Day 11 Alton, IL

May 27, 2018

It was another very hot ride today with a couple of miles of steep hills at the end just to make it even more fun.

We started out with several miles on Route 66. We were on the older 1930-1940 sections for part of the time and the newer 1940-1977 road other times.

We saw this "historic" gas station on Route 66...

but Kerry found the historic car ramps next to it more interesting.

After leaving Route 66, we rode on a number of parts of the Madison County trail system on the way to Alton. They were almost all paved and we were lucky to find some shaded trails today.

It was nice to enjoy a lot of car free miles today.

There were, however, a couple of not so welcome places on the trails. Check out Alain's entry for pictures of today's cycling obstacles.

We got our first view of the Mississippi River from the top of the Lewis and Clark Confluence Tower off the levee trail in Hartford, IL.

The small area of water in the middle is the Mississippi River

Our last stop before the big climb into Alton was at the Melvin Price Locks and Dam and National Great Rivers Museum. It was an interesting place to visit, but we didn't get to take the tour to the top of the dam because the heat index was over 100 F. The park ranger there did give us a talk about the workings of the locks and dam and answered our questions.

A tug pushing barges under the Clark Bridge toward the Price locks.

Today's ride: 56 miles (90 km)
Total: 538 miles (866 km)

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