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I reserved my shortest portion of my trip for my last day, and left the hotel at 8am that morning. The on ramp to Interstate 80 was 1/4 of a mile north of the Davenport TravelLodge that I stayed at the night before. Interstate 80 is a nice little ride on the Iowa side, providing some great views of the rolling hills along the banks of the Mississippi.
I crossed the Illinois state line around 8:30am, and decided to stop at the Welcome Center just past the bridge over the Mississippi. What surprised me about this exit is that it turns you right back around towards the river, and takes you right back up on the bluff overlooking the bridge you just came over. I stopped here for my free Illinois map (I can't stress how much I suggest stopping at every Welcome/Tourist Center to get a free map of the state you just entered), and snapped a couple of pictures:
I got back on the road after 15-20 minutes of enjoying the view, and pulled out onto interstate 80. In just a few minutes, I was merging onto interstate 88, right in front of a fellow rider on an Ultra Glide. I maintained my speed at around 70mph, and saw my brother sticking close behind. I typically ride in the left portion of the lane while riding solo, and this is usually where the leader of the pack would ride in a group. I checked in the rear view again, and this guy was riding in formation a couple of car lengths behind me, staying in the right portion of the lane. We rode together for a good 50 miles, since I was planning on getting of in Dixon to ride one of my favorite roads close to home. At one point there was litter all over our lane from a semi blowout. I kicked my right leg out to let my fellow biker know of the debris. I looked back, and saw him get over into the left hand portion of the lane to get through the shredded rubber shrapnel. As we passed this hazard, I looked into my rear view and my new buddy gave me the thumbs up for the notification. A few minutes later was the off ramp into Dixon. I signaled my intentions to exit, and saw that he was staying on 88. I intentionally took the ramp at about 50mph, hoping to give him a good wave goodbye. As I turned to give my farewell, my brethren flew past with his fist raise in the universal solidarity salute. I yelled out "Ride safe brother!" as his fist turned to a thumbs up.
Route 2 from Dixon to Rockford has to be the best riding road closest to the Chicagoland area. I regularly take the 45 minute trip up 90 to get here during riding season. The road twists and turns along the Rock River, providing excellent riding as well as a great, cool breeze. It is always
\peppered with fellow riders, so be prepared to get your wave on!
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Unfortunately, I would not be able to take the road all the way to Rockford, since the plan was to catch Illinois 72 from Byron out towards home. I was able to stop just north of Oregon to get a good picture of the Blackhawk statue the that sits across the Rock River:
I caught Illinois 72 in downtown Byron, and made it home just before noon. One of the better parts of this trip was the chance to experience another state's Great River Road (I've been on 5 different states now). I highly recommend that my fellow Chicagolandians make the trip west to experience these beautiful byways. It'll only take about 3 hours by automobile to get out to Galena, or just over 4 hours east on Interstate 90 to La Crosse, WI. Either town is a great place to start exploring these roads.
Live to Ride, Ride to Live!
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