Lake Superior circumnavigation

Pete5000

Pete5000

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For my last long jaunt of 2011, I was going to circle Lake Superior.

I searched for Superior in the threads and found some comments that the south (USA) side is boring.
However, didn't see any reasons why the authors said it was.

Frankly I don't find any place that I've never been before to be boring. There's a first time for everything!

So what is it? Land too flat? Roads too straight? Can't go a sustained 200km/h?

It's not going to deter me though. I have to colour in WI and MN on my little map!
 
I haven't ridden on the south side, but went in a car from Toronto area to Duluth via Sauld St Marie (to go to Aerostich in Duluth.) Sault St Marie to Duluth is really pretty boring. Straight roads, fairly flat, nothing much to see. There were a few places along the Lake which had old Piers out into the water for loading Ore Ships, but apart from that there wasn't much interesting there iirc.


..Tom
 
Fair enough - I am going to take some extra time on this trip and only "push it" to get up to the top of Michigan and back.
The route, as per Google's interpretation, without including side trips to anything that looks interesting:

superior-1.jpg


Thanks to Tom I will now probably be dropping some cash at Aerostitch :rolleyes:
 
Get ready for some temp drops though .
Pete5000 said:
Fair enough - I am going to take some extra time on this trip and only "push it" to get up to the top of Michigan and back.
The route, as per Google's interpretation, without including side trips to anything that looks interesting:

superior-1.jpg


Thanks to Tom I will now probably be dropping some cash at Aerostitch :rolleyes:
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Looking forward to a trip update, I've been thinking of a similar route. Decided to head east along the St Lawrence this Sept instead. But I do need something to do in the spring next year.:D
 
Roughly how many k's is this trip? A friend of mine wants to lead a few of us on that trip for the labour day long weekend. Nothing has been plotted, but that looks basically like the route he talked about.
 
wonderings said:
Roughly how many k's is this trip? A friend of mine wants to lead a few of us on that trip for the labour day long weekend. Nothing has been plotted, but that looks basically like the route he talked about.
Click to expand...

That would be a pretty long weekend, it's 3,000km from London and back. I can't go until after Labour Day, but let me know if you make it!
 
Yikes thats' a tough long weekend.....

what about up to the right and Northern Quebec loop - it's about 1600 km - get Pat North Bay early and you're good
 
Well its not my idea, its his, just going with the flow on this one. Long days don't bother me at all. So breaking up 3K into 4 days is very easy, and even easier at 5 days. This would be probably a thursday, or latest leave friday morning early (6 am ish) and return monday. I would prefer to head south of the border to the Adirondacks, then north to Montreal where my friend is from, then up to Ottawa and back country roads home to Kitchener.
 
Was not directed at you - know you're a marathon man on trips. :D

But long weekend traffic up that way and the ferry is going to restrict boogie time.
 
Pete5000 said:
For my last long jaunt of 2011, I was going to circle Lake Superior.

I searched for Superior in the threads and found some comments that the south (USA) side is boring.
However, didn't see any reasons why the authors said it was.

Frankly I don't find any place that I've never been before to be boring. There's a first time for everything!

So what is it? Land too flat? Roads too straight? Can't go a sustained 200km/h?

It's not going to deter me though. I have to colour in WI and MN on my little map!
Click to expand...

http://www.nationalrrmuseum.org/en-Us/default.aspx

Worlds largest steam locomotive on display here. If you like trains.

Kevan
 
kevan said:
http://www.nationalrrmuseum.org/en-Us/default.aspx

Worlds largest steam locomotive on display here. If you like trains.

Kevan
Click to expand...

Looks like a place to visit - it's a little off my path this time, will have to remember for another day.
Been to the National Railway Museum in York, England - it was pretty awesome.

Forecast for up north next week - encouraging! 20-22º high, 10-12º low. And Sunny :)
111A.JPG
 
Can't wait to hear about this.

I'm planning this road trip in a car for next summer (yes I need something to "plan" over the winter). That's the exact route we plan on taking. would love to do it on a bike but there's no way on god's green earth I'd tour on a sportbike ever again (after riding NFLD on my 636).
 
Day 1. WTF? Rainclouds?? Every single forecast was cool, but sunny. Grrrrrr. Anyway, headed out late after waiting for some drizzle to pull out of London, and headed 402 to Sarnia, then I69 to Flint, and I75 to where I am now, St. Ignace. Today was the slab run so there isn't much to report, apart from the fact that north of Saginaw, the sky cleared up and gave me the ultimate riding weather (at least for me) which is cool temps and warm sun.

The scenery today was the Mackinac Bridge, which is very impressive to say the least.

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After crossing, I checked in to my motel, the Best Western Harbour Pointe Lakefront, which has a nice view of the water. Had some dinner at a joint called Timmy Lee's Pub. Lake Perch yum. (if you like fish, that is). Right next door was one of those amazing signs you just have to admire. I mean, not only can you get Suzy's Pasties, but also Bear Bait, and the most popular Smoked Fish Jerky Fudge... Wow, normally I go chocolate, but this was killer...

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I toured around the town of St. Ignace, and although I can see it being very busy in the warmer months, right now it was empty. Best part was that it has many, many little public access parks on the water. Interesting little park on the north side of the bridge has a free display outlining the building of this huge bridge.

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I was on that bridge earlier this summer over the August long weekend, it is a nice ride, went out of my way about 100km just to ride over it, pay the toll and turn around and do it all over again.
 
Nice we are thinking of looping over the Mackinac from Chicago when GF flies in from Aus this November.

Rumour has a girl coming home from college in her little car went missing and eventually they found a little scrape of paint on the railing matching the paint on her car. :confused1:

T'was the witch of November come stealing.
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I can see that happening - that sucker is a long ways up and the winds do funnel through the straits at hurricane strength.

Not much between vehicles and water

http://www.justin.tv/wimseybd/b/269852046 [video]http://www.justin.tv/wimseybd/b/269852046[/video]

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DAY 2. Another cool morning but this time, nothing but sunshine, oh yeah. Headed north towards the promising sounding town of Paradise. Zoom. Did I miss it? Oh, I did, and continued on to Whitefish Point, which was an interesting little Coast Guard outlet with a shipwreck museum. Not far from here is the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Now, guess which flippin’ song was in my head all day???

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake they called "Gitche Gumee." The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead when the skies of November turn gloomy.

Stop it!

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And now about the roads. At only a few times would I call them interesting. At one point, I was sure I had entered a Chippewa burial ground, because the air turned frigid, like I’d just ridden into a freezer. Spirits, ya know. Anyway, there are some mighty straight roads up here, the worst being a long stretch of Hwy 28. If you suffer in any way from highway hypnosis, this road would kill you. It really needed to be set to 150mph. At some times though, you would be riding right along the shoreline of Superior, with a few meandering curves, which was nice. If all you want on a tour is twisties, so far this is not your tour… This stop showed off a little beach. The sand was so fine it was almost powder.
IMG_0145.jpg


Passed thru Marquette, the largest city here in the U.P., and traffic went from nothing to nutbar so I didn’t spend time looking there. Motel stop is in Baraga, a ½ horse town with water access. Stayed at the Best Western Lakeside Inn, where today’s last picture is from. MOON!
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That's funny about the traffic in Marquette.. I've been through there once and the traffic was just insane for such a small place. I think everyone on the UP must have been there..

Im glad to see your doing the trip clockwise. If you think the roads in MI are boring now, you would really be depressed after riding through the beauty of northern Ontario.
 
Torren said:
That's funny about the traffic in Marquette.. I've been through there once and the traffic was just insane for such a small place. I think everyone on the UP must have been there..
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I know! Most of the time in the US I only find this level of incompetent driving in the huge cities.
 
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