Scooter Adventures

New England

2011-08-05T16:59:00.001-07:00

7/23/11 – 8/3/11

12 days, 10 states, 3,400 miles

6/25/11, 28 days before the trip

Howard and I have finalized the route and booked the hotels. Other than changing oil before the trip, we are ready.

Here’s our route from 10,000 feet. It differs slightly from the route I posted back in January, but it still includes most of the scenic roads in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.

The ultimate destination of this trip is Acadia National Park in Maine.

Hotel booking is always a challenge, primarily because we like to have an option to cancel our reservation the same day. There’s no consistency. The same hotel chain offers same-day cancellation in one location, but requires a 24-hour notice in another location. There’s probably some logic to it, but it escapes me.

9 out of 10 hotels we will be staying in offer same-day cancellation. North Conway, NH is the only place where not a single hotel offers this option. Of course, this place has the most expensive lodging on our trip.

Days 1, 2 & 3: Chicago - Kent OH - New Windsor NY - Rutland VT (1,110 miles)

We left from Howard’s home at 8:30 AM as usual. Chicago was basically under water, at least some parts of it, after Zeus dumped 7” of rain on the city. All I-90 ramps from and to Elmhurst Road were closed, so we just rode east and got on I-294 at Touhy Ave. The plan was to take I-294 / I-80 / I-65 south to Merrillville IN and then Hwy 30 east to Kent OH.

The first day was somewhat tiresome. It started to rain several times, but we just kept going. However, at some point we got so wet that we decided to stop under the next bridge and put on our rain gear. As it could be expected, the rain stopped as soon as we had finished our elaborate dance of putting on pants standing on one leg. The thermometer on my bike was showing 97F.

Day 2 was much more pleasant in terms of weather and scenery. I-80 & I-84 turned out to be very nice 4-lane-split highways with dense vegetation on both sides shielding us from cross winds. The temperatures were not as brutal as on the previous day, but still in the upper eighties. It briefly rained a couple of times, but this time we didn’t bother with the rain gear and just kept going.

1960? Ford Edsel, the number 12 on Dan Neil’s list of 50 worst cars of all time. The owner of the car was on his way to the Annual Edsel Owners Club Convention in Springfield IL.

A short stop before the final leg of this day. Howard didn’t want to leave. He liked the place.

Our hotel in New Windsor was on the hill overlooking Lake Washington. Not the type of scenery you would expect from a budget hotel.

After 850 miles of Interstate riding behind us, we were ready to hit those scenic roads I had spent a month planning. But, of course, we couldn’t miss an opportunity to visit Orange County Choppers. Their store was just 1/2 mile from the hotel.

Choppers in the showroom were fantastic, but the rest of the store was just a lot of t-shirts and baseball caps with the Orange County Choppers logo. Nothing much was going on in the workroom.

After spending an hour taking pictures and paying $20 for a $5 t-shirt, we hit the road. This day included parts of several scenic drives from the Insiders’ Guide Scenic Driving New England: South & North Litchfield Hills (Hwy 7) and Berkshire Hills (23, 20, 112, 100, and 103.) State Hwy 7 was fine, but other roads felt like a washboard. It also didn’t help that it rained the whole day long. On a positive note, the scenery was great, and our Tourmaster Defender rain suites performed as advertised and kept us dry.

Day 4: Rutland VT - Lewiston ME (280 miles)

Day 4 rewarded us for the misery of the previous day with great weather and smooth roads. We started north on Hwy 30, then rode the southern part of Middlebury Loop through Green Mountain National Forest to Rochester (73), turned right on Hwy 100 and took Quechee-Coolidge Scenic Drive first south and then east (4, 25, 113.) We continued north-east until we reached Lewiston.

90 miles from Rutland we rolled into Woodstock, a scenic little resort town with a beautiful downtown, lots of stores, and a couple of coffee shops (not Woodstock NY, Woodstock NH.) The Daily Grind looked good and we settled there for a cup of coffee and an apple cinnamon pie.

To offset $180 per night rooms in North Conway and Saranac Lake, we booked a room at Super 8 in Lewiston. I felt bad vibes when I first saw the building, but we were not prepared for what was inside. The tiny lobby was dimly lit and poorly furnished. Through the open door behind the counter I could see a pile of dirty laundry on the floor. There was smell of food in the hallways as if food was cooked in every room. Our room was furnished with the second-hand, extremely cheap furniture. Mattresses were probably 20 years old, dried oily drops on the table, a hole in the middle of the desk, yellowish bed sheets, broken window and sink faucet. Behind the building, next to the back door, was a big pile of garbage. We just turned around and moved to another hotel.

Day 5: Lewiston ME - Bangor ME (250 miles)

Our electronic equipment suddenly started working as advertised. I think out of frustration we just stopped pressing all the buttons every 5 seconds. For the rest of the trip we were able to talk and listen to our GPSs connected to Scala via Bluetooth. I also took full advantage of the MP3 player in my GPS with 800 MB of songs, primarily Cesaria Evora and The Barry Sisters.

This was the day when we finally reached Atlantic Ocean. I think it was at South Harpswell. The place was smelly, lots of crab and lobster cages, and a shack saying Dick's Lobster.

Most of the day we rode scenic roads, exploring several of the long finger peninsulas jutting into the Atlantic Ocean on Maine’s Mid-Coast, stopping from time to time for a photo op. The seaside landscape was dotted with fishing villages and summer cottages, isolated beaches and surf-swept headlands, quiet coves and picturesque lighthouses, and hundreds of offshore islands.

Fort Popham, a Civil War era fort that was built to protect the shipbuilding interest in the upriver city of Bath, as well as the state capitol, in Augusta.

Lighthouse Park south of Chamberlain was another tourist attraction, as well as ice cream with wild blueberries sold at a nearby restaurant called Oceanfront Dining.

Two pirates.

Once we explored the peninsulas, we took Hwy 1 and rode north-east along the shore of Penobscot Bay to Bangor.

Day 6: Bangor ME - Augusta ME (290 miles)

Acadia National Park is probably the most famous part of Maine’s ragged, 2,500-mile coastline. Most of the park is on the Mount Desert Island, but Schoodic Peninsula is, without doubt, the most spectacular part of the park. We took Schoodic Scenic Byway and rode it slowly, enjoying the scenery and stopping every 10 minutes to take a picture.

After exploring Schoodic Peninsula, we turned our attention to Mount Desert Island. The main attraction of the island was, of course, Cadillac Mountain. There was a 3.5-mile road leading to the summit, called predictably Cadillac Mountain Summit Road. The road quickly climbed via switchbacks up the mountain’s broad north flank. Several pullouts along the way offered great views. The spur road ended atop Cadillac spacious 1,530-foot summit.

On the way from Schoodic Peninsula to Mountain Desert Island we stopped for lunch at Timbers restaurant in Hancock. They served the best crab rolls I’ve ever tried.

Most of the motorcycles on the road were Harleys with a sprinkle of Goldwings here and there. So when we ran into 2003 Ural at one of the gas stations along the route, we couldn’t resist taking a picture and talking to the owner. I don’t think the look of this motorcycle has changed in the last 40 years. But according to the owner, it’s fun to ride and he rides it year round.

Once we left Acadia National Park, we took Hwy 1 and then 3 to Augusta.

Texas Roadhouse was our choice for dinner. Great steaks. We could even select our own raw steaks, which would be prepared and served to us. I didn’t ask if we could watch the grilling. There was also a bucket of peanuts on each table.

Day 7: Augusta ME - North Conway NH (280 miles)

Day 7 took us to White Mountain National Forest. From Augusta we rode Hwy 17 / 156 north-west, then took Rangeley Lake Scenic Drive (Byron Rd / Swift River Rd), and then the Upper White Mountain Scenic Drive (26, 110, 23) - high, brooding upland broken by rumpled mountains and sliced by deep, glacier-carved valleys. We ended the day riding Hwy 302 through Crawford Notch State Park, considered to be one of the most famous scenery in New Hampshire.

Days 8 & 9: North Conway NH - Woodstock NH - Saranac Lake NY (270 miles)

The day started as usual, but 30 miles from North Conway Howard had a flat tire. The bike was towed to a little Harley shop called Woodstock Cycle Works, where we started a hunt for a new tire. Silverwing’s rear wheel is 13”, not the most popular size. A new tire was located in Manchester, about 80 miles from Woodstock (another Woodstock in New Hampshire.) I ran there and brought the tire back to Woodstock, where Howard, not trusting Cycle Works mechanic, took it upon himself to remove the rear wheel and then put it back. I think the mechanic didn't know much about scooters anyway.

By the time the new tire was installed, it was already 3 pm. We booked a room in Woodstock and enjoyed the rest of the day, including dinner at Woodstock Inn. A huge plate of really good potato skins was the highlight of the dinner.

The next day we continued on Hwy 112 through White Mountain National Forest, then took Hwy 302 to Middlesex, where we found a little bakery selling freshly baked pastries.

The remaining part of the route went through Green Mountain National Forest (100, 125) and took us to Lake Champlain. This time we rode the northern part of Middlebury Loop (125.)

There was a bridge connecting the Vermont and New York shores at Chimney Point, however the middle section of the bridge was missing. There was another bridge about 40 miles south, but the day was hot, and we were not looking forward to riding an extra 80 miles. We briefly considered Moses’ way of crossing water, but eventually decided on the path of least resistance and took a lake ferry.

These are just pictures from the road.

This day’s destination was Saranac Lake, a little town 8 miles north of Lake Placid, the site of 1980 Winter Olympics. Since we had time before dinner, we rode there and walked Main Street up and down a couple of time.

About 4 miles north of Lake Placid was a restaurant called Tale O’ The Pop BBQ. It was an outdoor restaurant with a live band playing country music. The place was packed. There were at least 100 people there.

Days 10, 11 & 12: Saranac Lake NY - Batavia NY - Wauseon OH – Chicago (920 miles)

Batavia NY. Guess which restaurant we went to for dinner?

All good things come to an end, and it was time to head back home. We took I-90 / I-80 all the way to Chicago and safely made it home in 2.5 days.

P.S.

Rifle air vent is the best thing since sliced bread. I’ve put 40,000 miles on my bikes in the last several years, and this trip was the most comfortable in terms of helmet buffeting and visor fogging. The vent practically eliminated both.

Scala Rider turned out to be a decent piece of equipment. However, unless you are behind a very tall windshield, it’s always a good idea to wear ear plugs. I usually wear Howard Leight MAX-1 with NRR 33dB. Scala’s volume, normally loud, is insufficient when ear plugs are used.

I’ve learned some lessons from my crash last year. I now have Firstgear temperfoam knee armor installed in my riding pants. It’s a shock-dampening open-celled foam, very comfortable and, unlike hard armor, doesn’t create pressure on the knees.

Missouri

2011-05-07T07:23:00.001-07:00

5/1/11 – 5/4/11

4 days, 1,250 miles

Days 1 & 2: Chicago – Chester IL – Salem MO

Days 3 & 4: Salem MO – Foristell MO – Chicago

Howard and I have actually planned a trip to the Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, but the weather forecast for this area was so bad, that, at the very last moment, we decided to ride to Missouri.

We spent most of the first day on interstate, I-294/I-55/I-255, getting off the highway somewhere south of the St. Louis Downtown Airport.

The morning was warm and sunny, but it started to rain in the late afternoon, and the last 50 miles were cold and wet. However, the Bluff Road and the Great River Road were scenic, and we tried to enjoy them as much as we could.

The rain continued through the night, stopped in the morning for several hours, started again at about 10 AM, and didn’t stop until the next day.

Day 2, from Chester to Salem, was the most challenging. It was cold, rainy, and the entire area was heavily flooded. A couple of times we had to turn around and look for another road.

This is County Road H south of Grassy.

By lunchtime we gave up on the planned route and decided to stay on the major roads through the rest of the day. This actually turned out to be a very nice ride. We took SR-72 from Junction City to Arcadia, then 21 North and 32 West.

Day 3 greeted us with the bright sun and a very pleasant weather overall. We had re-planned this day’s route, but it wasn’t probably necessary since this part of Missouri wasn’t flooded.

Day 4 started really great, but going through St. Louis Howard and I lost each other and had to finish the trip separately.

For this trip Howard and I decided to go high-tech and purchased Scala Rider communicators, so we could talk to each other while riding as well as hear GPS instructions.

Our setup looked like this: two Scala radios attached to the helmets, Howard’s GPS connected to his unit, and my TomTom connected to my unit. All via Bluetooth. In theory, this was supposed to be working seamlessly with Scala managing all communications. In practice, nothing worked. At least initially. After some experimentation, we gave up on Bluetooth and used a cable to connect GPS to Scala. It also took us some time to figure out that Scala doesn’t release the channel after the end of the conversation. One of us needed to press a button to explicitly end it. Only after that a GPS would reconnect.

All this playing with audio was a big distraction. I don’t think I was terribly upset when an audio jack in my GPS broke of.

I also used this trip to test a new helmet and a new windshield. The helmet was Nolan N90. It turned out to be very comfortable and aerodynamic. Internal sun visor was also great. The only disappointment was the visor that didn’t use friction to stay open like on my old helmet, but instead had preset stops with the first one creating a 1” opening. I usually open the visor just a notch when it rains to allow air in to reduce visor fogging. An opening, which is too big, allows too much water inside the helmet. I will need to put on my engineering hat and come up with a solution.

Most new helmets, including N90, are designed to channel air from the front vents to the visor, but because of the tall windshield, the vents are in the low pressure air bubble where air just doesn’t move. I guess all helmet designers ride naked bikes only.

The new windshield was a huge disappointment. I ordered Cee Baileys + 4 hoping that it would push the air above my helmet creating a very comfortable air bubble with low noise and no turbulence. What I didn’t know that windshields with reverse flips and non-fair shapes generate semi-periodic chaotic swirls of turbulent air, called Von Karman vortices. These vortices, or pockets of turbulence, grow as they move away from the windshield. At high speed the turbulence was so severe, I had hard time reading highway signs.

There are several potential options that I intend to explore: raise the windshield to allow more air under it, install a vent, cut the windshield, buy another brand, or a combination of those options. Riding with the stock windshield is also a possibility.

Update 6/11/2011

After reviewing pros and cons of each option, I decided to try a vent. I was able to find two vents – Honda Goldwing vent and Rifle Air Balance vent. I had the Goldwing vent in the Clearview windshield installed on my previous scooter and was not impress with its performance. I also wanted to cut an inch off of the top of the windshield. Rifle, on the other hand, has been testing and designing vents since late 60's. So I just shipped Cee Baileys windshield to Rifle with my instructions to make it shorter and install the vent. Three weeks later I received it back and today took the bike on interstate.

My first impression is positive. The windshield is now the right height, so I can easily see over it. The vent flows lots of air and, by channeling it all up the back side of the windshield, it breaks the airflow from the front side of the windshield and pushes it higher. As a result, there’s less turbulence and a quieter ride. I don’t think there’s any way to eliminate turbulence completely with a tall windshield when you look over it. What I have now is probably as good as it will ever get.

However, I still would like to test a shorter windshield. I think if I cut off 10-12” of the top of the stock windshield, so the air hits me in the chest, it will eliminate buffeting completely. A big drawback of a shorter windshield, of course, is a significantly increased level of wind noise. But I think it’s worth a try. Of all evils, helmet buffeting is probably the worst.

2011 Rides

2011-01-30T07:12:00.001-08:00

My hope to ride to Montana and Wyoming will remain as such for at least another year. Instead, we’ll travel to New England and go back to the places we’ve already visited over the last couple of years such as Kentucky and The Ozarks. But even these rides won’t be the same. I’ve revised and expanded the routes and added a number of scenic roads.

Here’s our preliminary schedule:

May – Kentucky (8 days)
June – Indiana / Kentucky (4 days)
July – Spring Green (3 days)
August - New England (12 days)
September – The Ozarks (11 days)

Kentucky – 8 days, 2,300 miles

Scenic Driving Kentucky by William and Cora Kappele includes 36 scenic roads. I think I captured most of them.

To make the trip even more fun, I’ve included a lot of winding 2-lane roads going up and down the hill in addition to the scenic roads from the book.

Days 1 & 2: Chicago - Elizabethtown (3) - Danville (17)
Day 3: Danville (17) - London (36)
Day 4: London (36) - Manchester (52)
Day 5: Manchester (52) - Hazard (65)
Day 6: Hazard (65) - Paintsville (83)
Days 7 & 8: Paintsville (83) – Wilder (104) – Chicago

Indiana / Kentucky - 4 days, 1,200 miles

Howard and I tried to ride this route last year, but after I crashed my bike, we had to cut it short. We’ll try it again this year. To make the trip even more interesting, I’ve added a Mammoth Cave National Park to the route. It would be nice to do a tour of the subterranean labyrinths of Mammoth Cave. But this has not been discussed yet.

Spring Green – 3 days, 680 miles

The road to Spring Green, the place of our annual pilgrimage, will go through Galena this year. As usual, Dodgeville will serve as our base.

Howard found an article in the September issue of the Motorcycle Rider magazine describing a 300-mile loop that starts near Dodgeville and includes a scenic ride along the Mississippi river from Prairie du Chen to La Crosse.

New England – 12 days, 3,800 miles

The map below includes 25 out of 28 routes described in Scenic Driving New England by Stewart Green. We are not going to ride all of them, but it was a nice thought of spending a month exploring New England.

It will take a couple of days of interstate riding, but after that we’ll hit the best and most beautiful roads in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Days 1,2, 3: Chicago – Akron OH (4) - Newburg NY (7)
Day 4: Rutland VT (19) - Portland ME (34)
Day 5: Portland ME (34) - Bucksport ME (52)
Day 6: Bucksport ME (52) – Lubec ME (69)
Day 7,8: Lubec ME (69) - Rockwood ME (74) – Conway NH (83)
Days: 9,10,11,12: Conway NH (83) - Saranac Lake NY (93) - Batavia NY (99) - Wauseon OH (100) – Chicago

This would be the longest trip so far. I didn’t have a chance to think about sightseeing, but I’m pretty sure after going through Stewart Green’s book Scenic Driving New England will give me plenty of ideas. Besides, we’ll need some rest after the first week of riding any way. So this trip will probably take at least 13 days.

And yes, I love Scenic Driving books. I think I have all of them – from Main to Alaska.

The Ozarks – 11 days, 3,200 miles

I think I’ve gotten carried away planning this ride. It was supposed to be just 8 days, but, I guess, there are just too many good roads down there.

Days 1,2: Chicago - Perryville MO (6) - Salem MO (16)
Days 3,4: Salem MO (16) - Pocahontas AR (25) - Harrison AR (37)
Day 5: Harrison AR (37) - Clinton AR (48)
Day 6: Clinton AR (48) - Eureka Springs AR (61)
Days 7,8: Eureka Springs AR (61) - Russellville AR (70) - Sallisaw OK (79)
Days: 9,10,11: Sallisaw OK (79) - Ozark MO (89) - Warrenton IL (98) - Chicago

Two 2-week long trips in a row could be a little bit too much. If not this year, we’ll ride it in 2012. Right after we come back from Montana -:)

It Happens

2010-09-05T19:07:00.001-07:00

As veterans say, it’s not a question of whether it will happen or not, it’s a question of when it will happen.

I have the answer now - September 4, 2010 at 6:14 PM. Blue River Road, 2,000 feet west of Fine Lane, Pekin, Indiana.

As it can be seen on this aerial photo, it was a nice right-hander. I suspect that because of a relatively high speed, I needed to achieve a lean angle greater than my bike was capable of. Or perhaps a release compound on the sidewall of my brand new front tire contributed to the crash. Or a little bit of gravel on the road. In any case I low-sided. It’s hard to say at which point I separated from the bike, and how long the slide was. I stopped on the grass by the edge of the road. My bike ended up in the middle of the field sliding under an electric fence.

This is how my GPS recorded trajectory of the bike during the crash.

Damage to my gear

First, this is what I was wearing during the crash:

Nolan 102 modular helmet
Olympia Airglide jacket (back, shoulder, and elbow armor)
Cortech Mod Jeans ( leather reinforced knees and rear)
H-D Miner boots
Olympia Monsoon gloves

Jacket, pants, and boots will need to be replaced. There’s no visible damage to the helmet, but common sense is telling me to replace it anyway.

Injuries

Overall, my gear fulfilled its purpose and saved my skin. However, as a result of several compromises, I was still hurt. Compromise #1: pants without hip and thigh armor. I have a huge bruise on the left hip and outer thigh. Compromise #2: no knee armor. Reinforced knees in my jeans held, but the right knee is now twice as big as the left one, and there’s a couple of quarter-size rug burns on it. Also, my right calf is huge. I hope the fibula is not broken.

I also slid by a large poll, a collision with which would have changed my story.

Paramedics

The response of Pekin’s fire department was amazing. They showed up almost immediately (or it took me some time to regain clear thinking?) with a helicopter on stand-by. Fortunately, their help was not needed. As I learned later, motorcycle accidents were common in this area, especially deer collisions. I think my gear impressed them. They usually deal with riders wearing t-shirts and doo rags.

Conclusion

I was mostly satisfied with the performance of my gear. But I don’t think that those little conveniences I achieved by removing some “optional” armor were worth the price.

Bike

The bike sustained pretty significant damage, especially to the right side – all panels, mirror, break lever, etc. However, it didn’t look like there was a lot of structural damage. Mostly tupperware. I hope it’s all fixable, and I will be back on the road in a couple of weeks.

Three weeks later…

My insurance company decided to total the bike and send me a check instead.

Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi!

Here’s my new ride - 2006 Suzuki Burgman 650. See you on the road.

Kattle Moraine Scenic Drive

2010-08-10T18:06:00.001-07:00

Kattle Moraine is a 115-mile scenic drive that traverses six Wisconsin counties. Its northern end is near Elkhart Lake in northern Sheboygan County and its southern end is at Whitewater Lake in southeastern Walworth County.

The only drawback is the number of stop signs. The driving directions, which I downloaded from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources web site, show 43 stop signs.

Michigan UP

2010-08-09T19:44:00.001-07:00

8/6/10 – 8/9/10

4 days, 3 states, 1,200 miles

Day 1: Chicago- Munising (365 miles)

Day 2: Munising - Copper Harbor - Hancock (265 miles)

Day 3: Hancock - Shawano (295 miles)

Day 4: Shawano - Chicago (260 miles)

Hiawatha National Forest.

Lake Superior.

Great Sand Bay, somewhere between Eagle River and Eagle Harbor.

I was finally able to test the speed limit of my scooter on this trip. 109 mph.

Hancock, MI.

Parking meters are installed close to the buildings, not the curb. A local confirmed our guess that it has something to do with snow removal.

The last remnant of the long-gone mining industry.

The Outpost Cafe in Presque Isle, WI.

This was listed in the menu as Two French toasts.

I’m half-way through, and I’m still smiling. This French toast is out of this world.

Howard didn’t complain about his pancakes either.

Flamingo’s restaurant in Shawano serves the best fruit salad I’ve ever tasted.

Spring Green

2010-08-04T20:19:00.001-07:00

7/30/10 – 8/1/10

Cute little shops in Spring Green.

This place sells 70 different flavors of tea and a home-made blueberry-apple pie.

Dinner time. We are hungry.

We went on a very nice ride on Saturday. I planned a 215-mile loop through Cazenovia, Kendall, Wilton, Viola, Steuben, Fennimore and back to Dodgeville (blue line.) But, as it often happens, S&T and TomTom didn’t see eye to eye. As a result, my GPS “optimized” the route and excluded some scenic roads (red flags.)

A short stop in the middle of nowhere.

Kickapoo – disappointing food but really good blueberry pie.

There’s no wrong place or time to tinker with your scooter.

Some people ride scooters, some prefer lawnmowers.

Kentucky

2010-06-26T08:14:00.001-07:00

6/19/10 – 6/24/10

6 days, 4 states, 1,800 miles

Days 1 & 2: Chicago - Elizabethtown KY - Danville KY

Day 3: Danville KY - Manchester KY

Day 4: Manchester KY - Paintsville KY

Days 5 & 6: Paintsville KY - Wilder KY – Chicago

This trip started as all our trips – we left Howard’s home at about 8:30 am, jumped on the Interstate, and rode the rest of the day trying to get as far from Chicago as we could.

The plan was to ride south to the Tennessee border through Louisville, turn around and ride north to Lexington, then turn around again and ride back to Tennessee border, and finally proceed to Cincinnati, zig-zagging along the way.

Our first stop was Elizabethtown. A curious fact about this town is that, despite being in a “dry county”, alcoholic drinks are freely available at the restaurants.

Day 2 started with the ride through The Mammoth Cave National Park and then continued through the Barren River Lake area. It then turned north across an arm of Lake Cumberland and continued along US 127 through really great scenery.

A short stop by the Barren River Dam.

Danville, our second stop, is a city of 15,000 known for housing the first courthouse in Kentucky and the first US Post Office west of the Allegheny Mountains.

While putting a cover on the bike, I discovered several cuts on the front tire. After some consideration, we decided to ride to the nearest Suzuki dealership and let them take a look before resorting to some drastic measures such as buying a new tire and shipping it overnight.

At 9 am Howard and I were standing in front of the dealership’s doors holding our breath. Fortunately for us, it turned out to be a false alarm. The guy who inspected the tire assured us that it was absolutely safe to ride on it.

All riding in Kentucky is scenic, but some rides are better than others. The 90-mile ride from Winchester to Livingston is one of the best. Part of KY 89 is designated as a Kentucky Scenic Byway.

St. Hubert’s Episcopal Church.

Coffee stop in Irwin, KY.

By the end of day 3 the weather stopped cooperating. Strong winds and dark sky didn’t promise anything good. There were a lot of leaves and small tree branches on the road. About 25 miles from Manchester we ran into a fallen tree blocking the road. Howard and I tried to move it, but it was too heavy even for giants like us. While we were considering our options, several cars piled up behind us. Eventually a 4-wheel drive pickup truck pulled the tree to the side of the road clearing the passage.

It also started to rain, and it didn’t take long before the light drizzle turned into a downpour. It was too late to put on our rain gear, so we continued in our soaked jackets and jeans. We spent the rest of the evening drying up our gear with a hairdryer.

Day 4 took us on Hwy 421 / KY 80 and then on Hwy 15 North to Campton. Here we ran into a couple of road closures, but managed to find decent detours that didn’t add too many miles to the route.

Hwy 421 is a mountain road that goes through beautiful wooded hollows and along ridges.

Howard’s new friend.

The last 70-mile stretch before Paintsville was especially scenic. A couple of locals were riding an ATV in front of us on Hwy 711. They definitely knew the road and navigated the turns with great skill without slowing down.

Cows and I. I love nature.

We found people in Kentucky to be very friendly. In one little town along the Ohio river they even formed a welcoming committee and sent a deputy sheriff to greet us. Howard and I went out of our way to show how happy we were to meet him. Fortunately, the officer didn’t insist on meeting other committee members that included a judge and a DA and let us continue our trip .

We felt that seating in a rocking chair was essential for completing our experience of the South.

2010 Rides

2010-05-23T09:17:00.001-07:00

The new riding season has already arrived, but I’m nowhere close to finalizing the rides for this year. So far I came up with three: 1,800 mile ride to Kentucky, 3,500 mile trip to New England, and a 5,000 mile ride to Montana.

The trip to New England will take a couple of weeks. Howard is enthusiastic about it, but I’m not sure I can take two weeks off from work. The Montana trip is purely a dream. I’m afraid it will have to wait until I retire.

This leaves Kentucky. Here’s the route (color pins represent scenic rides from William Kappele’s book Scenic Driving Kentucky). It includes 17 roads out of 36 described in the book.

The same route displayed in Google Maps:

Days 1, 2, & 3: Chicago - Elizabethtown - Danville - Harlan

Day 4: Harlan - Paintsville

Days 5 & 6: Paintsville - Cincinnati - Chicago

Adirondacks

2009-08-09T07:30:00.001-07:00

2,300 miles, 7 days, 6 states + Ontario.

Here’s our itinerary:

Chicago – Canton (OH) – Corning (NY) – Glens Falls (NY) – Rochester (NY) – St. Thomas (Ontario) – Chicago.

The first stop was Massillon, a town of 30,000, 15 miles east of Canton. Massillon is known for one of the most tragic instances of anti-union violence in the history of the United States. However, when we arrived the town was peaceful and even greeted us with an Antique Auto Show.

During all of our trips, I realized that there are only three important institutions in every, even the smallest, town: a church, a funeral home, and a tattoo parlor.

Day 2 took us on historic route 66 through Allegheny National Forest.

Kane PA, another little town we rode through, looked like a typical small mid-western town – full of life in the past, but bleak prospects for the future.

Just a photo opportunity and a chance to stretch our legs.

We started day 3 in the Watkins Glenn State Park. It has a mile-and-a-half-long, eight-hundred-stone-step Gorge Trail, and Howard and I walked it to the top.

Indian Chief Vintage. What a beauty. We spotted it on the parking lot in Watkins Glenn.

Fort Ticonderoga, originally Fort Carillon, was built by the French military between 1755 and 1759 during the French and Indian War near the south end of Lake Champlain in upstate New York. The fort attained a reputation for impregnability during the 1758 Battle of Carillon, when 4,000 French defenders repelled an attack by 16,000 British troops near the fort.

Here’s another fort, His Majesty’s Fort of Crown Point, which played a key role in Britain's efforts to wrest Canada from the French.

Skaneateles, NY, a town of about 8,000 residents, is situated on the northern end of the Skaneateles Lake. In the historic downtown district, shops and galleries are housed in restored buildings dating back to 1796.

Long Lake, NY. Howard and I just stopped there for a quick lunch and an opportunity to fly over this beautiful lake. But, after some consideration, we decided that a couple of pictures next to a plane would suffice.

Another short stop somewhere in the mountains.

Antique Boat Museum located on the banks of the St. Lawrence River in the picturesque river-side village of Clayton, NY. The museum has a very large collection of unique and beautifully preserved examples of great North American pleasure boats.

Restoration room.

The 106' houseboat La Duchesse was built in 1903 for hotelier George Boldt, manager of New York City's famed Waldorf-Astoria hotel.

Both Howard and I failed to take a picture of the boat itself. Here’s an old photograph of the boat.

However, I took a lot of pictures of the interior.

Niagara Falls.

Detroit from Canadian side.

After 3 years of riding, this is the first picture of me actually riding the bike.

The Ozarks

2009-06-19T14:38:00.001-07:00

Day 1: Chicago – Perryville MO (415 miles)

Days 1 & 2 route

We left Chicago on Saturday, June 13th, at about 8:30 am. The plan for the first day was rather simple - jump on I-355/I-55 and ride to St. Louis and then continue south to Farmington. Other than some light drizzle in the morning the weather cooperated, and Howard and I arrived in Farmington at about 5 pm.

Although we planned to stay on schedule, we decided not to book hotels in advance. Big mistake. There were no vacancies in Farmington. With some help from a clerk at one of the hotels, we found a room in Perryville, 42 miles from Farmington. On a positive side, the ride through historic French settlements on MO 32 turned out to be the best ride of the day.

After some consideration, we decided to book a room for the next day. It turned out to be a smart move. Thayer, our next destination, had only one hotel, and there were no vacancies. For whatever reason the rate at a motel we called next was almost twice as high.

We ended up booking a room in West Plains, about 20 miles from Thayer.

Day 2: Perryville MO – West Plains MO (295 miles)

The weather forecast was absolutely horrible - storms, rain, and possibly even hail. Howard and I prepared for the worst. But along our route I guess they didn’t know about the forecast, so the weather was actually very pleasant.

The route included 4 scenic roads: Ancient Rocks, Meramec Hills, Two Rivers, and Springs and Rivers.

Ancient Rocks is a 40-mile ride we jumped on in Arcadia, a town south of Pilot Knob Mountain, and rode all the way to Potosi. Historic Belleview Valley and Arcadia Valley are known as one of the most scenic cultural landscapes in the Ozarks.

We were supposed to ride Meramec Hills route from Onondaga Cave State Park to Steelville, but road construction on Hwy 8 forced us to take Hwy 185 to Sullivan, and then ride south to Cuba.

In Cuba we found ourselves on Washington Street, which was part of historic Route 66, and couldn’t resist this photo opportunity.

Hwy 19 from Salem to Alton travels across a broad, gently rolling upland plains that is part of the Salem Plateau. The plateau is deeply dissected by rugged hills whose steep slopes drain into spring-fed streams.

The road south of Winona leaves the ridges and travels across slopes of hills, following the contour of the land. The road is like a rollercoaster going up and down the drainages. The road is hugged by the towering trees and flowering shrubs.

Somewhere north of Alton we stopped for a short rest as well as to take a closer look at the antique Case tractors, but had to cut it short due to a couple of dogs that were expressing little friendliness.

My TomTom GPS with its TeleAtlas maps failed us twice that day. First, it wanted us to take a gravel road, and then it couldn’t find the hotel. Fortunately Howard’s Garmin, which had much better Navteq maps, didn’t have those problem.

Day 3: West Plaines MO – Little Rock AR (280 miles)

Days 3 & 4 route

We almost missed the turn to Hwy PP, which was the beginning of a 58-mile drive called Old Mill Run that proceeded through scenic hills and valleys visiting glades, historic old water mills, springs, and clear-flowing streams along the way.

The first mill close to the road was Hodgson Mill. It was built in 1894 and remained in operation until 1977. According to the Missouri Department of Tourism, this mill is the most photographed mill in the state. The spring that used to power this mill flows 24 million gallons of water per day.

There’s a gift shop inside the mill with antiques, Ozark crafts, books, and more.

We continued south on Hwy 5 and soon reached Mountain Home, the start of another scenic drive called Two Mountains, traveling south to the river hills of the White River, and ending at Mountain View.

White River and its tributaries have been carving into this region of the Ozarks uplift for more than one hundred million years, exposing prominent dolomite cliffs, sandstone outcrops, rugged wooded hills, and canyon like valleys.

It was getting hot. At one point I saw a thermometer showing 94F. Howard was coping with the heat by soaking his skull cap in water, and I was poring water on my t-shirt under the jacket. This was helping somewhat until we got stuck behind a logging truck. I envied riders wearing t-shirts and shorts. But you either ATGATT or you don’t. Howard and I do, and we continued our trip in full gear.

When we saw an opportunity to pass this damn truck, I pushed the power button on my bike (an equivalent of downshifting) and was in front of it in I think just two seconds. I don’t know what Howard pushed (he was ahead of me), but he performed the same maneuver even faster.

A short rest after crossing Arkansas river.

Day 4: Little Rock AR – Springfield MO (300 miles)

Eastern Ouachitas is a 75-mile drive from Little Rock along the eastern edge of the Ouachita Mountains to the Arkansas River valley and Holla Bend National Wildfire Refuge.

Pictures below were taken from the Petit Jean Mountain. Petit Jean was said to have lived during the French exploration of the New World. There’s of course a legend and a gravesite of Petit Jean.

Hwy 154 took us to Scenic 7 Byway North, which is considered to be one of the nation’s most scenic drives. Byway ended in Harrison, and in less than an hour we were near Branson, enjoying the view of Château on the Lake overseeing Table Rock Lake.

Days 5 & 6: Springfield MO – Chicago (600 miles)

Days 5 & 6 route

The fifth day route included two more scenic drives – Lake of the Ozarks and Missouri Rhineland, a 50-mile drive beginning at historic Hermann and traveling through the German-settled Missouri River alley and hills to Busch Conservation Area.

The main attraction of the last day was a 160-foot long wind turbine propeller blade. We saw several trucks caring turbines and propeller blades.

2009 Rides

2009-05-10T07:05:00.001-07:00

A new riding season is upon us. I’ve been busy planning long trips for the last couple of months. My collection of “Scenic Driving” books is now totaled at 10 plus 4 books from the “Backroads Adventures” series.

After consulting with other club members who are interested in long trips, I’ve selected 3 rides: The Ozarks, Adirondacks, and Minnesota.

The Ozarks

There are 32 scenic roads mentioned in the book by Don Kurz Scenic Driving the Ozarks. This route includes 30 of them. The entire trip is about 2,500 miles.

Day 1: Chicago – Farmington (MO) 380 miles
Day 2: Farmington – Thayer (MO) 335 miles
Day 3: Thayer (MO) – Little Rock (AR) 290 miles
Day 4: Little Rock (AR) – Harrison (AR) 290 miles
Day 5: Harrison (AR) - Mena (AR) 250 miles
Day 6: Mena (AR) – Noel (MO) 250 miles
Day 7: Noel (MO) – Lebanon (MO) 250 miles
Day 8: Lebanon (MO) – Bloomington (IL) 370 miles
Day 9: Bloomington (IL) – Chicago 150 miles

In case 9 days is too long, here’s an abbreviated version of this trip - 6 days, 1,700 miles.

Day 1: Chicago – Farmington (MO) 380 miles
Day 2: Farmington – Thayer (MO) 260 miles
Day 3: Thayer (MO) – Little Rock (AR) 280 miles
Day 4: Little Rock (AR) – Springfield (MO) 250 miles
Day 5: Springfield (MO) – St. Louis (MO) 290 miles
Day 6: St. Louis (MO) – Chicago 320 miles

Adirondacks

1. Hwy 30 all the way through IL, IN, & OH.

2. Finger lakes, waterfalls, wineries, etc.

3. Adirondack Mountains.

4. Southern shore of Lake Ontario to Niagara Falls

5. Northern shore of Lake Erie.

6. Back home.

Day 1 : Chicago (IL) – Canton (OH) 415 miles
Day 2: Canton (OH) – Corning (NY) 315 miles
Day 3: Corning (NY) – Glens Falls (NY) 290 miles
Day 4: Glens Falls (NY) – Boonville (NY) 310 miles
Day 5: Boonville (NY) - Rochester (NY) 300 miles
Day 6: Rochester (NY) – Blenheim (CAN) 300 miles
Day 7: Blenheim (CAN) – Chicago (IL) 370 miles

Minnesota

There's more to Minnesota for a motorcycle rider than just a trip to Minneapolis via Great River Road.

1. Chicago to Prescott (WI)

We would want to get to Galena as fast as we can. This is the least interesting part of the trip. The ride becomes scenic after Prairie du Chien.

2. Prescott to Walker

We'll continue along St. Croix River Valley and then turn north-west after passing St. Croix Falls. The road hugs the scenic western shore of Mille Lacs Lake and threads innumerable smaller lakes and wetlands. This leg ends in Walker on Leech Lake.

3. Walker to Alexandria

From Walker we'll ride through Leech Lake Indian Reservation along Headwaters Loop that will take us to Park Rapids and then along Otto Lake Trail that zig-zags through farm land, woods, and prairies to Alexandria.

4. Alexandria to St. Paul

From Alexandria we'll travel to Sauk Centre, the birthplace of novelist Sinclair Lewis and the inspiration for Main Street. From there we'll continue to St. Cloud and then to St. Paul circling Lake Minnetonka along the way.

We'll repeat the ride along the Mississippi river on our way home.
The entire trip is about 1,600 miles.

The actual itinerary looks like this:
Day 1: Chicago - Prescott (WI) 400 miles
Day 2: Prescott (WI) – Bemidji (MN) 310 miles
Day 3: Bemidji (MN) - St. Cloud (MN) 330 miles
Day 4: St. Cloud (MN) – St. Paul (MN) 110 miles
Day 5: St. Paul (MN) – Chicago 430 miles

Blue Ridge Parkway Ride

2008-09-27T19:12:00.000-07:00

7 days, 9 states, 2000 miles.

Day 1
Chicago - Strasburg (OH). 405 miles.

Our journey officially started on Saturday, September 20th. 5 of us - Howard, John, Mark, Grayson, and I - left Hinsdale Oasis on I-294 at 8 am and headed south. It didn't take us long to reach Hwy 30, which took us through Indiana and a good part of Ohio.
Our original plan was to stop in Mansfield (OH), but once we got there, we decided to ride for another hour or so. We eventually stopped in Strasburg.

Day 2
Strasburg (OH) - Winchester (VA). 290 miles.

We hardly left Strasburg when we found ourselves in dense fog. It was so dense in fact that I could barely see the tail lights of the bike in front of me.

We spent most of the day riding Hwy 250 through West Virginia. Hwy 250 is a smooth, two-lane road that curves and winds through rustic woods, dairy farms, small towns, hills, and pasture land. In our desire to stay on schedule and get on the Skyline Drive early the next day, we missed one of the must-see attractions - the Palace of Gold - located near Limestone (WV). The Palace was built in 1973 as a memorial to Srila Prabhupada, founder of the Krishna Consciousness movement.

We continued on Hwy 50; its curves and twists gave us a nice preview of what lay ahead.

Day 3
Winchester (VA) - Roanoke (VA). 250 miles.

Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park winds for 105 miles along the highest crests of the Blue Ridge Mountains. On one side of this crest is the Shenandoah Valley; on the other is the rolling Piedmont area.

Numerous scenic overlooks provide views in all directions.

Virginia is a popular tourist destination. To create a warm and fuzzy feeling for its guests, especially from Chicago, they started road work right in the middle of the Skyline Drive. We had to stop and wait until a flagger let us pass.

More scenic views.

Time for a rest stop.

Blue Ridge Parkway is a ridgetop road that stretches 469 miles along the crest of the southern Appalachian Mountains linking Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and Great Smoky
Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina.

The northern section of the Blue Ridge Parkway stretches from near Charlottesville to Roanoke. The 120-mile ride winds up and down along the mountain crests from a low elevation of 650 feet to almost 4,000 feet, with numerous scenic overlooks.

Day 4
Roanoke (VA) - Canton (NC). 300 miles.

Blue Ridge Parkway South stretches from Roanoke to the North Carolina line for another 100 miles.

The winding road has a speed limit of 45 mph with frequent scenic turnouts. By the end of the day I started thinking about what I would write in my blog about this trip and even came up with the first line: "It was a wonderfully uneventful trip". However, the events started to unfold as soon as we reached Asheville.

There was no gas in the city. Not just lines or some gas stations closed. As far as we could see, not a single gas station was selling gas. As we learned later, the refineries had shut down in anticipation of Gustav. Then Ike hit and the gas production and refineries didn’t restart because of power outages. That affected the operation of major pipelines that move gas from refining areas in the Gulf Coast to facilities throughout the Southeast. A local told us that Canton, a town 15 miles from Asheville, might have gas. After some hesitation, we decided to ride there.

Canton had one functioning gas station. After waiting in line for two hours, we finally gassed up and decided to settle at the nearest hotel for the night. Since none of us had any desire to do more riding this day, we ended up having dinner at a nearby truck stop.

Day 5
Canton (NC) - Bowling Green (KY). 310 miles.

The fuel situation made us rethink our route. Grayson and Mark decided to spend a little bit more time in North Carolina, while Howard, John, and I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. We jumped on I-40 with the intent to ride to Nashville and then take I-65 to Bowling Green. But in Knoxville, a Good Samaritan warned us about gas shortage in Nashville and suggested we take I-75 north and then county roads 92 & 90 to Bowling Green. This would have been a decent ride if there hadn't been a terrible accident two or three miles ahead of us that caused a 2-hour delay.

Days 6 & 7
Bowling Green (KY) - Chicago. 440 miles.

The highlights of the last two days of the trip were a Corvette assembly plant and a Corvette museum. We spent the entire morning touring both.

Howard with Zora Arkus-Duntov, Corvette chief engineer in the sixteenth and early seventieth.

Overall this was a wonderful trip. Lots of beautiful scenery and winding roads.
What's next? John has already started planning our next trip.

Michigan: Scenic Riding

2008-08-06T18:03:00.000-07:00

If I'm really pressed to select the most enjoyable part of my last trip through Michigan and Canada, I would probably chose the ride along the west coast of the lower peninsula from Mackinaw City to Manistee. I've been thinking about repeating this part of the trip, but because of either work, family affairs, or another trip scheduled by North Suburban Scooter Club for September 20th that I would like to join, there is only one weekend, September 6th, when I can go.

The second week of September is probably not a bad time. It will still be warm, campgrounds already half-empty, and the trees still have summer colors that don't attract the usual Indian Summer crowds. On the other hand, it will be cooler than it was in July, so I won't need my Motoport Mesh Kevlar jacket that scares little children and prompts some adults to try to remember if they have ever learned any Martian words.

Here's the most probable route:

Day 1 - Ride to Milwaukee, take a ferry to Muskegon, ride to Manistee and camp at one of the campgrounds in the Manistee National Forest.

Day 2 - Ride from Manistee to Cross Village and camp at one of the campgrounds in the area. This route is about 200 miles and should leave plenty of time to explore either Traverse City or one of the towns along the route.

Day 3 - Ride back to Manistee. There are many campgrounds in Manistee National Forest and I might try another one. As the day before, enjoying the towns along the route is part of the program.

Day 4 - Ride to Muskegon, take a ferry, and then ride back home.

Wheeling (IL) - Milwaukee (WI)
Muskigon (MI) - Cross Villige (MI)

Blue Ridge Parkway

2008-07-30T18:05:00.000-07:00

The ride is scheduled for 9/20. Here's an itinerary Grayson, Mark, and I came up with.

Chicago - Fort Royal (VA). 2 days. 710 miles. Overnight stop: Mansfield (OH).
Fort Royal (VA) - Roanoke (VA). 1 day. 230 miles.
Roanoke (NC) - Cherokee (NC). 1 day. 350 miles.
Cherokee (NC) - Chicago. 2 days. 710 miles. Overnight stop: Louisville (KY).

Total: 2,020 miles. This is rather aggressive schedule. It would be nice to do at least some sightseeing. Some of us have never been in this part of the country. Also, several club members expressed interest in touring the Bowling Green Corvette Assembly Pant. Here's one potential route.

Cherokee (NC) - Chicago . 2 days. 740 miles. Overnight stop: Boling Green (KY).

9/14/08 Update.
Howard, Grayson, John and I met on Thursday and reviewed the route as well as other issues related to group riding, lodging, navigation, gear, etc. So far so good. Four of us are mostly on the same page. The only issue I'm not sure about is if everyone has the same definition of staying on schedule. The proposed schedule is tight. Any deviation from the route for sightseeing or for any other reason will add another day to the trip.
There's another meeting scheduled for Tuesday, September 16th, to go over the list again.

Day 7 – From St. Paul to Wheeling

2008-07-27T08:38:00.001-07:00

Route: From St. Paul (MN) to Wheeling (IL), 437 miles

The weather forecast was not very favorable. High eighties in both St. Paul and Chicago. I decided to leave as early as I could. My mother later told me that an hour after I left there was a thunderstorm with hail.

The weather was actually not bad most of the day. It was cloudy, and the temperatures didn’t rise above low seventieth. However the last 3-4 hours were really brutal.

During the entire trip I used my credit card 18 times to buy gas in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and Canada. But on the 19th time, when I stopped at a BP gas station in Savana IL, Citi decided to block my account. There's something wrong with the algorithm they use.

I made it home by dinner time. Overall, it was a great trip - good weather, fun camping, smooth roads, and breathtaking scenery.

Day 6 – From Sleeping Giant to St. Paul

2008-07-27T08:31:00.001-07:00

Route: From Sleeping Giant (Provincial Park, Ontario) to St. Paul (MN), 410 miles

Once I crossed the border, I was in the familiar territory. I was there in June. I stopped for breakfast at Java Moose Coffee & Tee in Grand Marais, and then continued to St. Paul. Grand Marais is a little town with a beautiful harbor, a couple of coffee shops, and several restaurants serving fish.

The ride from Grand Marais to Duluth was absolutely breathtaking. Two relatively long tunnels definitely added to the experience.

County road 35 that goes through Wisconsin had lots of long strait segments and absolutely no traffic. Very good for testing the speed limit of the scooter.

Day 5 – From Wawa to Sleeping Giant

2008-07-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

Route: From Wawa (Ontario) to Sleeping Giant (Provincial Park, Ontario), 290 miles

The part of the route from Marathon to Nipigon was probably the most scenic.

The gas in Canada is more expensive. The price on the picture below translates to $5.37 per gallon.

There were lots of road construction after Nipigon. At one point asphalt was completely removed from a long section of the road. There was only one lane and a flagger on each end. The road was just mud. We were moving really slow and riding was difficult. But then I saw a lady on a bicycle towing a little trailer waiting for her turn.

Sleeping Giant was the most expensive campground and the most disappointing - huge, dusty, noisy. No privacy at all. At least a 10-minute walk to the nearest comfort station with showers.

Day 4 – From Pinconning to Wawa

2008-07-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

Route: Pinconning (County Park, MI) to Wawa (Ontario), 355 miles

This day’s route also went through some alteration. I finally admitted to myself that I was somewhat too aggressive in my planning. To save a couple of hours I decided to take I-75 instead of Hwy 23 along Lake Huron shore line. This shortened the route by 50 miles and allowed higher speed.

The first 30 minutes were great – I was cruising down the 4-lane highway with absolutely no traffic at 70 m/h. But then the weather changed and it started to rain. I had to get of the highway to put on my rain gear. The rain continued on and off for about an hour.

My second crossing of Mackenac Bridge was even slower than the first one. One lane was closed, and we were moving not faster than 20 m/h. In addition, we had to change from outer lane to inner lane and back several times. The outer lane is asphalt, but the inner one is open-grated. No traction at all.

A Canadian border guard didn’t like me. He looked at my passport, asked several stupid questions, and then told me to park my bike under a canopy and go inside. I walked inside and handed my passport to another border guard. She called me back in 5 minutes, gave me my passport back, and wished me happy travel. First I thought it was my three day shadow they didn’t like, and only on my way back an American border guard told me that my passport wasn’t signed.

20 minutes after crossing the border I finally hit Trans Canada Highway 17.

There were lots of little piles of rock along the road. According to another biker, they simply mean "I have been here", nothing more.

Others still prefer graffiti.

Time for a short rest.

Another rest stop by Marathon before the most exciting part of this leg.

The speed limit on Trans Canada Highway 17 is 90 km/h (56 m/h), but, for whatever reason, it felt much faster. Effect of large numbers?

After staying at campgrounds for three nights it was time for a motel. I didn’t have a reservation, but I talked to the owner of the Best Northern motel in Wawa on Friday and knew that there were lots of vacancies. The motel was relatively small - 11 rooms and 3 cabins. I was surprised by the overall quality of the motel. It had a feel of a 4-star hotel. The owner told me that he had bought it in 2005, refurbished all rooms, and built a restaurant. Actually he finished the restaurant 2 month ago. The restaurant was also nicely planned and tastefully decorated.
I didn’t try all items on their menu, but their white fish with mushrooms and cheese was very good.

Day 3 – From Leelanau to Pinconning

2008-07-27T07:44:00.000-07:00

Route: From Leelanau (State Park, MI) to Pinconning (County Park, MI), 240 miles

I decided to take it easy this day. A key to this was a shorter route. After some studying of the map (yes, I did have a map with me), I decided to shave 50 miles off of the route by turning east right after Manistee.

The first stop was for breakfast at a little café called Stone House Bread & Café in Leland. There were probably 12-15 people there when I arrived, half inside and half outside sitting at the small tables. I guess this place was offering free Internet access since everyone inside had a laptop.

MI 22 is a biker’s dream. Well, for those of us who usually rides between corn fields and could see the horizon looking down the road, any road, a road with turns is a dream. On this scale, MI 22 was a dream come true. There were countless hills and turns. Somewhere around Empire the road became dense with foliage from hardwood trees.

There were little stores along the road where you could buy fresh cherry, strawberries, and blueberries. After passing one little store after another for an hour or two I decided to stop and try some berries. I bought a pint of blueberries. Yes, they had a different taste. Long forgotten.

Pinconning was the first modern campground in three days. Although Bathing Wipes by No-Rinse were a big help, shower was in order. Showers were a 3-4 minute walk from my site. There was no one at the comfort house at this hour, so I found the first available, quickly undressed, positioned myself under the showerhead, and started looking for a faucet. There was none. I looked at each wall again. There was no faucet. However, one of the walls had a switch with a narrow hole. After closer examination I figured out that I needed to deposit 25c and then turn the switch. I, of course, didn’t have any change on me.

It was dinner time. Since the park was really close to the city, I just rode to the first place serving food. It happened to be a small deli with a cute sign below the counter - “Unattended children will be given an espresso and a puppy.”

There was another bike two sites from mine. Steve, the owner of the bike, started from Orlando, traveled to northern Minnesota, and was on his way back home. He was a seasoned traveler – a large tent, a little stove, a pot, and a chair. He liked to travel with comfort.

Lake Huron.

It rained at night, but stopped before dawn. The tent was still wet when I packed it.

Day 2 – From Little Bay de Noc to Leelanau

2008-07-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

Route: From Little Bay de Noc (Hiawatha National Forest, MI) to Leelanau (State Park, MI), 290 miles

The highlight of this day was crossing Straits of Mackinac. The Mackinac Bridge is currently the third longest suspension bridge in the world – 5 miles long, 200 feet above water level. The bridge is magnificent. However, when you travel on a bike, you hope to avoid the high wind conditions that happen here often. Mackinac Bridge authority reports wind speed on two radio stations and issues warnings that sound like this:

Currently we are experiencing winds of sufficient force in the Straits area to issue a warning to all motorists preparing to cross the Mackinac Bridge.

Examples of vehicles which are especially vulnerable to high winds are pickup trucks with campers, motor homes, vehicles pulling trailers and enclosed semi-truck trailers. Motorists are instructed to reduce their speed to a maximum of 20 miles per hour, turn on their four way flashers, and utilize the outside lane. Motorists are asked to exercise appropriate caution.
The Mackinac Bridge Authority is monitoring wind speeds at various points along the structure. Additional steps will be implemented if conditions change. If you are planning to travel to the Straits area, please tune to AM radio 530 or 1610 for updates.

The warning mentions vehicles weighing several tons. My bike weights less than 700 lb with me and the luggage. There are even two accounts of the cars being blown off the bridge.

With all this useful information in my head, I approached the bridge with more than just curiosity. But I was lucky. The day was beautiful. No wind at all. The previous 120 miles on Hwy 2 were very relaxing. Practically all roads in Michigan along my route were as smooth as glass. When you travel on a scooter with 13” tires and swingarm mounted engine, you really appreciate good roads.

The crossing itself was uneventful. There were a fair number of cars and they were moving not faster than 35 m/h.

In my planning, I tried to stay as close to the shore line as possible. It worked out ok most of the time. But several roads turned out to be either gravel or dirt roads, and I had to adjust my GPS to avoid them.

But the biggest surprise of this day was waiting for me south of Cross Village. MI 119 between Cross Village and Harbor Springs is considered to be one of Michigan’s most spectacular rides. The road is narrow, hilly, and winding. In some places the foliage from trees on either side of the road meets high over the middle of the road where it forms a canopy that barely allows any daylight.

I stopped for lunch somewhere between Middle Village and Harbor Springs and quickly found myself talking to another rider. The guy was from Detroit. Riding Harley-Davidson of course. In general, I noticed that riders prefer two bikes for touring – HD Electra Glide and Honda Goldwing. Somehow the idea of touring on a scooter hasn’t caught up yet.

The second half of the day was so hot, that I decided to skip Old Mission Lighthouse and headed strait to the camp.

Day 1 – From Wheeling to Little Bay de Noc

2008-07-27T07:05:00.000-07:00

Route: From Wheeling (IL) to Little Bay de Noc (Hiawatha National Forest, MI), 330 miles

They say that it is good luck to have rain when you are leaving on a long trip. This is probably true. The trip was great. But when I woke up on Saturday morning, my heart dropped. It was raining cats and dogs. The weather didn’t improve much in the couple of hours that it took me to get ready, and it didn’t look like it would improve any time soon. So I decided to leave.

It’s not that I wasn’t prepared. I did have a Tourmaster Defender rain suite that, by the way, I used three timed during the trip, and was very impressed by its quality. I put it on and started the bike. What happened next was absolutely unexpected. My helmet visor fogged and stayed fogged. I’ve ridden in the rain many times and it has never been a problem. The visor usually fogs when I stop, but immediately unfogs as soon as I start moving again. Not this time. It was so bad, that I decided I needed a radical solution to this problem and turned back.

The solution was Cat Crap. This is not what your think. It’s an anti-fog lens cleaner manufactured by E.K. Ekcessories, Inc. I bought it at REI last summer, but never used. It took me a couple of minutes to apply Cat Crap and get ready again. Well, it didn’t help. Somehow it made it even worth. I guess the name of the product adequately describes its usefulness after all.

I stopped at the first gas station and reviewed my options. I’ve already used all the high-tech solutions such as a special motorcycle windshield & visor cleaned All Kleer and Cat Crap. It was time to try something low-tech. Soap. I used it when I was a kid to prevent fogging of my swim mask. I didn’t have soap with me, but I had body wash. What the heck, I applied it to the visor and IT WORKED. It was of course pure coincidence that by the time I finished messing with the body wash the rain almost stopped.

I was so happy with my finally found comfort that I rode in the rain gear for the next 150 miles. Rain, lots of road construction on 83, and three detours, slowed me down somewhat. I think I reached the campground well after 7 pm.

Little Bay de Noc was the first campground I stayed at. I mean THE FIRST. I’ve never camped before. As an introduction to the joys of camping, I couldn’t find a better place. Little Bay was a large camp with a relatively small number of sites (38). My site had a shape of an oval, 40 x 20 yards. The forest was so dense, I could barely see my neighbors.

Around Lake Superior

2008-07-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

An idea of a motorcycle camping trip didn't come to me suddenly. It started just as a ride around Lake Superior with overnight stays at motels. But during my last 1,700 mile trip to Minnesota, I found even relatively nice hotels to be boring. So I decided to spice it up next time.

I initially dismissed the idea of staying at campgrounds. After all, I've never camped in my life. But after I slept on it, I decided to give it a try. The worst thing that could happen is that I won't like it. Besides, I will be traveling through Michigan and Ontario, not Vietnam. I can always spend a night at a hotel, if I get tired of camping.

The next step was selecting campsites. With no prior experience it wasn't easy. Most of my friends recommended staying at the modern campgrounds that have flush toilets and showers. This made sense. But after some additional research using an excellent book by Jim DuFresne "Michigan Best Campsites" and web sites such as www.recreation.gov and www.michigan.gov, I realized that most modern campgrounds are very large and don't offer any privacy.

Most smaller campgrounds were rustic - vault toilets and no showers. But, from the description in Jim's book, they were more fun and offered "closer to nature" experiences. After some deliberation, I decided to stay at the rustic campgrounds the first two nights, at a modern site the third night, then take a break and stay at a hotel or motel, and spend the last two nights at the parks in Canada that offer modern amenities. I will be staying with relatives in St. Paul.

The first draft of my itinerary even included crossing Lake Michigan on a Lake Express ferry. But this idea ran into some problems. First, I couldn't figure out how to tie-down my scooter that has handlebars covered with plastic. Then I realized that I would have to carry my helmet and jacket with me to the passenger deck. And finally, being a person who arrives at the airport 2 hours before the departure, I pictured myself sitting in line in full gear in 85F weather waiting to board the ferry and I decided against it. Instead, I would ride along the Michigan west coast, spend the night at a campsite, and cross the Mackinac Bridge into the Michigan's Lower Peninsula the next day.

BTW, it turned out there was a simple solution for tieing down my scoot. A company called Canyon Dancer manufactures a special bar harness designed for sports bikes and scooters. I've ordered it anyway just in case I ever need to tow the scoot.

I tried to limit the number of miles I ride every day to less than 350. I succeeded only partially. There are still three 400+ days. And this is probably OK. After all, the main purpose of the trip is just to ride my bike. Hiking, swimming, and sightseeing will have to wait for another trip.

Here's the final itinerary:

Day 1 - Little Bay de Noc (Hiawatha National Forest, Michigan)
Day 2 - Leelanau (State Park, Michigan)
Day 3 - Pinconning (County Park, Michigan)
Day 4 - Wawa (Ontario)
Day 5 - Sleeping Giant (Provincial Park, Ontario)
Day 6 - Caliper Lake (Provincial Park, Ontario)
Day 7 - St. Paul
Day 8 - Chicago

Note: The route from Caliper Lake to St. Paul is slightly off. I plan to cross the border at Fort Frances. But for some reason Google Maps doesn't recognize Fort Frances as a border crossing point and insists on crossing the border at Baudettee.

With a contingency plan (staying at hotels) prepared and campsites selected, I turned my attention to the equipment. Since I needed basically everything, I started with four of the most critical items - tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and a pillow. All four items needed to fit under the seat of my scooter. This constraint was actually welcome since it helped to limit a dizzying number of choices.

Not being an expert on camping gear, my criteria were relatively simple: small when packed, reasonably priced, and very good reviews. Here's what I selected:

Mountain Hardware Hammerhead Tent 2 Person
Mountain Hardware Lamina 20 Degree Sleeping Bag
Exped AirMat
Therm-A-Rest Compressible Pillow

I found the best prices at www.campmor.com and www.campsaver.com. The same items at REI were at least 20-25% more expensive.

With the big items out of the way, I focused on other camping equipment. I think I will be adding smaller items to the list right until I leave the house. There are so many of them.

Here's the most critical piece of equipment - my scoot. It's a 2006 Suzuki Burgman. It has a 385cc engine and can go as fast as 85 m/h. From my previous trips, I average 40-45 m/h.

And this is me. Ready to roll.

I probably won't have access to Internet to update my Blog while I'm on the road, but I plan to keep a diary and post the updates as soon as I come back. With lots of pictures of course.