Conclusion – USA Midwest 2023 Day 15 & 16

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Day 15, 16 Combo

Days 15 and 16 were combined to complete USA Midwest 2023.  This was not the plan of course, more about this in just a bit.

Overview

Rolled out from my hotel in Peru, IL, rolled south on Illinois Highway 251 onto Interstate 39 South, Interstate 74 East, and finally onto Interstate 57 south stopping off for lunch at Dairy Queen Grill & Chill in Arcola, IL.

From Arcola, IL, I stay off the Interstates for a while because traveling via state and local roads I believe is just way more interesting.  Interstates are great for chewing up large amounts of miles in a condensed timeframe.   But IMO, I find riding on Interstates to be boring but a useful means to an end at times.  I-70 in Colorado however is an exception to this, that is a very interesting ride. 

Riding back roads I work my way from Arcola, IL to Evansville, IN, then roll south via US Highway 41 / Interstate 69 and then roll east to Days Inn in Joelton, TN via Interstate 24.  This was the planned stop for Day 15 for total of 439 miles for the day.

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USA Midwest 2023 Day 14 Part 2 – Mississippi River Run

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September 14, 2023

Day 14 Part 2 Overview

Part 2 of Day 14, I rode the Mississippi River run rolling south from Prescott, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 35.

When I lived in Minnesota, this was one of my favorite routes to ride motorcycles.  Back then, that motorcycle would have been a Honda VTX 1300C (that I crashed in California in August 2017).   The Minnesota side (Highway 61) of the Mississippi river is also a nice ride.  I do prefer the Wisconsin side as there is more visual scenery, and more sweeping curves.  I often would ride south on the Wisconsin side and cross the river either into Winona Minnesota or across the river into Minnesota from La Crosse, WI and roll north on Highway 61.

Today, there was no crossing back into Minnesota as I was on my return part of this trip back to where I live now near Atlanta, Georgia.

I completed today’s ride stopping in Peru, Illinois staying in a hotel overnight.

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