Finally did something I thought about for a long time. Checked the weather report Thursday evening got a good report and loaded up the bike with tools and camping gear to ride around the lake.
Disclaimer: All of the pics were taken with the htc Evo (shameless plug). The thumbnails came from the footprints program that allows you to snap pics (thumbnails) while automatically tagging GPS waypoints. The pics are saved to a KMZ file allowing you to open the route in Google Earth or Google Maps.
Maybe one day I will get some good storage. Until then its any bag that will do plus a lot of bungy cords.
Friday, July 9:
Left the house at 6:30 AM, gassed up, and headed to Indiana. My goal was to hug the lake as much as possible on the east side and make it to Manistique, MI before nightfall.
In Indiana, I jumped on Rt12 and headed North. As long as I have lived in Chicago I have never been to the Indiana Dunes. That area just made my bucket list. I didn't have time to stop and explore so I will pick that up at a later time.
St. Joseph. First photostop. Starting to feel good now.
Dang it! Construction. The guy in front of me was smoking a cigarette and drinking coffee (I need an Aspencade).
Since I am waiting.....
I pretty much rode a combination of roads. Rt12, 31, B15 (this is a must ride), Blue Star HWY, 5 Star HWY, and anything with SHORE in it. The major towns I passed headed North in Michigan were Grand Haven, Muskegon (you can take a Ferry across to Milwaukee), Whitehall, Pentwater, Ludington (another Ferry Ride across the lake if you so desire), Manistee, and Frankfort. At Frankfort I headed West pass Traverse City on 72 and picked up 31 again northbound until I hit I 75 and the Mackinaw Bridge.
We live in a beautiful country.
Outside of Muskegon
Silver Lake State Park
Whitehall Landing
Pentwater. Stopped here for lunch
Farm outside of Ludington
Picture of the gas station I got to right after running out of gas three miles from it. I learned that I have exactly 25.7 miles left in the tank after the fuel light comes on. I also learned that the bike will not start and go down the road no matter how many times you try to crank it if it is out of fuel. I also learned that most people are helpful. Fortunately, the bike stopped at the driveway of an Antique seller. He was gracious enough to give me a couple pints of his lawn mower gas. I asked him if I owed him anything. He said I could drop a c note in the mail some day. Now that's some expensive gas.
I wanted this weekend to be a real adventure so I decided to camp. I went into the attic and found gear we used for family camping trips. I figured there would be plenty of time to find a campground when I reached the Manistique area. I was going to live off the land and become one with nature. After a long days journey this is where I ended up.
After checking in. I snapped a couple of pics of the Mackinaw bridge. This bridge is massive and a blast to drive across.
Memorial to the men who died during construction of the bridge.
Sunset in St. Ignas
Needless to say, I did not make it to Manistique as planned. I started looking for the closest, cheapest, and reasonably cleanest place to lay my head for the night once I crossed the bridge. After eating my first Big Boy Hamburger (which tasted suspiciously like a BigMac) at the Big Boy Restaurant(I won't be having another anytime soon), I called it a day. Approximately 573 miles give or take for the first day.
Saturday, July 10:
Set the alarm clock for 6:30 AM the night before to get an early start. I awoke at 7:45 with the sun shining through the window. What the hell. Did I sleep the alarm or did I not set it properly. Since I was already late I took my time preparing to leave. I left St. Ignas after having a power breakfast at BK.
I took Rt2 West through Naubinway, Manistique, Gladstone, and Escanaba.
I jumped on Rt31 South of Escanaba to Menominee.
Pic of lake behind a restaurant in Menominee.
From Menominee I headed south on 41 towards Green Bay. I got twisted up after seeing a Lake Michigan Trail sign. I decided to take that at the last minutes and wound up headed northbound on 57 towards Sturgeon Bay. After figuring out my error, I headed back towards Green Bay then on to Milwaukee. At this point of the ride, I was ready to get home, but I needed to make a stop for fuel and lunch in Manitowoc, WI. I happened across the Maritime Museum in downtown Manitowoc.
Wisconsin pirates...
Actually, they were helping out two divers in the water who were searching for something that had fallen overboard. The water looked nasty.
It took me half an hour to find a restaurant (non chain related) to have a sit down meal. I stumbled upon this gem by accident.
The Harborside Restaurant
The restaurant didn't look like much from the outside or inside and my expectations were not high. The menu had a variety of upscale fare but I decided on a burger. The single patty was 3/4 pounds of beef for 8.99. I also noticed they served doubles and triples. Yes, 1 1/2 pounds and 2 1/4 pound burgers for 9.99 and 10.99. I was incredulous. The server confirmed that it was a lot of beef and that she had only known of one person to order and finish the triple. I went the conservative route and ordered the single with bacon. This is what I was given.....
I can not describe how delicious this burger was. It was covered in bacon as well. Unbelievable.
After lunch, I headed out of town south bound on 10th street which turned into Lake Shore Drive. I snapped this pic from a cliff/overhang alongside the road outside of Cleveland, WI.
There were two homes next to this overhang. How fortunate they are to wake up to a spectacular sunrise every morning. I was thinking that the views from the east side of the lake trumped the west side until I saw this.
I rode Lake Shore Drive to Sheboygan where I picked up 43 south to Milwaukee. As luck would have it, the sky darkened as I approached. Then the lightning came. Just as I thought I could make it past before the rain came, the rain came. After waiting out the worst of the storm and changing into dry clothes and Frog Togs over that I continued on my way. My final stop was at the Ohare Oasis to fuel up again and stretch. I just happened to glance down at my rear tire.
Dannngggg!
That was the first time I had ever worn down the rear to that extent. I maintained a moderate speed for the rest of the way home.
All in all, it was an excellent trip which I am looking forward to doing again when I get the time. I logged just over 1000 miles round trip. According to the reading material I found in the AAA motel, Lake Michigan has over 2400 miles of shoreline in its entirety. Where the hell did the other 1400 go? I will have to find out.
Disclaimer: All of the pics were taken with the htc Evo (shameless plug). The thumbnails came from the footprints program that allows you to snap pics (thumbnails) while automatically tagging GPS waypoints. The pics are saved to a KMZ file allowing you to open the route in Google Earth or Google Maps.
Maybe one day I will get some good storage. Until then its any bag that will do plus a lot of bungy cords.
Friday, July 9:
Left the house at 6:30 AM, gassed up, and headed to Indiana. My goal was to hug the lake as much as possible on the east side and make it to Manistique, MI before nightfall.
In Indiana, I jumped on Rt12 and headed North. As long as I have lived in Chicago I have never been to the Indiana Dunes. That area just made my bucket list. I didn't have time to stop and explore so I will pick that up at a later time.
St. Joseph. First photostop. Starting to feel good now.
Dang it! Construction. The guy in front of me was smoking a cigarette and drinking coffee (I need an Aspencade).
Since I am waiting.....
I pretty much rode a combination of roads. Rt12, 31, B15 (this is a must ride), Blue Star HWY, 5 Star HWY, and anything with SHORE in it. The major towns I passed headed North in Michigan were Grand Haven, Muskegon (you can take a Ferry across to Milwaukee), Whitehall, Pentwater, Ludington (another Ferry Ride across the lake if you so desire), Manistee, and Frankfort. At Frankfort I headed West pass Traverse City on 72 and picked up 31 again northbound until I hit I 75 and the Mackinaw Bridge.
We live in a beautiful country.
Outside of Muskegon
Silver Lake State Park
Whitehall Landing
Pentwater. Stopped here for lunch
Farm outside of Ludington
Picture of the gas station I got to right after running out of gas three miles from it. I learned that I have exactly 25.7 miles left in the tank after the fuel light comes on. I also learned that the bike will not start and go down the road no matter how many times you try to crank it if it is out of fuel. I also learned that most people are helpful. Fortunately, the bike stopped at the driveway of an Antique seller. He was gracious enough to give me a couple pints of his lawn mower gas. I asked him if I owed him anything. He said I could drop a c note in the mail some day. Now that's some expensive gas.
I wanted this weekend to be a real adventure so I decided to camp. I went into the attic and found gear we used for family camping trips. I figured there would be plenty of time to find a campground when I reached the Manistique area. I was going to live off the land and become one with nature. After a long days journey this is where I ended up.
After checking in. I snapped a couple of pics of the Mackinaw bridge. This bridge is massive and a blast to drive across.
Memorial to the men who died during construction of the bridge.
Sunset in St. Ignas
Needless to say, I did not make it to Manistique as planned. I started looking for the closest, cheapest, and reasonably cleanest place to lay my head for the night once I crossed the bridge. After eating my first Big Boy Hamburger (which tasted suspiciously like a BigMac) at the Big Boy Restaurant(I won't be having another anytime soon), I called it a day. Approximately 573 miles give or take for the first day.
Saturday, July 10:
Set the alarm clock for 6:30 AM the night before to get an early start. I awoke at 7:45 with the sun shining through the window. What the hell. Did I sleep the alarm or did I not set it properly. Since I was already late I took my time preparing to leave. I left St. Ignas after having a power breakfast at BK.
I took Rt2 West through Naubinway, Manistique, Gladstone, and Escanaba.
I jumped on Rt31 South of Escanaba to Menominee.
Pic of lake behind a restaurant in Menominee.
From Menominee I headed south on 41 towards Green Bay. I got twisted up after seeing a Lake Michigan Trail sign. I decided to take that at the last minutes and wound up headed northbound on 57 towards Sturgeon Bay. After figuring out my error, I headed back towards Green Bay then on to Milwaukee. At this point of the ride, I was ready to get home, but I needed to make a stop for fuel and lunch in Manitowoc, WI. I happened across the Maritime Museum in downtown Manitowoc.
Wisconsin pirates...
Actually, they were helping out two divers in the water who were searching for something that had fallen overboard. The water looked nasty.
It took me half an hour to find a restaurant (non chain related) to have a sit down meal. I stumbled upon this gem by accident.
The Harborside Restaurant
The restaurant didn't look like much from the outside or inside and my expectations were not high. The menu had a variety of upscale fare but I decided on a burger. The single patty was 3/4 pounds of beef for 8.99. I also noticed they served doubles and triples. Yes, 1 1/2 pounds and 2 1/4 pound burgers for 9.99 and 10.99. I was incredulous. The server confirmed that it was a lot of beef and that she had only known of one person to order and finish the triple. I went the conservative route and ordered the single with bacon. This is what I was given.....
I can not describe how delicious this burger was. It was covered in bacon as well. Unbelievable.
After lunch, I headed out of town south bound on 10th street which turned into Lake Shore Drive. I snapped this pic from a cliff/overhang alongside the road outside of Cleveland, WI.
There were two homes next to this overhang. How fortunate they are to wake up to a spectacular sunrise every morning. I was thinking that the views from the east side of the lake trumped the west side until I saw this.
I rode Lake Shore Drive to Sheboygan where I picked up 43 south to Milwaukee. As luck would have it, the sky darkened as I approached. Then the lightning came. Just as I thought I could make it past before the rain came, the rain came. After waiting out the worst of the storm and changing into dry clothes and Frog Togs over that I continued on my way. My final stop was at the Ohare Oasis to fuel up again and stretch. I just happened to glance down at my rear tire.
Dannngggg!
That was the first time I had ever worn down the rear to that extent. I maintained a moderate speed for the rest of the way home.
All in all, it was an excellent trip which I am looking forward to doing again when I get the time. I logged just over 1000 miles round trip. According to the reading material I found in the AAA motel, Lake Michigan has over 2400 miles of shoreline in its entirety. Where the hell did the other 1400 go? I will have to find out.
