+ Week Two Up Around Some Great Lakes

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This ride report first appeared on the other site, so it may seem redundant. If you didn’t like it there, you probably won’t like it here. Otherwise, enjoy. Note: this ride took place in 2019.
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If you want to read about iron butt mileage, long days in the saddle fighting fatigue and bad weather, breakdowns, or epiphanies wrought through self reflection, this ride report probably isn’t for you. If, however, you want to read about a pleasant two week ride with lots of sightseeing around the upper Great Lakes, you may like it. I’m not sure if a ride that averaged a little over 150 miles a day qualifies as “epic.” That being said, this year’s trip did cover 2300 miles, started from the south side of Tennessee, and went to the top of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and many points in between. For my wife Laura and me that qualifies as epic.

When Laura and I go for a ride we aren’t looking to cover as much ground as possible. Our goal is to have fun and see the sights. While I enjoy days where you just ride and pound out the miles, my wife does not. Our Ven diagram of motorcycle riding overlaps at touring back roads and small towns, staying in mom and pop motels, and spending time at interesting stops along the way. Laura is a school teacher which means our window of time for a longer trip falls in the summer. And since neither of us likes to ride all day in the heat and humidity around home (Tennessee) during the summer, we have had to figure out ways to give us what we both enjoy with as little of what we don’t as possible. Compromise isn’t always a bad thing. Maybe that’s one thing that has helped us stay married for 35 years (this ride was our 35th anniversary celebration).

We go on a lot of weekend and day rides. Three years ago we branched out and spent a week on and around the Blue Ridge Parkway. But last year’s ride was our first really long trip together by bike. That trip, with a couple of our oldest friends, took us from Chattanooga to Niagara Falls, Toronto, around Lake Ontario and the Thousand Islands region, through the Adirondacks, Cooperstown, and Corning, NY (trust me on this one, go to the Glass Museum). The wife in the other couple has a similar travel style to Laura’s. So my friend and I rode up via Dayton (Air Force Museum) and Cleveland (Indians game) while the wives flew from Chattanooga to Buffalo. We then spent eight days and 1000 miles touring as couples, dropped the wives back at the airport, and spent another couple of days riding the back roads of eastern Ohio and Kentucky on our way home. We all had a good time and no one vowed to never do that again.


Laura & I in Kingston, Ontario

This year it would just be Laura and me as all of our friends that ride were tied up. Since the trip was in July, we would be going north to get out of the heat. Because I have a job, our maximum time available was two weeks. Our choice for destination was either Maine/Nova Scotia, or Lower Michigan/Wisconsin/Upper Peninsula. In the end the Michigan/Wisconsin loop made more sense time wise so that became the plan.

A couple of years ago we picked up a lightly used Harley Electra Glide Classic for two-up touring. In the time we’ve had the Harley it’s accumulated an additional 13,000 miles and never failed to get us where we were going. For this trip it was time to get new shoes. So 2-1/2 weeks before departure I had a new set of Dunlop American Elites put on. Naturally, two weeks before departure, I went for a weekend ride in the mountains and came home with a 2” bolt in the brand new back tire. And as my luck with mechanical things tends to run the independent mechanic who put those tires on had just left on a three week ride out west. Fortunately the local Harley dealership had the same tire in stock and a free install deal to boot. With the bike ready, we spent the last few nights before leaving packing the bike, giving our couple of acres a good mowing, and studying Weather Underground like there was going to be a test on the information.

 

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Packed up and ready to go.

Day -1 (6/28)

As Friday was a work day for me, our trip officially began on the last Saturday in June. The plan was simple. We had a hotel reserved in Dearborn for Saturday night. I would ride up, Laura would fly, and we would meet at the hotel.

The trip from our house outside Chattanooga to our hotel in Dearborn was a shade over 600 miles. In order to save myself a couple of hours on Saturday’s ride, and to spend a little time with a couple of the grandkids, I left after work on Friday and rode to our daughter’s house a hundred miles north. This would save me the aforementioned time, and it also allowed me to take back roads for half the ride to Dearborn.

Day 1 (6/29)

It was relatively cool when I left Saturday morning and as I rode through rural Kentucky. However, it started getting hot about the time I hit I-75 just south of Berea.

Riding the interstate does not make for an eventful ride (at least you hope it doesn’t). Still, you meet some interesting people when you stop and the bike always opens up the conversations.

Stopped at a rest area in Ohio drinking a bottle of water, an older Aerostar van pulls in a couple of spaces away. No chrome or whitewalls on the van. Sure enough, a Mennonite family gets out and heads for the restrooms. The grandfather stays by the van and asks me how my ride is going. We talk for a few minutes and then he tells me about him and his best friend buying cheap motorcycles in 1978. From Indianapolis they rode to Daytona, across the panhandle, and all the way to San Diego. It was a great story. I was glad I got to hear it, and to be reminded to never judge a book by its cover.

By late afternoon I was in northern Ohio and ready to be where I was going. 90 degrees and bright sunshine is a recipe for falling asleep. So I turned on some music in my helmet, cruised through Toledo and arrived in Dearborn around dinner time. Day 1 complete.

 

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Day 2 (6/30)

You might ask why would we start our trip together in Dearborn, Michigan? That’s a logical question. The answer is The Henry Ford Museum. Contrary to what some of you are thinking, this isn’t a museum about Fords. This is a museum dedicated to innovation in all areas, from farming to aviation, machine tools to civil rights. I had heard it’s one of the top museums in the country and I heard right. A few highlights:

This is the chair Abraham Lincoln was sitting in when he was shot! The first thing I thought was how did the museum get its hands on this? Second thing; is that his blood? (Answer is yes.)

The limousine that JFK was in on that fateful day in Dallas. Believe it or not, Johnson used this same car for several more years. Although he used it with the removable hardtop in place as it sits in the museum. It’s strange to stand next to something like this and think that history changed a few feet from where you’re standing.

This is a snowplow locomotive from Canada. Laura isn’t short (5’8”), it’s really that big.

A personal favorite of mine, a Bugatti type 41 Royale. One of only 6 built.

We spent the day at the Henry Ford/Greenfield Village. I know, a non-riding day and another letdown to the hardcore ADVers. But we had a great time, saw some incredible things, and it was a part of our motorcycle trip. Tomorrow we ride (finally).

 

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Day 3 (7/1): Dearborn to Grand Rapids, MI (158 miles)

This was a hot day. Southern Michigan, once you get away from Detroit, is farm country. Laura is a farm girl and usually loves riding through miles of crops. But the heat and lack of anywhere shady to pull over and relax left us both drained.

One thing we noted, whereas farms in the south are a mixture of livestock and/or crops, almost every farm we saw in Michigan was crops. Maybe the harder winters make cattle farming impractical? Or maybe, as I theorized because of the presence of a large travel trailer or motorhome at virtually every farm, farmers work the long hours required through crop season and then head for warmer climes for the winter? These are the sort of conversations that go on in your headset when your wife is a farm girl and you’re riding through farm country.

The highlight for the day was our lunch stop in the village of Chelsea. Did I say village? My bad. In 2004 the residents voted to change their status from village to city. The city of Chelsea, MI has a population of about 5,000, a couple of good restaurants, and a main employer that made it a must stop for my wife. Towering over one end of downtown are giant silos with Jiffy in large letters. Turns out that Chelsea is the home to Chelsea Milling Company, makers of Jiffy Cornmeal Mix. This information didn’t mean a lot to me but delighted my wife no end. We had to walk to the end of town and see the plant just so she could take pictures and tell all her friends that we’d been there.

Chelsea Milling Co.

After our stop in Chelsea it was back onto hot, shade-less roads through more farm country. We finally got to Grand Rapids (amazing how a 158 mile trip can take 6 hours) and found our B&B. The Leonard on Logan was just what we needed after a stiflingly hot day of riding. A turn of the century mansion in a downtown historic district. Nothing like a good dinner and a comfortable room to re-energize after a tiring ride.

The Leonard on Logan

 

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Day 4 (7/2): Grand Rapids, MI to Ludington, MI (100 miles)

As the title of this thread suggests, this ride was one of our vacations for the year and also a celebration of 35 years married. I won't get philosophical about marriage, why some last and some don't. I'll just say that I'm very fortunate to have gotten the wife I have.

I hear a lot of guys wish that their significant other would go for a ride with them. There are a lot of reasons why that doesn't happen and I wouldn't pretend to know anyone else's circumstances. I don’t claim to be the sharpest tool in the shed (actually I do claim it but nobody believes me), but I have learned a couple of things about my wife. Laura goes on long rides with me because she knows I love to travel by bike and she wants to spend time with me (one of the few people who I can say that about). So I always try to plan our rides based on her comfort (why we have a big Harley touring bike) and both our interests to ensure she will want to do it again.

One of the things Laura really enjoys is looking at houses. Especially historic ones. Grand Rapids was a planned stop because the mileage between Dearborn and our ultimate destination, Ludington, MI. was a little too far for a days ride on back roads. Given the heat, it was a good call. One thing I didn't know, but Laura did, was that Grand Rapids is home to a Frank Lloyd Wright house that is open for tours. And, by coincidence, that house was across the street and a couple of doors down from our B&B.

The Meyer May House was built in 1908-09 and had two owners before the Steelcase Corporation purchased it in 1985. The house was restored to its original specifications and is now open for tours Tuesday and Thursday mornings and Sunday afternoons. The rest of the time it is used by Steelcase for functions and client entertainment.

Once again things fell into place perfectly. We got up Tuesday morning to thunder and rain. Not a great way to start a motorcycling day. But we had a world class breakfast thanks to the Leonard on Logan chef, and by then the rain was a light drizzle. We walked over to the Meyer May House and spent a little over an hour on the tour. When we came out the sun was shining and the heat and humidity of the previous day were gone.

By late morning we were packed and ready to roll with 70 degree temperatures and the soft, cloudless blue skies that follow a cold front's passing. Ludington here we come.

Meyer May House

Ludington is a small city of 8000+ a little over halfway up the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. There's a lighthouse, a good-sized harbor, and a large beach. There is also the SS Badger.

Parked at Ludington Beach

The Lighthouse

 

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Day 5 (7/3): Ludington, MI to Green Bay, WI (100 miles)

The SS Badger is the last coal fired steamship ferry in operation. From their website:

Facts

About the Car Ferry
The S.S. Badger offers the largest cross-lake passenger service on the Great Lakes and an authentic steamship experience. The relaxing four-hour, 60-mile cruise takes passengers, autos, RVs, tour buses, motorcycles, bicycles, and commercial trucks across Lake Michigan between Ludington, Michigan and Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

Dimensions:

• Length: 410 feet, 6 inches
• Width: 59 feet, 6 inches
• Height: 106 feet, 9 inches (7 stories)
• Weight: 6650 tons displaced

Amenities: Outside deck areas, deli-style snack bar, buffet-style dining area, private staterooms, upper deck lounge, aft end lounge, video arcade, children's playroom, gift shop/ship's store, free quiet room/museum, two free TV lounges, free movie lounge!

Staterooms: 40

Propellers: Two cast steel, 4-blade propellers, 13' 10'' in diameter and weighing 13,800 pounds each

Anchors: Two Stockless anchors weighing 7,000 pounds each

Engines: Two Skinner Unaflow four-cylinder steam engines rated 3,500 horsepower at 125 RPM (total 7,000 horsepower). The Badger's propulsion system burns domestic fuel, and is designated as a mechanical engineering landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Boilers: Four Foster-Wheeler "D - type" coal-burning

Average speed: 18 miles per hour (15.6 knots)

Number of crew members on each trip: 50-60

Capacity: 600 passengers, 180 automobiles, tour buses, RVs, motorcycles, and commercial trucks

Number of crossings per season: Approx. 450

Years in service: Built and launched in 1952; began daily service on March 21, 1953

SS Badger

Waiting to Board

Leaving Ludington Harbor

We left the docks at 9am sharp. There were a deck and a half of cars, several trucks with trailers, about 10 bikes, and a couple of semis in the vehicle area. If you're on a bike bring your own tie-downs. The bikes park on grating along the outside of the lower vehicle deck. There aren't dedicated tie-down points, just some steel angle and flatbar that runs along the outer wall of the hold. Note that the crew doesn't offer any assistance securing your bike. Take a minute to look things over and make sure you've got a good plan as the seas can get rough.

As soon as we cleared Ludington Harbor the fog settled in. Visibility was less than 1/8 mile. It also got considerably colder out on the lake itself.

We struck up a conversation with another couple who had tied up their Harley next ours. Joe and Karli are from the Minneapolis area and were on the final leg of a week long ride along the south shore of Lake Superior and the eastern shore of Lake Michigan (side note: when you travel you see a lot of Harley's out on the road racking up a lot of miles). Joe is a machinist and it was interesting to hear his perspective on the changes in manufacturing over the last couple of decades in their part of the country (I've spent most of my working life in manufacturing and metal working). Once again the adage proved true. It's the people you meet, not the places you see, that make a trip special.

After four hours we arrived in Manitowoc. Docking was interesting as the Badger doesn't have bow thrusters or any sort of gearboxes on the propellers. To reverse the props they shut down the steam engines and fire them back up in reverse rotation. Manitowoc harbor is tight for a ship the Badger's size. To make the pivot so they can back into the dock, the captain drops an anchor at a point where it will spin the bow around and then act as a brake as the boat slowly back up to the dock.

Arriving at Manitowoc

Disembarking was easy. Unstrap the bike (which hadn't moved on our gentle crossing) and ride it back down the ramp. The crew gave bikes priority after the semis were unloaded and we were off the boat and out of the parking lot in about 10 minutes.

 

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Day 5(cont):

As we left the ferry there were a couple of familiar faces in the crowd. Our friends Jim and Julie were waiting for us at the side of the parking lot.

Leaving the Badger

Jim and Julie have been friends for over 20 years. We were neighbors when we all lived in Wheaton, IL and our boys played soccer and went to school together. Twenty years ago we moved back to Tennessee and they moved back to Green Bay. Every few years we get the chance to get together and, hearing that we were going to be in their neck of the woods, they insisted (though it didn’t take any arm twisting) that we stay at their house for a couple of days and then the four of us could travel to Lake Superior together.

Jim is an avid rider. He’s also 6’11” tall. Several years ago I suggested he look at the 1200GS as the number of bikes that are comfortable for him are not that plentiful. He gave the BMW a try and now owns two (one for Green Bay and one for their place in Nebraska). Our original plan was for them to join us on their GS and explore Door County. However, Julie’s back wouldn’t let that happen. So (hardcore riders stop reading here) we loaded the E-Glide on Jim’s trailer and the four of us piled into their SUV for the short trip to Green Bay.


Four Friends on a Lake Michigan Beach

Day 6 (7/4): Door County

Independence Day was a non-bike day (I know, we’re slackers at the ADV thing). After breakfast the four of us loaded up in their SUV and headed for Door County.

For those that don’t know, Door County is the large peninsula that separates Green Bay from Lake Michigan. If, like me, you religiously read Peter Egan’s columns in Cycle World and Road & Track you’ve read several stories of Door County. His descriptions of the picturesque towns and small harbors along the bay put it on my list as a must visit when in the area.

Leaving Green Bay headed north, we passed through Sturgeon Bay aiming for Egg Harbor for lunch. It's a shame they were having their 4th of July parade about the time we got there. Looked like a great place to stop for a while, but not with most of Door County lining the streets.

North of Egg Harbor we stopped at an orchard (did I mention there's a lot of agriculture up there) for a drink and snacks. Of course our friends ran into some of their friends who told us about a place for lunch in Sister Bay.

Fred and Fuzzy's Waterside Bar and Grill turned out to be a unique place and a great lunch stop. Hard to find and right on the water, the only building is the bathrooms. The kitchen is in a tent and all the tables are outdoors. Fred has an interesting staff. All his employees are eastern European college aged kids who come over for the summer and work. They live in a dorm across the street from the restaurant and work most days. At the end of the summer they spend two weeks sightseeing and then go home. I guess if you provide housing and transportation for your staff you always know they'll be at work when they're supposed to. Good food, good service, and a beautiful location make for a great lunch. We just wondered what they do when it rains?

Fred & Fuzzy’s

Door County Beach

 

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Day 7 (7/5): Green Bay to Munising, MI

Doc’s Harley-Davidson sits on Hwy. 29, 18 miles west of Green Bay at the Shawano County line. Doc is a legend in Harley circles having successfully raced top fuel drag Harleys for over 30 years. Most Harley dealerships are nice places to stop and visit when you’re on the road. Doc’s takes everything to a different level. Besides the bike dealership there are a restaurant, a zoo, and a bike and car museum. It’s easy to kill a couple or three hours there and that is exactly what we did.

Jim and I mounted up and took an early morning ride over for breakfast. The Restaurant was open, but not the dealership so we took a quick tour of the zoo while we waited for our wives to get there.

Doc's Restaurant

Inside the restaurant. Every style of engine Harley has made is on this bike. Believe it or not this thing runs and gets ridden in parades.

After getting stuffed for breakfast we wandered over to the museum and spent some time looking at the fine collection of 50’s, 60’s and 70’s cars and bikes. As we looked at the all original ’66 Toronado, we had a philosophical discussion trying to understand how GM could build such fantastic cars during the 60’s and early 70’s, and then build such forgettable—I don’t want to say junk, but I can’t think of another word—almost overnight. In the end we decided it wasn’t any one thing, and it wasn’t unique to GM. It just seemed to us that there was about a 10-15 year period where car development went backwards. You really have to wonder what cars would be like today if it weren’t for that setback.

The Museum

I’m not really a souvenir person. I bought a hat in Denali a few years ago, and a t-shirt at the Baseball Hall of Fame last year. But I didn’t get anything when we were in Iceland a couple of years ago, even though it was one of the best trips we’ve ever taken. However, Doc’s was unique enough to make the list. So I bought my first ever Harley t-shirt while we were there.

After Doc’s we rode back to Green Bay, put the GS away, and loaded the Harley back on the trailer (I know, I know, but we wanted to spend time with our friends). From Green Bay we traveled the western shore of Green Bay and Lake Michigan to the Upper Peninsula. Our final destination for the afternoon was Munising, MI. Tomorrow we would get to explore Lake Superior from both the shoreline and the water.

 

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Day 8 (7/6): Munising/Lake Superior

Munising, MI, population 2400, sits at the south end of South Bay on the southern shore of Lake Superior. Just outside the Bay is Grand Island which is bigger area wise than Munising. For such a small town with so few people, the traffic was surprisingly congested. There were people everywhere. The hotels were expensive and full. The restaurants all had lines. There was even a constant line at the walk up DQ?

Turns out Munising is the gateway to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. From Wikipedia:

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a U.S. National Lakeshore on the shore of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. It extends for 42 miles (67 km) along the shore and covers 73,236 acres (114 sq mi; 296 km2). The park has extensive views of the hilly shoreline between Munising and Grand Marais in Alger County, Michigan, with picturesque rock formations, waterfalls, and sand dunes.

Pictured Rocks derives its name from the 15 miles (24 km) of colorful sandstone cliffs northeast of Munising. The cliffs reach up to 200 feet (60 m) above lake level. They have been naturally sculptured into a variety of shallow caves, arches, and formations resembling castle turrets and human profiles. Near Munising, visitors can also visit Grand Island, most of which is included in the separate Grand Island National Recreation Area.

We woke up at the Munising Motel to a pleasant 61 degrees and a strong west wind. Our original plan was to spend the afternoon charter fishing on the lake. But our captain called during breakfast and said it was too rough. So we booked a Pictured Rocks boat tour for late in the afternoon and hoped it would calm down by then.

Since we had the day to kill we loaded up and took H-58 east toward Grand Marais. This is the coast road that parallels the Pictured Rocks Lakeshore. There are stunning views of the lake as most of the shoreline is 100'-200' off the water. For the hikers, there is a 42 mile trail that follows the lakeshore from Munising to Grand Marais. Our crew of four stopped at Miner’s Castle rock and the Log Slide Overlook on our way to Grand Marais for lunch.

Miner's Castle

Log Slide Overlook

The Log Slide Overlook, just outside Grand Marais, is a 300' high sand dune. Loggers used to pull their logs to this spot and roll the logs down into the water (that would have been something to see) where they could be rafted together and towed by boat to the lumber mill in Grand Marais. If you're so inclined you can slide yourself down the 500' dune face to the water. But as the signs warn, the few minutes it takes to get down translates into more than an hour to get back up.

After a leisurely lunch in Grand Marais we made the long drive straight south to Highway 28 which runs east and west across the middle of this part of the UP. This was the quick way back to Munising as it was getting late in the afternoon and our 5:30 tour boat wouldn't wait.

One note on the UP. The closest thing Laura and I could think of to describe the UP is Alaska without the towering mountains. Miles of wilderness without many people or signs of civilization. Not many roads, and a lot of those that are there are gravel. And few services outside the small towns that pop up now and then.

By the time we boarded our tour boat the wind had died down considerably and we had a very nice two hour tour of the Pictured Rocks. I'll let pictures tell the story.

Abandoned lighthouse on Grand Island.

The Pictured Rocks.

 

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Day 9 (7/7): Munising to Mackinaw City (191 miles)

Warning: Lots of words.

A few years ago I planned a solo 9 day ride to Lake Superior while Laura was out of the country. The highlight of that trip was to be a visit to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. Circumstances interfered and my time got cut from 9 days to 5. With so little time I just went for a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway and hoped to get up to Whitefish Point some other time. Today is that time!

Shipwrecks have always fascinated me. One minute you’re sailing along, everything blue skies and sunshine. But then, out of nowhere--sometimes building up over hours, sometimes days, or often in an instant--tragedy strikes. Some survive, some do not. Some make it through because of planning and preparation, some by pure luck. And some of the ablest sailors go down with the ship. Whatever the outcome your world is forever changed, divided into before and after. A shipwreck is an almost perfect microcosm of life.

The bank thermometer across from our hotel said 47 degrees when we got up at Munising. Even with the warm jackets we brought that’s cold. We took our time at breakfast and slowly packed the bike afterward. Our friends Jim and Julie headed back to Green Bay. It was about nine thirty when we finally got on the bike and left Munising. The thermometer said 55 as we pulled out of the motel parking lot.

We took Hwy. 28 across the UP. Long, straight, lots of trees and not many signs of civilization. Our break-the-boredom game was to guess how many miles before the next curve. Finally, after 82 miles, we got to Eckerman Corner and turned north on 123. Another 33 miles and we were at Whitefish Point and the literal end of the road. We pulled into the almost empty parking lot and got our first look at the museum.

The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is located at the original Whitefish Point lighthouse and lifesaving station. There is a newer building that houses the shipwreck exhibits, along with the light keeper’s house, a building dedicated to the lifesaving activities that took place there, and the lighthouse itself. The buildings have been well taken care of and the history is focused on the people and their stories, not just facts and figures. Laura's favorite was the story of the longest serving light keeper and his family as told in his granddaughter's diary and throughout the light keepers house which was furnished just as they had it.

The centerpiece of the Shipwreck Museum is the Edmund Fitzgerald. We all know the story because of the song. And the song does a great job of telling the story. But the details are much richer than can be expressed in a few lines. It was an epic that played out in modern times and gives us a good picture of the stories that accompanied hundreds of other shipwrecks on those lakes. As you stand on the shore of the point, Lake Superior to your left, Whitefish Bay to your right, you get a sense of the hope the crew had, and how quickly that hope turned hopeless. From the song:

“The searchers all say they’d have made Whitefish Bay
If they’d put fifteen more miles behind her.”

The last exhibit we visited was a 20 minute documentary on the Fitz and how her bell came to be in the museum. For those that don't know, an exact replica bell was cast and engraved with the names of the 29 crew members. With the families on hand, the original bell was removed from the wreck (600' deep) and the new bell permanently placed on the deck as a final memorial.

By mid-afternoon we had seen everything at the museum which was now packed with people. So we loaded up and rode to Paradise for lunch. And with that I checked the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum off my bucket list.

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum




Whitefish Point


Bell from the Edmund fitzgerald

 

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Day 9 (cont.):

The Shipwreck Museum had been my must see for this trip. Now we were off to visit Laura’s. For years she has wanted to visit Mackinac Island (pronounced Mackinaw), the resort island at the confluence of Lakes Michigan and Huron. The island does not allow vehicles so all transportation is by either bicycle or horse drawn wagon/carriage. It’s a place with a lot of history, and a lot of fudge shops.

For 26 miles, from the museum to Emerson, 123 runs along the shore of Whitefish Bay. Riding along the bay reinforces the remoteness that is Lake Superior. Along the way we stopped in Paradise for gas and a quick lunch, then stayed on 123 to the intersection of I-75. To put the remoteness of the UP into perspective, in the 85 miles from the Shipwreck Museum to I-75, you go through 4 small towns and pass 6 roads that are both paved and go somewhere. Lots of woods and several gravel roads going off into the woods. You could spend days or weeks up there exploring on an ADV bike.

If you’ve been paying attention you realize that we try to avoid interstates on our rides. But in a few places there is no other way. This is one of those places. I-75 crosses the Mackinac Straits via the Mackinac Bridge. From Wikipedia:

The Mackinac Bridge (/ˈmækɪnɔː/ MAK-in-aw) is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac to connect the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Opened in 1957, the 26,372-foot-long (4.995 mi; 8.038 km)[1] bridge (familiarly known as "Big Mac" and "Mighty Mac")[4] is the world's 22nd-longest main span and the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the Western Hemisphere.

As we’d been riding through Michigan and Wisconsin we talked to a lot of other riders. Many had come down from the UP by riding across the Mackinac Bridge. To a person they all had the same advice; stay in the outside lane. Why? To alleviate wind loads on the bridge the inside lanes in both directions are grating. As every Alaska ride report talks about, riding on a grating bridge is like riding on flat tires. Disconcerting, especially on a five mile long bridge. Fortunately on the Mighty Mac the outside lanes are asphalt. So, if there is no maintenance taking place (we were crossing on a Sunday of a holiday weekend, so no maintenance) you just stay in the outside lane and ride across like on any other five mile long, 200 foot high bridge. I'll admit I was getting target fixation pretty badly riding along as I kept looking over the guardrail to the water below.

Mackinac Bridge


Once across the bridge we were in Mackinaw City. Yes, it’s spelled different than the bridge and island. We were told that one is the French spelling and one the English spelling. Apparently there was a lot of fighting and back and forth over ownership of this area during pre-colonial days.

Mackinaw City would be our home base for the next couple of nights. It’s a touristy little lakefront town and not a bad place to stay and leave your bike while you visit the island. It’s also much cheaper than staying on the island. We stayed at a mom and pop motel called the Lamplighter. I knew it was a good choice when we pulled in the parking lot and there was a ’55 Buick Century parked by the office. The Davis’ are great hosts and good people. Add in a good location (2 blocks to the island ferries, 2 blocks to downtown Mackinaw City) and it was one of the better places we stayed this trip.

Mackinaw City Harbor


Mackinaw City Beach


Lamplighter Motel (picture from the web)


'55 Buick Century


Tomorrow we go to the island…

 

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Day 10 (7/8): Mackinac Island

Being the consummate slackers, this was another non-riding (unless you count boats, horse drawn carriages and bicycles) day. The ferry trip from Mackinaw City to Mackinac Island (there’s that pesky different spelling thing in one sentence) took us under the bridge for a closer look. Once on the island we took a carriage tour.

The island itself is surprisingly hilly. The town district has a lot of shops (especially fudge), boutique hotels, and some pretty good restaurants. The main attraction is the Grand Hotel. Opened in 1887, it claims the largest porch in the world and has 397 rooms. There are gardens, restaurants, a golf course, even an orchestra that plays in the main dining room every evening. If you’re interested, the cheap rooms are $645/night for two people during the week, $680/night on weekends and holidays. The lunch buffet is $42 a person, plus $10 each to enter the property. I’m ashamed to admit I paid the $20 for the two of us to go in and look the place over. But, not really being buffet people, we went somewhere else for lunch.

There is a road that runs the entire shoreline of the island (8.9 miles). We rented bikes and rode the loop. It was a very nice ride with no vehicles to look out for (except other bicycles), water as clear and blue as in the Bahamas, and several beaches along the way.

We also played a round of putt-putt. I know, it sounds touristy and not very exciting. But the course was made up of 18 actual golf greens right along the lakeshore. Probably one of the most picturesque putt-putt courses in the world.

One thing about the downtown area; it stinks. There are horses everywhere and they aren’t shy about doing their business in the middle of the street. There are a whole host of people whose sole job is to go around town and sweep up horse manure!

All in all, it’s a beautiful place and worth a visit if you’re in the area. Sometimes being a tourist isn’t a bad thing.

Coming into the harbor

Archway along the shore

Lake Huron - that's the shore road below

The Island is covered with flowers

Downtown Hotel

Putt-putt, Mackinac Island style

Tomorrow we start the best riding of the trip...

 

[Samspade]

Day 11 (7/9): Mackinaw City to Alpena (94 miles)

The last few days of a trip are always a bag of mixed emotions. It’s easy to miss what’s happening because your mind focuses on the end. To help stop that from occurring we planned a great ride for our last 3 days. We rode the entire Michigan coast of Lake Huron.

The first stop was Alpena. Not a long ride from Mackinaw City (2-1/2 hours) but it was all along the lakefront.

Small harbor on Lake Huron

Alpena sits on Lake Huron’s Thunder Bay. It’s a hotspot for shipwrecks. There’s a maritime museum in Alpena, the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center. It’s also home to the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The museum runs a glass bottomed boat that takes you on a tour of local shipwrecks in the sanctuary. A perfect afternoon for us.

Unfortunately the wind was up and the seas running too rough so the late afternoon trip was cancelled. No problem. We spent the night, had good Mexican for dinner, and bought grandkid souvenirs in a couple of the local shops downtown.

The next morning we went on the 10 o’clock boat trip. The shipwreck tour was very interesting. Not as much fun as actually diving a shipwreck, but a lot easier. I’m glad it’s a National Sanctuary so the ships are protected.

3-D mural in downtown Alpena

Maritime Heritage Center

Shipwreck in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (picture from the web)

 

[Samspade]

Day 12 (7/10): Alpena to Bay City, MI (135 miles)

After the shipwreck tour we grabbed lunch in Alpena. It was another sunny and 72* day along the lakefront. We made a gas and drink stop in Tawas. Nice little lakefront town.

Parked along the lake

Downtown Tawas

We rolled on for another couple hours with great views of the lake and beaches until we got to Bay City.

Bay City sits at the head of Saginaw Bay where the Saginaw River empties into the bay. It was hot once into the city and the sudden traffic was jarring after several days without. One of those afternoons we were glad to reach our hotel.

A word about our hotel. Astute readers will remember that we like to stay in mom and pop motels. That can be a hit or miss proposition. This trip we’d had several home runs. However, our motel in Alpena was a definite swing and a miss.

At Bay City we stayed at a Comfort Inn. I know—boo—a chain. But after a bad night before it was an oasis. Plus it was within walking distance of a downtown area with a lot of restaurants and a riverfront park. Bonus, there was an Aerosmith cover band giving a free concert in the park. After a great dinner—steak and fries happy hour special—we joined a few hundred others for some music.

Bay City gets a thumbs up from us.

Along the Saginaw River

Across the street from our hotel

City Hall - Bay City

 

[Samspade]

Day 13 (7/11): Bay City to Port Huron (154 miles)

For our last day of scenic riding we chose Michigan's thumb. This would be 150+ miles along the shore of Lake Huron and complete our travel of Michigan's Lake Huron coast.

We left Bay City via M-25 which was our road for the day. It's always nice on an all day ride when you don't have to think about navigation.

On the way out of Bay City we passed several blocks of Victorian mansions. They were built in the late 1800's by lumber barons. That was one difference we noticed between lower Michigan and the UP. In the UP the lumber industry was owned for the most part by rich men who lived back east. In lower Michigan the lumber companies were owned by rich men who worked at the business. I'm not an economist, or a historian, but it seems like the latter scenario meant more folding money got thrown around and helped create much more prosperous towns.

Once out of Bay City we were back in farm country. Laura is pretty good at identifying crops (I stink at it). But we were seeing acres of plants that she hadn't seen before. It wasn't until we passed through a couple of small towns that had sugar processing facilities that we surmised these were sugar beets.

As we rounded the top of the thumb and started down Lake Huron proper (the west side of the thumb is Sturgeon Bay) the towns showed signs of tourism--harbors with marinas for pleasure boats, beaches, and signs for festivals. We stopped at Harbor Beach as the girl at our hotel desk had recommended it for lunch. However, the town was dead. Maybe it was the day. There was a nice beach and there was a lot of activity setting up for a weekend festival. But on a Thursday there wasn't anything going on and no restaurants looked appealing. So we kept riding.

We stopped again in Port Sanilac. There was a large marina, a lakeside park, downtown had several good looking restaurants, and there were a fair number--though not too many--of people around. We talked to another couple who were stopped for lunch. She was on an Electra Glide Ultra, he was on a Tri-Glide. We were thinking our ride was pretty epic until Laura asked where they were from. They were two months out from British Columbia, had ridden across Canada to the maritime provinces and were on their way home via the northern US. 12,000+ miles so far and would be right at 16,000 when they got home. Hats off to them for a great way to spend the summer.

After a good lunch in a turn of the century (20th) bank building now restaurant, we headed on down the lake through several other small towns and arrived in Port Huron later in the afternoon. As a scenic ride this was a good one.

Port Huron surprised us. I'd booked us a room at a Bed and Breakfast a block from the St. Clair River. This is the river that connects Lake Huron to Lake Erie (with Lake St. Clair in between). It's a busy shipping channel with freighters and ore carriers passing constantly. It's also a very cool town. We walked the riverwalk toward Lake Huron to a great restaurant where we could sit on the deck and watch ships pass by. Our B&B had a couple of bicycles we could use so we rode around the downtown area. A lot of old building have been preserved and are now restaurants, shops, and offices. There's an energy to the town and you see it along the river with runners and bicyclists, people fishing along the seawall, sailboats tacking upwind to get out the channel and into the lake. If it weren't for the winters (we don't like cold weather) it would be a good place to live.

We expected an industrial town without much going on. We were pleasantly wrong. Port Huron gets a thumbs up from us.

Downtown Port Sanilac

Church in Port Sanilac

heading out of the St. Clair River to Lake Huron. Across the bridge is Canada.

Our Port Huron B&B, the Pleasant Place Inn

 

[Samspade]

Day 14 (7/12): Port Huron to Romulus, MI (124 miles)

This is one of those "the trip is basically over but we have to kill most of a day getting to the hotel by the airport" days. We had no plan other than to get to our hotel by dinner time and avoid riding through Detroit.

Before breakfast we took a last walk along the Port Huron riverwalk. There were a couple of gentlemen suiting up for a scuba dive. Being divers, we asked what was in the river that would warrant a dive? Turns out it was another shipwreck.

According to the divers they were going down to visit the remains of the Colburn, a 3 masted schooner that was sunk in the late 1800's just off the seawall of the river. The 200 foot long ship lies in 50-70 feet of water. That would be a fun dive!

St. Clair River. The dive site for the Colburn is approximately 50-70 feet below this passing freighter.


After breakfast we loaded the bike and looked for something interesting around Detroit without going into the city. Since we'd already done the Henry Ford and Greenfield Village we decided to stop and see the GM Heritage Center in Sterling Heights. If we (read me) had bothered to read the fine print on Google we'd have known that the collection isn't open to the public. We found out when we pulled into the parking lot around 11:30 and no one was there. Hey, General Motors, open a museum for people to see your history!

We grabbed lunch in Sterling Heights and, with the afternoon to kill, rode over to Ann Arbor. I thought Laura would enjoy the Nichols Arboretum at the University of Michigan. Of course the arboretum is next to the campus in the middle of town. If you haven't been to Ann Arbor, parking is at a premium around the university (as it is at most major colleges). We ended up parked on a residential street several blocks from the arboretum. Let's just say that if we hadn't been on a bike we'd have been wearing much cooler clothes. It was hot in Ann Arbor. We had a nice couple of mile hike along some of the arboretum trails. But of course none of the flowers were in bloom. So we rode an hour through heavy, stop and go traffic to take a walk in the woods. Yeah, this was one of those days.

After our woods walk it was off to Romulus and our hotel. Laura's flight was early the next morning and the hotel shuttle would be leaving at 5:30am. Needless to say we turned in early after dinner.

Tomorrow I have a 600 mile run down I-75 to get home.

 

[Samspade]

Day 15 (7/13): Romulus, MI to Apison, TN (598 miles)

Not much to say about this day. Laura got the hotel shuttle at 5:30am, I packed the bike, then grabbed a quick continental breakfast. I was on the road by 6:30. It was about a mile from the hotel to I-275. Head south, hit I-75, and keep heading south. Quick stops for gas, food and water and I was home about 4:30. The only variable was weather.

Last year on our Western NY/Canada ride we had 8 days with no rain. On the ride home from that trip, after dropping our wives at the airport, we got rained on for a day and a half. This year looked to be the same. All the forecasts called for rain from Kentucky all the way across Tennessee. When I left Romulus the skies were clear and the temperature was 60. Perfect. By the time I got to Cincinnati it was getting hot, but there still wasn't a cloud in the sky. The first clouds were at the Kentucky/Tennessee line. They were thickening quickly as the afternoon heat set in.

For those of you from other parts of the country, let me give you a quick primer on riding in the south in the summertime. There is always a chance of rain. Everywhere. However, all day soakers are rare. We get thunderstorms in the afternoon. In fact, if you go to Florida in July/August, you don't need a clock. If it's thundering and raining it's 4 o'clock. If it's over, it's 4:15. Not as bad in Tennessee. But we get a lot of afternoon boomers when it's hot. You have two choices as a rider. See rain ahead and stop to don rain gear, or ignore it and get wet. Unless you're riding in the mountains, ignore it and get wet is usually the best option. Otherwise you're stopping every 15 minutes to put on or take off rain gear, or you're boiling inside said gear.

I chose to get wet and keep riding. I went through a light shower just above Knoxville that lasted less than 2 miles. It felt good and I was barely wet. Between Knoxville and Chattanooga I hit a toad strangler that had cars pulling onto the shoulder. I know better. Flashers on, slow enough to stop in an emergency but fast enough to not get hit from behind, and 10 miles later I was out of the rain and riding in 80 degree temps instead of 95. Another 10 miles and I was completely dry.

Back up to 80mph and in no time I was pulling in my driveway ready to sit in the a/c and relax. It had been another great trip. Time to start thinking about next year.

Thanks for following along.

Home! (excuse the finger in the picture)

 

[Jay547]

Nice. That qualifies as "epic" in my book. I've never in my life (age 63) had a two-week vacation. Much less, a two-week riding vacation.

 

[Samspade]

Thanks for the kind words. Most of my working life I was either running a business or the owner. It wasn’t till I sold out and took a research job that I was able to get away for more than a week.

 

[Luftkoph]

Glad you all enjoyed your time in the U.P.