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RR – August 10-13th, 2020 – A waterfall and shipwrecks…

Normally, the primary event in our August is the 4H fair – my duties include the logistics of transporting Hurricane Dolly and required accessories from the barn to the fairgrounds, establishing our beach head command post in the exact perfect viewing location near the show ring, as well as participating on the barn isle decoration team, and sourcing fuel from the concession area for both Hurricane Dolly as well as the Team Dolly GPS (aka – my daughter…).

Since the “event that shall not be named in this ride report” caused one of the longest running small town fairs to “reschedule” to 2021, I ended up with a few days to kill with vacation time already approved and my work calendar kept uncharacteristically clear, what better activity to engage in than some two wheel therapy, right? Right.



Day 1 - We departed Monday afternoon and made our way west towards the Lake Michigan shoreline. We’d join DeOppressoLiber and his better half there, along with Designflaw06 for dinner. Best laid plans were adjusted due to our later than anticipated departure. Designflaw06 called and after leading DeOppressoLiber and party on his signature West Michigan guided tour decided to head south. After hanging up, I flipped over to the radar display and figured out exactly why he the return to home button.
Of course, there was a single advancing finger of heavy rain reaching east from the lake, over Manistee, and along our flight path. We pressed on, embracing the inevitable with a roadside stop to zip vents closed and deploy aqua-barriers to the ECM (electronic counter measures) equipment.



Then it happened. With Designflaw’s southward movement, the storm front broke up in the confusion and effort to follow the rain prince south. It split in half right over M-115, leaving us a damp surface, clouds and a clear sprint into Manistee. Thank you, oh great rain prince of the west… 





Day 2 - Tuesday’s ride plan included following the scenic and (almost) famous M-22 route north along the Lake Michigan coast to the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula, then along Grand Traverse Bay to Traverse City, then north again Mission Point Peninsula and the Mission Point Lighthouse. We did this ride back in June and experienced a short portion of it in what I can only describe as white-knuckle, hurricane force
wind and rain event that forced us to abandon our trek and flee inland towards that evening’s lodging in Petoskey.





Weather on this day was superb. No other way to describe it – sunny, mid-70’s and not a cloud in the sky. It was so unfortunate that Designflaw couldn’t join us on this glorious day, but our rain gear would remain securely stored this day.



Not even a hint of a cloud in the sky. We missed Designflaw on this day, but the clear skies made up it…




The ride north was enjoyable – clear skies continued all the way to Northport, where we turned south along the bay to find sustenance. The VI Grill in Sutton’s Bay had parking curbside available and we snagged that quicker than a blue-hair piloted Mercedes in auto-park mode… The fish-n-chips was spectacular – food porn, extrememarine style, included below.






We pressed on after lunch – through Traverse City and north towards the Mission Point Lighthouse. The peninsula is home to wineries and orchards – it was a very scenic ride north along the narrow penninusual. There are points where you can see both sides of Grand Traverse Bay. The lighthouse was closed, but the beach was open and busy. We made the return run south and worked our way out of Traverse City towards Petoskey and day two’s LZ. We hit a bit of construction traffic on the way out of town and our out of state visitors got a first hand taste of the “entitled-tourist” Lexus pilot who insisted on nudging through a red light into our lane. She attempted to join our merry party of 3 motorcyles in the P2 position, to which we rejected her advances through strategic lane space maneuvering. Lexus out of the picture, we ran the final stretch of our day north along US-31 through Charlevoix and into Petoskey.



That Bandit 1250 comes with concierge fueling service…


The third day of our journey saw us on our own for the day. DeOppressoLiber and his better half would spend the day on Mackinaw Island taking in the sights there. Our plan took us north across the mighty Mac – Mackinaw Bridge and into the Upper Penninsula of Michigan. There were 2 destinations for the day – the first being Tahquamenon Falls – the 3rd largest waterfall east of the Mississippi River. The upper falls spans nearly 200 feet wide and has a vertical drop of 48 feet. The average flow rate can reach as high as 50,000 gallons per second during peak times in the spring; the flow rate was listed as 5800 gallons per second the day we visited. The water has a unique color due to the tanic acid released into the water by the decaying vegetation in the swamps of the drain basin.



To get to the viewing platform was at the bottom of a set of stairs. The sign at the top displayed a warning about the steps – ignored by many. Upon return, my option of the warning was that they severely under stated the number of steps between the top and bottom. We were fouled by a second sign that again, understated the number of stairs. In both cases, the rewarded view of the falls were well worth the efforts.









We refueled at the Tahquamenon Falls Brewery & Pub – the mushroom burger and fries were top notch for pub food. Gratuitous food porn inserted for BikerGeek here…



On the road again, we worked our way east and then north along Whitefish Bay to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum and Edmond Fitzgerald memorial located at Whitefish Point. I vagely remember the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald from elementary school and the song by Gordon Lightfoot being performed at a school concert of some sort.







The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum provides a glimpse into the challenges and harsh conditions Lake Superior presented to the cargo shipping industry in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. There’s a lighthouse light glass on display; the placard stated it weighed 3,500 lbs and rotates on a liquid bearing surface of mercury. The mechanism that rotated it was similar in design to that of a grand father clock. If you’re ever in the area, it’s worth the side trip IMHO.




















We burned south on M-123 back to St. Ignace for the evening. We had dinner at the
MI Patio Grill – sorry, no food porn this time…

Day 4 was our RTB – return to base – day. We had breakfast at a small diner in St. Ignace – Bentley’s B-M-L Café. Small, but great food and service. They have a sweet roll that fills the plate!







We rolled south over big Mac and then followed US-23 south along the Lake Huron shoreline. Just south of Rogers City, we took M-65 inland and south through the scattered small towns of northern Michigan. We stopped at the Lumberman’s Monument that’s just west of Oscoda, MI on the Au Sable River. From there, we continued south to Frankenmuth for a late (much later than planned) lunch at Slo Bones BBQ – great food there as well!

We jumped on the slab and headed for home. In Flint we turned east and DeOppressoLiber and his better half continued south to Toledo and then east towards Mass the next day. The weather was spectacular and the company wasn’t half bad either!

Some of that area was on our planned route back from Red Lodge. Maybe next year.

1911 wrote:Some of that area was on our planned route back from Red Lodge. Maybe next year.

I want to fit in the west half of the U.P. and Copper Harbor next year.

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Funny, but I’ve ridden with Tim over two consecutive days. Not one drop of rain. Not one. Maybe your ‘curse’ lies elsewhere.

Nice pic of Big Mac.

That is impressive! I'm sure there's a bit of rain prince / princess in all of us at some level.

Uncle Hud wrote: ↑Sun Aug 16, 2020 10:42 pm Funny, but I’ve ridden with Tim over two consecutive days. Not one drop of rain. Not one. Maybe your ‘curse’ lies elsewhere.

Nice pic of Big Mac.

Hud is just so used to the brutal humidity in GA, so when it actually rains, he thinks it's normal.

I wish I could have joined you this time around as well, but I decided you deserved a dry ride for a change. Honestly, the schedules just didn't work out this time around. I would have gladly forced you into the rain if I could have made this trip work.

The route from Muskegon to Ludington is something I've done a thousand times. There aren't many great motorcycle roads in Michigan, but the west coast has the best scenery along the lakeshore. I don't get tired of taking this route.

CJ and Becky arrived in Muskegon about noon. They didn't bring comms so unfortunately they missed on the narrated audio tour. But the ride was pleasant with minimal traffic. Our first stop was lunch in Montague at the Dog 'N Suds drive in. Easy place to eat while on a bike and avoiding people. They have a killer double bacon cheeseburger.

There were some large sunflower fields north of Montague that had been in bloom the last couple weeks. They were huge this year and everyone was taking photos. Unfortunately, their peak had past as we rode by them. Just bad timing.


The next stop was Cherry Point Farms. They have a small shop where you can buy a variety of goods, jams, pies, etc. Wayne, Annette, CJ, and I took shelter when we were there the last time. This time however, things were dry. They also have a large flower garden call the Labyrinth. Polar Vortex took its toll a couple years ago, but they've been working hard to restore it to its former glory. It's quite spectacular when the lavender is in full bloom. Here's a drone shot I took a couple years ago.


The next stop was Mac Woods Dune Rides at Silver Lake. My wife and son were able to meet us there to go for the ride. Silver Lake State Park is divded into 3 areas. One is for pedestrians and campers, one is for off road vehicles to climb the dunes, and the other is leased by Mac Woods to take people on a guided tour of the dunes. It's a fun and informative ride. I hadn't done the ride since I was a kid. I was glad we all got to do it.


It's not a slow ride either. They don't waste any time getting from checkpoint to checkpoint. As we were flying through the dunes, Becky's phone slipped out of her pocket and flew out of the truck. We had gone 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile easily before we could get the drivers attention. The phone's case also contained her license, credit cards, and cash. Becky ran after it and luckily managed to find it, but it took her quite a while to catch her breath. That's no easy run.

After the rides, we took the car over to Little Sable Point so that Becky and CJ could see Lake Michigan. LeAnne and Brady split after that because Brady had golf that night.


The last two photos were taking 30 minutes apart. The weather was making a turn for the worse in a hurry. My plan was to meet up with Wayne & Annette in Manistee for dinner before I headed home. But Wayne's message indicated that they would be much later than anticipated. There's nothing to see between Ludington and Manisteee either, so I bid farewell to CJ and Becky and high-tailed it home. Judging by the radar, I had an hour before the weather hit. If I obeyed all posted signs, I had an hour drive home. What I didn't know was that the construction on US 31 near Muskegon had escalated. The freeway was shut down instead of just down to one lane. To make matters worse, the road they had marked as a detour experienced a large water main break at the same time. I had to bail off an exit early while watching lightning flash all around. I got caught at every light on the way home, sometimes twice due to the increased traffic, while the rain poured down on me.

Small price to pay for a good day of riding and company.

Nice RR. Looks like beautiful weather!!


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The Sanilac County 4-H fair will be missed by many. Sorry you had to miss out this year. A lot of people make that week a big priority. Was looking forward to my 7 year old seeing the demolition derby this year. Looks like you found a great substitution for your vacation time. One Michigan treasure to another.

How crowded were the roads in the U.P? We rode up in early June and it was still off season and the roads and restaurants were empty (and awesome). But now it seems like everybody is "heading North" for their family vacations.

Traffic was moderate. No line to get into the upper falls at Tahquamenon Falls, but the parking lot was 90% or better of capacity. White Fish Point was crowded - it's a small parking lot anyways, but there were cars / trucks parked along the road. Slower than a typical August, but more than I expected.

Deagle10 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 18, 2020 10:32 am How crowded were the roads in the U.P? We rode up in early June and it was still off season and the roads and restaurants were empty (and awesome). But now it seems like everybody is "heading North" for their family vacations.