2012 Ride Around the Great Lakes through Canada

2012 Ride Around the Great Lakes through Canada

After taking the long way riding to Key West in the middle of summer last year, somehow going north this summer seemed to be a good idea. There are a lot of places I have not yet ridden - and the Great Lakes Circle Tour through Canada had a lot to recommend itself. We just got a new 2012 H-D Road Glide Ultra in late 2011 and it needed a good trip.  So did we. After some planning of vacation time and a lot of Google Maps route planning we headed out after work Friday June 22 to get a head start on what was to be 3000 fun miles through ten states and a large swath of Ontario. We agreed to keep the daily miles low and to stop and enjoy the sites along the way. No iron butts here. Most of the photo credits here go to my lovely wife, who has much practice shooting pictures over my shoulders as we are riding. I'm not good enough to ride and take pictures at the same time.

Day 1 Lexington KY - Crawfordsville IN  233 miles

Leaving after work doesn't make for a day where you put a lot of miles under your tires, but with beautiful weather (happily a theme for our entire trip) we headed out Leestown Rd/US 421 out of Lexington, through Frankfort and on north to Madison Indiana  Following Indiana Highway 56 north out of Madison we continued north to Columbus, IN where for the sake of speed we hopped on I-65 North to Indianapolis and then West on I-74 to Crawfordsville where we had a late dinner at a quaint local diner called Digger's Cafe and then lodged at the new and very nice Candlewood Suites in Crawfordsville. At least US 421 and Indiana 56 were very nice riding. The Interstate was pretty much exactly the same as Interstates everywhere.



Digger's Cafe - Crawfordsville IN

Day 2 Crawfordsville IN - Bloomington, IL 123 miles

Day two was a short ride up I-74 to Bloomington IL where we checked into the quite nice Hawthorne Suites and then spent the rest of the day with Amelia's Daughter Nicole, her husband Rob and the little grand daughter Caidence.  The riding was the usual dull Interstate hop but the family visit was very nice and we even got Caidence into the hotel pool. Caidence even got to play with my beard.



 

Caidence just being adorable with me

Day 3  Bloomington IN - Waterloo IA 288 miles

Day three was not a marathon riding session but we did get to play a bit on the way.  We took I-74 west out of Bloomington and across the Mississippi into Iowa. We did stop right before we got to the river to don rain gear to face the rain we saw headed our way.



Getting ready for rain in Illinois

Quite luckily the rain gear and our 3/4 helmets with face shields kept us quite dry through about 30 miles of rain varying from light to quite heavy (briefly) as we crossed into Iowa and turned north on US 151, leaving the Interstate behind. US 151 took us north to Anamosa where J&P Cycles just happened to be having their annual open house.  There were lots of vendors, stunt riders, and one guy doing incredible things on a trials bike.

Doing unbelievable things with a Trials Bike at J&P's Open House in Anamosa, IA

T-shirt purchased, we left J&P and the thousands of bikers there and continued on to Waterloo. Our stop in Waterloo was due to the fact that I was born and raised there but had not visited for quite a few years.  The house I grew up in was still there in the old neighborhood and the small tree in front is now very large.  We got to see the sights around town, many changes and many things the same and we caught up with my cousin Lauren (long time no see!) and her boy friend, now fiancee, Jake. It was great to have dinner with them at the Highway 63 Diner and to have some time to tour my old stomping grounds, showing Amelia where many decades ago I terrorized the streets on my little yellow Honda PC50 Express. Cruising around on a 900 pound touring bike was quite different.  We found our room at the modestly priced and very adequate Howard Johnson's.

Day 4  Waterloo IA - Spooner WI 272 miles

Continuing north on US 63 we retraced the route my family had driven so many times on weekend trips to Lake City Minnesota and Lake Pepin, which is actually a very wide part of the Mississippi. The cornfields and straight highway north out of Waterloo was lined with many neat farms and acre on endless acre of corn. It is Iowa.  We stopped at the border at Chester, IA for a photo op with a very nice state border marker in Minnesota using our quite short pocket tripod.

Amelia and I with our great Harley at the Iowa - Minnesota Border

On northward on US 63 and the road passes through Rochester past the famous Mayo Clinic and the becomes more interesting heading up through the hills toward Lake City and the Mississippi River Valley. Pulling into Lake City brings back a rush of pleasant childhood memories of weekends on Grandma and Grandpa Wisner's houseboat pulling out from Hansen's Harbor and going out to Long Point and occasionally sailing north to Red Wing and then up the St. Croix River, which is hopefully still as pristine as it was back then. Stopping to get a picture at the old Hansen's Harbor we found the place to be very well kept up, modernized, and Alan Hansen came out to see what the heck these strange people on a motorcycle were doing outside his office. He is about my age and remembered all of my family who spent so much time there every summer for many years.



Me at Hansen's Harbor with the Road Glide Ultra

Carrying on north in the beautiful sunshine US 63 took us to Red Wing, MN which is the home of the famous Red Wing boot. We has lunch at a great diner called Bev's Cafe after visiting the Red Wing Boot Museum and seeing the world's largest boot, US size 638½. Red Wing is a great old river city rich in history.



Amelia and the Worlds Largest Boot

From Red Wing we stayed on US 63, crossing the Mississippi into Wisconsin and going north as the farms start to give way to the woodlands. We end our riding day in Spooner, WI in time for a nice dinner at the Lakeview Bar and Grill followed by a Jazz Concert at the band shell next to Shell Lake featuring the very groovy music teachers from the local college's summer jazz camp cutting loose for a good sized crowd enjoying the free show. We stayed at the very new and nice America's Best Inn's Shell Lake Resort - a nice modern hotel facility in the form of a large log lodge. It is always nice to have a pool at the end of a day of riding and sight seeing. So far the weather has been quite mild for the end of June - but very sunny with the brief exception of the rain as we crossed into Iowa. This pattern would continue all around the Great Lakes.

Day 5  Spooner WI - Thunder Bay ON 267 miles

This was the day we have been looking forward to all along. We would see lake Superior for the first time and also cross into Canada. We didn't really know what to expect at the border crossing, but we were not worried since we had no firearms, no tobacco, no liquor, and we did have our passports and the registration and proof of insurance for the Harley.  Going North on US 63 we went to Superior, WI and then crossed back into Minnesota at Duluth. We stopped in Duluth for a break at Canal Park, crossing over the Aerial Lift Bridge at the entrance to Duluth Harbor just in time to see the bridge lifted and one of the huge ore freighters to steam out into Lake Superior.

Freighter leaving Duluth Harbor

Leaving Duluth we proceeded along the North Shore on Minnesota Highway 61 which is an incredibly scenic ride along the lake and a very nice road. Not too far long is Agate Bay and Two Harbors, MN. There is a large taconite (iron ore) loading facility here where trains go out the dock and they dump their loads into freighters.  The docks at Agate Bay are all timber structures which is amazing for their size and age. Overlooking Agate Bay at Two Harbors is a scenic red brick lighthouse.

Freighters at Agate Bay Taconite Docks

Two Harbors Lighthouse

After a nice lunch at The Pub in Two Harbors, we continued along the North Shore on MN 61 to Split Rock, home of one of the most beautiful lighthouses around.

Split Rock Lighthouse

We did take the time to stop and tour both lighthouses and their museums filled with history from the Great Lakes Shipping of the past 200 years. This part of the country is wonderful in early summer, sunny with temperatures in the low 70°s while back home the heat wave has been keeping the thermometers in the upper 90°s. Riding along Minnesota 61 takes you through several tunnels which have taken some curves out of the road but you can't beat nice two lane blacktop with abundant scenery. Continuing along the shore takes us past Silver Bay and the scenic town of Grand Marais and up through Grand Portage to the US Canada Border Crossing at Pigeon River.
This was our first international crossing on a motorcycle and it was very painless. The Pigeon River border crossing is fairly remote so the line consisted of one guy on a motorcycle in front of us. Canadians are known to be very friendly and the border guard was no exception.  We presented our passports and answered a few questions about our plans and we were on our way.



Approaching the Pigeon River Canada Border Station and the fastest border crossing ever.

Carrying along up Ontario Highway 61 to Thunder Bay we pulled into town and found our hotel, the Prince Arthur Waterfront Hotel which is an old fancy railroad hotel which is an historic property from 1911 which has been refurbished nicely but without wiping out the place's character. The rooms remain small as do the bathrooms - reflecting what a luxury hotel was  a century ago. Enjoying the view from the hotel overlooking Marina Park, the old railroad station and the harbor is a great way to end the day.  Dinner at the hotel restaurant was one of the best meals we had on the trip, with the early 1900's recipes quite good along with a bottle or two of a local beer, Steamwhistle.  It is amazing how the best local beers remain local and are far better than the stuff brewed by the tanker load.

Prince Arthur Hotel - Thunder Bay

View of harbor and "The Sleeping Giant" from Prince Arthur Hotel

Day 6  Thunder Bay ON- Wawa, ON 300 miles

After a great breakfast at the Portside Resaurant in the Prince Arthur Hotel, we rode over the Thunder Bay Harley Davidson to pick up a tshirt. I don't usually buy the overpriced H-D Dealer T-Shirts, but I make an exception in foreign countries since those aren't as common and it is a special trip. The foreign dealers aren't quite as fancy as the US dealers who try to make their dealerships a "destination"

Amelia and I at Thunder Bay H-D

Tshirts packed, we head out of town, getting Highway 17, the Trans-Canada Highway which is just made for bikers in the summer. Hundreds of miles of perfect two lane blacktop with so much great scenery we are very happy for our digital cameras and large memory cards. The cruise control was worth while too. We start to see the warning signs for moose. If hitting a deer is bad for your car, hitting a moose is four times as bad. On a motorcycle?  No, not a good idea but as we are traveling during daylight and the speed limits are pretty much all 90kph / 55 mph the moose are no danger to us.  We do see a large black bear shambling across the highway at one point and the Honda Accord in front of us dutifully slows down top give the bear space. The many scenic overlook pull offs result in a large number of great pictures.

Lake Superior from Scenic Overlook

Rainbow Falls Provincial Park

Badass Moose

Just the normal view from the motorcycle saddle cruising along Lake Superior on the Trans-Canada Highway. Nice.

We stopped for lunch at a little restaurant called Pina's Voyageur attached to an Esso station in Schreiber ON - a nice stop for a burger and poutine which is fresh cut french fries with gravy and this seems to be a Canadian staple. Continuing on the Trans Canada Highway we stop at Marathon to see a tourist information center and museum of native items including several canoes. Our next stop at the Rainbow Falls Provincial Park rewarded us with a short hike to see the large glassy lake which feeds the cascading falls the park is named after. The natural beauty of this part of the country is amazing. Further down the road we come to White River, ON which is the home of Winnie the Pooh. We had planned to overnight in White River but since we still had plenty of sunlight we rode on to Wawa, Ontario where we got to see the huge wild goose statue (Wawa means Wild Goose). In a town joyfully bereft of chain hotels and restaurants (except for the mandatory Tim Horton's) we found a room at the Bristol Motel and a very good dinner at the Viking Restaurant, washed down with a couple glasses of Alexander Keith IPA, another tasty local beer. We were told at the hotel that due to having no bear hunting season this year that the town had a bear problem at night, so don't get too far away from indoors after sunset and don't be surprised to hear a gunshot or two.  We saw no bears here and heard no gunshots so presumably the bears had the night off.

 

The Wawa Wild Goose

Day 7  Wawa ON - Sault Ste, Marie, MI  150 miles

This day started with some coffee and breakfast at Tim Horton's and then back onto the Trans Canada Highway. We ride south along the eastern shore of Lake Superior mainly through the scenic hilly woodlands of the Lake Superior Provincial Park crossing rivers and stopping at waterfalls and then back out along the bays of the eastern shore.
 

 

Pristine natural beauty right along the road at every turn

 

We are starting to be spoiled by natural beauty, this ride is surpassing my hopes of a leisurely scenic ride along the lakes.  Continuing south we reach Sault Ste. Marie, ON and then cross back into the United States (a goodly line at the crossing here) and find a room at the Soo Locks Lodge.  We unload the bike and then ride into the old part of downtown and the waterfront.  This is where Lake Superior joins up with Lake Huron and the Soo Locks are where the giant freighters go from one to the other. There are locks on both sides and between them is a white water rapids for the more daring marine traffic. The waterfront area of Sault Ste. Marie on the American side offers a lot for the visitor to see.  We found the Antlers Restaurant with great local food and a view of the waterfront, then we headed back to see the locks, the old Edison Sault Power Plant which was built in 1902 spanning the mouth of the St. Mary's River, is the longest horizontal shaft hydroelectric plant in the world and still operates today. We went up the Tower of History which is both a museum and a massive tall observation tower overlooking the waterfront and town.

Edison Sault Power Plant - seen from top of the Tower of History

Sault Ste. Marie's 210 foot high Tower of History



The Freighter Valley Camp, now a museum at Sault Ste. Marie, MI

Day 8  Sault Ste. Marie MI - Manitoulin Island ON  204 miles

Leaving Sault Ste. Marie meant crossing back into Canada with about a 20 minute wait at the border - 19½ minutes longer than the Pigeon River Crossing - and back onto Highway 17, The Trans Canada Highway and out along the North Shore of Lake Huron. We stopped at Bruce Mines, lured by a sign advertising a lighthouse. Riding this large touring bike two miles out some very rough dirt and gravel paths across several very narrow bridges out to McKay Island, we finally get to the most disappointing structure ever labelled as a lighthouse, or we were just very spoiled by Two Harbors and Split Rock. There is not even a light in the little cupola on top of the shanty, the actual light is a strobe on the little metal frame rack next to the house. Oh well, now two miles back down that horrible little road.

    

Back out to the Trans Canada Highway and eastward ho through Blind River and on to Espanola where we turn south onto Ontario Highway  6 to head to Manitoulin Island.  We stop for lunch at the Dynamyc Family Restaurant where we meet some people from Winchester, KY who come up here every year to fish. The University of Kentucky shorts are a giveaway that Big Blue Nation is everywhere.  After a good lunch we go out and turn on the bike.  Instead of the engine firing up, we are treated to the sound of the alarm going off.  Oops, this is bad.  The Harley Alarm is supposed to arm and disarm automatically based on the proximity of the electronic key fob. The alarm is not disarming which means that the bike is not going to start.  Luckily, Harley has a bypass for this which involves entering a code through the turn signal buttons and doubly luckily I had set this code and I remembered it so we did get the bike started and we decided to make a 40 mile detour to Sudbury (famously the hometown of Alex Trebek) to see the Harley Dealer there to check out why the alarm system was not working.

The Shop, Sudbury ON Harley Davidson dealer, very friendly and helpful

We arrived at the Sudbury Harley Dealer, The Shop, and I went in to talk to the service department.  I explained the problem and the mechanic proceeded to tell me where my bike was parked when this happened. Was he psychic?  No, but they have had several other bikes have the same issue when parked in that part of Espanola. Going out, sure enough my alarm worked fine here in Sudbury. The mechanic congratulated me for knowing how to bypass my alarm and start the bike, the last "victim" had paid $300 to have his bike hauled to the dealer. Very good, pick up another Harley TShirt with a moose on it and back up the highway to Espanola and south on Highway 6 to Manitoulin Island.

Manitoulin Island is the largest island in the world in a fresh water body of water. Add to that my wife has several aunts, uncles and cousins who live there and that is certainly enough reason to visit. Crossing onto the island to Little Current we go across a pivoting one lane bridge after waiting a while for the bridge to be rotated back to the road.

Pivoting one lane bridge on Ontario Hwy 6 at Little Current

  We proceed through Little Current and ride to West Bay where Amelia's Aunt Lillian owns Lillian's Camgound, Cabins, Native Gift Shop and Museum.  Lillian has a cabin for us to stay in the next couple nights and her campground is right on the bay overlooking the north channel of Lake Huron. It is heaven.  Lillian takes us to see Amelia's cousin Maneesa and her Husband Wally who take us out on the the very large Mindemoya Lake in their speedboat for a nice sunset tour of the lake shore and several islands then we get back for a bonfire and several beers to end the day. Amelia's family is a very nice bunch who see to it that we have a great visit.

Wally and Maneesa as we take a boat ride out on Mindemoya Lake

The next day we leave the bike parked and do a little sight seeing around the island with Lillian and Maneesa. They show us Bridal Veil Falls, Little Current, Lake Mindemoya, and some scenic views from the high points of the island.  We see quite a few motorcycles touring and they have chosen a great place to ride.

Beach at Lillian's Campground - what a great sight to wake up to!

 

View east from Manitoulin Island over Lake Huron

 The family gathered for a big cookout on the beach, much good food and beer was consumed and a great time was had by all.

Day 10 - Manitoulin Island ON - Niagara Falls, NY 275 miles (July 1, Canada Day)

After loading up the bike and saying our goodbyes to Aunt Lillian and the family, we  headed out south on Ontario 6 to South Beymouth at the southern tip of Manitoulin Island to catch the ferry across this end of Lake Huron to Tobermory, ON at the north tip of the Bruce Peninsula.  We got a big shortcut versus going back north through Sudbury and around the lake as well as an enjoyable cruise on the lake.  The ferry was a good sized ship, the Chi-Cheemaun (Ojibwe for big canoe).

Ferry Ship Chi-Cheemaun

Motorcycles tied down in on the ferry vehicle deck

View over the stern of the Chi-Cheemaun heading for Tobermory

 After riding the motorcycle onto the ferry, we parked in the motorcycle area and I tied the bike down using the rope tie downs provided to secure the bike to the tie-down points on the deck. Obviously motorcyclists use this ferry a lot. After being up on the foredeck and hearing the motorcycle alarm going off I realized that I should have put the alarm in shipping mode.  Another lesson.

Cove Island Lighthouse from ferry

The trip from Beymouth to Tobermory took a little less than two hours.  The ship has lots of seating spaces and a restaurant, where we got some coffee and ate breakfast - something you usually don't get to do on the move during a motorcycle trip. We passed Cove Island and its lighthouse on the way in to harbor at Tobermory. The weather for our crossing was about as nice as it could be, no "Gales of November" here.  At South Beymouth we loaded through the stern of the ship, with motorcycles going aboard first.  At Tobermory we disembark through the bow with motorcycles leaving first. It is nice to see that people have their priorities straight! The entire bow of the ship lifts up and the ramp comes out to the dock. The ferry is a marvel.

Tobermory is at the north tip of the Bruce Peninsula, which juts out into Lake Huron separating Georgian Bay from the main part of the lake. Riding south from Tobermory on Ontario Highway 6 (which is joined together by the ferry) we pass through forest and then farmland in this very scenic area which is very easy riding along well kept two lane blacktop with very little traffic. Motorcyclists all enjoy well kept two lane blacktop with very little traffic.  Toward the southern part of the Peninsula we decide that it is time for lunch.  Reaching Wiarton we find the Wiarton Inn and a place to park right in front. 

The Sunday Canada Day Brunch Buffet was very nice, as was our table for two in a bay window area over looking the patio out front. We have had very good luck with local restaurants - trying to find places that we can't find back home. Continuing south on Ontario 6 we find that due to a closed road we are re-routed past a turtle crossing

I have seen Deer, Elk, Panther, Bear, and Moose Warning signs along roads, but this was the first Turtle X-ing sign

 over to some freeways, getting on the 403, the 407 and on to the Queen Elizabeth Way which take us south past Mississauga and some less than scenic large city areas in the fringes of Toronto down along the west and south shores of Lake Ontario to St. Catherines and then south to Niagara Falls and the Rainbow Bridge border crossing back into the US. 

Niagara Falls taken from the Rainbow Bridge

Waiting at the very busy border crossing at Niagara Falls, NY

It is about a 20 minute wait at the US Border crossing and we finally get back to the US. After running a bit over 200 miles on my last tank of gas and getting about 54 mpg I do think that there must be less or no ethanol in the Canadian gas, which really isn't too much more costly than gas in the States. Crossing over into Niagara Falls New York we check in at the Days Inn and park the bike right outside the front door under the canopy with the other motorcycles. Again, special treatment for motorcyclists! We are very close to the falls and the park, so we get out of our riding clothes and into some shorts and sneakers and head out to explore. It is about a mile walk down to the far end of the Niagara Falls State Park on Goat Island, which separates the two falls at Niagara. 

 

Amelia and I at Niagara Falls

After much sightseeing, as I have never been to Niagara before, we chose the Hard Rock Cafe over the 17 Indian restaurants on the American side near the falls. A good burger and a couple of beers hit the spot and later that evening Amelia talked me into going back out at 10:00 to watch the Canada Day fireworks over the falls. The American side had the best view of the Canadian fireworks and the display was very impressive. Lighting up the falls with large banks of colored lights added to the spectacle, as if Niagara Falls needs any help being a breathtaking sight.

Canada Day Fireworks at Niagara Falls

The Falls lit up at night

 After the purchase of a small snow globe at a gift shop, we called it a night and headed back to the Days Inn.

Day 11  Niagara Falls NY - Mansfield, OH 280 miles

Leaving Niagara Falls we beat the traffic out of town following the freeway south along the river taking the Niagara Thruway across Grand Island and down past Tonawanda and Buffalo and on to the New York State Thruway.

12

Riding along the Niagara River on the Niagara Thruway

Buffalo's famous City Hall

Buffalo, NY on the Niagara Thruway

After we got some miles under our tires and got away from the urban area we stopped at Uncle Joe's Diner in Hamburg, NY for some coffee and a leisurely breakfast.

Continuing west on the New York Thruway took us through the vineyards of New York wine country and on to Pennsylvania.

Vineyards at the NY-PA Border with Lake Erie in the background

Riding into Pennsylvania

We carried on riding parallel to but usually not within sight of the southern shore of Lake Erie, passing Erie, PA and on into Ohio. By the time we got to Ashtabula we decided that we had ridden enough freeway for the day and turned off south on Ohio Highway 45, missing the Cleveland urban area with its giant freeways and traffic. We worked our way south through the countryside past farms and small towns - feeling quite good about being off of the interstate. Skirting Youngstown and Akron we made our way to Mansfield OH and with the weather turning hotter since we got to Niagara Falls we were happy to stop at a motel with an attached Mexican restaurant that featured a fully functioning frozen margarita machine.

Day 12  Mansfield OH - Lexington KY 256 miles to home

Today is the day we ride home,  The weather has gotten hotter as we are back south in the US and the last day is pretty much just getting to the house.  Even so, spending a hot day on the interstate is miserable on a motorcycle so at Columbus we get off I-71 and get on to US 62 which we follow south through rural Ohio all the way to the Ohio River and Maysville, KY. We had a nice beakfast stop at Classic's Diner in Hillsboro, OH and then on to Kentucky.

Barn in Ohio

At Classic's Diner at Hillsboro, OH

Back to Kentucky!

There's no place like home!

 After 12 days on the road, we were ready to get off the bike, unload and relax.  The entire trip was great and I do recommend the Great Lakes Circle Tour to anybody who likes to get their bike out and see the world. People in Canada are fantastic, gas isn't too expensive, no hassles at the borders, lots of scenery.  This was a bucket list trip indeed. The motorcycle ate up about 3000 miles very comfortably. Now to plan the 2013 ride.  It looks like it will be a couple weeks riding out west.