galesburg to moline, illinois 57 miles

a relatively easy day with a few twists.  unforeseen road construction meant last-minute changes to today's route, but our detours all worked out fine.  nice sunny and warm weather when we left this morning.  not a cloud in the sky.  stayed that way for most of the day.  we even left much later than normal, not getting out of the hotel until close to 8:00 am.

we initially travelled through more cornfields and small towns.  i've missed so many great shots in the past as i was both riding with a group and hoping to get in before sunset.  as it was a short day today, i felt more comfortable stopping to capture some of the sights.

an old ad for a now-defunct cafe in the small town of viola, illinois

turns out, there weren't that many great photo ops today.  however, we did stop about 11 miles before the end of today's ride to partake in the blackhawk area fire prevention district annual firemen's fundraiser barbecue in the small town of milan.  the firemen were very appreciative of our stopping to eat (and "donate" to the cause) and amazed by the stories of our journey so far.

blackhawk area fire prevention fireman's fundraiser barbecue in milan, illinois

great barbecue chicken beat the hell out of another power bar!

the last seven miles of the ride were along a bike path on the levee on the mississippi.  great look at this bustling area.  moline is one of the quad cities (davenport and bettendorf on the iowa side; rock island and moline on the illinois side).  they all started as separate port towns on the only section of the mississippi river that actually flows east to west and are now one big metropolitan area called the quad cities.

we're staying tonight in moline at a very cute hotel called the stoney creek inn.  it's part of a small chain in four midwestern states.  very nice place.  based on the decor, you'd swear you were either in sante fe or somewhere in colorado.

yes, we do accept pets in the room

moline is also the home of the john deere museum.  i mentioned their tractors in the past.  apparently in 1817, john deere invented a type of, basically, self-cleaning (there's a more technical word but you get the picture) plow that revolutionized farming in the midwest.

tractors from the turn of the 20th century...

through the 50's and 60's...

to the future -- this one doesn't need a driver and can stop to avoid obstacles

this combine has air conditioning, gps navigation, telemetry and two cup holders (oh yeah, it can also pull in nearly 4 bushels of corn per second).  yours for a cool $750,000.

i was thinking about an alternative mode of transportation for tomorrow's ride