My Wife's Biker Stories from the Road. "ride IV Around some Great Lakes"

Note: We have completed our ride yesterday and this is reposted from another site. (ADV)

Here we are about 4 years after my wife told me she would never be caught on a motorcycle let alone drive one.

You can read the story of how I got her to join me in this fabulous travel mode in our first trip report here. My Wife?s First Motorcycle Trip and her "Biker Stories from the Road" http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=828217

Since then we have taken numerous smaller excursions in our local area and 2 other long trips.

Trip II was with freinds to the Canadian west cost. The report is here My Wife's' 2012 "Biker Stories from the Road" http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=839391

Our third trip was to the ultra fabulous Utah down the Parks highway 89. An area that should be on everyone's bucket list.That report is here. My wife's Biker Stories from the Road III (Highway 89 Revisited) http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=929790

You will note that all of our trips have had 2 common denominators.

1. They were all in the early fall late summer
2. They were all to the sunny and dry west.

This year we are changing it up a bit. The trip will be in the mid summer and to the busy hot humid east. Living about smack dab in the middle of the continent means no matter what direction you turn there are a lot of miles you can go and a lot of things to see.

The plan is to head south via hwy 17 along the north shore of Superior to the Ottawa area then into Quebec, Vermont, New York, back into Ontario to visit friends and then follow the west shore of Lake Huron and south shore of Lake Superior back home, circumnavigating 3 of the Great Lakes.

We leave on Saturday July 19 and have just over 2 weeks to compete the journey. We will try to update this report daily but as we will be camping in a few areas access to wifi may be a limiting factor. I have spent the last couple of days getting our bikes together.

I ride a 2010 BMW F800GS, and she is on a 2010 BMW F650GS. Both of these bikes have proven to be worthy long distance travellers with the advantage of being quite capable of taking a gravel road to visit something.

Well my bike is loaded except for the top bag. Every trip I say I am going to cut back and every trip I seem just as loaded. I do have all our camping gear and tools on my bike so that takes up the side boxes





And we say women are more complicated than men. Guess they never considered the modern day adventure rider

Her cockpit. Basic instruments, a handlebar bag with sunglasses, gum and perhaps lip balm


His same handlebar bag and instruments but add in spot sat locator, gps, and a tank bag full of electronics.

Well day one is in the books. Just 400km to Thunder Bay but took the long way and had a nice ride.



Very windy today and a few thunder showers threatened. We took Hwy 17 from Dryden east and then south on 622 to Atikokan.

Hwy 622 is a gem, just blacktopped but lots of nice sweeping turns, beautiful pine forest and very little traffic (hence no police). Made one stop up on an esker that overlooks the old cut overs from the 80s which are coming back quite nice.

Wind blown


We made our way to Atikokan and ran into a bit of a shower. It was very dark in the direction we were heading, but a quick look at the radar proved that if we waited a bit we could skirt under it, so we had a bowl of soup, filled up the tanks and then finished the ride off to Thunder Bay with a quick stop for a drink of water in Shabequa



Got to Thunder Bay and are staying at our daughters house so headed down to the Mad House restaurant for a great burger and a adult beverage.

Day 1 July 19, 2014 - Dryden to Thunder Bay
To spice up this heavily traveled route (heavily traveled by the Wintle family) we turned right onto highway 622, the Bending Lake highway, and followed it down to Atikokan. 622 is a really nice motorcycle highway, not much traffic, lots of twisties and ups and downs with amazing scenery (motion sickness would be a problem for some on this highway).
At one point the highway follows a high esker so one can see for miles in all directions. We stopped on this esker to stretch the legs and grab a drink of water. Mr Syl Fedorchuk pulled over and he knew Garth right away and then asked me if I was Gary Rivard's daughter to which I replied "yes you betcha". He was on his way to his camp at Beak Lake and invited us to visit the next time we are in the area.

It's always interesting the people that we meet on our journeys. Drove through some rain the closer we got to Atikokan.
Stopped for gas and some lunch before we headed down highway 11. Highway 11 between Atikokan and the intersection with highway 17 is another great motorcycle route. The highway is in really great shape is twistie and turnie with fabulous scenery. And Kim .....no turtle sightings ... therefore no dead turtles at the hands of the Wintles and also no motorcycle crashes for this particular Wintle rider as she tried to avoid a turtle death! When we hit Thunder Bay our first day journey ended. Pulled into Michale's little house and spent the night. An excellent first day ... easing us into our 2 week journey.

Quick update. Ride from TBay to marathon was cool but real nice ride. Temperatures were up and down like a brides nighty. Stopped at Ausgabon gorge for a look see.



Had to do a selfie ha ha



Another live from the road update. Selfie at Magpie Falls near Wawa



Full day report to come

Biker Stories from the Road #4

Map Day 2 July 20, 2014 - Thunder Bay to Wawa



Woke in Thunder Bay to some heavy fog. So we took our time ... Garth made a Tim Horton's run and I played around on the laptop. Just before 10 am we decided to go fog or not. Garth figured that we would drive out of the fog the farther inland we travelled so we donned our fluorscent safety vests (very stylish) and away we went.



With it being Sunday morning the traffic was rather light leaving the city. Driving through the fog was really interesting. It would billow all around us and then above us ... like forest fire smoke.



This happened over and over for about 150k. After Schreiber the fog disipated. When we drove through the foggy areas the water droplets would gather on our faceshields, which I would windshield wiper away with my leather gloved finger (it worked excellently).



The ride to Marathon was so much fun! This stretch of highway ... Sault Ste Marie to Thunder Bay is heavily travelled by

motorcyclists and we met alot of them today.




The highway is filled with twisties and long sweeping curves ... many ups and downs with deep ravines and steep climbs. Lots of passing lanes where you can crank on the throttle and say "Ciao Baby"!



There are many times when you get a look at the beautiful Lake Superior. But along with that majestic lake there are also many other lakes and rivers that dot this highway.






A really wonderful ride on a motorcycle and today we had fun! When the passing lanes were clear we would each drive on one. I would pull up beside Garth and we would be in sync going around corners etc and I would smile to myself thinking "this is cool", haha!

At Terrace Bay Garth took me in to see the Aguasabon Gorge. Wow, a hidden natural wonder! In the spring the water shoots almost right across to the other side of the gorge. It is awesome! The gorge was formed because of a fissure in the volcanic rock and off on the left is a waterfall that feeds the bottom on the gorge. It is really something to see.



The OPPolice were out in full force today! Cruising through Schreiber 2 OPP vehicles had a couple of camping families pulled over. We saw an OPP truck chase down and stop a speeder and then when we stopped at the Manitouwadge turnoff we witnessed another OPP pull over another speeder.

With the threat of thunder storms and tornado watches overnight we stopped for the night at Wawa. Found a great roadside motel called the Parkway Motel with newly renovated rooms ... a really nice spot.




Before supper Garth took me to see the Magpie High Falls which are just a ways down a dirt road before the entrance to Wawa.



Another hidden gem! The falls are so pretty! What a great way to end our second day.



Just a final thought ... the stretch between Marathon and White River is not as exciting as the rest of the trip but I think that is ok for 2 reasons, 1) you get the time to reflect upon and appreciate the amazing scenery that you just saw and 2) you get a chance to get prepared for the awesomeness that awaits between Wawa and Sault Ste Marie ... tomorrow!



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Up and riding this morning. Beautiful ride through Lake Superior Park with stop at Old Woman Bay for pictures and Agawa Bay centre for stickers. Getting breakfast at Batchewana Bay



Mmmmm French toast and sausage!

Lots of pics tonight

Biker Stories from the Road #4
Map Day 3 July 21, 2014 - Wawa to Espanola via St Joseph Island


The awesomeness of the stretch between Wawa and Sault Ste Marie did not disappoint! We have made the road trip from Dryden to Sault Ste Marie many times in a vehicle and have always loved it. On a motorcycle it is even better! We were on the road by 8 am and rolling on down the highway. What a spectacular time of the morning to be on our way. The traffic was quiet and we just roared along continuing to play my "passing lane game".



Just outside of Wawa you enter the Lake Superior Provincial Park.


It is beautiful! For the most part the highway follows the shore of Lake Superior and in some instances you can see out over the water for a long way.


Lots of wonderful twisty turns with some great declines and steep inclines thrown in for fun! My favorite parts have always been Old Woman Bay, the Montreal River Harbour stretch, Pancake Bay, and Batchawana Bay areas.







Old Woman Bay


Young gal at Old Woman Bay


The roadway is lined by big pines, big maples and big long beaches. In the Batchawana Bay area we stopped for breakfast at The Voyageur. By 1030 am we had already travelled 180 kilometers ... a great start to a great day.

We gassed up in Sault Ste Marie and then turned onto 17 East - Sudbury.


As we approached St Joseph's Island we decided to take a bit of a detour and see what this island is all about. (A friend of ours has plans to retire there.) The island's highway number is 548 and it encircles the island. The thing is ... we really didn't know how big this island is. It's pretty darn big ... 55 - 60 kilometers big! At one point as we faced another really long straight stretch I thought "good grief how big is this island". The entire centre of it is farmland. Big fields of corn. Big farms with cattle, horses and fresh hay bales. As we rounded a corner, where the highway briefly followed the shoreline, Garth pointed out the head of Lake Huron ... the point where Lake Superior and Lake Huron meet. There were huge beautiful houses in this area ... overlooking the channel where the big ships enter and leave Lake Superior. Starting to feel like we were in some strange "island time warp" we finally came to the end and found our way off of the island, haha!

Funny we never really took any pictures on St Joeseph Island. It is quite a pretty place.
(The rest of the days ride was pretty bland so no pictures taken)

Continuing on our way we came upon a place where water lilies lined both sides of the highway .. big white blooms! A huge crane took flight right in front of us. The temperature got warmer and warmer as we neared Blind River. Garth had his sights set on the Tim Horton's in Blind River as our next stop. As we were preparing to leave the Tim Horton's parking lot (after our rest) Garth was approached by a local who wanted to chat. He chatted up Garth a bit before I got there. Stories about motorcycles and his time in the military. He then started in on a story about how angry he became with a woman driver who was using her cell phone and then he added "all I know is that in Blind River, men wear the pants, woman are double-breasted and it takes 2 dogs to hump" ... holy crap!

We turned to our bikes and hurriedly got ready to get the heck out of there ... yikes!

We experienced alot of traffic and alot of construction. Not really long delays but when we were allowed to go we were grouped in with alot of different vehicles ... some slow moving and some not. This is where one has to be fully aware of what is going on around them because some drivers get a little crazy in these circumstances. We gased up at Espanola at 445 pm and we had definitely put in our 500 kilometers for the day so instead of pushing through to Sudbury we decided to drive into Espanola to find a motel. We will tackle the Sudbury area in the morning. Day 3 was another really great day!

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Live update. Want a great breakfast on 17? Stop at Brunet truck stop 2k east of Hagar and visit Kate's Kitchen.

The good looking one never got a chance to fill in her blog last night but here are some pictures from yesterdays ride from Espanola to Carleton Place. Goota say Hwy 17 is a real Ontario gem.


Logging trucks are a typical site in northern Ontario


Smelter stacks in Sudbury ON. The first time I drove thru there in 1978 there was not one piece of living vegetation. They used the place to practice moon/mars landings. A lot better now



Google street view camera car taking photos. (camera is down when non functional ) !! We followed it for a few miles, should be on street view soon!



Stopped at Royal to look for a few things. D almost bought a new helmet but not yet.


Kates kitchen east of Hagar. Great breakfast and from what we hear, pies and baking too!


Nice views down the Ottawa River valley




Cool old pump in Deep River (its for sale)


Longest stone masonary bridge in North America

Biker Stories from the Road #4
Day 4 July 22, 2014 - Espanola to Carleton Place
So many great things happened today! We were up early and on the road by 8 am again and we have decided that we are definitely the "early morning riding kinda folk"! It was 18 degrees and an absolutely beautiful morning. In the 2 rooms beside us were 4 other BMW riders (3 men and 1 women) on their way to Minneapolis for the National BMW Rally. When we found this out it provided the answer to why we were meeting so many BMW's heading west.

As we passed the Sudbury by-pass Garth noticed that up ahead was the "Google Car" with the camera up and recording. He shot off like a rocket and of course I had to follow. We caught the car and followed it all the while Garth was talking in my ear about how we are going to be on Google Street View, haha!



Eventually we had to leave the Google Car because we came to the turnoff for the Royal Distributing store where he wanted to check out a set of foot pegs for his motorcycle. I found a great display of Shoei helmets and tried on a few. Found one with a great design and it was called "The Duchess" ... nice! But the price tag was such that it made me think 2, 3 and 4 times about just how much I needed it. I walked away.


Out in the parking lot we met a gal who recommended a place for breakfast. The Brunet Truck Stop featuring Kate's Kitchen run by an Ahmish family. All homemade local food. We found it a few kilometers out of a small town called Hagar. What an wonderful breakfast!




Back on the highway 17 heading east to Ottawa we experienced alot of highway construction. Some places they were blasting. We didn't get stopped for too long. We cruised into North Bay and at Mattawa entered the Ottawa River Valley. Now we have been through this valley a couple of times and I have either been sleeping or watching a movie and not paying attention at all. This time however I paid full attention and it is beautiful.




Here's a little bit of history for you. THe british commonwealth would not exist if not for the Ottawa Valley.- did you know that when the English first came to Canada they harvested the big, tall white pines from the Ottawa Valley and took the wood back to England and used it to build the tall masts needed for their bigger ships to build the armada that conquered the world.. And ... when the Windsor Castle burned down they found that parts of it it had been built using the Canadian white pine from the Ottawa Valley as well so they obtained some more of it for the rebuilding of the Castle. So if you didn't know that ... well now you do and if you did well ... bully for you!



We hit the 417 for just a few miles and quickly turned off onto highway 29 so that we could ride the smaller secondary highways instead. This would get us around Ottawa and not get us killed! These smaller highways always feature small towns with alot of character. One small town in particular is Pakenham.



The Ontario's Mississippi River runs through it and this town has a 5 span stone masonry bridge ... the biggest one of its kind in north america. It is amazing.




There are small parks on either side of it and we pulled in for a rest break. By now the temperature is 31 and under all that gear we are sweaty and hot and time to call it a day!

With very little wind and a warm beautiful day we had a great ride! Highway 29 weaves you through the Mississippi Mills area which boasts alot of old heritage sites worthwhile seeing. We stopped for the night in Carleton Place.

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Day 5 July 23 Carleton Place to Newport VT


(Not a lot of pictures taken topday as we were in some sort of a shower or following a truck spraying up water for a lot of the day.)

Wednesday was a day of ... experiences! We woke to a rainy, grey sky. Packed up the bikes and tried to take our time doing so because there was a nasty rain storm in the area. But you know how that goes when you are trying to stall but yet are anxious to get going!



We started out just after 8 am and only made it a half hour down highway 15, headed to Smith Falls, when we came across a breakfast place and decided to stop. The day was grey with a sprinkling of more grey ... oh and throw in the odd rain drop (or 2). The temperature was in the 20's already and it was humid. At Smith Falls we turned east onto highway 43 and came upon Merrickville. This quaint town has a lock system on the Rideau River and as we crossed over another stone masonry bridge we could see all of the boats, power and sail, lined up waiting their turn. The downtown consisted of old stone buildings and beautiful flowers, hanging and potted.



Further down 43 we came upon Kemptville where a red Kia damn near caused us an accident! When the driver finally decided what it was he was doing they still weaved in and out causing us more grief! At the next intersection we were cut-off by a female driver in a Honda! Warning for all motorcyclists ... stay clear of Kemptville!

The rain turned into drizzle and the conditions were generally misty. We found Patsy's Restaurant at Avonmore (along with approx. 8 OPP officers) and Garth had chicken noodle soup because it was just that kind of morning. The highway was in good shape and was lined by farms.





At Monkland we turned onto highway 138 and drove to Cornwall where we would cross the border into the state of New York. We crossed a pretty cool bridge over the St Lawrence River. At the border Garth went up first and thankfully we had our communicators activated so I could hear his conversation with the border guard. When it was my turn I pulled up and greeted the young male border guard with "good morning" to which he replied "good afternoon". It was 1157 am! He then asked me where I was going and I pointed to Garth and said "I am following him" to which he replied "so you don't know where you are going"? So I tried to recall everything that Garth had just told this young man and good thing Garth could hear what I was saying (and could talk to me without Mr Personality hearing) because I forgot some details. We got away unscathed and took off into the state of New York!



We rode across the top of New York state heading towards Vermont. At one point we were only 43 miles from Montreal! We crossed into Vermont at Rouse's Point, which is on the shore of Lake Champlain, and drove across another fantastic bridge. I had not been to the state of New York or the state of Vermont before and in less than an hour I hit both!

The weather did not get any better and in fact it was now raining! My new gear really paid off today! We criss-crossed our way following one secondary highway and then another. We stopped at a gas station to take a break and have a coffee and shared an overhang with some Harley drivers who were only in t-shirts and they were soaked. It is quite an experience to travel these secondary highways as one small town seems to melt into the next.





You don't go very far before you encounter a farm, a house, or a saloon! And you don't get to travel at 55 mph for very long either!





The landscape is beautiful but I did get tired of the smell of a wet farm, haha! It had been raining in this area for awhile! What was surprising was the number of transports who are travelling these same small highways. Right through the middle of the small towns where the streets are narrow and the signage is not that great. The town of Montgomery made an impression on me because as we rounded a corner of the downtown the garden was so close to the street that I could have reached out and touched the lilies!

Our route took us into the mountains (not like the Rocky Mountains) and past the Jay Peak Nordic Center and Jay Peak Ski Resort. It was pouring rain. The highway on the way up was in great shape .. nice and smooth!



We hit the top, rounded the corner to start the decent and wow we encountered the worst highway conditions ever! I have driven gravel roads that have been in better shape! So tackling a steep decent in the pouring rain with horrible road conditions did me in! Garth checked in with me over the communicator and I told him "this is hell"! Our day ended 13 miles later in Newport, haha!

Like I said ... a day of experiences! I have driven in rain before but not a full day of varying degrees of wetness. It was really nice to open the door to a nice motel room with on-site laundry!




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Day 6 July 24, 2014 Newport VT to Tupper Lake NY

Day 6 map



Thank goodness we woke to a beautiful blue sky on day 6! We were fully packed up and on the road by 8 am. We followed highway 100 down to Morrisville and then over to Stowe. The ride down was great other than the cracked and heaved pavement.



We drove through farmland and small towns with beautiful heritage homes with big wrap around front porches full of flowers. Some had swings but almost all had an adirondack chair! We passed huge gardens of hostas and lilies, in full bloom, so they sure don't have a deer problem here! In fact today was the first time we saw a deer by the side of the road! Something else we have seen while driving through these small towns with lush gardens is vines, virginia creeper mostly, growing up and around hydro/telephone poles and lines.





The temperature was mid-teens and perfect for our ride!



At Stowe we stopped at a bagel place for breakfast and coffee. Something has changed in the US {or maybe it's just that we are in a part of the US we have not travelled before} but the coffee has been good ... I mean really good! An "Early Riser" pumpernickel bagel and a great cup of coffee sitting outside enjoying the morning when along came ... Mr Unhappy! He looked innocent enough ...Canadian from Montreal but he hates Quebec and I mean really hates it! He was riding a motorcycle as well and had been on a small trip that he really needed to go on to get him as far away from Quebec as he could for a couple of days ... good grief! We listened for a bit and then slowly made our way to our bikes and the thing is that he followed! He did not go inside the bagel place so he must have seen the plates on our bikes and thought 'ah fellow Canadians that I can complain to'. 30 years he has been working at the same job in that horrible province ... cannot wait to move out west where the rest of his family went. Hey buddy maybe they moved to get away from you!

After breakfast we went north on highway 108 through the "Smugglers Notch" which is another way of describing a mountain pass. Except that this is like no mountain pass I have experienced before. Super tight corners, super narrow roads and quite a bit of tourist traffic. In fact everything from RV's to cyclists. What was really cool though was the tree canopy over the road so much so that I caught myself shrinking down on my motorcycle thinking that my head might hit it, haha! It was just like going through a tunnel.









The town on the other side of the Smugglers Notch is called Jeffersonville where we stopped at a gift shop and bought some more maple syrup candy, stickers for Garth, and 2 tie-dyed t-shirts!









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Continued due to 20 pic limitation

Maple syrup is big business in Vermont! Huge maple trees everywhere and they are beautiful! And one can buy a gallon of pure maple syrup for $45 bucks! That's a deal but unfortunately it won't fit on my motorcycle ... damn!

We drove on to Burlington VT which is on the shore of Lake Champlain and offers a ferry service across the lake to Port Kent, New York. Burlington is a pretty big place and is quite hilly. To get to the ferry terminal we had to follow a one-way street through downtown. At a stop light a car got between Garth and I and then wouldn't you know it ... a stop light at the top of a hill! Garth made it through on green but not me I got red! Lots of self-talk ... you can do this ... foot brake oh **** rolling backwards a bit ... press harder on the foot brake! Ok here we go ... clutch catching ... ease off the foot brake ... yes! Phew! So happy to see the ferry terminal, haha! We got there just in time and made the 1210 pm departure. A really nice, quiet and relaxing ferry ride watching the multitude of sail boats. We had been in Vermont for exactly 24 hours!









Shortly after we left Port Kent we came upon "Ausable Chasm" which Garth took a picture of. I have not seen anything like this before. It's water flowing over huge rock steps and it is really amazing. We took off from there and the highway that we followed paralled the Ausable River so it was really a nice ride.







We were heading up to Lake Placid ... the home of the 1932 and 1980 winter Olympics. We had entered a very touristy area and the traffic was getting heavier but also varied in that it now included many outdoor enthusiasts. We pulled into a roadside cafe in the hunt for more stickers and instead found pie which of course Garth had to sample in his quest to find the best apple pie! While chatting with the staff we found out that the Lake Placid Ironman competition is to happen Sunday July 27. Well that totally explained all of the cyclists with the aerodynamic helmets ... they were there early so that they could practise.





The closer we got to Lake Placid the more athletes we encountered and it got quite tricky getting around them. When we finally motored into Lake Placid it was crazy busy! I don't think that one more person or vehicle could have fit in the downtown area {which unfortunately we had to drive through}. Driving past the Olympic complex was kind of cool however because it had been turned into "Ironman Headquarters" with banners and flags everywhere!



While making our way out of Lake Placid we came to a screaching halt! The highway ahead had been closed .. huh? All of the vehicles ahead of us were turning around. So we did as well and made our way to a gas station for information. Garth was able to find out that there had been a high speed chase and this resulted in a head on collision where one person had died! The highway was going to be closed for a couple of hours as least. We needed an alternate route and thinking that we had found one we ended up just going in a circle and found ourselves back in the craziness of Lake Placid. Our trusty Garmin however took us {and many others who also were stuck in this situation} up and around and in an hour we were back on track. Just after 5 we pulled into Tupper Lake and found a motel with a big "Bikers Welcome" sign and stopped for the night.

Day 7 and 8 July 25, 26 Tupper Lake to Ithaca, NY


and Ithaca to Burlington ON



We left Tupper Lake at our regular time and stopped at Long Lake to have breakfast.



Bright blue sky and lots of sunshine! We continued down highway 28 which took us the rest of the way through the Adirondacks. An amazing ride that reminded Garth of the best parts of highway 502 at home, except that the highway is in better shape.



We did notice however that the traffic got heavier and heavier and then we realized oh yes it's Friday! Lots of folks headed to upstate New York for the weekend! The summer cottages that we could see were where the rich New Yorkers go to get away from the city. We stopped in a small town, Inlet, to seek out stickers and we actually took some time to look around a bit. Very touristy gift shops etc. and it was so nice to just walk and look. Shortly after Inlet we left the Adirondack Park.



When we eventually stopped for a rest break I asked Garth if he had sore wrists and knees from leaning forward coming down the steep declines in the hills? He answered no because he "rides with my boots in the stirrups and lean back high in the saddle just like John Wayne"! Now there's some solid advice, haha! It takes some practise but it works ... thanks John Wayne!



Switching to highway 26 we made our way through the New York country side. Nice rolling hills and lots of majestic trees!


My favorite are the Crimson King Maples which I have not seen before ... they are amazing! Some yards have more than one and when we drove through Geneva the boulevard was lined with them ... so beautiful! Another massive tree are the Weaping Willows.



And what is really cool is that when these trees drape into the roadway they are just trimmed to fit the shape of the tall traffic that passes beneath them! Such a great idea!



At Oriskany Falls it was time to stop for a mid-day break. We pulled into a gas station and parked and then walked across the street to Mario's Pizza. I was only going to get a drink until I saw the most wonderful looking pizza sold by the slice. So we each got a slice and totally enjoyed it outside at the picnic table. As we were ready to leave the gas station parking lot a couple other bikers pulled in and it was a good thing because as I was attempting to turn out onto the street ... bloop ... I dropped my bike! On the right side this time (have to even it out, haha). In slow motion ... bloop ... cannot explain it any better than that (unless you are familiar with the old TV show Laugh In and the actor who rode the tricycle ... I am pretty sure that is just the way it looked). Anyway one of the other bikers came running over to help and was quite concerned if I had hurt myself. I told him I was fine. He said "well it's a blow to your ego when you drop your bike" and I replied "oh my ego is used to this", haha! So a bit shaken up I got myself straightened out and away we went.


At the town of Marathon NY we turned onto highway 221 and made our way to Dryden NY! We pulled over on the highway to take a selfie at the "Welcome to Dryden" sign and a state patrol car with 3 officers in it stopped. I thought "oh geez Louise now what" but all they wanted was to make sure we were okay.



We thought we would stay there for the night but the only accommodation in town was the "Dryden House"! And it was setup like a hotel instead of motel so Garth took pictures and then we left for Ithaca. (Ithaca is at the base of the Cayuga Lake in the "finger lakes" area and is very touristy.)





The traffic by now is crazy and our full concentration and focus is on what we and all of the other drivers around us are doing. As we pulled into Ithaca it was rush hour traffic on Friday. Not great timing! We got caught up in the traffic and not really knowing where we were going we soon found ourselves 2 miles out of Ithaca. We stopped at a Rodeway Inn looking for a room but at the price of $419.00 for the night forget that! So we tried again, a couple of doors down, at an Economy Inn and got a room for the night.





We unpacked and sat around licking our wounds for a bit (the day had not been our best) and then finally found an interesting place to walk to and have dinner. The Ithaca Beer Co was just under a mile away and along with a restaurant it is a brewery and a farm where they not only brew up their own beer but grow their own vegetables. Really fascinating! We tried a couple new brews and had a great dinner.



Saturday morning ... up bright and early and on the road again! We headed north between the Cayuga and Seneca "finger" lakes and at the top of the Seneca lake drove through the beautiful city of Geneva. We were heading for Canada and stuck with highway 20 from Geneva to Buffalo. Really nice day and nice ride through the country side. Lots of farms and small towns with fantastic heritage homes.





At Buffalo we made the decision not to use the International Peace bridge to cross into Canada as the waiting time was 30 - 60 minutes. We instead zoomed right by and used the Queenston/Lewiston bridge where we encountered the friendliest border guard ever! He was so interested in the fact that we are from the north and told Garth stories of how he used to go moose hunting at Upsala.

We didn't have to take off our helmets or sun glasses ... he bid us safe travels and that was that! Back onto Canadian soil Garth turned into the first Tim Horton's he could find!

Now that we could use our phones again he called ahead to Burlington and got us a room at the Knight's Inn. At first glance it looked like any other "Inn". As we were getting settled though it appeared that maybe the folks across the parking lot from us where more residents of the "Inn". Greg, drink in hand, made his way over to introduce himself to Garth and have a little conversation about our motorcycles. Alrighty then! So in the meantime we had contacted Jim and Cindy MacDonald who were at their daughter's house (Melissa and Dave) visiting and having a barbeque which they invited us too. Prior to our visit from Greg we were going to go on Garth's bike and leave mine behind at the "Inn" ... but the plan changed because I was scared that I wouldn't have a motorcycle to come back to! The barbeque was wonderful and we had a really great visit with everyone. Tomorrow we head back up to Sarnia where we will go back into the US and explore the west shore of Lake Huron for a few days.


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Day 9 July 27 Burlington to Sarnia map



Had a very quiet night after all at the "Inn" and as it turns out the long stay folks were actually highway construction workers ... not people on welfare! We slept in a bit as it was Sunday morning and when we were ready we made our way down to McDonald's for coffee and breakfast.



Our plan was to drive to Guelph and to check out the big Royal Distributing store for any good deals (maybe and hopefully on Shoei helmets). Being Sunday the store doesn't open until 10 so we took our time.

We did a tour of highways 401 and 403 (the traffic really isn't that different on a Sunday morning ... where the hell are all these people going?) and then onto highway 6 all the way to Guelph. We easily found the store and yahoo it was a big one!



Jordan, the helmet expert (and old enough to drive a motorcycle although he didn't look it), offered some great advice on what model of Shoei helmet I needed and "the Duchess" didn't fall into the proper category so thank goodness I didn't buy that one in Sudbury! The model he recommended was a GT Air, as it is designed for the kind of "upright" driving we do on our BMW's, and they had a black and red one on sale! Yahoo! It's a beauty and feels great.



In the parking lot Garth transferred over my communicator and attached my old helmet to the back of my motorcycle and then away we went to Sarnia.



We stopped in Stratford for a rest and to walk around and enjoy the sights.



In the summer it is a very vibrant city ... lots of flowers and lovely shops. We found a street vendor selling sausages made by the local Mennonites and wow were they good! Fantastic bun, fried onions, mustard and zucchini relish ... delicious!



After an hour or so we took off again continuing our journey to Sarnia. The closer we got to it the darker the sky to the west got.

Sticking to highway 7 we travelled the less travelled route and made our way through the surrounding farmlands and small towns. Went by a huge turkey farm and it had those long barns where the turkeys are able to "run free" ... between the screened in walls of the barn! Hopefully they practise some kind of "conscious based" farming techniques. The old farmhouse was absolutely beautiful with brick construction and a big wrap around front porch.

When we pulled into Sarnia we were faced with a multitude of motel choices ... couldn't believe how many are in a very short stretch. So we pulled into the Gables Motel and Garth went in to see about a room. The clerk told him $80 for the night and when Garth asked about the seniors rate she replied "that is the seniors rate", haha! Shortly after unpacking the thunder crashed and the rain started to fall so we definitely made a good decision. Also headed out for dinner at a great local restaurant.




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Day 10 July 28 Sarnia to Alpena MI



In the morning the wind was still howling and the skies were very grey.
Crossing at the US border was a piece of cake. I was apprehensive when we started up the bridge because of the wind but the posted speed is slow and the wind didn't blow us around too badly. Had a male border guard who was very nice and didn't have the need to make an ass of himself or me when I pulled up to his window. We turned onto highway 25 which follows the shoreline of Lake Huron. When a space opened up and we could see the lake .. yikes .. Lake Huron was an angry lady today! Huge white caps in that blowing wind! The temperature was in the mid-teens and within the first hour I had to stop and put on my electric jacket ... and then I had to plug the darn thing in!





We stopped in Harbor Beach for breakfast at Al's Diner. The best cinnamon bread french toast ever! We met a cute young couple who moved from California to Michigan to escape the rat race. They had their tuques on and were a little surprised at the temperature. After breakfast we turned inland for a bit. Came out at Bay Port and then followed the shoreline of Saginaw Bay to Bay City where we had a bit of trouble finding our way but eventually did.



At Standish we stopped at "Wheelers Restaurant" for a break. Garth tried their apple pie but it didn't make the grade, haha! We continued on highway 23 and drove through all of the small towns all along the coast of Lake Huron.







We encountered a couple of screwball drivers along our way. One driver was constantly on their brakes. We were on a double lane and I was following Garth so I had a front-row seat. While driving beside him this driver kept hitting the brake over and over. They were prefectly clear to move ahead but they stayed put. I backed off to give lots of room because I wasn't sure what this game was all about. The driver then moved in behind Garth and again on the brakes. They looked like the most insecure driver ever and thank goodness they didn't stay there long. They moved out and passed Garth and eventually turned off onto another road. A while later we came across a driver that was definitely texting while driving. A young woman driving a "Navigator" style vehicle. She would make these sudden swerves and it was very disconcerting so we passed her and got out of her way!

Travelling along the shore line one gets an appreciation of why so many folks would have their cottages/cabins/summer homes (or all year residences) there as the shoreline is so flat and offers alot of beach. There are also alot of for sale signs and even travelling through Bay City you get a sense that Michigan has definitely seen better days.

We decided to end our day in Alpena which is on the upper west shore of Lake Huron. Found a great little motel called the "40 Winks Motel" and the password to the WIFI was "sleepwell"!



Highway 23 takes you right along the waterfront in Alpena and it is beautiful. After supper we walked the waterfront and found the marina.







An awesome walk which also took us along a residential area and we admired all of the old houses that have been shown alot of tender loving care over the years. And again my favorite tree!





In the morning we chatted with another BMW rider, from Maryland, who had been at the National BMW rally in
Minneapolis and was heading home. He works for a BMW dealership in his home town. A really nice fellow.
After we checked out we found a laundromat and I finished up this story standing at the counter waiting for the laundry to finish, haha!



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Day 11 July 29 Alpena, MI to Newberry, MI


With the laundry done we hit the road again

.

We continued on highway 23 which took us along some beautiful real estate on Lake Huron. At times we were no more than 75 feet from the water. The folks that have their cottages/homes that close must see some massive waves sometimes. At Rogers City a fantastic walk-way paralleled the shoreline and highway. We saw groups of runners, bikers, dog walkers and walkers. It went on for at least 10 kilometers and ended at the historical site of the "40 Mile Point Lighthouse".



We stopped in Cheboygan and found a very unique coffee shop called "Your Spirit Bakery and Cafe".



Garth ordered their signature pie which consisted of a layer of homemade caramel sauce, a layer of banana, a layer of thick coffee/chocolate sauce and all topped off with a layer of chocolate mousse. The pastry was very nice and he considers this a top "best pie" contender! All of the tables were colorfully painted with different "inspirational" quotes. It was a very cool place!



22 miles later we drove into Mackinaw City! An absolute zoo! This little city has blown up into a major tourist trap! There is a zip-line in the middle of it all! We tried to find stickers and so had to park and make our way into some of the souvenir shops and after all that Garth could not find a sticker that featured the Mackinac Bridge, haha! Crossing the bridge was very cool on a motorcycle as it is pretty hugh. In the world this bridge ranks as the 5th longest suspension bridge!





From the Mackinac Bridge we headed north to the Whitefish Point where the Shipwreck Museum and the Whitefish Point lighthouse are. This of course is famous because of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipping disaster. The highway to Paradise, which is the last small town before Whitefish Point, was not that exciting but the journey was worth it. (I need to mention that the roadway into Whitefish Point is a really nice ride. Windy and fun!) Inland the temperature reached 19 degrees but the closer we got to Whitefish Point the colder it got ... a balmy 12 degrees as we parked in the parking lot.





Fog was also the result of this huge temperature change and the wind blew it on land in wild whispy clouds. It was crazy to witness and be a part of. Unfortunately the fog ruined the view of Lake Superior from all of the scenic outlooks. As we were posing for one of our famous "selfies" the fog horns of a couple of big ships sounded.



Garth having visited this place told me that this is a very business shipping channel. Damn fog! I love watching the big ships! Some day I will return and it better not be foggy!

After visiting the souvenir shops and picking up a few stickers we made our way back to Paradise and onto highway 123 to Newberry where we found the cutest motel, the Gateway Motel, and got a room for the night.



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Day 12 July 30 Newberry, MI to Houghton, MI


What an awesome day!
But before I get too carried away there are a few notes I need to add to yesterday's story.Garth felt that the animals were out to get him yesterday. First it was a deer who was at the side of highway on our left and was creeping out ever so slightly and then of course decided to go. It ran between 2 cars heading east and Garth heading west. Thank goodness that we all had time to slow down. This was deer sighting number 2 for our trip .. seriously that's it! We see more deer in our back yard at home!

Then there was the big bird ... I think it was a hawk. It came flying out of the ditch, where it had been feasting on something, and it flew right into Garth's path and from my vantage point it really looked like its wing hit Garth's helmet but he later told me that it wasn't that close to him and that he had ducked because he was scared it was going to **** on his face shield, hahaha!

Then there is Garth's retirement plan #94 ... to own a small motel with a small bar attached and to name the bar ... "Stickers"! And a patron would get a free beer if they brought in a cool sticker! Good grief!

Ok now on to today's adventure. We took our time leaving as it was a very foggy morning. By the time we left though it was a beautiful blue sky but it was only 12 degrees so I had my electric jacket on and working. We stopped in Grand Marais MI for breakfast at the Sportsman's Bar and Restaurant ... it was so slow that we do not recommend anyone going there (plus we had the crabbiest waitress ever)! After breakfast we followed historical highway 58 and entered the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.



Our first stop was the Log Slide and this is so cool I am quite sure that my description will not do it justice.



This place where they used to roll the harvested logs down the sand embankment into Lake Superior is absolutely amazing! The soft yellow sand is really hard to walk in (but actually our motorcycle boots helped us out alot) but making your way through it so that you can see this place is a must-do!



It is so steep down to the water, 400 feet down, that very few people actually go all the way down to the water.



actual wagon used to haul logs to the slide


But one can easily see that this would have worked nicely to get the logs to the water. We then went to the scenic overlook and that is where you get a full view of the entire area. The sand log slide is a very small sample of the massive sand dune that stretches along the Lake Superior shoreline for as far as the eye can see! And the whole stretch is at least 400 feet from top to water. This took me by surprise as you just cannot imagine that such a sand dune would exist in northern Michigan.



Our next stop was Pictured Rock Cliffs and the Miners Castle. The Miners Castle is a sandstone formation that at one time looked like a castle but over the years huge pieces of it have fallen into the lake.



The Pictured Rock Cliffs are steep colorful cliffs along the shoreline. They also go on and on. Lake Superior was the calmest that I have ever seen it and so there were quite a few groups of kayakers out admiring the sights from the water.





There was hardly a whisper of a breeze. Today we were approached by many motorcycle enthusiasts and everyone wanted to chat ... it was just that kind of morning! Garth's collection of stickers is usually how these conversations start. We met 2 brothers who would love to own a couple of BMW's. They were so interesting to chat to as they have both travelled alot and the one bicycled through France at the same time as the Tour de France (he had great stories about watching the peloton come
in). We chatted with a group of Harley riders (men and women) who were very friendly. We were also approached by a guy who told us a story about buying Suzuki V-Strom's with his buddy and that before they could travel around the upper Michigan peninsula his buddy was diagnosed with cancer. So their travel plans are on hold. He told us how his buddy tried to ride his V-Strom after undergoing a set of his chemo treatments but was too weak and dizzy and dropped his bike in an intersection. It was a very interesting morning and really enjoyable to meet new people who enjoy motorcycles.

Historical highway 58 was a blast to drive! The pavement is only a couple years old so it is in fantastic shape. It is heavily treed in spots so there is a canopy over the road giving that illusion of driving through a tunnel. There are lots of dips and curves and you feel like you are swaying ... right and then left and then right and then left! Really alot of fun!





Our next stop was Munising where we stopped for coffee and Garth went on a search for stickers. The sky was getting darker and darker to the west so we knew that eventually we were going to hit rain. Our goal was Houghton and beyond (although the beyond part was a stretch). As we drove through Marquette it started to sprinkle but then it ended so we thought we had driven around the rain ... nope! At the intersection where highways 28 and 41 split we stopped to add an extra layer of clothes and to get a snack and the sprinkle turned into more serious rain. I fixed up my iPod so that Brooks & Dunn could sing me through the rain and we hit the highway and man did it pour! An hour later we rolled into Houghton. Drove past some motels and into the city but soon realized that we needed to turn around and go back. We turned up a block and were faced with a street that went UP 4 tiers! Up and up and up and I thought "no f'ing way am I going up that street" ... what is plan B? Thank goodness there was a plan B and we got back on the main highway and found "Julie's Motor Inn".

Down the highway was "Pilgrim River Steak House" that we walked to for supper and we had the friendliest and cutest waitress anyone could ask for.



A wonderful way to end our wonderful day!

Oh ya Garth's bike turned 50 today!!




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Day 13 July 31 Houghton, MI to Ashland, WI (the long way)

We woke to a blue sky with lots of sunshine and the beginning to another really awesome day!





We drove through Houghton and went north to a town called Copper Harbour which is situated at the end of the Keweenaw peninsula. Highway 41 is the only highway that goes up there and it takes about 45 minutes.



It is a nice ride but the last 11 miles are fabulous!
We had breakfast at the Tamarack Inn ...


it was delicious and the waitress was so darn cute and happy (unlike our experience yesterday) she hummed a tune wherever she went! After breakfast we visited a gift shop and treated ourselves to a few items. Garth bought himself a copper bracelet to prevent any future arthritis!



Before we headed back down highway 41 Garth put his Go-Pro camera on his helmet and videoed our ride out.

Video here http://youtu.be/NS4IOQNvRO0

We carried on through Houghton and headed south down highway 26 to the intersection of highway 38 where we turned west and rode to Ontonagon which is right on the shore of Lake Superior.





We bought some gas,



visited a shop that was filled with precious rocks of all sorts and then made our way to Gull Point where we had a snack and walked out onto the point to look at the lake and the scenery.





In the distance were the Porcupine Mountains.



On the point were rocks that had names scratched in them back in the 20s and 30s. Maybe from the workers in the 107 engineers who put in the highway? Who knows but have to go with the romantic.

1921


1932


We drove through Silver City and then into the Porcupine State Park to have a look around.



Followed another narrow windy road and watched a wild turkey come out of the bush and cross the roadway. Having explored all that we came to we set our sights on our destination of Ashland WI where we ended our day. Ashland is also on the shore of Lake Superior and is a very nice town of approx 8,200 people. It once had a thriving logging industry. We found a room at the Crest Motel and walked to Hugo's Pizzeria for dinner where they "bake them the old fashioned way" ... not quite sure what that means but Garth really enjoyed his pizza.



After dinner we walked down the "Rail Trail" which is a paved walking/running/roller blading/bicycling path that follows the shoreline. It is well used and really nice. There is a shoreline restoration project underway with new trees and shrubs planted. We eventually found the marina and walked into it to have a peek at the boats.



We walked through the downtown area and made our way back to our motel. The sun was setting in a hazy sky and its reflection on the water was quite pretty.We are only an hour from Duluth so our goal is the make it home tomorrow (Friday) night.





The sun is setting on our trip around the Great Lakes




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Final Day and Wrap up

Day 14 August 1 Ashland, WI - Dryden, ON (Home)

Map


Up early and on the road by 815. An absolutely beautiful morning a little on the cool side but perfect for motorcycling. Because we were only an hours away from Superior/Duluth we wanted to get there early to beat any heavy Friday traffic. Our timing was perfect as we rolled through at 930.







On the way out of Duluth we found a great restaurant called Farley's Family Restaurant and had breakfast. The riding was fast (and this satisfied the little speed demon that lives within me, haha) as we stuck to the main highways so we could get home at a decent hour. We encountered quite a bit of highway construction but nothing that stopped us for long. These highways are in good shape so it was a smooth and somewhat effortless ride.

Stopped at the Chocolate Moose in International Falls for a bowl of soup and then made our way to the border crossing. The lineup was not as long as we expected it to be for a Friday of a Canadian long weekend. The border guard was a young man who was more interested in our trip than anything and he chatted Garth up for a bit. That's the kind of border crossing we like!

We stopped at the rest stop on the highway 502 and along came Garth's sister Colleen. She was on her way home from her day's work in the area. So we chatted with her a bit and then she zoomed off. Highway 502, except for the rough parts, is a great ride and we met a few motorcyclists on our way. We cruised into our driveway around 530 and we were both really happy to be home.

A map of our amazing trip:



Some stats from the GPS

77 hours 19 minutes travel time - 5,983 kilometers travelled - 77.4 kilometers/per hour average speed



Before we left I was worried about how much hot, humid weather we were going to encounter going so far south in the summertime. Well because of this weird and wonderful summer weather that we all are having we only had a couple days where it got above 30 so the humidity did not play a part at all. I was also concerned about the amount of summer traffic and we did experience that in certain areas like the vacation areas of New York,

Lake Placid and the Finger Lakes. We will revisit this area of New York again but we will do it in the fall. The traffic should be less and the fall colours would be outstanding because of all of the beautiful trees they have.

We had a fantastic trip. Thanks for riding along with us. Hope you enjoyed the stories. Until next time ...

Denise and Garth

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