Missouri Capital Trip - Day 1 - June 7th 2012 - 340 miles

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My initial plans for this weekend trip was to spend a couple of days in Jefferson City, MO. I checked the extended weather forecast about a week before my intended departure date, and it seemed like a good chance that it would be raining the entire weekend that I was planning on being there. So I decided to change up my plans, and ride out to Michigan instead, making some time to check Lansing, MI off of my Capitol list. However, a few days before I would have left, the forecast called for a 50% chance of rain Saturday AND Sunday! I hadn't checked on Jefferson City since the week before, so I checked the forecast again. What do you know! 0% chance of precipitation all 4 days!

I left Carpentersville Thursday morning just after 10am. I took route 72 to Interstate 39. My plan was to ride to 80 west, then take 180 to Hennepin so I could jump on route 26, which runs from Hennepin along the Illinois River down to Peoria. I had been on this road last year on my Springfield, IL trip, and was not very impressed. My buddy Jim lives in Peru, IL, and had pointed that road out to me in a recent conversation, so I decided to give it another shot. Once again, much disappointment. Not much is happening on this road, and it isn't even all that scenic. I counted around 3 times that you actually get a view of the river.


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I arrived in Peoria around 2pm, and stopped for lunch. From Peoria, I took route 24, which runs through the hills of west-central Illinois, following the Illinois River to the Great Mississippi. This was a decent route, and sure beat taking Interstate 55 all the way towards St Louis. The route has some very nice views, and I honestly don't remember many stop lights or stop signs. The speed limit maintains itself at 65mph, and will only drop down as you enter the small towns along the highway. It was about an hour into my ride on this road when I stopped for gas, and realized everyone had a semi-southern drawl. This drawl would be heard throughout my trip, until I left Davenport, IA on Sunday morning.


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I reached Hannibal shortly after 6pm, and as I crossed the bridge over the Mississippi, I was surprised to see houses perched atop the bluffs. This was a sight to see, as this was now the 5th state that I've visited along the Mississippi. For some reason, there are virtually no houses atop the bluffs along the river in Wisconsin or Minnesota. You may spot one or two, but they are a very rare sight. However, houses peppered the bluffs north and south of the bridge, which made for a nice surprise.

I arrived at my hotel around 6:30 and promptly checked in. I was told by the front desk clerk that Happy Hour would be ending at 8pm in the Lounge, so I pulled up to my room, unpacked the bike, and headed on down to the lounge. I enjoyed a few dollar drafts, and was surprised to hear a heart wrenching story: The bartender was talking to a local, and asked "You remember the guy that was in here last night that just got the kidney transplant? He got jumped in the parking lot by three guys!" What a great story for a hotel employee to tell the patrons. Needless to say, I made sure to park my bike right in front of my window, and was sure that I had my trusty knife with me whenever I left the room. However, other than the shady hotel patrons who were smoking cigarettes throughout the night, no other jumpings happened while I was there.