Cycling the Driftless Region | PART 5: INTO THE HILLS OF IOWA

This morning I cycled down river a short ways to the town of McGregor, Iowa, a lovely small town but in the midst of major sewer line work that rendered the village into a giant construction site. I then headed upstream, to Effigy Mounds National Monument, encountering some less than ideal road conditions along the way. Bike touring can be tough without a lock, and I kept my visit short and sweet before finding a gravel detour to avoid the shoulder less state highway. Getting out of the Mississippi Valley was a grind, but beautiful. Once I reached the top of the valley, the wind began, not letting up until I reached Waukon, but the views of the Iowa farmland were sublime. In the evening I walked around the town, getting my small town fix. An absolutely beautiful day!
Music:
Haystack - Biddy Sullivan
Epidemic Sound
1993 - They Dream By Day
Epidemic Sound
Too Close To The Ground - Sixteen Wheelers
Epidemic Sound
Savior - Telecasted
KZbin-AudioLibrary
Take A Little Drive - Briar Edwards
Epidemic Sound
One More Voice - Tricycle Riot
Epidemic Sound

[@JohnStahl]

I grew up in Iowa and spent time in Waukon, Lancing, Gutenberg. When people say Iowa is flat, they haven’t been to NE Iowa. Beautiful slice of America

[@MartinMCade]

I grew up in Dubuque. When someone suggests Iowa is flat, I tell them to try riding a bicycle across it. Even away from the Mississippi Valley it's not really flat.

[@JohnStahl]

@@MartinMCade yes. But I have cycled all over Iowa numerous times on RAGBRAI. Most of the State is quite flat ( as if flat is a bad thing)

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Honestly, this part of the country is just about the right kind of hilly.

[@cherylbigoness7441]

So happy you’re safe after that close call with the semi! I hate riding on roads more and more, we really enjoy those rail trails! But sometimes you just have to! 🙃Absolutely love your videos!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yeah, like I think i mentioned, this was a very short stretch of road. 3 1/2 miles or so. Had it appeared much longer I would've probably figured out a different route to get to were I was going.

[@PumpkinVillage]

That was a tough but productive day. The scenery was spectacular and so much history is out there to be had. We just have to look for it. Not a better way to do it then on a bike, Thank you for the video and take care, Al

[@TheBicycleTourists]

You are so right Al. At a slow pace, everything comes alive, and your eyes are open to what's around you.

[@user-bf3oy9on9k]

well done.... good stuff... that area was the RAGBRAI finish day in 2022... excellent riding!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thank you. One of these days I'll have to do Ragbrai.

[@garyseckel295]

Wow! Cannot imagine a strong headwind, and.., still being able to one-hand ride, while holding the camera! OUCH! Thank you, Roland, for your letting of us to see a beautiful experience of Iowa!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

It's gotten me into trouble on a couple of occasions over the years (which I of course have edited out).

[@dondonner1095]

Yea, that's why I kind of stick to Hamburgers. Hard to mess up. Thanks for the scenery.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Ha. I literally asked the guy at the casino for a burger and he said "I wouldn't eat one of these hamburgers" and so I went with the sloppy joes.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Wait - you were referring to the less than spectacular steak, not the sloppy joes from the day before. I guess my gripe is, that here in the midwest, where we grow all the food, it's hard to get a good meal. It just doesn't add up.

[@klasjansson5814]

You are a very good story teller!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thank you Klas!

[@TerrapinCyclist]

Always the positive attitude despite the challenges. Admirable.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Ah well. I always figure that, a) It could be worse, I could be in some office somewhere, churning out TPS reports, and b) What choice do you really have?

[@tonyorme6446]

Beautiful scenery!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yup! Iowa is gorgeous!

[@r.s7081]

I did a organized 25 gravel ride last Sunday in Grinnell, I thought I was in shape until mile 13, The hills were relentless. Thanks for making my inner complaints legit. Those hills are no joke.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

I hope to cross Iowa someday, but i've heard that if you're not on a rail trail, you can expect hills from one side to the other.

[@gregtitus2467]

Nice video! I've done some road cycling twice up in that area, staying overnight in Waukon. Great road cycling, and you feel like you're not really in Iowa, given the hills and the vistas. It's a worthwhile cycling adventure.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thank you Greg! I haven't ridden much of Iowa, I've ridden along the Wabash in western Iowa which is along the Missouri (roughly) and is also hilly. I have very fond impressions of riding here, and hope to do more in the years ahead.

[@edbrennan3671]

I'm enjoying your videos! I rode much of your route the opposite direction from Marquette over to Prairie du Chien and up the Wisconsin side to Prescott. It was one of the highlights of my ride last summer from Albany, NY to Fargo, ND. The road from Marquette to the Effigy Mounds was truly awful. I am surprised the Adventure Cycling Northern Tier route follows that route. My B&B host recommended the Wisconsin side and I was happy he did. There was also about 30 miles of Great River State Park Trail just north of LaCrosse to Trempealeau that was a nice break from the road, though slower.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Wow! I didn't know that was part of the Northern Tier. I was a member of Adventure Cycling for years but when I finally tried one of their routes on our cross country trip it was the worst route I've ever been on. There are a lot of really nice rail trails in the area but they just don't all quite connect yet, and if you're like me, you like a mix of road and trail.

[@thattravellingguy]

That was wonderful Roland. I've seen lots of videos of the American outlands, but never one that transports me to the cowboy movies of the 50s and 60s. So nostalgic!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thank you! Sometimes I think the purpose of travel is to recreate the way we saw the world as kids. I always feel a pang of nostalgia riding through these forgotten places.

[@dennispiciullo8060]

I love those small towns, we have a bunch of those here in California

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Yep. Very nostalgic!

[@martinsmith6042]

We rode those same 3.4 miles a couple of years ago Definitely less-than-ideal!

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thank god its only 3.4

[@martinsmith6042]

We rode on the Iowa side of the river to LaCrosse The road became quite nice after a while. @@TheBicycleTourists

[@stephenmorton8017]

Oh man I crossed right the same place. I didn't take that gravel road though I took the highway up out of the Mississippi valley. Same kind of day, hot. I remember there was a park up at the top of the hill I dried out my kit. I turned south down towards strawberry point after that. Great restaurant there.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

I probably wouldn’t have taken the gravel road but I barely survived the stretch north of Marquette! Glad I did, it was beautiful (and very hard).

[@stephenmorton8017]

@@TheBicycleTourists yes. i'm from Pittsburgh and have lived in the Ohio River Valley. i was flabbergasted at the scale of the Mississippi River valley. it was a hot slog climbing out of it only to get to Iowa hills. i was pulling a BoB trailer on my way to Boulder Co. and i realized how inadequate my brakes were at that point. my brother and I really enjoyed your account. i stopped and took a nap at that very same historical marker. cheers!~ and keep cranking.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

That's awesome. Love these little connections. Boulder, eh? Right down the street.

[@atmrtwbike]

I loved the opening with the towboat. The one in the video is one of the helper towboats generally found around the locks. How did it feel cycling on the left side of the road? 🙂

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Thanks! I love all the work being done on the river. I'm from Colorado, our rivers don't work like that! Do you mean riding through the construction zone? Surreal, but very safe!

[@cyclistefroisse9267]

Salut Roland ! What ?! You were in Marquette and Jacques Marquette (aka Father Marquette) doesn’t get a mention !? 😉 ( there’s a Wiki entry, FYI) Random thoughts.... the length of those trains... Old barns architecture so Scandinavian.... No wonder these Gravel bikes sell like hot cake, what a pleasant ride, these gravel roads provide. Speaking of bike, perhaps were you a little bit under-biked for such roads ? I’d bet you’d have appreciated bigger tires, inflated at a low-ish pressure, and a triple chainring with a granny gear ?

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Hey Claude, No, not under-biked. Wide tires, lowish pressure, triple chainring, granny gear. I think we have to look to the rider for what makes these hills so tough! You're right about Marquette, that was an oversight. I saw him a few weeks later on Mackinac Island and grew curious, but have yet to look him up. His name is all over this part of the country. Too late for the video but I promise to brush up on my French explorer history!

[@cyclistefroisse9267]

Erm, explorer, indeed, geographer definitely, born a French but French, I doubt it ? You’ll find fourth floor of Zilber Hall, a marble statue of Father Marquette, a replica of the statue representing Wisconsin in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol. I believe that, circa 1896, when the good people of Wisconsin recommended Father Marquette to represent them, they no longer regarded him as a fellow citizen of mine but instead as a fellow citizen of yours. To put it short, an American 😉.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

So, I just read up on old Father Marquette. What a life. By the time he died at 37 years old, he set up many missions around the Great Lakes and helped discover the upper Mississippi. Amazing stuff. Dammit. It would've made a great side story in the video!

[@cyclistefroisse9267]

Next time you will, and Julianna will see that you did your homework😉. Got a gut feeling, I am not asking, that would be impolite in my neck of wood, that Julianna and you function as a team i.e. daily chores ( where to re supply, eat, sleep) and other logistical issues. When on your own you have nobody else with whom you could share that burden which leaves you fewer time to explore, research, investigate even, the area you ride thru. Don’t blame yourself, no fault of your own.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

It IS harder on you own, and even with the two, its amazing how much time you spend just figuring stuff out... Food. Sleep. Route. Its a lot!

[@brianmccarty3615]

Town is "Walk-on" - there is (or was) a place called the Waukon Inn "Walk on in". I pronounce the county Al-a-ma-key but I could be wrong. The big hills in the area are all about 600' as the river is about 600 MSL and ridge tops are about 1200' MSL. The roads up vary in steepness - not many are less than 10% and Hipbreaker hill is 18% (may be apocryphal but so named because someone could not go fast enough to keep upright and tipped over and broke their hip)

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Good info. Pretty sure I fall over well before 18%, at least fully loaded! Apologies for any mispronunciations I make along the way. I need to get better at that...

[@brianmccarty3615]

That's OK -- pronunciation of place names is not always intuitive

[@hideawayhomesllc5103]

What? You didn't show the pink elephant in Marquette?

[@TheBicycleTourists]

I did! I showed that elephant in the last installment, "More Adventures Along the Great River Road".

[@AaronSmith-sx4ez]

I've biked a bunch of NE Iowa as part of kayak/river shuttles and many of your observations are on point. The roads along the Mississippi are gorgeous and mostly flat, but traffic + low shoulder are a nightmare. I did your EXACT same route this summer between the mounds and McGregor and faced the SAME construction craziness...but for me they had erected a huge orange fence that even blocked bikes/pedestrians and I had to walk my bike though a side park and through that same gas station parking lot you were at to get to my kayak. I too felt I had some close calls with traffic north of Marquette because the lack of shoulders. Train traffic is insane and Marquette is actually a changeover spot for drivers. The trains will "camp" on the tracks and can block traffic (including bikes) for 10+ minutes while they do their thing. The Marquette area is AMAZING in the fall because of all the Sugar Maple and exploring the Mississippi backwaters on a kayak is a lot of fun. Best view is from atop the Marquette-Joliet Bridge. I cringed in the video when I heard you would try climbing out of the Mississippi valley...those hills IMO are just too steep for biking and too many have gravel. Rural scenery in NE IA is terrific and as a biker I was shocked at how courteous Iowa drivers were in giving me space (more so than Wisconsin/Illinois drivers)...but wind/hills/gravel/farm smells are an issue. As you mentioned the food in rural Iowa is not good! Something you should consider is doing a bike/kayak combination trip which can be a lot of fun.

[@TheBicycleTourists]

Hey Aaron, loved your comment. Good to hear from someone who knows the exact turf. On the whole I loved riding through this area. I would love to come back in the fall, I'm sure macGregor is a great place to stay. I feel like not enough pople know about what a great area this is. I like the idea of a kayak/bike trip. Did some sea kayaking in the San Juan islands and was absolutely blown away.