What a ride. Thanks to everyone who gave me pointers on what to do. I left my house early Tuesday morning, took the Ohio Turnpike to Toledo, then took 23 all the way to Mackinaw City and across the bridge. The trip up was BORING until north of Saginaw, then 23 along Lake Huron was really a great time. Here's a couple shots of that section:






I crossed the Mackinaw Bridge at about 6pm Tuesday, after riding 500 miles, fully loaded, in the cold, breezy weather. They now have the paved lanes both directions closed, so you have no choice but to ride on the grate. I tell you what, that was really intimidating. Even without the grate, it's so high up there, and there's not much between you and the edge on either side. Throw the grate in there, and it's like paying $3 to ride an amusement park ride! Just relax, let the bike do it's little squirms across the grate, and only look down if you want to freak out! That bridge is unbelievable though:






I camped at the Straits State Park, just at the northern base of the bridge. It's a really nice park, very crowded though, and my site was very close to the beach with a nice view of the Straits and the bridge.



Mileage after day 1:



Day two, I left camp about 0745 and rode an hour North across the UP to Sault Ste. Marie, to see the Soo Locks and take the boat tour through the locks. The tour was very cool, with some very interesting information about the locks and the area nearby, and a trip through the locks, both up and down. You also get a great look at some enormous freighters that move through the area, as the Soo Locks are quite busy. The tour was $21 and takes about 2 hours, but if you don't want to do that, there's a really nice observation deck that you can stand on for free and watch the ships move through the locks.






I left the locks at about 1230, and went West W Lakeshore Dr, right along the shores of Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior, on my way to Whitefish Point. That road is unreal, fast, beautiful, smooth, and deserted. Great scenery, some smooth sweeping curves, very nice for a Dyna. It took just under 2 hours to arrive at Whitefish Point, near where the Edmund Fitzgerald sunk. There's a museum and some other stuff to do there, but I didn't do any of it. I took some pictures, listened to Gordon Lightfoot, and took off.





Total mileage after day 2:

 

Awesome...my first long trip this summer will be Sturgis. Had to get my map out and trace your trip. Looked like a great one.

 

Glad you enjoyed the mitten state. Next time try the US31 route along the west side of the state, not fast by mighty scenic.

 

Day three was the voyage home. I left around 815am, crossed back over the bridge and headed west to the Tunnel Of Trees along Lake Michigan, starting in Cross Village. I met up with a group of bikers at a gas station in Cross Village, and tagged along with them down the Tunnel of Trees to Harbor Springs, MI. Someone described that stretch of road as Michigan's Tail of the Dragon. Well, I wouldn't go that far, but it's a really pretty, fun stretch. I took almost no pictures because there's really no place to turn off, but it's a really windy road through the forest with breakout cliff views of the lake. Amazing.




I left Harbor Springs at around 1030 and decided it was time to start heading home, so I put "Avoid Interstates" into my GPS and routed myself home. It found me some nice stretches before putting me on I75 near Flint, MI:




Flint International (lol) Airport


I arrived home at around 8pm yesterday, and I'm totally whipped today. That was a ton of riding in a short period, but all in all a great trip. Not one drop of rain, tons of sun, and very cool temperatures, all very good for racking up the miles.

Final tally, the bike's odometer shows my mileage for the day, the GPS shows total for the three days.

 

I planned to do that, but soon realized that if I kept going that way, I'd never make it home, so I decided to head East out of Harbor Springs. Good thing too, because even after shortening it up a bit, that ride home freakin' kicked my *** up and down

 

Great trip, congratulations. My grandmother was from Petoskey, UP. I have never been. Do you like the Garmin Quest?

 

Thanks. Yeah, I like it, it's a Quest 2, cheap, waterproof, rugged, small, has an internal battery, etc. I don't use it for trip planning necessarily like you can do with the Zumos and whatnot, but for what I use it for, it works great. I mainly use it on the bike to know where I am along my route, and how to get home from anywhere. It also is nice for keeping track of mileage on trips.

 

I forgot, here's the link to the full album:

http://s186.photobucket.com/albums/x...n%20UP%202009/

Here was my route up:

http://*******.com/hometocampsite

And my loop on the second day:

http://*******.com/campsoowhitefish

 

Wow man.. sounds like it was fun!! I might be possibly taking a trip to deals gap in the beginning of August, depending on wether my old man decides to go or not. I have 3 weeks off of work and with all the people talking about it, I've gotta do it! But anyway, awesome pictures Buckeye. How did the bike perform? Any complications at all or was it smooth cruising?

 

It was I who discribed the stretch from Cross Village to Harber Springs as Northern Michigan's "Tail of the Dragon". Headed up that way tomarrow. Scoots are loaded, bags are packed. A few weeks of playing arround in "Gods Country". Might share some pictures upon my return. but then again I might not return. One way ticket so far. Not looking for much more. Might find a job up there but at this point I don't need it.