June 21 - Quincy to Dallas City, IL (67 mi.)

Brian Hill in Quincy was a great host.

Brian Hill - super host!!

After a home-cooked breakfast, we were on the road at 6:30 AM. I knew today's route having ridden it the other direction two years ago so it was a pretty relaxing day. The first 33 miles to Warsaw are a bit tedious; flat bottom land a mile or two from the river with little to look at. The time passed quickly though and soon I was in Warsaw. After a short break and a chat with the locals gathered at Casey's, I was on my way to Hamilton then Nauvoo. This section is a terrific ride especially the 12 mile Hamilton to Nauvoo section; right next to the river all the way.

Mississippi River between Hamilton and Nauvoo

I made it to Nauvoo by 11:00 AM and biked around the reconstructed Mormon village.

Reconstructed Nauvoo village building

 I had the opportunity to talk to two Mormon families visiting with their children/grandchildren from Salt Lake City. I had lunch at a local deli then called Susi to let her know where I was. Then called my Warm Showers hosts to see when they wanted me to arrive. They said to come on over so I pedaled the last 13 miles to their farm home just outside of Dallas City; Doris and Jeff Lionberger. They are avid cyclists and very active with the Burlington bicycle club. We had great conversations about bicycling and the technology Jeff uses with a modern farming business. I cleaned up and we drove to Burlington where they showed me some the cycle racing circuit features including Snake Alley which is listed by Guinness as the crookedest street in the country. We then had dinner and returned to the farm. Dorris had one of her famous apple pies with ice cream. By now it was 10:00 PM so we called it a night.

This was probably the best day of the ride so far mainly because of the company of Brian Hill and Doris and Jeff Lionberger.

Doris and Jeff Lionberger at Snake Alley