Plans were made, bikes were prepped and packed, and I was out the door at 6am on Saturday morning.
Riding down I-55, traffic was very light and the weather couldn't have been better.
I pulled into our pre-arranged meeting place, had some coffee with Lane, and we prepared to take off.
We agreed that we wanted to take I-55 south to Springfield in order to make good time. We encountered little traffic and enjoyed the clear skies.
We made a stop at a rest area where the Lions Club was giving out coffee.
I had GPS on my bike so I led the trip, with Lane following behind me.
We turned to the west on 72 / 36 and crossed the Illinois River near Naples.
West of the Illinois River, the landscape became more interesting to look at.
Heading southwest on 79 / 54 we approached the Mississippi River.
Passing through Louisiana Missouri, Lane was still following me.
Beyond Louisiana is Mexico. We're still in Missouri.
We cross the Missouri River as we approach Jefferson City. My VFR came from here!
Pressing on, we make it to Eldon Missouri and find a hotel for the evening. We get the last of the remaining rooms. A four star hotel it was not...
We cleaned up and decided to ride the 18 miles south to Osage Beach, located on the short of Lake of the Ozarks. We were disappointed to find ourselves in crawling traffic and nothing but tourist and souvenir shops. It reminded me of the main strip at the Wisconsin Dells or Gatlinburg Tennessee. We stopped for some cold water and crossed the road on foot to get a few pictures of the lake.
Checking the map we decided to follow the lakefront towards the north. We crossed a large dam and then pulled off at a scenic overlook above the dam.
The overlook afforded a good view of the lake.
On our way out, we stopped for a photo in front of a turbine from the dam.
It was getting late and we were getting hungry so we headed back towards the hotel to park the bikes for the night and have some dinner. We ate at the fine establishment across the street.
Over dinner, we discussed our prospects for Sunday. Neither of us felt that we would enjoy spending the day in the area. Too much traffic and too much of a tourist trap. We decided to leave first thing in the morning and follow the Mississippi river north towards Dubuque Iowa. I've ridden along the river from Clinton to Dubuque Iowa, and I was interested in following it from much further south.
In the morning we had a good breakfast at the hotel, packed up the bikes and set off for Hannibal Missouri.
We continued north to Keokuk Iowa and crossed the Mississippi into Illinois to follow the River Road Scenic Route.
We stopped for a rest and some pictures next to the river on the Illinois side.
The road along the river was great fun and really scenic.
We rode through an Illinois town called Nauvoo.
As we continued to follow the river we ended up behind one group of riders, and in front of another group.
Muscatine Iowa was our next destination so we crossed the Mississippi River again.
Riding into Muscatine, we rode around and found a restaurant called The Button Factory. Great food, good prices, and a really cool old factory converted to a restaurant.
Shredded barbecue pork. Mmmmmmm.
Back on the road we headed north along the river on the Iowa side.
We made great time as we cruised north through small river towns as well as larger towns such as Clinton. We arrived in Dubuque, checked out a couple of hotels, and settled on a Days Inn that came down on price for us. This place was a palace compared to where we stayed the first night.
We had dinner and a few drinks, listened to some mediocre live music, and I made calls to talk with the wife and kids. I was ready for a good nights sleep.
Lane and I met early to take advantage of the continental breakfast before we hit the road. I stopped for a quick picture of the rock wall standing next to the hotel.
Our plan for the day was to cross the river one final time into Illinois, ride through Galena, and take Stagecoach Road on our way towards home. Aside from dark skies that kept us wondering when it would rain, the ride was awesome. No traffic, cool temperatures, and great roads.
As we rode through Galena, my camera was in my saddlebag so I didn't get any pictures. Fortunately for you, I have several from past trips!
We took Stagecoach out of Galena and ended in Warren where we stopped for a stretch and a drink.
There was a new wind farm along Stagecoach Road as we headed towards Lena.
Once on Route 20, we headed east and then jogged south towards Byron.
We stopped at Lowden State Park in Byron.
After a break at Lowden, we got back on the road, eventually getting on 38 and heading east. It looked like there was rain in front of us as well as behind us and we hoped to miss it. When we approached 47, Lane waved goodbye and headed south towards his house. I continued east until I reached Geneva where I turned south to follow the Fox River. There is an old windmill along the route and I stopped for a picture.
Continuing towards home I pulled into Herrick Lake for a quick stretch.
With the storm clouds getting darker, I made a little haste to get home. I never did encounter rain, but I did ride on some freshly soaked roads so I felt lucky. Lane got drenched as he approached home, but he made it home safe which is more important than staying dry.
Day one of our trip was a little disappointing and we both agreed that we made the right choice to abandon our original plans and use the rest of our time the way we did. Day two was much better, and day three was the best of them all. A rider just can't go wrong with the Galena area...
Click here for an interactive map with embedded pictures.
We rode a total of 1103 miles
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