Great Lakes Ride (s)

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101stpathfinder

Trading miles for memories
FJR Supporter
Joined
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Location
West Palm Beach, FL
I am going to attempt to do all the Great Lake rides in a 9 day time period. Each "Lake Ride" is a SS1000 and

can be used for I.B.A membership. If anyone is interested in joining up with me to ride any one/ or all of the rides,

shoot me a PM. The tentative schedule looks like this:

July 16- BBG West Palm Beach, FL to Sault Ste. Marie, MI

July 17- Lake Superior SS

July 18- Lake Michigan SS

July 19- Lake Huron SS (With transitional ride from Sault Ste. Marie, MI to Toledo, OH)

July 20- Lower Great Lakes SS

July 21-22 Great Lakes Gold (Under 50 hours)........ Great lakes (Under 100) if I fail the 50 mark

July 23- Toledo, OH to West Palm Beach, FL

July 24- Home

This schedule is subject to change- I would be willing to change the order of the first 3 "Lake" rides and

the Toledo, OH Start up location for the Lower Lakes SS and the Great Lakes Gold. By my estimates the rides

total about 9,900 miles in 9 days, so I might extend the ride home for a 10/10ths.

It would be great to share one or more of the rides! These are rides that I put on my "Must ride list" and

it doesn't make much sense to ride up and do them one at a time.

FWIW- In Sept. (?) I want to do the B2B2B in 48 hours... most likely out of AZ up I-15, if interested PM me.

Thanks, Tony

BTW- I could use witnesses if your are in the areas listed and I will be running SPOT for easy meet-ups.

SPOT added- Post #16

 
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That's when I'll be out west meandering over to MT for the GBU rally; Plan is to go to Tri-Cities, WA first (Richland) to see family, and, ahem, some of the FJR elite...

 
Should be a Scenic IBA ride :)

Which direction are you heading out of Sault St Marie for your LS1K?

The roumor I heard was the most scenic route was to do it clockwise, which me and opt8low did a few years ago...Butt starting in Sault St Marie that might not be such a good idea :( Them Mooses don't give to much...or so I have heard :blink:

 
Should be a Scenic IBA ride :)

Which direction are you heading out of Sault St Marie for your LS1K?

The roumor I heard was the most scenic route was to do it clockwise, which me and opt8low did a few years ago...Butt starting in Sault St Marie that might not be such a good idea :( Them Mooses don't give to much...or so I have heard :blink:
Cruzin',

Right now getting the bike ready is top priority, so planning will have to wait. These rides will really test my lighting

set up. I need to get some Aux. lights installed as I have been learning that with stock only, I find myself really dropping

speed at night. I am using Sault St. Marie for a staging area for the first 3 rides. I hope to establish a witness system

with their fire or police departments, as witnesses are one of my main concerns for these rides.

Thanks for the clockwise tip- any other tips?

BTW- On my way up to Alaska last year, I had a moose run in my direction on the side of the road. He turned away

into the woods by the time I had passed him. I heard they have been known to charge headlights (?)

 
I'm in SE Michigan, about 30 minutes from the Port Huron / Sarnia Bridge. I'm interested in the Huron ride, and if you need any sort of maintenance (oil change, etc), I have garage space. Once you get closer to the planning stage, let me know if I can help out with anything.

 
extrememarine,

Found it (Location)... Some of the Lake SS(s) I have found, that you must add miles to the shortest route

to make sure you are safely over the 1000 mile mark. That being said- I am going to plan my routes for simplicity.

Fewest highway changes are more important than cutting down the distance. Would you be willing to start in

Sault St. Marie, MI- or start at your hometown? How about the starting date? I can flip-flop the first 3 SS rides

to make it work for you. A meet up in route is also possible, as the SPOT will make it easy.

 
Should be a Scenic IBA ride :)

Which direction are you heading out of Sault St Marie for your LS1K?

The roumor I heard was the most scenic route was to do it clockwise, which me and opt8low did a few years ago...Butt starting in Sault St Marie that might not be such a good idea :( Them Mooses don't give to much...or so I have heard :blink:
Thanks for the clockwise tip- any other tips?
There is a A&W and Gas by the birthplace of Winnie the Pooh, White River,ON :eek:

 
I might be interested in maybe one of them... or more depending on time frame. I have a few days open in July.
Great! When you decide- just PM me with details.

If you have any info on the rides, tips, crossing times... please share them.

I need to search some ride reports too.

 
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I'd be interested in the Lake Michigan route

I'l also a ex member of the 101st abn
You are outside Milwaukee, A meet up near there is a possibility if you didn't want to ride north for the

start/finish. We could still ride most of the route together.

IIRC You also work in the PO. The Lake Michigan SS1000 rules (unwritten) do not allow one rider to

rub in the fact that they still have 7 years until they can retire, when they themselves are nearing

that majical "Ride whenever I feel like it" retirement date. :lol:

I will be planning the rides in full soon, I'll post specifics. My concern is staying on schedule, so I might

have to bend my plans where I can yet keep the overall schedule rolling. 10 border crossings, 14 sets of

witnesses and still averaging over 1200 miles a day will be a tough task.

 
I may be interested in the Lake Michigan ride, but my work schedule is unpredictable and vacation time is never guaranteed, so I'll have to wait and see. Also, I live in the Toledo area if you need a garage or tools for any maintenance. Phil

 
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I'd be interested in the Lake Michigan route

I'l also a ex member of the 101st abn
You are outside Milwaukee, A meet up near there is a possibility if you didn't want to ride north for the

start/finish. We could still ride most of the route together.

IIRC You also work in the PO. The Lake Michigan SS1000 rules (unwritten) do not allow one rider to

rub in the fact that they still have 7 years until they can retire, when they themselves are nearing

that majical "Ride whenever I feel like it" retirement date. :lol:

I will be planning the rides in full soon, I'll post specifics. My concern is staying on schedule, so I might

have to bend my plans where I can yet keep the overall schedule rolling. 10 border crossings, 14 sets of

witnesses and still averaging over 1200 miles a day will be a tough task.
What??? Do you mean because I'm at 736 days until I can ride anytime...... HEE HEE :yess:

 
UPDATE...

Less than 2 weeks until departure. Will leave West Palm Beach, FL for Sault st. Marie, MI

on Saturday 16 July at 4 am.

This ride will be a 10/10ths. The reason being is: With the IBA rules "Ride within a ride"

I am only required to have a witness at the START and FINISH of the 10/10ths. This will save

much needed time for rest.

The SCHEDULE:

Sat. 16th 4 am- BBG to SS Marie, MI (1663 miles)

Sun. 17th 8 am- Lake Superior (1069 miles) - Counter clockwise (CC)

Mon. 18th 4 am- Lake Michigan (1118 miles) (CC)

Tue. 19th 0 am- Lake Huron (1069 miles) Clockwise ©

Tue. 19th 8 pm- Transition to Toledo, OH (390 miles)

Wen. 20th 0 am- Lower Lakes (1026 miles) (CC)

Thu. 21st 4 am- Great Lakes Gold (2495 miles) (CC)

Sat. 23rd (?) - Ride home (maybe the LONG way home :p )

These are circular rides. Start and finish at your own location and ride with me.

I am leaving the fuel cell home- so I will be running on 6.6. If you are interested

in joining a ride- PM me and I can give you exact locations of departures. The times

are really more or less, My goals. The Lake rides are all SS1000. I have routed some

for more miles ie Lake Michigan was routed around Chicago on I39S for ease of travel

AND the shortest route would leave a rider short of the required 1000 miles.

My SPOT for this ride is : https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=32264e11221887f30

 
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So 39 south from Rockford IL, to Rochelle IL and then East? If so you will be going past both my house and my office. Too bad you won't have time for lunch.

 
So 39 south from Rockford IL, to Rochelle IL and then East? If so you will be going past both my house and my office. Too bad you won't have time for lunch.
Actually Tim, I-39 south to LaSalle- then east on I-80... My wife's friends are from Peru (S.A.) so... A receipt from Peru

would give a nice corner and a laugh. :p

 
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