lots of great riding, minimal traffic, and temps cool enough that I was 100% comfortable in all my gear.