We tried to get the Lansing bridge over the Mississippi River in our group photo but it does not show up very well. It's a great view.
The first segment of our ride was from Lansing to Harpers Ferry, IA. The hills were every bit as hard as they look! Bill and Doris were at a little city park at Harpers Ferry, so we all had a break there.
After our break we made plans to meet next at Effigy Mounds State Park. I passed Wexford Church and cemetery along the route.
The last three miles to Effigy Mounds was on a road that had no shoulder and a lot of traffic, much of it large RVs or pickup trucks pulling boats. Bill was waiting with the trailer open; he told us that the road beyond the park was even worse than the one we came in on. I went into the Visitors' Center and the rangers told me the same thing. They recommended that we trailer up to Pikes Peak State Park and ride from there.
We had lunch in Marquette at a little cafe that had great food at a fair price, no credit or debit cards accepted. After lunch Fred, Doris and Dianne went to Walmart to get water, gatorade, bananas and ice. Bill drove Tom, Dennis, Diana and me to the entrance of Pikes Peak State Park and we unloaded the bikes and took off. It was 95 degrees when we rode out. We are in farm country here, a little way from the Mississippi River.
We had one difficult climb and then rode along Pleasant Ridge. It was indeed pleasant up there, but very windy, a headwind of course. Tom stopped to wait for me when I took the photo of the farm field. Dennis and Diana rode on out of sight and we did not see them again until the middle of the very steep climb, when we came upon them walking their bikes up the incline! Tom and I kept on pedaling because once you stop on a climb, it is nearly impossible to get back on the bike and ride forward. I sure would have liked to have a photo of them walking their bikes!
The trucks and trailer were waiting for us at the bottom of the last descent into Guttenburg. The trailer was open and we were told it was too dangerous to ride into town, due to construction and bad roads. When I handed up my wheel to put it in the trailer the rim was very hot--I was on my brakes on the way down from the ridge. The others did not use their brakes and exceeded 40 MPH!
We loaded the bikes into the trailer and drove into Guttenburg, where we stayed at The Landing. It is right on the riverfront.
This is a delightful place, yet another one that we would have enjoyed staying at for more than one night.
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