81.8 miles cycling, 1850′ of climbing (3122.4 total) – to read from the beginning, click here.
Fresh eggs and (for me) bacon awaited us at breakfast. Pat left to go fish for more trout, and Jean went to visit her mother, leaving us to our packing. It would be another long day as we were planning 80+ miles to Peru IL, but with half the ups of the last couple of days. On our way off of Campbell’s Island we visited the local “monument.” Pat & Jean weren’t of the mind that is was a “must see,” but it was on the way out. And while telling them about our woes with Dana’s holey sleeping pad, Pat came out with a brand new pad he got on a swap site for $4 and that Jean insisted needed to get out of the house since neither of them needed it. Heaven sent, these two.
We made a grocery stop on the way out of Moline, then continued on to the Hennepin Canal Trail. This portion was paved, but paved might be overstating it. It was flat with blacktop, but with lots of holes and bumps and eventually the trail turned to crushed gravel which devolved to single track in places because of the overgrowth. We followed the trail for about ten miles then decided to opt for Rt 6. Much smoother and the traffic wasn’t bad.
On arriving in Peru, Dana checked out a local park for camping possibilities while waiting for me to catch up. After we reconnected and knowing we had a Super 8 as a backup plan, we headed down to a local bar on the riverfront. Down it was, and on the way down Dana said, “I hope we don’t have to go back up that hill!” We didn’t, but that’s getting ahead of the story.
The Riverfront Bar & Grill had a big outdoor patio with a bar. Within minutes, Dana was chatting with John and Rick, one of the bar’s owners, and Rick offered the stage in the patio as a place to camp if we needed a spot. There was a playground with a couple of porta-potties (and a grassy area vs. the stage’s concrete) that was part of the complex, too, and they closed at 10 so perfect for an impromptu stay over. We order some Yuengling drafts, and I started chatting with Joe and Dana with Don (Sheepdog). Don offered to call his police officer friend and get us a spot to camp without the fear of being arrested. There was an abandoned rail line on the other side of the street from the bar, and a flat spot between there and the river, and the officer friend would come by at 2 AM to check on us. In the meantime I was telling Joe about our trip and he offered us showers at his place, which was two doors down from the bar. Joe won out with the promise of a real shower and we made our way to his apartment, which, he warned, was in the process of being remodeled and in disarray. Not a problem for us, we said. Before heading up to the apartment though, Joe opened his garage door to let us park our bikes and to show us his Shelby Cobra reproduction. It was his treat to himself after years of dreaming about owning one. (There’s a video below of him revving the engine.)
The shower was great with water pressure that could take a layer of skin off if you weren’t careful and we both had a refreshing go at it. Joe also offered his couch and lounge chair as a place to sleep — we took him up on that, but said we’d just use our sleeping pads on the floor. Had a great night talking with Joe and swapping stories and I even had a chance to get another blog entry in. It was another great happenstance stay and now you might better understand why we seek out local bars when we first hit a town.
We’re on a mission to get to Goshen, IN by Saturday to visit with Dana’s old friend Sarah, and that’s part of the reason for the high-mileage days. The other would be the vast distances here with nothing much in-between. Either way, we’re on track so far.
Here’s the Riverfront’s Facebook post about our visit:
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