Supporting Member piotrek Posted May 3, 2018 Supporting Member Share Posted May 3, 2018 Bit of a placeholder thread for an upcoming ride. Some notice for possible ride mates, for at least portions of the trip. Time booked off, and all the winter mods checked solid over the last couple of weeks (~1100km). I am doing this ride with another FJ rider (@urbannomad ), confirmed for a June 11 start. Total 6 days and about 3,800kms. We're booked for a ferry crossing in Tobermory, ON on June 11 at 1:30PM, and arriving in the Sault for the evening. Starting the tour clockwise the following morning. Other overnight stops, and possible meetup/join locations (PM if interested): June 12-13 Copper Harbor, MI June 13-14 Duluth, MN June 14-15 Nipigon, ON June 15-16 Sault Ste. Marie, ON We're picking up the 556 and 129 on way back if all goes as planned. Rode 129 last year for the first time and absolutely loved it. I was about half way through my SS ride... perked up like a squirrel when I hit that road. Bike works like a charm. Looking forward to this... hope to snap some memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member builderbob Posted May 3, 2018 Premium Member Share Posted May 3, 2018 I did this ride several years ago. One of my favorites. Be sure to stop at Areostitch when you're in Duluth. Copper Harbor is worth an overnight stay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norcal616 Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 One of the benefits of living in Michigan... ? I do like making a "detour" to Detour, Michigan ?... 2012 wr250f - C-class 30+ age group 2015 fz-07- Hordpower Edition-80whp 2015 fj-09- Graves Exhaust w/Woolich tune by 2WDW @120whp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmev Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Its a great ride, and I second stopping at the Aerostich warehouse in Duluth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koth442 Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Sounds like some great riding. Enjoy!! '15 FJ09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkerfreak Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 What kind of mileage are you planning to burn per day? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member piotrek Posted June 20, 2018 Author Supporting Member Share Posted June 20, 2018 Trip is behind us... good memories and fortunately not much drama. Weather was near perfect for riding throughout the six days, and the bikes performed flawlessly. Lubed the chain at the end of each day, checked tire pressure a few times… nothing else to do really. Replaced the engine oil/filter and lubed the clutch cable just before departure. One of my auxiliary driving lamps failed. DAY 1 (Destination Sault Ste. Marie, ON) Easy 5h ride to Tobermory ON where we picked up a ferry to Manitoulin Island. This route didn’t really save us distance, and added 2h to the day… but was more fun than slabbing it north. Had lunch, and hopped on the boat for a relaxed 2h voyage. Once across the water, the island roads were very nice, and Hwy 17 then took us to the Sault, the start point of the loop. Stayed at the Days Inn. DAY 2 (Destination Copper Harbor, MI) Crossing to the U.S. was uneventful… declared my half pack of Cuban cigarillos, no problems. First stop, the Point Iroquois Lighthouse, then the very cool Whitefish Point Shipwreck Museum, where for some reason the mosquitoes were super pesky that day. Road 41 past Houghton was a real treat… and it took us right to Copper Harbor. It was late, but incredibly there was a nearby pub (Zik’s Bar) still open. First time I had a pastie… hearty fare. Stayed at the King Copper Motel (lakefront building). Forecast called for t-storms, so we covered the bikes and sure enough… it poured overnight. My $10 half-cover from Gears worked great. Copper Harbor was a pretty and serene place. Had some local pastries and coffee at breakfast… took some time to just enjoy the view of the bay, and then moved on… tracking back along 41 (great road!!). DAY 3 (Destination Duluth, MN) Roads got twisty through Porcupine Mountains State Park. It was literally devoid of any activity… making it a great spirited ride. A bit further along we stopped for some fish tacos at Pit Stop Bar and Grill in Bessemer MI along Hwy 2. An interesting monument to the local iron mine workers stood nearby. Duluth was a cool place with a well-developed waterfront and a happening main drag. We explored a bit, then grabbed food and beers at Canal Park Brewing Company. Stayed at Voyageur Lakewalk Inn.The next morning, we had breakfast at Uncle Loui’s Cafe and then headed to Aerostitch, where Donna gave us a tour and test-fitted us for a one-piece. DAY 4 (Destination Nipigon, ON) Hwy 61 hugged the coastline nicely. We stopped over at the Split Rock Lighthouse, and then a State Trooper kept us company for a good portion of the trip toward Grand Marais MN, where we stopped for lunch at Dockside Fish Market. Border crossing was smooth… back on home soil. Picked up speed quite a bit as we were running late, and felt more comfortable testing speed laws with the OPP. Stopped at the on Hwy 17 and then onto Silver Islet down a fast and twisty 587. Not much to see once you get to the end (the Store is closed, and up for sale), but the road is great. Back up 587 and onward to Nipigon. Sun was setting (blinding at times) and it was getting dark, so we were glad to finally arrive at the motel (Beaver Motor Motel). Moose/deer hazard is real when the sun goes down. My riding partner even had a close encounter with a low flying crow. At the motel, as we were moving in and out of the room to get stuff in, I managed to lock us out… had to go wake the owner for a key… way to go! DAY 5 (Destination Sault Ste. Marie, ON) Late getting up in the morning. A wet weather system moving from the west caught up with us and we rode away in the rain, but things improved within about an hour. Hwy 17 toward the Sault was fast, with sweeping curves carved through rock. Stunning scenery. The northern coastline was pretty wild and rugged, while the southern bits were more developed and accessible. Picked up another rider on a Ninja 400 at a lookout stop… he seemed unprepared for the conditions. Not even sure he had any armour on him, and we were blasting through the bends pretty quick. Continued to Wawa ON and snapped a photo of the Wawa Goose (wawa means wild goose in Ojibwe).Grabbed a quick lunch and continued on 17 to complete the loop. One lookout stop later, we arrived at the Ambassador Motel… positively tired from the pace. The owner brought us a 6-pack, and the motel eatery offered pretty good burgers and decent poutine... bam!! DAY 6 (Destination Home) The route back was planned through 556 and 129. The 556 was great while it lasted, but after some 10kms it turned dodgy (gravel/dirt). It was not to be… should have researched this better. We had to backtrack and catch the mediocre 17 toward Sudbury. Met an American (Tennessee) at our lunch stop, who’s been on the road for three months, now heading to Montreal. Showed him a good route to get there and he went on his way. We slabbed it back home along 69 and then 400. Something must have been in the air south of Barrie along the 400… pretty dense flow of vehicles all travelling 140+ kph with some unruly lane changes. Made for an unnerving ride home. Overall a nice trip (3,667 km), with a good mix of roads and things to see and do. Lots of places to buy gas, but the stretch between Nipigon and Wawa is thin on fuel. Many stations that show up on the GPS in that area are no longer in business, so I'd recommend planning that a bit. ~ THE END ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted June 20, 2018 Supporting Member Share Posted June 20, 2018 Sounds like a great trip. Thanks for sharing and for the nice photos! ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koth442 Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Great write up! Epic doesn't begin to describe it. '15 FJ09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duhs10 Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Really cool @Piotrek thanks for the pictures and stories! '15 FJ-09 w/ lots of extras... Fayetteville, GA, USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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