Thursday, Michigan and a little bit of Wisconsin

Thursday, the 28th of June (McDonalds (free WiFi) in Marquette, MI).


To put the whole trip in perspective, check this out:

Beautiful crossing of the Strait of Mackinac on the big bridge.  I was there in time for breakfast at the Cunningham restaurant (my mother's maiden name).

Riding the north shore of Lk Michigan is gorgeous...lots of sand, not too hilly, fairly open and traffic-free road.  

I zinged up to Lk Superior's southern shore, just to include it and have continued west through the U.P. this way.

I think I rode the longest, straightest strip of highway ever put down.  It was US28 across the U.P.

Had a little episode with my helmet.  I had stopped long enough to do a a one-flat chain adjustment (you turn the adjustment bolt, one flat) which went very well.  Then I knocked the helmet off the mirror, which is not a great place to secure your helmet I now know.  It hit and I couldn't see any damage until I started to ride.  The retainer on the right-side, which holds the ratcheting visor mechanism and the flip-up piece had "unclipped" and needed a T20 Torx adjustment.

That's all back to gether with a minor scratch on the visor.  All is good.


I linked up with a Finnish-American guy named Fred who held a beautiful, indicated 110 km/hr and made it so easy to traverse the U.P.

We rode until Bruce's Crossing

and I'm going to invite him to see this blog.

I wasn't sure how far I'd get today...watching for fatigue and listening to my bum, in that regard.

A few stops, a few noshes, a few sips of water, a peruse or two of the maps and I'm all the way to Ashland, WI.  I just had the best whitefish dinner I think I've ever had (apologies to Mr. Howell out of Owen Sound...these are just bigger filets).

I baled on camping so that I could do some serious blogging...I needed a "place" with long-time internet...which is why you can read this and see these photos.

Tomorrow...Bemidji!  (and points west).

Wednesday, the 27th of June...Guelph to Ostego Lake, MI

Okay...that was a long-ish day.  I see 400 or so miles on the GPS (600 km, thereabouts).  It didn't feel arduous, as I made sure to break it up with frequent stops.  London, Sarnia, Lake Huron shoreline...Michigan side, etc.).

I think I made it through about five albums on the headset (Fleetwood Mac, Melanie Doane, Paul Simon among others).  I followed the Lake's shore as opposed to the infinitely boring I-94/-75  combo.  It added about 1/2 an hour, no distance, and was far more enjoyable.

Eventually you have to "slab it" and you see things like this:

I'm sitting at the picnic table in site 52 of the County campground in Ostego Lake.  I'm surrounded by much bigger arrangements than my 1-person MEC tent...Suburbans, 40-foot trailers, with and without the add-a-room.

Dinner and aperitifs looked like this:

With Mackinac Bridge about 1 hour away, I'm feeling like a made a pretty good dint in the distance needed.  I think that to be under big, white pines with oaks and birches around them,

it feels like I'm a long way from home.  The water in the lake smells like Muskoka though, so it's still familiar.

I lobbed a few text messages to my family while I was still in Canada, but I'm under radio silence now with the punitive rates that Canadian wireless providers charge when abroad.  It's pretty easy to drop into a WiFi McDonalds and get caught up.  There were some nice messages from friends and I'm feeling like I have a lot of supporters and encouragers on this trip.

The sun is down.  It's still bright enough to read a book here.  But, I think I will retire and resume this blog tomorrow when I can insert some of the photos I took today (note: done!).

(Geek alert...For the riders among you, I started out with the pre-load on the rear shock at 1/2 way (8 turns out of 16...I have gone to 11 full turns and the bike is not wavering in the wind blasts so much).  The brand, new chain has not budged much, but I have lubed it while hot, gave it a km or so to distribute, and then it will sit and soak all night.  I'm getting 33 mpg (US) at 75 mph cruising speed.

Warming up

Why that title?  Can't you hear Ian and Sylvia's hit...weather's good [in Alberta] in the Fall?  I'm going west in the summer and I'll keep on going, to the Yukon.  There's 19 hours of daylight right now!

I've thought about this for a while and now is the time.  Thinking is important.  Feeling is too.  Doing is the other supporting leg.  There are lots of similar stories found on Adventure Rider.

My daughter is working in Whitehorse and I feel a powerful draw to go and see her.  I'll be riding on a Suzuki V-Strom, camping, visiting places and people that I haven't seen in a while...some of them for 30 years.

If you're riding along with me, some of the things to remember are:

1. Daily distance doesn't count as much as memories.  Talk to people.  Do something worthwhile.
2. Words are good, thoughts are better, and pictures really rivet your attention.

I expect to be trackable by Spot (thanks Ron!).  I don't have an itinerary, except that my wife will fly out and meet us in a couple of weeks, so I should plan to arrive then too, right?  If you're like me, you've read or watched the motorcycle movies that portray this sort of trip (Long Way Round...Ewan and Charlie, The Longest Ride...Emilio Scotto).  Though this one will not be nearly as long as either of those.  The elements can be the same...read on, I hope you find them or at least satiate your appetite for a road trip story.

The church ladies (thanks Jane), gave me an Inukshuk for good luck...along with about a dozen kinds of advice for how to deal with the inevitable Grizzly, mountain lion, elk, etc.

The motorcycle is ready and nearly packed.  So, the next post should be from the road.  I expect to cross into the States at Sarnia and go through Michigan's Upper Peninsula to Minnesota.  From North Dakota, I'll start angling up towards the Yukon.