John Turner

Up early at 5 AM. Today was the first day solo since Peter was going to be dealing with his disabled motorcycle. I wanted to be on the road ASAP. Walked out to the parking lot to find it raining. Crap. Oh well, that’s motorcycle touring…if you’re going to wimp out when it rains you might as well just stay home. Checked out of the motel, got suited up with my rain rig, said a quick prayer to the motorcycle gods that my bike would keep running sweet and solid, and headed out for Thunder Bay via Canada 17, 300 Km away.

There were a couple trucks already out on 17 making their way back and forth between towns. I quickly outpaced them and after that I was the only one on the road. The rain sucked but it wasn’t too bad. The scenery was just amazing. Hard to describe without actually seeing it. I’ve ridden and driven through mountains before (Appalachians, Rockies, even volcanic on Maui) but for some reason this part of Canada was just better somehow. I took my time, stopping at several scenic outlooks and to swap out layers as the temps warmed up a bit and the rain stopped.

I took the “in town” road in Nipigon and got off 17 for a mile or so, just to see the town. It was pretty sleepy as it was still early. I gassed up back on 17 and kept rolling west. Lots of small towns along the way. I made up my mind that I will come back sometime with more time and just take a whole week or more going from Sault Ste Marie to Thunder Bay so I can see everything possible instead of just flying past it on my motorcycle. I stopped when I could, but with needing to be back in Detroit Friday night and losing half a day’s riding due to yesterday’s events I needed to keep pushing.

Got to Thunder Bay about 10. Took the harbor route and found a city park right on the bay. They were setting up for this weekend’s blues festival and had everything roped off but I was able to find an open entrance that wasn’t blocked yet and ride up to the parking area anyway. I found a bench and took a break. It felt good to get the helmet off and the sun was out full blast so I got a chance to dry off a bit. It felt great. Had a drink and a protein bar and checked in with Peter by phone. He was waiting to leave for Thunder Bay but otherwise the plan had not changed. While I was sitting on the bench an older couple pulled up in a minivan, got out and walked by. They asked me if I was from Thunder Bay. I said “No, Detroit” and they laughed. Turned out they were from Howell on their way out to Vancouver. That would be a nice ride for sure!

Time to roll on. I knew I needed to get on another road besides 17 heading to Duluth, but I couldn’t remember the name and I had no mobile coverage so no maps. I headed west and figured I would find the road eventually. I figured as long as I kept the water on my left I’d end up in Duluth at some point. LOL Well, I got lost and ended up in a pretty depressed area of Thunder Bay if you can believe that a city of 100K on one of the most beautiful bays ever created could have a depressed area. I bit the bullet and stopped at a gas station and bought gas and a map. The cashier was very perturbed that I didn’t want my “Canadian Tire Bonus Points”. Oh well.

The map helped…turned out I wanted route 61 and the way to get there was to head out of Thunder Bay a bit to the west and catch it and turn south which is what I did.

61 was a really nice ride. A little more traffic but not a big deal. No water views, all forest. Crossed back into the US at Pigeon River. It felt strange crossing the border and not having to pay a toll. Every time I’ve ever crossed the border in the past it has been via a bridge over water. It was strange to just roll up to an imaginary line and one second be in Canada and the next second be in the US. The Customs Officer raised an eyebrow when I rattled off my license plate number without hesitation. Maybe that’s one of their checks…they expect someone to say “duh, I don’t know” instead of knowing it by heart. I just got tired of them asking for it and me saying “duh, I don’t know” a bunch of times so I memorized it. LOL

Past Pigeon River in the US the ride really opened up. 61 goes right along the water, it was amazing. I saw signs for the Grand Portage National Monument and even though I need to keep pushing forward I decided to stop for a bit and check it out. They had one of those touristy “trading post” stores there so I stopped to pick up some sunscreen as the sun was out in force. I got back onto 61 and headed for Grand Marais. Grand Marais is your typical waterside tourist town. Rolling through town on 61 I spied a place called “Hughie’s Taco House” and knew that was where I was having lunch. And I’m glad I did…it was quite tasty and really hit the spot. I pushed on.

More beautiful scenery, more easy riding. I stopped at several scenic parks along the way to get up close to the lake and just take a break. The weather was near perfect. I rolled into Duluth about 4 PM. I had planned to stay here for the night but thought that I could push through. I finally had mobile service again so I checked ahead and found that Ironwood, MI was about 120 miles further on. I knew I could do another 2 hours and that pushing ahead would probably make the difference for me on Friday when I had to make it from the U.P. all the way to Detroit in one long ride. So I called ahead to the Comfort Inn, reserved a room, and got back on the road.

From Duluth there is a short bit on US-2 that goes through Wisconsin. Ashland, WI looked like a nice place to spend some time but I was on a mission to get to Ironwood so I did not stop. Rolled into Ironwood (hello, MI!!) a little after 6 PM. Checked in, unpacked, changed clothes. Walked next store to the Mexican restaurant. With Hughie’s Taco for lunch and this place for dinner, it ended up being Motorcycle Mexican Thursday. LOL The food was very good and they had my favorite Jarritos, pineapple. I walked back to the motel, watched a bit of TV, and crashed. Big day on Friday, Ironwood to Detroit. Day 3 mileage: 500 solo miles

Headed out of Marathon after gassing up. The goal was to ride 300 Km to Thunder Bay and stay the night. Headed west on 17. I was rolling pretty well, really enjoying the scenery, and then noticed Peter wasn’t behind me. Uh oh. At first I thought he had gotten caught behind a truck or two that I had passed, so I slowed down and watched in my mirror for his headlight. Not there. Uh oh x 2! By that time I was a good 6 or 7 miles out of Marathon. I wheeled around and tore back to Marathon as fast as I could, praying all the way that he wasn’t headfirst in a ditch somewhere.

About 2 miles from where the road to Marathon meets 17 I saw him on the side of the road, still on his bike. OK, relief. Something’s wrong, but it can’t be that bad if he’s still rolling. He signaled that we needed to go back, so I followed him a mile or two to a Petro-Canada station. His engine had started running real rough all of a sudden. Very strange…KLR650s are traditionally bulletproof. We didn’t notice anything majorly wrong but did notice the oil was low. So Peter bought some oil and filled up. We decided to give it another try. Peter lead the way back onto 17 towards Thunder Bay, me following behind to watch his bike for signs of distress. Everything seemed OK for a mile or two but then his bike started throwing oil smoke. Uh oh x 3! We wheeled around and limped back to the Petro-Canada station. On investigation, there was a lot of oil spray around the engine and it was running roughly and making a lot of noise. Its a single-cylinder “thumper” but even those don’t make that kind of noise as normal.

The attendant said there was a small engine repair place in Marathon. I remembered seeing it on the way into town, so I rode back there to rustle up a tow. The place was called Marathon Motor Sports & Marine. They told me that they could go out with a trailer and then check Peter’s bike after getting it back to the shop, but that any parts or anything major would have to come out of Thunder Bay and it would not be until Thursday or worse even longer before that could happen. Ouch…ok, first things first, get Peter and his bike someplace safe. I rode back out to the Petro-Canada to tell Peter the tow was on the way.

They showed up with a tilt-a-bed hooked up to a minivan and we proceeded to get the KLR lashed down to the trailer. I followed them back to the shop. It was pretty clear that we were going to be stuck in Marathon for the rest of the day at best and maybe longer (a lot longer) at worse. So Kathy from Marathon Marine called the motel that was literally next door and booked us two rooms. Peter and I walked over and checked in, then waited for the call from the shop.

Got the call, and walked back over to the shop. Superbad news: catastrophic engine failure on the KLR. Uh oh x 4. Suffice it to say that mechanical parts that should never see the light of day saw the light of day. Damn!! Prognosis negative. Basically complete rebuild or new engine. They weren’t 100% sure of the cause but it looked like something wasn’t torqued or secured properly when the bike was built and it just took that long to work itself out into a failure.

OK, so Peter’s wheels are out for the count. What to do?!?! Kathy and the guys at the shop went above and beyond. The plan everyone came up with was to get a U-Haul and drive the bike back to Ann Arbor to the dealer. This was better than leaving the bike in Marathon, having them fix it, and then 2 people having to ride/drive all the way back from Detroit to Marathon to pick it up. There wasn’t anyplace in Marathon willing to do the crating necessary to ship the bike, either.

But, no U-Hauls in Marathon. Trailers, yes. Trucks, no. After a couple phone calls, the nearest available U-Haul truck is in (wait for it)….Thunder Bay. So now Peter needs a ride to Thunder Bay. Again Kathy and the guys at the shop go above and beyond and offer to drive Peter to the U-Haul in Thunder Bay if he pays for gas. Keep in mind this is a 300 Km drive ONE WAY, 600 Km total or about 7 hours. And it is already almost 5 PM so it isn’t happening until tomorrow (Thur) anyway. Damn!!

So the final plan is for Peter to hitch a ride to Thunder Bay with the folks from the shop at about 11 AM on Thursday. Get the U-Haul, drive back to the shop, load the bike into the truck. By that time it will be late, probably 7 PM or 8 PM. Peter stays the extra night in Marathon, then spends Friday driving back to Detroit in the U-Haul, about 950 Km.

What about me? Do I stay with Peter, following him on my bike back to Detroit? Or do I go on alone? I’m willing to do either. Peter tells me to go ahead solo. It sucks…riding is a lot easier (and less risky) with someone there with you. But I don’t want to lose a day waiting in Marathon for the truck. And besides, we’re at almost the point of no return…it’s almost equal distance to keep going vs. turning around back to Detroit. Riding behind the U-Haul doesn’t do anything for either of us.

So the decision is made. I will continue alone. Wednesday night, Peter and I commiserate over a 15-pack of Molson Exports from The Beer Store and some Chinese food from Marathon’s only Chinese restaurant (Wok with Chow). Then I hit the sack…I plan to be on the road no later than 6:30 AM. Day 2 mileage: 275 miles

Oh, and Spain beat Germany 1-0. It just was not Peter’s day. Peter, we’ll do Lake Superior again, next time with bigger, better and faster bikes!

What’s the saying? It was the worst of times, it was the best of times? That was day 2 of our trip. First, the good.

Took advantage of the “continental” breakfast at the Sleep Inn at 6:00 AM. Peter and I checked out and were rolling by 7:00 AM. Hotel staff was really friendly, the rooms were nice, would definitely stay there again. Anyway, the weather was really foggy and misty, like it wanted to rain but Mother Nature couldn’t make up her mind when to start. We gassed up and headed north on Canada’s “Great Northern Road” a.k.a Canada 17 bound for Wawa, ON.

Rolled into Wawa early, before 10:00 AM. Stopped to gas up at Young’s General Store, the place had the old skool gas pumps with the big levers on the side and the rotating analog dials. And a giant stuffed moose right out front. Fun! Went a little further into Wawa proper to take a break right on Wawa Lake. Got rolling again north on 17 after a protein bar and some water and a few pictures. Absolutely gorgeous scenery, even with the overcast weather. With the sun coming up it is probably spectacular but today was not the day for sun.

Kept going north on 17 to Marathon. Riding right along Superior for a ways, whenever the sun peaked through the clouds it just looked awesome. Really fun ride, too. Lots of long, sweeping turns both uphill and downhill with beautiful views everywhere you turn your head. Rolled into Marathon about noon, maybe a little later. We weren’t paying much attention to the clock anyway. Stopped to gas up and watch the local OPP do a fundraiser deal for Summerfest where they would go around and “arrest” people and “put them in (fake) jail”. People would pay “fines” to get them out with the “fines” going to charity. Several OPP cars racing around with sirens on, many townfolk hovering around watching. The kids that were watching loved it, they must have thought the town was full of bad guys. The OPP detachment had a Ford Super Duty diesel tricked out as a cop car truck. It looked pretty sweet with the lights flashing and all the extra crash bars and whatnot on there!

Met Peter at the rest area on I-96 mile marker #141 at 7:30 AM on the nose. We decided to skip our traditional breakfast and just meet and go as fast as possible so the rest area worked as a good alternative. The plan was to ride hard early in the day and take it easy after lunch. Weather was nice, so off we went, I-96 W to US-127 N.

Made it to Clare, MI about 9:30 AM. Gassed up and found a park to sit for a bit, have a protein bar and some water. Back on the road, destination St. Ignace.

Rolled across the Mackinac Bridge by midday. Easy run up 127 to I-75 N. Had lunch at the Mackinac Grille in St. Ignace. Grilled whitefish ceasar salad for me, it was absolutely scrumptious. Gassed up and got back on I-75 N, destination Sault Ste Marie.

Got caught just outside of St. Ignace by heavy rain. Rain at 70MPH hurts! Pulled off so we could throw our rain gear on real quick but by that time we were both pretty well soaked. Oh well. Rolled across the border to Canada about 3 PM. No issues. Exchanged USD for CAD…basically par! Found the hotel (Sleep Inn) easily enough, it was very close to the bridge, and checked in.

Walked a block to dinner at Muio’s in downtown Sault Ste Marie. Nice little place. I ordered ravioli and a half chicken w/ salad and a Molson. Food was good and reasonably priced, service was good, staff was friendly. Nice little place, would definitely eat there again given the opportunity. Day 1: about 350 miles, nice and easy.

Getting ready to leave the house. Today is the start of my circumnavigation of Lake Superior by motorcycle. I’m packing really light this year. Basically a few sock and undie changes, a few t-shirts, my rain jacket and that’s it for clothing. Gloves, all-purpose denim jacket, etc. are standard gear for me and always in my saddelbags so I don’t really count that as “packing”. Also taking tool kit, first aid kit, iPod, iPad, mobile phone (das Handy for my German friends!) and digital camera. The plan is to get to Sault Ste Marie (Canadian version) tonight, then Thunder Bay tomorrow, then someplace like Houghton or Marquette, and then home on day four. We’ve been planning this trip for a year…and now it is here!

Last Sunday, I rode around Lake St. Clair again, this time with Peter. Took a different route, and also went counter-clockwise instead of clockwise. The morning was really foggy, it was quite an experience riding across the Ambassador Bridge and not being able to see the ground or water. Riding through Windsor on Rte. 2 was very scenic. We stopped in Mitchell’s Bay for a break, and then took the ferry back to the US at Sombra. So, the Vulcan has been across numerous bridges and has now been on a boat, but I’ve never ridden through a tunnel. After getting back to the US we headed down M-29 and past Selfridge into Mt. Clemens for lunch. Then all the way down Jefferson to Belle Isle, then home.

Today was a short ride to the west with Donovan. We rode out on Hines Drive to North Territorial then out to Stockbridge. Two-laned it to Chelsea (Mt. Hope Road and Waterloo-Munith Road) past Cavanaugh Lake and had lunch. Then back home via Dexter (Dexter-Chelsea Road), Ann Arbor (Huron River Dr), and Canton (Geddes).

No problems with the bike…about 5500 miles on the odometer now. Before the big Lake Superior trip later this summer I may need new tires. Definitely an oil change and a top-off on the brake fluid and coolant.

No, not Arnold. A new Gamera DVD just came out and I’m pumped. Gamera’s my favorite. Then Mothra.

I haven’t watched SNL in years, maybe even decades. But when I heard Betty White was hosting with Jay-Z as the musical guest, I had to tune in. I am glad I did. She rocked the house in my opinion. A couple of the sketches fell a bit flat, but all in all she was on the money for the whole show. Great cold open, too! I loved the way she ripped on Facebook:

“I didn’t know what Facebook was, and now that I do know what it is, it sounds like a huge waste of time. I would never think that people on it are losers, but that’s only because I’m polite.”

You go, Betty White!!!

Switched out my MOTU Ultralite for an Apogee Duet. The Ultralite was fine, but I didn’t need all those inputs and all those menu options…it was way overkill. The Duet is uses FW and is bus powered like the MOTU but is simpler and smaller. The stellar pres don’t hurt it any, either. It is good to know I have a fallback is something ever happens to the Aphex 230. Everything sounds great…gotta tweak some levels yet but no big deal. I’ll probably put the Ultralite on CL in a few days…its in pristine condition so it should sell pretty fast.

Wow, this week’s episode was a real rollercoaster ride!! I’ve been thinking lately that the show was getting kinda boring, not much action. There really hasn’t been any action since Tucco was killed or since Hank’s El Paso deal. And this episode looked like more of the same old boring stuff – but surprise!! And it was a nice surprise, too. I only wish there was more like it. I can’t wait until next week to find out what happens. And on a side note, I am embarrassed to admit that it took me 2.5 seasons to finally “get” the series title.