Dubuque and Highway 151: Future Road Trip!

Just returned from a car trip over to Madison, Wisconsin to see my brother and his growing family – and discovered a couple of areas that need to be explored on the bike.

First, the city of Dubuque, Iowa. Dubuque is home to the America’s River museum & fresh-water aquarium, which is dedicated to the history and importance of the Mississippi River. I’ve been wanting to go to this new Iowa attraction since it opened in 2004. I think it would be a great family trip.

Also, coming into Dubuque on Highway 151 is really noteworhy – you come around a curve on the downhill, and there’s a dramatic bridge up ahead with a view of the town along the river’s edge that just makes you say “Wow!” All the old buildings close to the river give you an immediate sense of how the town developed, along with the realization of how far and how fast things progressed westward in this country.

The other area I’d like to return to on the bike is just Highway 151 in general. As you cross the Mighty Mississippi into Wisconsin, it’s amazing – the landscape immediately changes to include highways cut out of rocky bluffs, lots of long curves and pretty hills, and those dairy farms Wisconsin is famous for. It was a lovely drive… and the fact that we got to stop-n-shop at J&P Cycles in Anamosa, Iowa was an added plus!

New Year’s Day Ride 2006

Just a short jaunt today to try out the new Mustang solo seat… have you ever noticed that when you ride or drive on a brand new street in your hometown that it just feels really weird, like you aren’t even in the same city? There has been so much development and expansion here in Des Moines these past few years, and there’s a new road that runs along the south end of our downtown area – not just a resurfaced road, but an entirely new road that never existed until just this past year. It’s 3 lanes wide in each direction, with lots of attractive landscaping on both sides – built BIG for anticipated traffic, although today (a Sunday AND a holiday) there was no one else – and it just feels really strange! Anyway, awesome short ride, love my new seat! Hoping to rack up many more miles this year!