7 & 8 June

In the interest of full disclosure this entry is being done after indulging in a birthday celebration which included some free beers, a few shots, and a little food. You have been warned.

So, we left Merissa's house on the 7th at the crack of dawn or thereabouts. Make that 7:15AM. Not bad for a 6am plan. The day started out with partly cloudy skies and 65F temp. As we rode north on US23 we noticed that the clouds got darker but did not think much of that. Around 1300 the temperature suddenly dropped and the wind picked up. Then is started to rain. Soon it was 50F in the rain. We thought that this would blow over and the sun would come out. Not so. By the time we got to the Mackinoc bridge the wind was about 25kts and was blowing us almost all the way across the lane of traffic with each gust. We got to the north side and took some pictures while we calmed down. At that point we picked up US2 which we plan to take all the way to our entry into Canada. Now we were in the part of the world known as the Upper Peninsula. That is shortened to UP for those in the know. Anyway, we rode across the UP to Escanaba and along the way noted the large number of motels that had closed (gone out of business). I suspect that is the combination of high gas prices in '08 combined with the credit problems of '09. At any rate, it looks like the tourist related businesses in the UP have taken a huge hit. We finally got to Escanaba around 1800 and were both tired and cold. Our motel was within walking distance of a nice bar and restaurant where we relaxed in style. At least the motel had queen sized beds, a refrigerator, and lots of towels. That latter came in handy as we tried to dry all our stuff. Oh, I almost forgot, I left my journal at Marissa's house so I lost all accounting of our mileage. We think we rode about 500 miles on the 7th.
Getting up on the 8th (my birthday) I could not help but notice that it was RAINING. Oh well, we will not melt. We got on the road and headed for Duluth. If you look at the map of the UP you will find that there aren't many roads. That's because there aren't many people...or gas stations. We seemed to ride forever and longer through total wilderness. I'd like to say that the scenery was beautiful but the truth is that it was raining and all I saw was enough road to keep from hitting a deer or one of my buddies. Believe me, it was raining cats and dogs. As we rode through one small town I saw that the bank thermometer was reading 40F. No wonder I was cold. That was the story for the entire day. The only thing that changed was how much rain we had. I can now say that my boots are not waterproof. Close, but not perfect. My 'waterproof' electric gloves soak up water like sponges. They are still warm but get heavier as the day goes along. With my electric liner and gloves it was like riding in an electric cocoon. I was warm unless I got off the bike and unplugged from the battery. Life was good but totally plugged in. It must be like having a sugar daddy.
One of our goals for the trip was a stop in at Aerostich in Duluth. For those who do not ride, Aerostich makes what I consider the be the best riding gear in the world. Anyway, after about 1500 miles of serious riding you are ready to correct any problems that have cropped up. We walked into the showroom with a mental list of stuff we had to have. We had the place to ourselves since the weather was so horrible that nobody else would venture out. Oh, I wish you could have seen us crossing the bridge from SuWI to Duluth MN. The wind was about 35kts and it was raining like hell. I can remember crossing lanes in gusts. Scary does not begin to describe the event. Anyway, the folks at Aerostich were fantastic. I did some serious retail theapy and now feel confident that I can deal with any weather. Hell, at this point we already laugh at the weather!
We left Duluth and headed west at top speed. When we finally got to Great Falls we decided to quit for the day. Luckily we found a good motel located across the street from a bar. That take us back to the opening paragraph.
To date I have ridden 1712 miles on my walkabout.

Peter Y.