My little attempt at escaping the heat

[alke46]

Hello fellow GSers,

As the title states, I am planning a little ride to somewhere that is a tad bit cooler. Although we are no match for the Az. heat, with the dog days of summer coming at us, the combination of temperature and humidity is starting to be in the "feels like" triple digits. I don't care much for that and I want to ride instead of just staying in the A/C all day.

My plan is to get to Wisconsin then head north towards the UP of Michigan and maybe even crossing into Kanada at Sault Ste. Marie. Explore some of the roads of Ontario then return back to Michigan and take the ferry across Lake Michigan at Ludington. Crossing over to Manitowoc, Wi.

While in Sault Ste. Marie, I can spend some time at the Soo locks watching the big ships come through. That's like therapy for me as I could spend all day just doing that.

I am looking for suggestions anybody has as to the best roads with those good curves we all like to ride so much. I would also like to meet up with some of the new-to-me members along the way and if anybody wants to join me either for a day or maybe just a short jaunt on a good road, that would be terrific.
If you have any interest, just PM me and I will give you my cell phone number so we can make arrangements.

Right now it looks like I will leave home on Monday of next week but no later than Wednesday early a.m. The worst part of the trip will be slabbing over to Des Moines then heading northeast to get to the Wisconsin border.

Thanks for reading. Remember, route suggestions.....

 

[TxGSrider]

Funny, I thought Nebraska was escaping the heat....

Sounds like you have a fun trip planned.

 

[alke46]

Yes, it is an escape for those of you in Texas. In a perfect world I would own two homes. One in the upper portions of the U.S. for the summer and one in the southern U.S. for the winter.
This coming winter, my Honda ST1100 will winter in my sister's garage in Mesa, Az. I look forward to flying down in the months of Dec. through Mar. to ride a lot.

 

[Wingsconsin]

You have a lot of geography included in those requests for good roads...
There are a few I could mention --
depending on where you cross into Wisconsin --

Coming out of Praire du Chein look for HY 171 just north of the PdC along Hy 35 -
Hy 171 is in apple country of Wisconsin and a fun ride -- hilly & curvy -
Stop at any of the apple orchards and have some fun -

OR stay on HY 35 along the Mississippi for a little while and get up towards LaCrosse -
Head west from there on I90 and look for Mindoro Cut (just north of West Salem)

Many of the state highways and county roads are fun, just consult a gps or map
Roads in northern Wisconsin run through several state forests --

Hy 2 out of Marinettte runs along the Green Bay and is usually a little cooler thanks to the water nearby

Stop in Green Bay and visit Lambeau Field --
Avoid the bigger cities - but traffic is usually only a problem in Milwaukee - and around Madison.

Ride safe -- if you get near Milwaukee -- I am between Milwaukee & Madison

 

[Laker]

If you make it to the Soo Canada you can see the Locks and the Boardwalk along the river is quite peaceful. For rides you can take 2nd Line west until it ends at Lake Superior in the Hamlet of Gros Cap, approx 40 min ride. If you have time head Hwy 17 North to Wawa. The road follows Lake Superior shore and is fantastic. You will see the Canadian Shield rising out of the Lake. This is 2.5 hours to Wawa so plan on having lunch there and head back. Shorter rides? Take Hwy 17 North to Heyden and turn right on hwy 556 and ride to Searchmount, approx 1 hour. Great ride, you will see no cars.
Another? Take Hwy 17 North past Goulais river and turn right on hwy 552. This will loop back to hwy 556. Turn right to get back to hwy 17 and turn left to get to the Soo, approx 1 hour.
Closer to hotel, take Great Northern road all the way. Turns into Landslide road and will take you to Hiawatha Park. You may follow Landslide road to Hwy 17 and turn left to get back to town, 1/2 hour.
These are all nice rides you will enjoy.
Where to eat? The restaurants in the Soo are terrific. Ernies Lunch and Muio's downtown. Giovanni's, Fratelli's, North 82 and Aurora's on the Hill. Chinese? Honk Kong.
I hope you have a great and safe ride. Watch for deer and Moose.
You can tell the Soo is my Hometown, I hope this helps.

 

[alke46]

Laker, thanks for the great tips. I will definitely check out some of what you suggest.

 

[LAB3]

Once you get to the Machinaw Bridge heading south you'll definitely want to ride the Tunnel of Trees Scenic Route between Cross Village and Harbor Springs/Petoskey. It closely follows the Lake Michigan shoreline and the trees are grown over the top of the road creating an effect as if you're riding through a tunnel. VERY twisty 25 mph ride but you'll want to take it slow anyhow to enjoy the views of the lake. Leggs Inn in Cross Village is an excellent place to grab an authentic Polish meal, the only thing missing is your two drunk uncle's arguing!

 

[alke46]

Duly noted, I will check it out.

 

[Buffalo Bill]

Sounds majestic, enjoy!

 

[alke46]

Well, I'm back from the trip and I must say it was a fantastic trip. I definitely am looking forward to touring more of Michigan in the future. I really liked what I saw of it and it's cooler climate.

I've been busy since getting home and plus the laziness factor has prevented me from posting pics and a write up of the trip. I'll get to it soon. 2,765 miles in 9 days with a lot of downtime to see the sights and just enjoying the solitude that motorcycling offers.

More to come.

 

[alke46]

[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Tahoma,Calibri,Geneva,sans-serif]This was my 1st stop on my little trip. It's about 30 miles west of Des Moines, Ia. and it is a big boulder that get repainted every year with a different military theme. The artist has painted a large boulder in each of Iowa's 99 counties. This main one though is the only one that gets changed yearly. Nice tribute to the armed forces of the USA.

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[alke46]

This is a quaint little cabin I found for the night on my way up to Wawa, Ont. from Sault Ste. Marie. It gave me a sampling of what it would be like to live in a tiny house. Very unique experience and the beauty of it was the fact that the shore of Lake Superior was maybe 100 feet away, providing a beautiful sunset shot.

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A little sample of the roads in this area.

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This was around 74 miles (119K) north of Soo and 67 miles (108K) south of Wawa, Ont. Hwy 17 skirts along the coastline of Superior.[/FONT]

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[alke46]

No pictures for proof but I did find a Tim Hortens in Wawa. One can not visit Canada without partaking of the Tim Hortons.
Also found a giant goose in Wawa at a neat little general store.

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Also found a big ole moose at the store.

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[alke46]

At the Soo locks on the US side of the border watching a big ship pass through the locks.

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[alke46]

Here's a shot of the beautiful bridge across to Mackinac. I have a thing for bridges and the architecture of them. Can't wait to go down to Louisiana to ride that 30 mile bridge across Lake Pontchartrain.

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On board the SS Badger crossing from Ludington, Mi. to Manitowoc, Wi. Pretty windy crossing but it didn't seem to bother that big ship. My bike is the 2nd onboard.

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And finally back home safely in the garage awaiting an oil change and a good cleaning.

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[alke46]

Many thanks to the forum members who gave me some good advice on what to see as well as where to eat.
Good advice from Carl (Wingsconsin) on some good twisties and nice sweeping curves. That SR 171 was very good Carl.

Good advice from Laker on Hwy 17 north to Wawa.

Leonard (LAB3) was spot on concerning the tunnel of trees road as well as the Legs Inn at Cross Village. I must admit Leonard, I did not take your advice to go slow on the tunnel of trees road. I was hitting it pretty good and only saw 3 deer -- none of the 3 caused any adjustment on my part.

Thanks again guys and thank you to all who take the time to read this and view my pics of the trip. I did the best I could with a phone camera plus I am no photographer.

 

[gbw]

Wow Larry. That looks like quite a ride. Thanks for giving us a sampling of the highlights. I can't wait to hear about in more detail.

How'd the new Tiger hold up?

 

[storm 64]

Excellent! Sounds like you had a great ride experience! The ferryboat?? I guess you wanted to avoid Chicago, understandably. Thanks Larry for sharing your adventure. Note to self, ride Michigan and the Great Lakes!

 

[Burque73]

This was my 1st stop on my little trip. It's about 30 miles west of Des Moines, Ia. and it is a big boulder that get repainted every year with a different military theme. The artist has painted a large boulder in each of Iowa's 99 counties. This main one though is the only one that gets changed yearly. Nice tribute to the armed forces of the USA.

Great pics. Glad you had a nice ride. Thanks for sharing.

I wanted a better view of that boulder. The detail is amazing!

Nice bike too, BTW. :encouragement:

Untitled by Larry Alkire, on Flickr

 

[alke46]

Wow Larry. That looks like quite a ride. Thanks for giving us a sampling of the highlights. I can't wait to hear about in more detail.

How'd the new Tiger hold up?

Thanks Greg, the Tiger performed flawlessly. I forgot to take along my air hawk seat cushion but as it turned out, it wasn't needed. The bike is comfortable just the way it is.

Excellent! Sounds like you had a great ride experience! The ferryboat?? I guess you wanted to avoid Chicago, understandably. Thanks Larry for sharing your adventure. Note to self, ride Michigan and the Great Lakes! 

Yes Norm, I wanted to Avoid the Chicago traffic.

Great pics. Glad you had a nice ride. Thanks for sharing.

I wanted a better view of that boulder. The detail is amazing!

Nice bike too, BTW. :encouragement:

Thanks Roger, did you notice the one pic that has the website listed? You can see most if not all of his rock paintings.
Untitled by Larry Alkire, on Flickr