OK Locals I'm on a tour next week, Minneapolis to St. Louis
here's the overnights
Day 0 Minneapolis
Day 1 Redwing, MN
Day 2 La Crosse, WI
Day 3 Prairie du Chien, WI
Day 4 Dubuque, Iowa
Day 5 Clinton, Iowa
Day 6 Galesburg, IL
Day 7 Keokuk, IA
Day 8 Hannibal, MO
Day 9 St. Charles, MO

Riding is mostly on the East side of the Mississippi.

What should I not miss either in the overnight towns or along the way. Overlooks, giant balls of twine, historical markers, whatever....

Thanks
Scot

Childhood home of Carl Sandburg, 331 East Third Street in Galesburg. Maybe bring along a book of his poems for bedtime reading.

I assume you'll be passing Alton on the Mizzou side, but the bridge over the river has nice bike lanes. Lots of cool stuff to see:

http://www.greatriverroad.com/Cities/Alton/attractionsNalton.htm

OK Locals I'm on a tour next week, Minneapolis to St. Louis
here's the overnights
Day 0 Minneapolis
Day 1 Redwing, MN
Day 2 La Crosse, WI
Day 3 Prairie du Chien, WI
Day 4 Dubuque, Iowa
Day 5 Clinton, Iowa
Day 6 Galesburg, IL
Day 7 Keokuk, IA
Day 8 Hannibal, MO
Day 9 St. Charles, MO

Riding is mostly on the East side of the Mississippi.

What should I not miss either in the overnight towns or along the way. Overlooks, giant balls of twine, historical markers, whatever....

Thanks
Scot

Sounds like a fun trip- hope you realize there are some serious hills in Iowa along the river....! Ride safe.


...only attraction I can think of is the Prairie Island nuclear reactor by Red Wing ,)

...only attraction I can think of is the Prairie Island nuclear reactor by Red Wing ,)

I'll need the 3rd leg I grow after that :)

OK Locals I'm on a tour next week, Minneapolis to St. Louis
here's the overnights
Day 0 Minneapolis
Day 1 Redwing, MN
Day 2 La Crosse, WI
Day 3 Prairie du Chien, WI
Day 4 Dubuque, Iowa
Day 5 Clinton, Iowa
Day 6 Galesburg, IL
Day 7 Keokuk, IA
Day 8 Hannibal, MO
Day 9 St. Charles, MO

Riding is mostly on the East side of the Mississippi.

What should I not miss either in the overnight towns or along the way. Overlooks, giant balls of twine, historical markers, whatever....

Thanks
Scot

Well, here in La Crosse you should ride up to the top of Grandad Bluff, from whence you can see three states--it's just a few miles from the Mississippi. Once you're in La Crosse proper, it's just a matter of riding east on Main until you come to the foot of the bluff, then riding, um, UP. There's a lot of good food in town, depending on what you like and where you're staying (if you're traveling cheap, my family welcomes guests for dinner), and also a little ugly road construction along sections of 35 right now (sounds like that's your route) in some sections of town. Drop me an email if you'd like some assistance on bypassing the mess.

Oh, and you'll pass another reactor on the way down to Dog Prarie, but it's a small one :-). You will need to be cautious about the traffic on that section of 35, though they've recently widened the shoulders.

If you take 35 (or even if you head down the other side of the Mississippi), you'll have plenty to see--the bluffs are spectacular on either side of the river down around these parts, and the river itself is pretty cool.

Well, here in La Crosse you should ride up to the top of Grandad Bluff, from whence you can see three states--it's just a few miles from the Mississippi. Once you're in La Crosse proper, it's just a matter of riding east on Main until you come to the foot of the bluff, then riding, um, UP. There's a lot of good food in town, depending on what you like and where you're staying (if you're traveling cheap, my family welcomes guests for dinner), and also a little ugly road construction along sections of 35 right now (sounds like that's your route) in some sections of town. Drop me an email if you'd like some assistance on bypassing the mess.

Oh, and you'll pass another reactor on the way down to Dog Prarie, but it's a small one :-). You will need to be cautious about the traffic on that section of 35, though they've recently widened the shoulders.

If you take 35 (or even if you head down the other side of the Mississippi), you'll have plenty to see--the bluffs are spectacular on either side of the river down around these parts, and the river itself is pretty cool.

I'm on an organzied tour led by America by Bicycle. In LaCrosse we're in the Rode Star Inn, dinners part of the package. Thanks for the offer.

I've only seen the first days route. I was going to suggest to my leader to use the Great River Trail to get us into town. You may have seen my earlier post asking about it's suitablity for the skinny tire set. Thanks for the tips (you too Alex)

Scot

I've only seen the first days route. I was going to suggest to my leader to use the Great River Trail to get us into town. You may have seen my earlier post asking about it's suitablity for the skinny tire set. Thanks for the tips (you too Alex)

Scot

I missed it, but in any event, the trail is just fine. It would be a good route to take from Trempeleau down to Onalaska, but there it crosses 35 (at a slightly difficult intersection) and leaves the Mississippi river.

As it continues East, it connects with one of the paved La Crosse city trails, and you could follow that to River Valley Drive (?), go south on the bridge over the railway tracks, then take Gillette street West back into La Crosse. You can get back out to 35 and then turn North, which will get you reasonably safely to the motel. IIRC, the Rode Star isn't in a terribly bicycle-friendly section of town, tucked in as it is just to the south of I90.

Too bad meals are included--but maybe they have something good in mind. Anyway, I forgot to mention that you should probably visit the City Brewery (formerly Heilman's) and take a gander at the world's largest sixpack. Ask anybody, they'll know where it is.