Circle the Great Lakes Ride 2022
The plans for this ride started over two years ago and before
Covid but as you might know, the entry to Canada has not been allowed until
recently and is now opened to fully vaccinated travelers.
I will ride through Ontario Canada and eight states of the
USA: New York (twice), Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indian, Michigan (twice)
Ohio and Pennsylvania,
Entry to Canada
To enter Canada you now have to register online with copies
of your inoculation, a list of places you are visiting and there might even be
a necessity to nominate a place you can isolate if you contract Covid. I’m only
in Canada for three or four days so I do not see it as a big issue. I have been
told masks are still compulsory which I totally believe in. I also believe
anti-vaxers are complete idiots.
History of the trip
I started to plan this trip in early 2019 as I was sitting
in my study and looking out at the frozen landscape with its snow covered
vista. It was just below freezing and I was fairly depressed. The maps for the
trip were done and the waypoints were even entered into my trusty Garmin. I had
Googled earthed some of the roads to see what could possibly lie ahead. The
plan was to complete the trip in June 2020. I had studied the precipitation
around the Great Lakes and it appeared that June had less rain than most
months. Not that rain is a big problem but I prefer to stay dry when I ride.
There is nothing worse than soggy boots and gloves or slippery roads.
Finally 2022
and the ride is possible.
I take off solo on June 2 and hope to ride 3,749 mile (6,033
kilometers). Later in the year In August I also will ride the 2,000 mile (3,219
kilometers) down to Kentucky and back with five friends for our annual bike trip.
My Circle the Great Lakes ride plan has stayed basically the
same since 2019 . (See map below) I will travel north in New York state from
Syracuse to the Canadian border at the Thousands Island Bridge which is about
three hours from Syracuse. I will then travel north of Lake Ontario to Kingston
Ontario and then north of Toronto to Barrie, Ontario which is South East of
Lake Huron.
From there I can either take the road to Sudbury or take the
ferry from Tobermory to South Baymouth. (See map below with full red line for alternative
ferry route)
The ferry takes about two hours for the thirty-mile trip but
the more direct road would be faster by two hours but the ferry seems far more adventurous.
On previous trips I taken several ferries and it is a great experience. One ferry
ride was across Lake Champlain in Vermont and the other from St John, New
Brunswick to Nova Scotia. This ferry was a little scary getting on and off the
ship because of the wet and slippery steep steel mesh ramp used to get on and
off.
The planned route then takes me to Sault Ste Maria and Wawa
and then north of Lake Superior to Marathon and Thunder Bay. I will cross back
into the U.S.A. on the way to Duluth Minnesota and to Chicago (On Lake
Michigan) via Marquette, Green Bay and Milwaukee.
I expect the full trip to take eleven days and cover 3,749
miles. (6,033 kilometers) I may decide to shorten the trip and skip going around
the main north part of Michigan by taking the dashed red line straight across
the bottom of Michigan as seen on the map. The shortcut will save two days and
cut 628 miles (1,011 kilometers) off the trip. If I do shorten the trip this
year, I will plan to ride the Michigan segment solo in 2023.
I’m targeting to ride approximately 300 miles (483
kilometers) per day but not knowing the quality of the roads it might be more
or less. Who cares? They call me “Mr. Easy Going.”
On the regular annual trips with the “gang” I ride with each
year, they plan each trip then book all the hotels on set dates in advance because
finding three of four rooms is generally harder than the accommodation for just
one. Also the group likes to stay at “fancy” hotels or Holiday Inns. I prefer
the old style motel with my room door right in front of my bike. Easy in and
easy out rather than lugging all my gear up and down five floors. As long as
the place is clean it will do me. Again Mr. Easy going. I will be riding solo
on the trip and stopping when I’m tied, eating when I’m hungry and getting up
when I’m awake. No bookings. Many people call me “Mr. happy go lucky.” Well
some. Well nobody.
Another advantage of going solo is I will ride early, stop
whenever I need to get gas (petrol) or have a drink or find a loo. I rode solo
for 2,476 miles (3,985 kilometers) down to New Mexico via Kentucky in 2017 and
it made life very easy.
I am not very fond of riding in the rain. If it rains I will
wait until it stops. There is nothing worse than soggy boots and slippery
roads. As I have no hotels booked it makes it easy to adjust the itinerary.
Gas prices have gone up 50% since last year and is now over
$5.50 per US gallon. It is now about $25 to fill up as against $15 last year. I
believe Australia is paying 74% more based on premium gas being around AU $2.33
per litre for premium
My Bike is ready for the trip
To get ready for the trip I had to get a new rear brake
light because the old lens was broken A new lens in the old days might have
been ten dollars. Today you must replace the whole unit. To make my bike more
visible I also decided to get a new LED headlight and spotlights. Now I’m lit
up like a Christmas tree
I use a Garmin for directions. The great advantage is that it
shows the speed limit in miles per hour so when I’m in Canada I know what speed
to go in miles per hour and not have to convert the metric
Already this year I have had seven rides since April 11 and
have ridden over 600miles (2,574 kilometers) My Harley Davidson Road King
classic is running so well and purrs like a kitten. (or possibly a lion – do
lions purr?)
A Sad Day
It is Tuesday May 15th 2022 and what a sad day it
is. I bought a new pair of motorcycle boots. It is funny you can replace jeans,
socks and even helmets and gloves without compunction but boots are emotionally
hard for me to replace. I still have a pair of hiking boots from twenty years
ago and a pair of riding boots from one hundred years ago.
My motorcycle boots have travelled over sixty four thousand
miles (100,000 Kilometers). From the top they look like new, after all they
probably have only really had a couple of miles of wear with them which has
mostly been walking from the bike to the cash register at the gas station (servo)
and to the reception of hotels and diners. The bottom of the right boot is
almost new as it has hardly touched the ground because it is the left one that is
the one that touches and scrapes the ground when I stop. The right one touches
the rear brake occasionally but not often. The left one also shifts the gear
lever up and down all the time. Unfortunately the left one has a very little
soul remaining and starting to peel. I have superglued it several times and it
still works fine but before this next trip I felt it might give out halfway and
there would be nothing worse than losing your soul.
I have bought a pair of new boots almost identical to the
old boots but has a few extra Harley badges which is a bit too fancy for me.
Yes – I will keep my old left boot for posterity. I might even include it in
the list of items to be buried with me. (Which at the moment only consists of
my old dog’s ashes.)
A little about the
Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes of North America is a series of large
interconnected freshwater lakes with sea-like characteristics in the mid-east
region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint
Lawrence River. They are Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario and
are in general on or near the Canada–United States border. Hydrologically,
there are four lakes, because lakes Michigan and Huron join at the Straits of
Mackinac.
The Great Lakes
are the largest group of freshwater lakes on earth by total area, and second
largest by total volume, containing 21% of the world's surface fresh water by
volume. The total surface is 94,250 square miles (244,106 km2), and the total volume is 5,439 cubic
miles (22,671 km3),[5] slightly less than the volume of the
Russian Lake Baikal (5,666 cu mi or 23,615 km3, 22–23% of the world's surface fresh
water)
The Great Lakes began to form at the end of the Last Glacial
Period around 14,000 years ago, as retreating ice sheets exposed the basins
they had carved into the land, which then filled with meltwater. The lakes have
been a major source for transportation, migration, trade, and fishing, serving
as a habitat to many aquatic species in a region with much biodiversity.
Great Lake Trip 2022
Day 1 6-2-22 Home Syracuse to Aurora Ontario 311 miles
5.5 hours
Day 2 6-3-22 Aurora Ontario to Tobermory. Ferry to South
Baymouth & Espanola 243 miles 8
hours
Day 3 6-4-22 Espanola Ontario to Wawa Ontario 299 miles 5.5
hours
Day 4 6-5-22 Wawa to Thunder Bay Ontario 301 miles 5.5
hours
Day 5 6-6-22 Thunder Bay to Washburn Michigan 287 miles 6
hours
Day 6 6-7-22 Washburn to Green Bay Wisconsin 371 miles 5 hours
Day 7 6-8-22 Green Bay to New Buffalo Minnesota 282 miles 4.75 miles
Day 8* 6-9-22 New
Buffalo to Mackinaw City Michigan 398 miles 7.5 hours
Day 9* 6-10-22 Mackinaw
City to Flint Michigan 300 miles 6.25 hours
Day 10 6-11-22 Flint
to Painsville Ohio 373 miles 6.76 hours
Day 11 6-12-22`Painsville to home Syracuse NY 314 miles 5
hours
*Might not ride.
Day 1 Thursday 2nd June. Home from Syracuse NY to
Chatsworth Ontario,
436 miles (702 kilometers)
The border crossing into Canada was so easy. My experience
in the past was sitting in a very long queue in extreme heat with a very hot
Harley underneath me. This time no cars. I was there for only ten minutes and
no other vehicle came near the whole area. I had entered all the information in
the Canadian data base seventy two hours before I arrived so they had
everything online including my vaccination documentation.
The ride over to Aurora Ontario (Northern Toronto) was
mainly highway. Those Canadian drivers certainly know how to speed! I met up for
a short visit with Graeme Murray, my Colgate client in Malaysia over thirty six
years ago. Graeme was first person to meet Susan before we were engaged.
After I left Aurora I rode until I was tired and decided to
stay at the first motel I saw. Pretty bad choice, It was cleanish but terrible.
The next day I rode past several far better ones just up the road.
311 miles (500 kilometers) riding - 28 miles (45 kilometers)
and one and a half hours
I had to be at the ferry wharf in Tobermory at 8am so I left
the motel at 6am. It was about 48 degrees Fahrenheit (about 5 degrees Celsius)
I had my right hand wrapped in my plastic seat protector and my left hand under
my bum. I was blue from top to tail.
I had not reserved space on the ferry so there was a
question whether they would let me on. It was all cleared up and approved and I
was then first on and off. The ferry loader said the best looking bike should
be on and off first.
I met a fellow biker on a Victory on the boat and we rode
together the rest of the day through several storms and huge wind gusts that
just about pushed me over (not really but it sounds good.)
The modest motel I am staying in tonight is surprisingly
nice, very clean, plenty of power outlets and even a rag and Windex to wipe down
my bike. I plan to ride at around 9am tomorrow once the ice clears off the
bike.
The ferry was larger than I expected.
I was first on and first off! (Stock footage)
Heading out.
Day 3 Sault Ste Marie to Terrace Bay Ontario 321 miles (517 kilometers)
It was really cold this morning so I slept in and left at
8:30am. First stop to buy a hoody and a pair of gloves. It certainly made a
difference. At lunchtime I put the hoody on first, then my leather jacket and
finally my coat liner to block the wind. I also put on my wet weather pants.
The gloves are cheap gardening gloves that went over my proper riding gloves. I
felt like the Michelin man but I felt warmer. The road was excellent almost all
the way. Very little traffic and sixty miles an hour about all the way. Around
every bend a new valley, lake after lake, river after river and lots of waterfalls.
Most of the way I had beautiful views of Lake Superior There are so many pine
trees that it smells just like the inside of a 66 Chevy with too many air fresheners.
I have not seen one moose even though there are warning signs everywhere. Gas
hit a new high today of $2.46 per litre or $US 7.26 per US gallon. No rain
today and none predicted for a few days. Fingers crossed.
A very popular motel which was pretty good.
The now famous $4 glove that worked well. Still could use the Garmen and phone because of the rubber fingers. The color stood out well. Also bought a cheap hoodie in the only size of regular.
Day 4. Terrace Bay to Ashland Wisconsin. 418 miles (673 kilometers)
Awoke at 5pm. 35 degrees F (2 degrees C). Showered and dressed
and then waited for the snow plow (just kidding) Set off at 6:30pm and headed
to Thunder Bay via Rossport (named after my son). Amazing views and great
roads. Meeting a number of other solo riders. Two were off to Vancouver and one
was headed back to Toronto. Also met an Australian who was driving a UHaul from
Vancouver to Novas Scotia and towing a car. He was helping his sister move
across the country.
The border crossing was very easy. Again I was the only
vehicle.
There have been almost no dead animals all the way along the
road but today there was one dead moose and one very smashed truck beside the
road. Nothing else. Tons of birds. A low flying herd of geese flew over me and
one of them delivered a huge package all over the front of the bike and a
little on my helmet. A lesson in life. Minding my own business and it happens.
When we were in South Dakota years ago, a young farmer said “there
were just two Seasons in SD. Winter and road construction”. Same applies in
Ontario. Tomorrow I head down to Chicago. I have already decided to skip the
ride up to the top of Michigan and back. It is just too cold and I have seen
enough lakes to last me a lifetime.
Day 5 Day 4. Ashland Wisconsin to Chicago. 455 miles (732 kilometers)
Last night I ate at a Mexican restaurant near the hotel and thought I would
be poisoned by the next day. Good Mexican food is great. Poor Mexican is ……
The trip today fast and furious. All highway and a speed limit of seventy most of the way but most cars were doing at least eighty. Luckily all behaved well. Lots of trucks as the closer I rode to Chicago. I decided to head straight down to Chicago rather than taking the coast roads as per the original plan. Still cold most of the day but the last one hundred miles were actually warm. A little bit of rain - just enough to be annoying and uncomfortable. I was wearing my wet weather gear for warmth anyway, so I was fully prepared. Three gas stops and a muffin for lunch. No mucking around.
Tonight’s dinner was really enjoyable. A friend of my wife whom she knew when we were newly weds in Malaysia thirty five years ago lives in Chicago so we went out to dinner. Patty was full of memories of the “good old days”. Susan and her have kept in contact but have not seen each other for about thirty odd years. Patty had not changed much and her voice and laughter were exactly the same.
Tomorrow I head for home with just 717 miles to cover in two days.
Hopefully I will be home on Wednesday at lunchtime and in time to play golf in
the league Wednesday night.
Day 6. Chicago to Madison Ohio 446 miles (718 Kilometers)
Another early start in the cool. I say cool because nothing
is colder than up North. Chicago was 54 degrees (12 C) this morning.
Traffic out of Chicago was pretty good although there was a lot of road repair. Toledo was a a bit crazy but Cleveland was insane. There was no direct link so it seem I drove all over the place. It started getting warm so I removed my rain coat and back on the road it poured with nowhere to stop.
Damp everything and the cold returned. The speed limit on the highway is 70 and there
are millions of trucks. They are very well behaved and predictable but I love it
when they overtake each other, an inch at a time and it takes forever. Pizza
tonight and early to bed. Only 300 miles to go. I’m sure there will a hot meal and a kind word for the long gone hero of the family.
Day 7. Madison Ohio to
home 327 miles. (526 kilometers) I have
now circled the Great Lakes 2,716 miles (4,371 kilometers)
Went to bed early so I could make it home early. 11pm the fire alarm went off with a loudness equivalent
to Bobbie snoring. The hotel was full and everyone stood in the carpark for
almost and hour while the local fire brigade turned up, searched the place for
fire, found nothing and finally turned the noise off.
I hit the road about 7:30am through the rest of Ohio, Pennsylvania and
finally New York. I made one stop (other than for gas) at Hamburg New York to
visit “Dilligaf” at his work. Dillie is one of the Hogs we ride with and I bet
the only Hog who reads this stuff. It’s
a test and we will see.
There were lots of construction on the freeway but the worst was just a couple of miles before my final turnoff. A truck cut me off and then showered me with stones. “What a bad chap” I said inside my helmet.
Special thanks to Shawn and Tony at Universal Sales in Syracuse (315) 474-1188. They made sure my bike was well prepared for the trip and it did not miss a beat. They said I could call anytime if I had an issue. I only called them to say how well the bike was going. If you ever need a Harley mechanic in Syracuse they are the best. Far better than the local Harley dealer who is just the pits. (Except for the older parts guy who is terrific.)
Some statistics from the trip that no one is interested in:
Miles covered: 2,715.6 (4,371 kilometers)
Average miles per day: 388 (624 kilometers)
Longest day: 455 miles (732 kilometers)
Shortest day: 311 miles (plus ferry) (500 kilometers)
Fuel stops: 15
Average mpg: 41
Highest mpg:42.9
$ spent on gas: US$403.54
Average price gas: US$ 6:05 (US gallon)
Highest price: US$ 6.99 (Canada)
Lowest price: US$ 4.70 (In Syracuse!)
Average fill: 4.42 gallons with a 6 gallon tank
Average mileage per tank: 181 (targeted 200 miles knowing full tank range is around 240 miles)
