• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

Dec 4 in Eastern Iowa

S

SCDorman

Guest
I just traded by 00 R11R for an 01 R11RT and got the chance to do a little riding yesterday. This is somewhat rare this time of year in my neck of the woods.

So I took off from Cedar Rapids and headed northeast on 151 to Dubuque. Wanted to get highway miles in to try to judge touring comfort. It's been pretty warm around here, so the landscape was much greener than normal, although of course the trees have defoliated and the crops are (mostly) all out. The terrain is gently rolling, mostly farmland, with numerous stands of tree and prairie interspersed. The hills get more dramatic as you approach the Mississippi. At no place does anything approach 'Scenic and Wild', but I am one of those wacky souls that really digs the Iowascape.

I stopped in Dubuque for awhile. It is, I believe, the oldest town in Iowa, settled sometime in the 1600s by French miners. It is a typical old river town that was devastated by the migration out of industry in the 60s/70s. They are attempting a comeback now, and appear somewhat successful. They have some nice architecture:
 

Attachments

  • Historic B&B.jpg
    Historic B&B.jpg
    25 KB · Views: 119
Dec 4 in Eastern Iowa (cont.)

They also boast the steepest, shortest cable car ride in the world. You can see where the elite of Dubuque lived at one time...
 

Attachments

  • Cable Car Hill.jpg
    Cable Car Hill.jpg
    23.5 KB · Views: 117
Dec 4 in Easter Iowa (cont.)

Here's a pic of the new bike...
 

Attachments

  • Bike in DBQ2.jpg
    Bike in DBQ2.jpg
    23.8 KB · Views: 116
Dec 4 in Eastern Iowa (cont.)

I found this little shop called 'The Yorkshire Rose' run by a nice lady from Leeds. We had a pleasant conversation and I picked up a few holiday items. Oh, and this...
 

Attachments

  • SD.jpg
    SD.jpg
    19.1 KB · Views: 117
Dec 4 in Eastern Iowa (cont.)

I headed south of out Dubuque on what passes for twisties in Iowa. More like nice gentle curves. Drove down along the Mississippi to Bellevue another quaint little river town. Here's a pic taken from the lock and dam there, over the Big Muddy, toward the Galena area of Illinois...
 

Attachments

  • Bellevue.jpg
    Bellevue.jpg
    19 KB · Views: 117
Dec 4 in Eastern Iowa (conclusion)

Headed home across the winding roads of Hwys 62 and 64 from there, had a wonderful ride, about 250 miles all told. I really love my RT, it's comfortable, handles great, and really hauls @$$ compared to my roadster. The roads were mostly empty, except for a few chickens on the road at one point near Wyoming (Iowa, that is). Apologize for the lack of dramatic photos, but, hey, it's Iowa in December, there's no snow (thankfully!), and I was mostly busy riding and learning.

And it's another nice day today.... :clap

Cheers all,
Steve
 
Nice pictures! I happen to like Dubuque. Been there several times on business, and the folks there are very friendly and have a good time. You should go out to Dyersville and get some shots of the field of dreams.
 
Dyersville

lorazepam said:
Nice pictures! I happen to like Dubuque. Been there several times on business, and the folks there are very friendly and have a good time. You should go out to Dyersville and get some shots of the field of dreams.

We've been there a couple times, and I'm sure will be back again.

I grew up in Manchester, just a few miles from there...and my mom was a Dyer...

Steve
 
Nice ride report. I like the scenery in the middle of America. I spent quite a bit of time in Iowa & Minnesota about 10 year ago. I found the people to be some of the best in the nation.

Nice pictures & nice bike.
 
Back
Top