September 2000 Bike Ride

On Wednesday, August 30, I went to Dubuque, Iowa with three friends from church. We would spend the next three days bicycling 270 miles along the Great River Road route through Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa.

Text by Bill Qualls.
Pictures by Rob Stevens.
Route by Richard Vance.
Sage wisdom by Bill Hall.

Richard near Balltown, Iowa.

Bill Q. and Bill H. at the Days Inn in Dubuque, Iowa. We stayed here Wednesday night. We left Richard's van here as we began our ride early Thursday morning.

We crossed the Mississippi River after just a couple of quick, downhill miles. We would cross the river again about 30 hours and 140 miles later.

One of the riverboat casinos passed under the bridge as we were crossing.

Note: None of us are particularly interested in the riverboats. None of us condone gambling in any form.

Rob, Bill Q., and Richard. We were only in Illinois for a few miles, then crossed over into Wisconsin. This is one of our many short rest stops. It was the hottest day of the year, and very humid, with heat indexes of 105-115 degrees.

Bill H. at the Dickeyville Grotto in Dickeyville, Wisconsin. This was certainly the most interesting man made site along our ride. It is a religious shrine honoring many Catholic saints. It is made of mortar and thousands of polished stones and costume jewelry.

We enjoyed the downhill ride into the town of Potosi, Wisconsin. There were many hills on our first day. We enjoyed the downhill rides, reaching speeds of 40 mph. But we knew we would later pay for our indulgence, as each time we would have to climb out again. One such climb was a hill four miles long! But these hills served to toughen us up for Saturday's hills which were steeper, longer, and more numerous!

We rode 77 miles on Wednesday, and stayed at the AmericInn in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. The hotel was only a year old. Very clean hotel and pleasant staff. We all enjoyed the pool after this long, hot day.

Friday morning was mostly level as we followed the river along route 35. The bluffs to our right were beautiful.

When you ride all day, you take advantage of every opportunity to stop for a drink and a snack. One such stop was a bait shop along route 35, outside of which was this "cigar store indian". The owner told us that he had brought it east from California and that it is the largest in the world.

Another shot of the bluffs along the Mississippi River between Praire du Chien and LaCrosse.

We stopped at one of the locks along the Mississippi. A large tug was pushing a collection of 15-18 barges into the locks.

The water has been emptied and the barges have been lowered so now the locks are opened to release the barges.

Once we left the locks the weather started to turn. It was quite windy, and we could feel a mist of water blowing off of the river. Then it started to rain. We rode in the rain for about half an hour until we stopped for lunch in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Big difference in the weather from the day before!

Bill H. shows off his flesh-toned helmet.

Shortly after lunch we crossed the Mississippi at LaCrosse and entered Minnesota. We turned south, now following the river downstream.

The skies finally cleared and we got some nice views of the river, including this area which had several egrets.

Bill H. and Richard take a short breather in Minnesota. When it came to rest breaks, Richard merely humored the rest of us. He never tired. The man is a machine!

Our first stop in Iowa was at a grocery store and meat market in New Albion. Richard bought some pork chop jerky. It was very good!

Bill H. poses at the bridge in Lansing, Iowa. As an engineer, he was anxious to expound upon the virtues of cantilever bridges. We stayed at the Scenic Valley Motel in Lansing. The proprietors, Carl and Edna, were very gracious hosts. Carl drove us to the town park which overlooks the river. The view was spectacular. None of us had our cameras with us, but photos couldn't do it justice. We rode 103 miles today.

Saturday we had breakfast at a diner in Harpers Ferry, Iowa. As we rode out of Harpers Ferry someone yelled to us "I hope you had your Wheaties!" He was referring to the hills. It seemed as though everyone was anxious to tell us about the hills we would encounter. The hills were worse than they said! Anyone who thinks Iowa is a flat state hasn't ridden a bike through its northeast corner!

We saw this picturesque church and cemetery just outside of Harpers Ferry. Very pretty.

The casino in Marquette, Iowa. Its gaudiness was in sharp contrast to what we had seen earlier that day. It is a tragedy when a community is convinced that the best thing it can do for its economy is to establish a casino.

When we arrived at MacGregor, the street was lined with people awaiting the start of the Labor Day parade. We felt as if they were there to greet us; as if we should be throwing candy!

And as we left town, more warnings about the hills that lie ahead of us!

Everyone told us the hill out of Guttenburg was a killer. Not really: it's steep, but it's short. The hills to North Buena Vista were far worse. They just went on and on! And when you left North Buena Vista, the hills continued on to Balltown. After Balltown, it's an easy ride to Sheryl, Sagetown, and Dubuque. 90 miles today.

This photo was taken near Balltown. Spectacular scenery.

* * * * *

I've done a lot of backpacking, and it often seems that my most memorable trips were those in which things just didn't quite go according to plan; where some hardship was encountered and overcome. So it is with bike rides, I guess. Prior to this my longest ride in one day was 80 miles. On this ride I averaged 86 miles a day for three days. By the middle of the second day, my butt was really sore! By the time I returned home, it looked and felt like ground round. I was so happy to be done. And now, just two weeks later, I wish I was doing it again. Of course, going with three outstanding men for whom I have a great deal of respect makes the ride memorable regardless of the conditions. We started each day with prayer, and we were protected throughout our ride. The only problem was a single broken spoke, which didn't affect us at all. A week later, I attempted a long ride and had a flat tire just 13 miles from home. I was grateful that it had happened when it did, rather than on our long ride. A flat tire on one of those steep hills could have been very disasterous.

Bill, Rob, and Richard: Thanks for the memories.

* * * * *

On Wednesday, August 30, I went to Dubuque, Iowa with three friends from church. We would spend the next three days bicycling 270 miles along the Great River Road route through Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. Text by Bill Qualls. Pictures by Rob Stevens. Route by Richard Vance. Sage wisdom by Bill Hall.	Richard near Balltown, Iowa.
Bill Q. and Bill H. at the Days Inn in Dubuque, Iowa. We stayed here Wednesday night. We left Richard's van here as we began our ride early Thursday morning.
We crossed the Mississippi River after just a couple of quick, downhill miles. We would cross the river again about 30 hours and 140 miles later.
One of the riverboat casinos passed under the bridge as we were crossing. Note: None of us are particularly interested in the riverboats. None of us condone gambling in any form.
Rob, Bill Q., and Richard. We were only in Illinois for a few miles, then crossed over into Wisconsin. This is one of our many short rest stops. It was the hottest day of the year, and very humid, with heat indexes of 105-115 degrees.
Bill H. at the Dickeyville Grotto in Dickeyville, Wisconsin. This was certainly the most interesting man made site along our ride. It is a religious shrine honoring many Catholic saints. It is made of mortar and thousands of polished stones and costume jewelry.
We enjoyed the downhill ride into the town of Potosi, Wisconsin. There were many hills on our first day. We enjoyed the downhill rides, reaching speeds of 40 mph. But we knew we would later pay for our indulgence, as each time we would have to climb out again. One such climb was a hill four miles long! But these hills served to toughen us up for Saturday's hills which were steeper, longer, and more numerous!
We rode 77 miles on Wednesday, and stayed at the AmericInn in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. The hotel was only a year old. Very clean hotel and pleasant staff. We all enjoyed the pool after this long, hot day. Friday morning was mostly level as we followed the river along route 35. The bluffs to our right were beautiful.
When you ride all day, you take advantage of every opportunity to stop for a drink and a snack. One such stop was a bait shop along route 35, outside of which was this "cigar store indian". The owner told us that he had brought it east from California and that it is the largest in the world.
Another shot of the bluffs along the Mississippi River between Praire du Chien and LaCrosse.
We stopped at one of the locks along the Mississippi. A large tug was pushing a collection of 15-18 barges into the locks.
The water has been emptied and the barges have been lowered so now the locks are opened to release the barges.
Once we left the locks the weather started to turn. It was quite windy, and we could feel a mist of water blowing off of the river. Then it started to rain. We rode in the rain for about half an hour until we stopped for lunch in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Big difference in the weather from the day before! Bill H. shows off his flesh-toned helmet.
Shortly after lunch we crossed the Mississippi at LaCrosse and entered Minnesota. We turned south, now following the river downstream.
The skies finally cleared and we got some nice views of the river, including this area which had several egrets.
Bill H. and Richard take a short breather in Minnesota. When it came to rest breaks, Richard merely humored the rest of us. He never tired. The man is a machine!
Our first stop in Iowa was at a grocery store and meat market in New Albion. Richard bought some pork chop jerky. It was very good!
Bill H. poses at the bridge in Lansing, Iowa. As an engineer, he was anxious to expound upon the virtues of cantilever bridges. We stayed at the Scenic Valley Motel in Lansing. The proprietors, Carl and Edna, were very gracious hosts. Carl drove us to the town park which overlooks the river. The view was spectacular. None of us had our cameras with us, but photos couldn't do it justice. We rode 103 miles today.
Saturday we had breakfast at a diner in Harpers Ferry, Iowa. As we rode out of Harpers Ferry someone yelled to us "I hope you had your Wheaties!" He was referring to the hills. It seemed as though everyone was anxious to tell us about the hills we would encounter. The hills were worse than they said! Anyone who thinks Iowa is a flat state hasn't ridden a bike through its northeast corner!
We saw this picturesque church and cemetery just outside of Harpers Ferry. Very pretty.
The casino in Marquette, Iowa. Its gaudiness was in sharp contrast to what we had seen earlier that day. It is a tragedy when a community is convinced that the best thing it can do for its economy is to establish a casino.
When we arrived at MacGregor, the street was lined with people awaiting the start of the Labor Day parade. We felt as if they were there to greet us; as if we should be throwing candy! And as we left town, more warnings about the hills that lie ahead of us!
Everyone told us the hill out of Guttenburg was a killer. Not really: it's steep, but it's short. The hills to North Buena Vista were far worse. They just went on and on! And when you left North Buena Vista, the hills continued on to Balltown. After Balltown, it's an easy ride to Sheryl, Sagetown, and Dubuque. 90 miles today. This photo was taken near Balltown. Spectacular scenery.