The best cycling routes around Colona

Schwiebert Riverfront Park offers a variety of features, including art sculptures, a digital playground, a fountain, a great lawn, an observation shelter, a parking lot, a promenade, restrooms, a stage, a triangle lawn, an urban concrete beach, and a walk/jog path/trail. The park was named after former Mayor Mark Schwiebert, who lived from 1989 to 2009, for his dedication to enhancing public access to the riverfront. The park hosts live music events and is a picturesque setting for leisure and for recreation.

The Quad City Botanical Center spans about 4 acres. There is a diverse collection of plant species and themed gardens here, and it's great for all ages to visit. The gardens are open Monday–Saturday from 10 a.m.–4 p.m., with shorter hours on Sunday from 11 a.m.–4 p.m.

The Butterworth Center and Deere-Wiman House are open from 9  a.m. to 5  p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 12 p.m. to 5  p.m. on Sundays. The property was originally owned by descendants of John Deere but is now managed by the William Butterworth Foundation. These historic homes host educational and cultural events year-round and provide meeting spaces for nonprofit organizations. Tours are offered to visitors, but they can also be admired from the outside as you ride by on your bike.

The Rock River, spanning about 299 miles (481 km) is as a tributary of the Mississippi River. Historically called the Sinnissippi by the Sauk and Meskwaki peoples, translating to "rocky waters," it now is also the boundary between Iowa and Illinois, as well as the cities of Davenport and Rock Island.

Sylvan Slough is a river in Illinois that passes Rock Island. If you follow the river further east, you'll get wonderful views to Rock Island Arsenal and Sylvan Island.

The Mississippi River Trail (MRT) is a long distance bike trail that traverses 10 states. It travels for over 2,000 continuous miles on each side of the river, between the headwaters at Lake Itasca, Minnesota and the Gulf of Mexico. It is still work in progress but when complete the route will consist of trails and bike-friendly roads, with “MRT” signs identifying the way. In Illinois, the MRT route goes through some of the state’s most diverse landscapes and provides miles of great cycling. It hugs historic canals, crosses unglaciated hills, parallels the Rock and Fox Rivers, and includes one of America’s first rail-trails.

This is a great little bridge heading from East Moline out to delightful Campbell Island. You have great views out over the river, and on the island, you can do a nice short, two-mile loop and visit Campbell's Island State Historic Site if you have time on your hands. It is worth crossing the bridge and doing the loop just to get the river views.

This harbor sits sandwiched between the Great River Trail and the great river itself, the Mississippi — all of which offer stupendous scenery as you cycle by.