2019 Sept Lake Superior Loop Motorcycle Tour - (Background)
For my wife and I, Lake Superior has always been a destination to visit. We have made numerous trips up north to the Minnesota coast line; also known as the Northern Riviera. We have also traveled the southern coast of the lake in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Furthermore, my brother and I have circled the lake on motorcycles many years ago. But this was our first trip around the lake as a couple riding two up. For numerous years, LoriAnn has been asking me to take her for a loop around Lake Superior. Although we have talking about this for years, it always seems to have taken a back seat to another journey. Last April, before any planning began, LoriAnn declared this a bucket list trip!
Lake Superior, is the largest of the Great Lakes of North America. Some of the first Americans, the Ojibwe called the lake gichi-gami. The first French explorers referred to Superior as le lac supérieur. Currently, Lake Superior is an important link in the Great Lakes Waterway, providing a route for the transportation of iron ore as well as grain and other mined and manufactured materials.
Once we made the decision in the spring, we began studying the maps, read different ride reports, and checked out different websites all in an attempt to know what is ahead of us.
One particular ride report was provided to me by a friend; but written by Chuck Knodt. Chuck's report was broken down by his riding days. The exact date of his ride wasn't given to me so I didn't know how current the data was. Unfortunately Chuck has passed away so I couldn't ask him. I had to take the potential of stale data into account when planning my own route. On the road I could learn that some roads were now paved when they weren't for Chuck; some stops no longer existed. Regardless, Chucks ride report was a great starting place for our ride. I hope that someone may use this ride report to plan their route.
Another great source used in planning was the website Lake Superior Circle Tour. I found this a great resource for non trivial information related to traveling around the lake. I particularly needed the topics of 'Border Crossing Info' and the 'Mileage Chart'. If you do not remember anything else about the Canadian side of the lake, remember this: there are many miles between the food and gas stops. It becomes even more important if you travel on a holiday weekend like we were. This site also provides a downloadable document: Lake Superior Circle Tour Adventure Guide. The Lake Superior Circle Tour Adventure Guide is full of information that will be useful to aid in your trip planning experience.
In planning; we struggled to make the decision to pull a trailer on this trip. Its not about clothes. Normally we can travel for 3-4 days, and not have to worry about clean clothes. On a trip like this we could plan time to do our laundry. But the trailer provides us with the ability to bring along different jackets for hot and cold weather. This journey was in early September, so we were expecting both hot and cold weather. So we made plans to pull the trailer. A special thanks to my friend Mark for the use of his trailer.
The night before we departed, I checked the weather report for the week. This trip was going to be cold and worse; wet. So I made the decision to lighten the load and leave the warm weather clothes at home. My wife reminded me that the warm weather was the reason we were pulling the trailer. Shaking my head, I made a command decision! Because we could, we were going to pull the trailer anyway. Will this decision come back to haunt me?
This is the end of the beginning, but not the trip. Plan to come back next week to read about day one of our 2019 adventure circling the lake. Destination: Beaver Bay
Go ahead, hit that subscribe button! You know you want to...
Once we made the decision in the spring, we began studying the maps, read different ride reports, and checked out different websites all in an attempt to know what is ahead of us.
One particular ride report was provided to me by a friend; but written by Chuck Knodt. Chuck's report was broken down by his riding days. The exact date of his ride wasn't given to me so I didn't know how current the data was. Unfortunately Chuck has passed away so I couldn't ask him. I had to take the potential of stale data into account when planning my own route. On the road I could learn that some roads were now paved when they weren't for Chuck; some stops no longer existed. Regardless, Chucks ride report was a great starting place for our ride. I hope that someone may use this ride report to plan their route.
Another great source used in planning was the website Lake Superior Circle Tour. I found this a great resource for non trivial information related to traveling around the lake. I particularly needed the topics of 'Border Crossing Info' and the 'Mileage Chart'. If you do not remember anything else about the Canadian side of the lake, remember this: there are many miles between the food and gas stops. It becomes even more important if you travel on a holiday weekend like we were. This site also provides a downloadable document: Lake Superior Circle Tour Adventure Guide. The Lake Superior Circle Tour Adventure Guide is full of information that will be useful to aid in your trip planning experience.
In planning; we struggled to make the decision to pull a trailer on this trip. Its not about clothes. Normally we can travel for 3-4 days, and not have to worry about clean clothes. On a trip like this we could plan time to do our laundry. But the trailer provides us with the ability to bring along different jackets for hot and cold weather. This journey was in early September, so we were expecting both hot and cold weather. So we made plans to pull the trailer. A special thanks to my friend Mark for the use of his trailer.
The night before we departed, I checked the weather report for the week. This trip was going to be cold and worse; wet. So I made the decision to lighten the load and leave the warm weather clothes at home. My wife reminded me that the warm weather was the reason we were pulling the trailer. Shaking my head, I made a command decision! Because we could, we were going to pull the trailer anyway. Will this decision come back to haunt me?
This is the end of the beginning, but not the trip. Plan to come back next week to read about day one of our 2019 adventure circling the lake. Destination: Beaver Bay
Go ahead, hit that subscribe button! You know you want to...
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