Lake Superior Circle Tour, Day 1 -3, part 1 of 4

[Strelnikov]

Just completed the tour with my riding partner. I'll be posting this report by days, in four parts. Cross posting under Freewheeler forum.

Stats:

Dates: July 31 to August 8, 2023

Total days: 9 including two days riding to the start point, and two days at the end getting home. Five days were spent circling the Lake.

Total miles: 2746

Rides: '15 Freewheeler, '22 Indian Roadmaster

H-D dealers visited: 6

T-shirts obtained: 12

Indian dealer visited: 1

T-shirt obtained: 1

Beers consumed: 21 (about my usual six months total)



Day One, July 31, 2023: Home to Sister Bay, WI (465 miles)

Left home at 7 AM. We met in El Paso, IL, at 8 AM and headed north on I-39 to Madison, WI, where we made our first dealer stop at Harley-Davidson of Madison. We left Mad City on Rte 151 east to 26 North at Waupun then joined I-41 North at Oshkosh. We made our second dealer stop of the day at Appleton Harley-Davidson. We continued on I-41 to Green Bay where we took Rte 172 East to I-43 North to Rte 57 East. In Sturgeon Bay, we were stopped by the draw bridge being open, something which had happened to me only once before in 32 years of travel to Door County. After arriving in Sister Bay, we had a beer on the deck and then took off to Coyote Roadhouse for dinner. Uneventful, hard ride.



Day Two: Sister Bay, WI, to Marquette, MI (250 miles)



We breakfasted on Roadhouse leftovers on the deck. While passing through Sturgeon Bay, we were again stopped by the open draw bridge, in an incredible coincidence which meant nothing whatsoever. Rte 57 took us back to Green Bay, where we rejoined 1-41 North, which became state Rte 41. (At a gas stop near GB, we encountered two Canadian riders headed to DC, and exchanged tips. They recommended we visit the Terry Fox Memorial and Kakabeka Falls, both near Thunder Bay. I told them to eat at Al Johnson’s.) At Menominee, we opted to take MI Rte 35 up the shore to Escanaba where we lunched at Mo’s Pub. Great ride along Lake MI. Then it was back on Rte 41 to Marquette, MI, where we stayed at the Value Host Inn. Clean and neat rooms but nothing fancy. We took a cab down to what is referred to locally as the “Social District” for dinner and beer at Iron Bay Restaurant. Good stuff. Took a brief walk along the waterfront and then cabbed back. (I had bought a T-shirt at the restaurant and left it in the cab, which I did not notice for a couple of days.)



Day Three: Marquette, MI, to Haviland Bay, Ontario, CA (310 miles)

This was the start of the actual Lake Superior Circle Tour.

We awoke to rain headed into the area and decided to wait out the small front. We breakfasted at Jeffrey’s Family Restaurant next door and walked back in the rain. In an unexpected and unprecedented move, Kevin went for a haircut. The rain moved on and we left around 9 AM, heading east on Rte 41 to Rte 28 which ran along the shore to Munising where it turned south then east across the UP. This was a long, boring ride until we reached Newberry where we turned north on 123 to Paradise. We had both been looking forward to revisiting The Inn where we had lunch during the Lake Michigan Circle Tour in 2020. As then, we both had the brisket sandwich – which was why we had made this detour. Fantastic.

We headed south on 123 to the Curley Lewis Memorial Highway which runs along the shore and which we had traveled in ’20. We stopped, as we had before, at the Naomikong Overlook for the view. We immediately noticed that another front had been sneaking up behind us during lunch. We quickly decided to saddle up and out run it, if possible. In Bay Mills it looked like we were caught so we sheltered at a park pavilion; however, the storm had stalled. We waited a while and when nothing happened, we donned our rain gear and took off for Brimley to join I-75 to Sault Ste Marie MI and on into Canada. We were splattered but never actually rained on. To cross into Canada required traveling the International Bridge, a lengthy, high, two section suspension bridge for which we were not mentally prepared. Nevertheless, in a few minutes we were safely at customs and, after a few perfunctory questions, admitted to Sault Ste Marie, Canada (referred to locally as “The Soo”). Our destination for the night was McCauley’s, about 30 minutes north of The Soo at Haviland Bay.

McCauley’s (Motto: Relax in a beautiful way.) is run by a young couple who bought and renovated it over two years. Rooms very nice and clean, although no A/C. This is an old school motel, where you park in front of your room. We immediately occupied two Adirondack chairs in front of the rooms and began drinking Molsons and taking in the scenery and people, all of whom gave a smile and friendly greeting. We had dinner at the attached restaurant. I had pierogies cooked with bacon and onions. Delicious. Very homey place and strongly recommended.

Parts 2 - 4 will be posted over the next three days.