Dual Sport Riding 2015...part 2

After Getting Our Feet Wet, so to speak in Moab, Nick and I rode the TWs around Ohio and Eastern Indiana, once the weather turned warmer in May and June....I, however, still had the itch to try a dual pavement/off road ride for a week or 10 days in a stretch...it had been a wet Spring, and miserable riding weather for the most part....and I was hopeful of some dryer weather and a destination to scratch my itch.

<<<<My Original Planned Route, got changed a week before the ride.

I finally talked Nick into a ride across the central Indiana and Illinois plains then north into Wisconsin and the Upper Michigan P...across the Big Mac Bridge and southward towards home..

>>>>Having not have a "Buzz Cut" since basic training Air Force 1968...I decided to get the gray locks buzzed off to avoid "Helmet Hair" for the trip....it has since grown back

While Patricia and I were on a short vacation in Brown County, Indiana, I got a call that would change our plans, at least the route...Kurt, our riding partner from Auburn called and he had a week or so off and wanted to ride with us, IF we would change the route to avoid Illinois and especially Chicago...well Hell, Chicago is not on any motorcycle riders list, regardless of size of bike....it is a traffic craphole equal or worse than So Cal or Atlanta.  I had no problem with that, Kurt was more experienced and for sure knew the mechanical side of motorcycles much better than Nick and especially me.  So, instead of crossing central Indiana and Illinois, we would head north to Ludington, Michigan, take the Ferry across Lake Michigan and pick up Wisconsin south of Green Bay.

After Kurt's young nephew crashed his TW 12 or so hours before our scheduled departure, older nephew, The Weasel, and friends repaired the TW and albeit it a bit out of kilter, we were ready to go....after a Sunday night of beer drinking, and Kurt's wife Peggy fixing farewell for a

week breakfast, we headed out in the glorious sunshine for Ludington.

>>>With Nick, ready to roll, first to Auburn, then on the way north

The weather would hold for the entire week, except for a few clouds in the "Yooper" one day, and a 10 minute shower in central lower Michigan on the way home....between Moab and the Upper Great Lakes Ride, you could not have asked for better weather.

One small issue on Kurt's front wheel delayed us for a few hours in Iron Mountain, Michigan, but other than that, the ride went without issues...great ride, great boat trip, great weather, and great scenery were with us the entire 8 day trip....Nick and I put over 1500 miles on from Celina and back, while Kurt logged another 1300 or so on his ride....


Thumbnails from the 8 days....click to enlarge:

This Adventure was completely different than Moab, except for the participants, which were just three of us compared to the 30 or so in Utah...rather than red dirt, sand and dust, we rode mainly back road pavement with some rural gravel thrown in....and made it across the Big Mac without issues....the final day wound up being a 360 mile marathon from Atlanta, Michigan, to Kurt's place outside Auburn...a few beers and a Chinese Meal, Nick and I stayed the night and finished off our 8 day run the next morning...

A few more small rides of 250 miles or less were in the cards then one final big push with Kurt down to the hills of West Virginia would come up in mid fall....

That story is next on the agenda....

>>>Arrival safe and sound at Kurt' Ranch.....cooling down and relaxing...a trip well done and well enjoyed