Clinton, Dubuque, Galena and Back Home Again

It has been a busy summer, and I have not taken any long rides in a while. I had a day off of work, so where to ride? I always enjoy riding west and following the Mississippi river so I thought this would be a great day to pay another visit.

My route takes me from Westmont, out to Clinton Iowa, up to DuBuque, and back towards home via Galena and White Pines State Forest.

I have recently picked up a used Garmin StreetPilot 2720 along with the appropriate RAM mounts, so after spending a little time getting it wired into my bike and mounted up to the front fuel tank mounts, I was anxious to try it out. It's waterproof and has a lot more functionality than my Garmin Nuvi 200 (which is now for car use only!).



As anyone who has taken I-88 west towards Iowa knows, it's a very boring trip. Not much scenery to speak of.







I got off the expressway in Dixon, IL and went west on Bloody Gulch Road. What a cool name....





I passed through Rock Falls, IL.



Time for my first gas stop. Naturally I picked the one pump at the station that wouldn't accept credit cards.



Back on the road, and I crossed over the Rock River.







I continued west and met with the Mississippi.







And I crossed into Clinton Iowa.



I turned north on 67 and then onto 52 north. The scenery was becoming more interesting...











I turned down a small gravel side road, just to see where it went. Riding on street tires, it was not so fun...



A nice looking river near Green Island in Iowa.



I pulled off of 52 at Bellevue State Park. On my previous ride past here, I made a mental note to stop the next time through, so here I am.









I parked to stretch my legs, have a drink, and check out the Indian Mounds.







The Indian Burial Mounds are on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi. Nice area to be buried I suppose....





The view was pretty great!







As I mounted my bike, the sun came through the trees in just the right way to make for a nice shot.



I headed out of the park and continued north through the city of Bellevue.







Next stop, Dubuque!







A cool old fire truck in St. Donatus.



This was a nice curvy ride.





I rode through Dubuque and crossed east over the Mississippi river once again.





And came back into Illinois.



I took 20 into Galena so that I could take a ride through town. I always enjoy riding down Main Street, even if I'm just passing through.











After riding through town, I got on Stagecoach Trail. This is a must ride if you are ever in the area. Lots of hills, sweeping curves, and gorgeous scenery. It takes you almost into Wisconsin before turning south to meet Route 20. The ride was so much fun that I didn't take many pictures.





I did manage to stop on an old bridge over a railroad track for a picture.





I rode through Apple River, IL....



.... and Warren,IL.





As I continued south to Lena, I saw a wind farm that I had not seen before. Those suckers are unbelievably huge when you get closer to them.





Passing through Lena...



...Forreston...



...and Mt. Morris on my way to White Pines State Forest.



As I approached White Pines I followed a guy that I think was on a Victory. His shirt matched his bike. Cute (although I'm sure he would rather be called tough).



I turned into White Pines State Forest for a break.







I know that fall is approaching, and I spotted the first fall colors of the year.



It was time to start heading home if I was to beat rush hour traffic. I got on Rt 64 and headed east.





Crossing the Rock River in Oregon.





Once I reached Sycamore, I sort of ran out of picture-taking steam.





I ended up getting home before rush hour - which means that there was still a lot of traffic, but it was not as crazy going through Wheaton, Naperville, Lisle, and Downers Grove as it could have been. A day out on the motorcycle is always a great day spent. Getting home is never fun though!

 

nice romp thru my area. The wind farms have all gone up within the past year or two, and there are certianly several there. If in Galena again, there are several good eats there. Also, up close to stagecoach trail in Wisconsin (about 20 min from Galena) is Schullsburg. Just to the south of town there is a gravity hill that will pull at least my VFR up the hill. Buddy's Duck it pulled at a better pace, whereas the BMW it was moving it along pretty good. Not much else to see in Schullsburg.