I will never forget my first motorcycle trip to the Appalachians in the fall of 1998. There was this feeling that is very hard to describe in words that I had when I realized exactly what I was doing. For Tad and Jeff, this trip, Around the Lakes, was what started it all for them, and to some extent is what got me into Sport Touring.
Needless to say, when Tad started planning to repeat the Lakes trip, I was ready to go without even really thinking about it. The only other thing to do was convince my Dad that he should join us. After a few rather lengthy email's between us (and Tad), my Dad was ready to go. Little did he know what he was in for. You see, my Dad has a lot of miles under his belt from years past and had just gotten back into motorcycling with the addition of a shiny new Honda ST1100 to his garage. Despite his many miles on various motorcycles (GoldWings included), he'd never taken a trip longer than a few hundred miles.
With that being said, the group: Myself (VFR800), my Dad (ST1100), Tad (CBR 1K), Jeff (VFR750), and Adam (VFR800) set out for a four day trip down around the Southern edge of Lake Michigan, into Michigan state, up though Mackinaw City and Sault Saint Marie, into Canada around Lake Superior, and finally back into Minnesota and Wisconsin to complete the trip back to Chicago. This trip would total 2045 miles for me.
Day 1 - May 27, 1999 (Thursday)
590 miles
Since we had a lot of miles to cover, and also because of Chicago's rush hour traffic, we got a VERY early start to the day. We met at the Woodfield parking lot at 4am, which meant getting up in the 3am hour. Everyone was on-time and ready to go shortly after 4am. The morning trip around the city was uneventful, but yet kind of fun for me. I just love shooting out of toll plazas WFO w/ the front wheel struggling to keep in contact w/ the road. :)
Our first stop for the morning was just across the border in Michigan at a rest area. It had cooled down a bit due to the "cooler by the lake" effect, and I think most of the group was ready for a break. It was at this point I made a crucial mistake no thanks to Jeff. You see, Adam (also on a VFR800) had just gotten a Corbin a few days back. Jeff suggested I take a seat and see how it felt (in other words, what Jeff really meant to say was "go sit on that seat so you can wish you had one for the rest of the trip") Ok, maybe not quite like that, but that's how good the Corbin felt. Or should I say that's how bad the stock seat is. I'm sure my expression gave it all away that Mr. Corbin would be getting some of my money soon.
Anyway, we were soon back on the road and made our next stop for breakfast in St. Joseph. After a few "Curley" specials and some biskets and gravy, the group was ready to get back on the road. Since we got such an early start on the day, we basically still had the entire day (I think it was only 9am) to traverse the Michigan coastline, and make it to Mackinaw City for the night.
We actually split away from the lake for a while and headed up Rt. 37 through the Manistee National Forest. This was a nice ride basically just cruising through the country watching the miles go by. Next we cut back over on Rt. 55 to the Michigan coastline and stopped at the first of many very scenic lookouts. I snapped a few great pictures here, including the famous "Pretty Maids in a Row" picture. My Dad was also enjoying trip at this point, and was very amazed his back was holding up so well.
After a few sweepers we continued on to Mackinaw for the evening. Oh, I almost forgot about a stop we made at Glen Haven. If we had more time, that was the kind of place I could have stayed at for hours. Anyway, we all enjoyed a few beers along with dinner, and then gazed out at Lake Huron for a bit before turning in for the night. I was exhausted from the long days ride and the lack of sleep the night before.
Pictures:
The Pretty Maids in a Row
Lake Michigan at it's finest
My Dad taking it all in
Approaching Glen Haven
The rocky Michigan coastline
My VFR posing in front of the lake
Day 2 - May 28, 1999 (Friday)
498 miles
A more reasonable start to the day, and we were on the
road by 7am CST. (once again, it was to confusing to switch time zones
during the trip) The first stop for the day was in Sault Ste. Marie,
Ontario for breakfast and some currency exchange. This was my first
out of country experience (heheheh - that sounds funny), so the
whole money thing was new to me. Not to mention the gas being in
liters and the speeds posted in km's/hour. (I think Jeff and Tad failed
to make this conversion though)
Back on the road once we got out of the city, I knew why we had come this way. Trans-Canada 17 was a beautiful road, that basically followed the north shore of Lake Superior for 650km to Thunder Bay. The picture to the right was the first time I pulled over and my Dad, not knowing what was going on, also stopped. We had talked the night before that we would all kind of split up for the day, and meet at various lookouts throughout the day. He asked me what was up, and I said just taking a picture so get out of here. :) He knew what we meant then, and it was a neat feeling for me to watch his ST disappear down the road, and knowing I was standing in Canada, now by myself, with the other 4 riders somewhere up the road. It reminded me of when Tad and I got on the Blue Ridge and he said, "I'll see you in Boone."
I ended up passing everyone stopped at various places along the road, and was the first to the Agawa Bay lookout. It was at this point when I could tell my Dad had totally lost his mind. It was great seeing him truly enjoying himself and completely overcome by the scenery Canada had to offer. I wasn't doing too bad myself at this point, though what's with all the little bugs? We continued on and encountered a few construction zones (which meant driving on gravel roads at times) and rolled into Thunder Bay sometime around 7pm. After a quick check-in, we grabbed some dinner, and also checked out a college type sports bar across the street from our hotel. I really wasn't in the mood to drink all night, and knowing how Tad and Jeff are, I knew it was far to dangerous anyway. So, my Dad and I called it a day and retired to our Crappy-8 hotel room.
Pictures:
Tad crossing the Mackinaw bridge
The group heading to Sault Ste. Marie
A nice waterfall along Rt. 17
Approaching a little bay
Don't ask how I took this while riding
Tad and Jeff (or Jeff and Tad) riding
Day 3 - May 29, 1999 (Saturday)
477 miles
Again, another long day of riding was in store for us to make it
to Houghton, MI for the night. Our first stop this morning was
at the US/Canada border for a customs check. All of us made it
through without a problem, but I could just tell this was the kind
of guy you didn't want to mess around with. Shortly after the border
crossing, now in Minnesota, I saw Tad and Jeff pulled over on the side
of the road. The picture to the right shows what they were looking
at. Cool, my first moose sighting!
Continuing on, we next stopped at the Blue Water Cafe in Grand Marais for breakfast. I really enjoyed this breakfast, and even had to buy a souvenir mug. There is just something about the small town cafe that I really enjoy. After breakfast and a quick gas fill-up, we continued on to Split Rock Lighthouse State Park where Jeff split-up with the group. It was really cool to see the EXACT same picture with my eyes that I'd seen on Tad's wall from his previous trip. (picture link below)
After Split Rock, the group of 4 now made our way through the heat of Duluth, and into Wisconsin. We grabbed a quick gas station lunch in Bayfield, and it was at this point my Dad told us he was going to split away from the group and start heading home. I was kind of bummed to say the least because I thought he wasn't enjoying himself. I know this not to be the case now, but it was still sad to see him split away from the group. With only 3 riders now, we continued to Porcupine State Park in Michigan where we met up with Jeff again. His Dad had told him about this place, and the view was well worth the $4 admission charge. Shortly before arriving at Porcupine, Tad and I had a nice little "run" down a deserted backroad. I'll leave the details out, but let's just say that the VFR800 held her own against Tad's CBR1000. :)
The rest of the day was uneventful, as the 4 of us made our way to Houghton for the night. Jeff and I did switch bikes for a bit, and it was fun passing cars with his TBR pipe. Oh ya, I seem to remember something here about me being a pass-o-mattic also. The picture to the right is the Houghton bridge taken from a dock behind our hotel.
Pictures:
Split Rock Lighthouse State Park
4 bikes at Porcupine State Park
Day 4 - May 30, 1999 (Sunday)
480 miles
I originally had plans split from the group and traverse parts of north-eastern WI on my way home. However, after an incident in a well documented speedtrap in Eagle River, WI, I changed my plans and just slabbed it the rest of the way home. I'd say getting stopped in Eagle River put a pretty good closure on the trip for me, considering our fast pace for the entire trip.
Summary
I titled this as "A Different Kind of Trip" because it was unlike any of the previous trips I have taken. It was not about racing from corner to corner in search of the next twisty road. But rather it was simply about being out on the open road. It was a "different kind of nice" if you will. Perhaps I was expecting too much - but I was never was able to find that state of mind that I found on trips past. It was a good trip regarless, and I will still consider repeating it again someday.
I am very glad that everyone else enjoyed this trip so much. Tad - thanks for organizing everything, and helping to get my Dad back "on the road again." He really enjoyed the trip!
Links:
All of my photos on one page
My homepage
Tad's trip report
My Dad's trip report
