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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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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