The ride west on Route 2 in the UP from St. Ignace was just gorgeous. A little cold and cloudy, but the scenery was just great. The lake on one side, the forest on the other. Nice road, not all bumpy and choppy like it would be in Detroit. This is my first real trip in the UP…I was there once about ten years ago but just did a quick run up to Sault Ste. Marie to the locks and then right back to catch the Mackinac Island ferry. On the up side the scenery is fantastic, the air is fresh, the traffic is light. On the down side, you can easily tell that times are bad in Michigan and even more so here in the UP. This is the week before Labor Day, the roads and parking lots should be packed and it is like a ghost town. Lots of boarded up motels and souvenir shops, lots of For Sale and For Lease signs, lots of weeds growing where they shouldn’t be growing. It is hard to reconcile how few people are up here with what you would see back home in Detroit…and this isn’t even a very remote part of the UP.
We rode into Manistique a little after 10 AM. Made great time. I needed a pee break so we stopped at Burger King. Note to self…go easy on the OJ at breakfast from now on! We noticed another rider parked across the lot, Peter went over to talk to him and I followed when I got back outside. He was riding a tricked out Triumph Tiger…nice bike! He said his name was Jim and told us he was from Nebraska. He’s riding a big circle route from Nebraska north and into the UP from the west, then down through Michigan south to Arkansas and then back home…about 4,000 miles. Awesome! I wish we could go with him. That is one thing I love about riding…anytime you stop you run into other riders and there just seems to be an instant camaraderie and friendship. Everyone is friendly and easy to talk to, and you get to exchange stories and warnings about weather, traffic, etc. Probably a lot like truck drivers, but it is something you never really see happen between cagers who are travelling.
We said goodbye and safe riding to Jim and headed out on Route 2, bound for Escanaba.
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