Cycling in the Quad Cities

DAVENPORT, IOWA - This past week, while on business in the Quad Cities I had the chance to check out two great trail systems on both sides of the Mississippi River.  First, the Mississippi River Trail (Scott County) which runs through Davenport and Bettendorf, now linking up with the Duck Creek Trail which runs through Bettendorf.  On the other side of the river is the Great River Trail, running from Savanna, IL to Rock Island, IL.  Both of these trails follow the Mississippi River providing some spectacular views of some great scenery along the way.
     It's very easy to cross from one state (and trail) to the other via the Government Bridge, which runs from Davenport to the Rock Island Arsenal.  From there, it's across another bridge to Rock Island and on to Moline.  The Government Bridge was quite impressive, built before 1900 it carries both car and rail traffic double-decker style.  Plus the bridge has a swinging section that allows barge traffic to come through.
     I biked a total of about 70 miles over the course of the five days I was in the Quad Cities, and each time I ventured out the trails were humming with plenty of folks taking advantage of the near perfect weather conditions all week long.  An added bonus was all of the rail traffic in the immediate area I was staying in, with sightings of Union Pacific, Iowa Interstate, BNSF and other major railroads all in the same area.  Many of the trails actually run parallel or underneath the railroad infrastructure there, making it quite easy in intercept rail traffic in the area.  There is a tremendous amount of history in this area, with many interpretive stops along the way where you can learn about the history of the settlement of this area.  I hope to return some time and explore the rest of the Great River Trail further north of the Moline area:

Enjoying a nice sunset on the Great River Trail in Rock Island.

The Government Bridge running from Davenport to the Rock Island Aresenal is quite bike friendly with a dedicated bike path.  On the Davenport side, this ramp connects you to the MRT.  You can see the Lock and Dam in the background.

Dawn on the MRT near Credit Island Park in Davenport.

A Union Pacific Train barrels through Davenport next to the trail early one morning.  Just made it across the tracks onto the trail before the train made its way past my location.

A BNSF freight crosses a railroad bridge over the MRT in Davenport.

Enjoying the MRT after just departing Bettendorf headed into Davenport.  This section of trail was just recently opened.

More railroad action along the Great River Trail in Rock Island.  Here an Iowa Interstate train sits waiting for the go ahead to proceed to the Rock Island Arsenal and eventually cross the Government Bridge back into Iowa.

My final ride across the mighty Mississippi coming returning to Davenport.  I had just been held up in Rock Island by a barge passing through the lock system, closing down the bridge for a time.