Day seven dawned with more beautiful weather. I briefly considered delaying my departure from Moline so that I could ride over to the Rock Island Arsenal to see the atomic canon. I lost so much time on the previous day’s flat tire that I had not gotten to see it. Grown up responsibility kicked in, though, since I had a date to meet up with my cousin Melanie in Galena in two days time. The atomic canon will have to wait for my next trip through Moline.
I am glad that I left Moline with plenty of time for pictures. This turned into one of the most photogenic days of the entire tour. I started on super nice bike trails and got to keep riding on them for most of the day.
A little bit north, I found a couple of seriously big pumps. They were not running when I got to them but the hoses were still across the trail and big enough that I did not try to ride over them.
This picture will give you a better idea just how big these hoses are.
The hoses are labeled, too. This thing would carry one heckuva lotta water!
So of course it would need a mighty big pump to fill it.
When I rode into Hampton Village, I found myself staring at their war memorial. This commemorates soldiers all the way back to the Blackhawk war of 1832. (You can click on this picture, and any of the others, to see a larger version.)
Next excitement: more flood effects. The trail was dry but not really rideable, at least I was not going to try swooping around the ends of the tree trunks with 60 pounds of gear in my panniers. My bike handles pretty well with all of that extra weight but not that well.
Getting ’round those obstacles was so taxing that I felt an irresistible urge to refuel at Brothers Diner in Rapid City. Yes, the multigrain pancakes with fresh fruit were every bit as good as you imagine.
Well fortified, I pedaled on to Port Byron which welcomed me with a bigger penny-farthing than I have ever imagined. I know that I am not man enough to ride that bike.
Usually, biking under a highway is noisy and uninteresting. Not always, though.
I passed by an electric generating plant when the light was just right on the insulators on the distribution lines to make a nice picture.
The day ended in Fulton, IL. I was still on nice bike trails as I passed the bridge and pedaled up to an honest to goodness Dutch windmill.
This amazing windmill was designed and built in Holland. It was then disassembled and shipped to Fulton. Dutch workmen came over and reassembled it. The windmill was dedicated in 2000. It is fully functional, including millstones, and can grind multiple kinds of flour.
I thought that I had seen everything that day until I turned my bike from taking the photo above and found myself face to face with…
To be continued….
