Day 23, Burlington, IA - 52 miles

Out of the hotel, exit Iowa and back into Illinois for the day.  I’m not sure how WomanTours comes up with these routes - they really don’t make sense, but at least this route was safe so I'm not complaining. Early in the day we entered the town of Nauvoo. Nauvoo was established by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon church and in 1844 it was almost as populous as Chicago with 12,000 residents.  Shortly thereafter, Smith was assassinated here and, although the Mormon influence is still prominent, it is now more of a pilgrimage site than a home base for Mormons.

As we approached closer to Burlington, traffic picked up a bit and initially I was wary about going over the Burlington Great River Bridge.  I stopped in a gas station and spoke with a local farmer who assured me people bike over the bridge all the time and there was a wide shoulder.  He was right and the crossing presented no problems.

Burlington Bridge

Today was a day off in Burlington where the annual Snake Alley Criterium is taking place.  This criterium is one of six qualifying races for the big Nature Valley Pro Chase which happens to take place in my hometown of Minneapolis the week I return from my tour.  Another qualifying race will occur in Muscatine, IA, where we will be heading tomorrow.  I feel like a race groupie but it sure is fun to watch the best amateur bike racers go at it.  Tomorrow on the way out of town several of us have vowed to do a few laps up Snake Alley.  It averages a 21% grade so I am not optimistic about making it up even once.

Snake Alley