Touring - Iowa Hwy 92, any good?

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Old Hammer Boy
05-16-06, 06:05 PM
Hi all,

In August I'll be doing a west to east crossing of Iowa. Due to scheduling constraints, I'll be doing it solo (not RAGBRAI) and plan to take Hwy 92 from C. Bluffs to Muscatine. I've read a lot on how horrible many of the Iowa roads are, and I'm a bit concerned if 92 is a reasonable choice. If you would please share any experiences or observations, I'd sure appreciate them. Thanks, OHB

timdoug
05-16-06, 09:12 PM
I don't want to write about the suitability of Hwy 92 for biking. However, I live in Omaha and drove it to
Winterset and it is a pretty route in the summer with rolling hills the whole way, if memory serves.

I have not heard that Iowa's road are any worse than other states, and I live right across the river.

I must ask, why Iowa? You live in freakin' Utah! I think it is probably a little more scenic out there.
Shemp
05-16-06, 11:11 PM
I've ridden Ragbrai, and I've been on vacation to Utah 3 times. It's beyond me why you'd choose Iowa over Utah, Colorado or even farther north in the Midwest. I'd add that my wife lived in Sigourney along Route 92 and would surely say the same. The only place I know to worry about might be the short highway 61 stretch at the east end. I'm exactly sure south of Muscatine, but I know to the north of Muscatine, 61 gets more than its share of accidents.

markw
05-16-06, 11:37 PM
It worked for Mike Trevino. You should be able to do it in 10-12 hours. :)

http://www.ultracycling.com/records/iowa_record2005.html
Old Hammer Boy
05-17-06, 08:37 AM
I must ask, why Iowa? You live in freakin' Utah! I think it is probably a little more scenic out there.

I absolutely love Utah, Utah weather, Utah cycling, and the west in general. 30 years ago, I lived back in the midwest and there's no way I'd go back. However, my wife is having a high school class reunion in the Quad Cities area and I thought this would be a good opportunity to have her drop me off and "stretch my legs" across Iowa! We're hosting a German boy for the summer months and he's interested in the experience, too. My main concern is safety with the ability to take a fairly expediant route. Don't worry, I'll be logging perhaps 4,000-6,000 miles here in the beautiful west.