Missouri Capital Trip - Day 3 - June 9th 2012 - 320 Miles

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I headed out of Jefferson City just after 10am on Saturday morning, with the intention of hooking back up with the Great River Road north of Hannibal. I took the same route to get there that I took the day before to get to Jefferson City, which was Missouri 54. Most of this route is farmland, and is full of little towns to stop off in to get gas or rehydrate. 54 is another scary Missouri state route with speed limits of 65mph, with some towns having off ramps, but many cross roads throughout the ride. To get into Hannibal, I picked up 61 north in Bowling Green.

This portion of the ride is pretty scenic, as the terrain starts to get hilly as you approach Hannibal. As you come over the higher portions of the road the view opens up to display the rolling hills of this area of the state.

I stopped in Hannibal for lunch just after noon, and was amazed at how many people had done the same. There were at least 15 cars in line for the drive thru, making it hard to get into the lot to find a space. After about a minute of waiting in the +90 degree sun, I finally took advantage of my vehicle's size and just rode the wrong way through the parking lot to get a space right up front in the shade.

I headed out of McDonalds north on Interstate 61, and picked up the norther portion of the Missouri Great River Road, which was Missouri 168. Unfortunately, this was only a 10 mile tease, but worth the detour before getting back onto the busy 61:


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By perusing the maps the morning of this ride, I saw a few fun looking routes that I could detour to. In Canton, MO, I jumped off of 61 to ride some fun sweepers, which were very sketchy since they were located in dense farmland. The roads were in great shape, but pretty much all cross streets were gravel, which meant spillout onto the paved road I was on. This simply meant I needed to take more care through my turns. I picked up 81 and took it to County Road Z, which was a nice, twisty road with good changes in elevation:


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I crossed the Iowa border shorly after getting back on 61, and was looking forward to meeting up with Iowa's Great River Road in Keokuk, IA. I have to say that the signage was slightly lacking, as I did make a few wrong turns in Keokuk. After getting back onto the road, I was able to drive past the many mansions located in Keokuk along the Mississippi. I was dumbfounded by these large abodes, as I am unaware of the type of people who could afford such a house in the middle of virtually nowhere. The first couple of miles were reminiscent of the neighborhoods along Sheridan Road along the north shore suburbs of Chicago.

I continued up 22 to Montrose, IA, which is right across the river from Nauvoo, IL, where Joseph Smith, the found of Mormonism, and his brother Hyrum were killed by an angry mob on June 27th, 1844. I was able to take a picture of Nauvoo, in which the Nauvoo Illinois Mormon Temple peeks out on top of a hill:



I jumped back onto 61, hoping to find the appropriate signage leading me back to the Iowa Great River Road. After a good hour of boring riding, I stopped in Wapello, IA to fuel up. I didn't have any service for my phone, so I pulled out my free Iowa state map, and realized that I could take County Road 99 to County Road X61. X61 is the Great River Road.

This portion of the ride was once again much more entertaining, with plenty of sweeping curves and twisties, as well as good elevation changes allowing great views of the river valley. There are many natural area along this route, which I neglected to stop off on. Most of these areas are high up on the bluffs, surely meaning great views of the valley:


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I continued up X61 to Muscatine, which recconects with Interstate 61. I followed this through Muscatine, and was able to jump onto Route 22. Route 22 follows the river right into Davenport, where I was staying at the Travellodge for the night. I got a little lost in downtown Davenport, but realized that I was on 61 again, and the hotel should be a couple miles north. Sure enough, I spotted the hotel on the east side of the road shortly. As I pulled into the parking lot, I got a huge whiff of grilling meat. Right in the front of the hotel was a gentleman from Nebraska, grilling up a t-bone on the tailgate of his truck with a little propane grill. He was more than happy to chat me up about where I was coming from, and where I was headed. When I told him I was from the Chicagoland area, he told me a story about his stay in Highland Park back in the mid-70s, where he was making some great mone ($3.51 an hour) working at the Kroger's warehouse. We also talked about riding, as he was the proud owner of 2005 Sportster 1200. He was asking if I knew anyone who may want to purchase this bike, as he had broken his tailbone a couple years ago, and was no longer able to ride. I told him about the cyst I had removed from my tailbone in February 2010, and showed him the gel pad I bought on Ebay for $59.00 delivered. He was amazed, and told me he'd have his wife look at that "Ebay place on the computer," since he didn't touch those devil boxes. However, he was really hoping that the pad may help to restart his riding hobby, as he is surely missing the chance to get out and ride.

I checked into the hotel, made a quick call to my mom to let her know I made it safe and sound, and headed over to Hooters for dinner. I enjoyed the scenery, and was able to confirm that Iowa Hooters Girls are certainly corn fed. The only employee that appeared concerned with her weight was the very skinny bartender. I sat through the 2nd and 3rd quarter of the NBA Semi Finals, and was surprised to learn that apparently everybody in the USA clearly despises Lebron James. I headed back to the hotel and fell fast asleep, since I was planning on a early departure the next morning.