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Post by michaeladkins on Jul 21, 2015 9:32:56 GMT -5
This Friday morning I am leaving for lower Michigan to meet up with a buddy and head to upper Michigan. We plan on taking 31 all the way up. It should be a nice comfortable ride along Lake Michigan. It will be the most miles I have put on a bike in one day. I am totally looking forward to it. The weather looks as if it is going to cooperate. Fingers crossed!
Originally we had planned on making the loop around Lake Michigan, but decided to try this first.
Keep us in your prayers for a safe and fun ride.
Thanks.
Mike
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Post by dbd870 on Jul 21, 2015 9:45:32 GMT -5
Sounds like a good trip - enjoy.
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Post by deadeer on Jul 21, 2015 10:11:54 GMT -5
Nice ride on 31 but a lot of stop and go thru towns. Best views when leaves change. Awesome trip though. Have fun.
Jay
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Post by lawrencecountyhunter on Jul 21, 2015 10:30:25 GMT -5
We did the loop on 4 wheels a couple years ago.. Took a week and camped our way around.
I would love to go back in the fall too!
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Post by featherduster on Jul 21, 2015 10:49:03 GMT -5
MY wife and I travel to the UP and norther Wisconsin a lot,if I can offer a recommendation on a route I would take US 37 north from Grand Rapids all the way to Traverse city.
You will be traveling through the Manistee National Forest with great scenery,small towns rocky rivers and then from Traverse city to the bridge take 31.
You really can't see much of the lake until you get to traverse city and there isn't as much traffic or stop and goes as there is on 31.
If all goes well and you decide to loop the lake the highway along the north shore of lake Michigan is spectacular on a bike.
Let me know if you want a list of fantastic and funky restaurants along these routes.
BTW the trip from Grand Rapids north is something that I would not rush .......good things should be savored.
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Post by omegahunter on Jul 21, 2015 10:58:51 GMT -5
My first "long" ride was from SW Indiana to Madison, Wisconsin, just stopping for fuel and pop when necessary. Loved it. It was just a weekend thing and did the return trip the same way. It was addictive. I did not want to stop except for gas when we got back home!!
Be as safe as you possibly can and enjoy.
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Post by mstr2175 on Jul 21, 2015 14:44:37 GMT -5
My dad keeps asking me about going to Tahquamenon Falls in the next month to do some camping. I have never been to the Upper Peninsula, but it looks really pretty. This is the first summer I have gone without a motorcycle in five years. Have fun and stay on two wheels!
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Post by featherduster on Jul 21, 2015 16:01:30 GMT -5
My dad keeps asking me about going to Tahquamenon Falls in the next month to do some camping. I have never been to the Upper Peninsula, but it looks really pretty. This is the first summer I have gone without a motorcycle in five years. Have fun and stay on two wheels! If you do go to the Tahquamenon Falls take a day go to the Toonerville Trolley it's a great relaxing way to spend a day. www.exploringthenorth.com/toonerville/trolley.html |
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Post by Jamie Brooks 1John5:13 on Jul 21, 2015 17:12:50 GMT -5
The only time I was in the UP was in the winter, snowmobiling. It was wonderful.
Enjoy, and let us know how it went. I'll pray for you.
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Post by michaeladkins on Jul 21, 2015 21:15:06 GMT -5
MY wife and I travel to the UP and norther Wisconsin a lot,if I can offer a recommendation on a route I would take US 37 north from Grand Rapids all the way to Traverse city. You will be traveling through the Manistee National Forest with great scenery,small towns rocky rivers and then from Traverse city to the bridge take 31. You really can't see much of the lake until you get to traverse city and there isn't as much traffic or stop and goes as there is on 31. If all goes well and you decide to loop the lake the highway along the north shore of lake Michigan is spectacular on a bike. Let me know if you want a list of fantastic and funky restaurants along these routes. BTW the trip from Grand Rapids north is something that I would not rush .......good things should be savored. Thanks for the suggestion. I passed the info on to my buddy. We were going to basically go without a plan other than staying by the lake. Your plan sounds better and proven. Thank you for the suggestion and heck yeah, I would love to hear where you eat! Thanks. |
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Post by featherduster on Jul 22, 2015 6:52:33 GMT -5
When in Grand Rapids eat at the CHOO CHOO GRILL www.yelp.com/biz/choo-choo-grill-grand-rapidsTraverse City breakfast,lunch eat at Hambonz ham-bonz.com/Traverse City dinner Apache Trout great place on Sutton bay sit outside on the water and admire the view. www.apachetroutgrill.com/Once you cross the bridge into the UP just find a roadside smoke fish joint or any mom/pop grill and enjoy. Taking US 31 is four lane expressway with busy city traffic the only time you see the lake is once when you cross over a bridge in Manistee. Us 37 is 2 lanes small one stop sign towns and plenty of great scenery. Traverse city is the place to see the lake,try to get out to the end of Mission Point to the lighthouse, the ride along the water to the lighthouse (about 18 miles) is well worth the trip. US 31 from Traverse City to the bridge is very scenic. ............ENJOY. |
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Post by michaeladkins on Jul 23, 2015 21:01:16 GMT -5
Thank you. We have decided to take 37 and stop at a few of the places you listed. I will report back. Sooooo excited. Here is the bike. I have my sleeping bag on the back to make a back rest.  ?  Mike |
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Post by HighCotton on Jul 23, 2015 21:56:36 GMT -5
Thank you. We have decided to take 37 and stop at a few of the places you listed. I will report back. Sooooo excited. Here is the bike. I have my sleeping bag on the back to make a back rest. ? Mike Good deal brother! Nice lookin' sled! Keep the shiny side up and have a great ride. I'll be headed toward Memphis Saturday morning around 2 AM on an Iron Butt ride. Me on the Beemer and buddy on his Harley. Aim to be back by midnight! |
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Post by michaeladkins on Jul 23, 2015 22:20:39 GMT -5
Thank you. We have decided to take 37 and stop at a few of the places you listed. I will report back. Sooooo excited. Here is the bike. I have my sleeping bag on the back to make a back rest. ? Mike Good deal brother! Nice lookin' sled! Keep the shiny side up and have a great ride. I'll be headed toward Memphis Saturday morning around 2 AM on an Iron Butt ride. Me on the Beemer and buddy on his Harley. Aim to be back by midnight! Thank you! You be safe as well. You are going to have great weather for the ride. Safe travels!! |
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Post by michaeladkins on Jul 27, 2015 21:10:25 GMT -5
The ride was simply amazing. I had only one issue and I didn't notice that until I was just past Muncie. See if you can find it.  We took the route featherduster recommended, and he nailed it. It was an awesome ride. Traverse City was beautiful and crazy busy. Petosky was the same, B-E-A-utiful but busy. We arrived there around rush hour, so that was to be expected. Here is a pic of my buddy driving over the Mackinac bridge.  After arriving in St Ignace, we hung out with some friends and they drove us to an awesome view of the bridge. They live just minutes from this view. It is amazing!  We were able to see 3 Great Lakes on our trip. Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Lake Superior from the bikes. The wind felt nice in the heat of the day. The best part about the UP is the people. Everyone is just so friendly. A close second is the views. Michigan does a great job utilizing the land so you have a good view of the lake while you are driving. I'm speaking about route 2 specifically. If you have not been on it, you need to put that on your to do list. Here is a picture I took when we pulled off the road. There is a little island out there with a light house.  We left St Ignace around 8 am and got home in Indy around 7 pm. We hauled it home. I think we were both ready to be home and out of the sun. The sunscreen we were using was not working. We both lathered up at every stop... Every 2 hours and we were still burnt. It was a great trip with a good friend, we will be doing another trip this year. We plan on heading south next. Mike |
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Post by Jamie Brooks 1John5:13 on Jul 28, 2015 1:34:17 GMT -5
Sooooo glad that you made it back safely and had a wonderful time.
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Post by HighCotton on Jul 28, 2015 5:27:41 GMT -5
Rattled the peg off,  ? Guess you'll have to make another trip to find it!!! |
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Post by HighCotton on Jul 28, 2015 5:28:33 GMT -5
Those are some great pics. Glad you enjoyed the ride!
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Post by featherduster on Jul 28, 2015 7:25:53 GMT -5
Highway 2 from the bridge to Escanaba is a great ride in the fall or anytime.
Where did you see lake Superior from?
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Post by michaeladkins on Jul 28, 2015 11:14:52 GMT -5
Highway 2 from the bridge to Escanaba is a great ride in the fall or anytime. Where did you see lake Superior from? Newberry. We headed up to visit friends up there. It's where I go in the fall for salmon and steelhead. Great trip for sure. |
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