Sudbury Ontario to Interlochen Michigan

The VROC Great Lakes gathering in Interlochen, Michigan normally takes place about the third weekend of August. Some northern members from Michigan, Ontario, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin (plus an occasional few from further afield) descend on Cycle-Moore Campground for a few days of fun and frolic. This year, the schedule was advanced by a couple of weeks so we went right from the Freedom Rally to getting ready to head across the border.

I once put a question up on Facebook asking if people get ready to do something and then spend time waiting or if they determine the last possible minute they need to be ready, calculate the time required to prepare and then kill time until they have to start. As a procrastinator (I was going to take a course to learn how to fix this but I kept putting it off), I am of the latter persuasion. I did load the bike yesterday, but I didn't pack my bags or load the camping gear until this morning. It drives Sandy nuts.

We finally got underway at 8:30 AM under sunny skies. The temperature was already 75F as we stopped at McDonald's to get breakfast to go. Sandy prefers Mickey's coffee to Timmy's, and I have to agree with her even though it might cost both of us our Canadian citizenship. While in there, the kiosk I was using locked up and the staff was very confused about who was supposed to get what. Automation has its drawbacks. We were rolling by 8:50 with the GPS projecting an ETA of 3:19. My educated guess was that we would cover the 367 miles by 5:00 PM.

The trip to the Soo was uneventful. I had been worried about the one lane bridge over the Spanish River but there were no cars lined up and we were only held up by the red light for a couple of minutes. There was another brief one lane stop just west of Blind River. Apropos of nothing, someone on XM radio was pushing a device that attaches under the steering wheel of a car and blocks cell phone calls. Did they ever give consideration to just turning the phone off?

I like the plate

We reached The Soo and followed Wellington Street to the bridge to the USA. They have done some road work near the bridge plaza. I would like to ask Soo city staff who decided to remove the traffic lights at Cathcart and Huron Streets? Now there are stop signs on Cathcart, while Huron is a through street. If you are trying to turn left on Huron to get to the bridge, a kink in the road leaves you blind from the left and traffic moves towards you fairly quickly. Anyone with the slightest bit of common sense would have seen the risk, but civil servants don't always seem to have this commodity. Please, if not a traffic light, at least a four way stop!!!

After starting onto the bridge at 1:10 PM, we reached the US Border Services booth by 1:25. Only two questions. What are you up to and what's in the trailer? Welcome to the USA.

Want to buy a steel mill?

International Bridge - not much traffic our way

We stopped for our first cheap gas at the Holiday station just across the border.

I'm not sure what is so pure about Michigan

Seen at the Holiday Gas Station

We headed south on I-75 into southwest quartering winds that made the trailer a little twitchy. An hour after we cleared US Customs, we left the Upper Peninsula and crossed the Mackinac Bridge. I had to decide whether we wanted to take US 31 to Petoskey or stay on I-75 to Gaylord. US 31 was a bit shorter but was a rough road in spots and had lots of reduced speed zones for communities. I opted for Gaylord and the super slab.

Mackinac Bridge (again)

Fine looking outfit

There was a bit of a rush hour crowd as we reached Gaylord about 3:45. We took a short hop west on Michigan 32 to Alba and US 131 and then south to Kalkaska where we turned west again on M 72. Michigan 31, 3 Mile Road, Hammond and Keystone took os to US 31 again and Interlochen. We pulled into Cycle-Moore just after 5:00 PM.

New traffic circles on M72 near Traverse City

Beautiful Traverse City waterfront

94F as we approach Interlochen

It was hot as we unloaded the bike and set up the new 9 x 20 tent, but we got it all done. By the time we finished, I was (as my friend Vinnie has said) "sweating like a pedophile in a playground". OK, the phrase is crude but it is descriptive. Flip had arrived from South Carolina and the three of us jumped in the car and went to Subway back at the crossroads for a bite to eat. Then we stopped at Tom's Grocery for ice and a few supplies. Back at the campground, the gathering was quiet as people caught up on who had been doing what.

Mellow gathering

Big Grouch plus Joe and Shirley in front of their condo

Joe and Wilson racing custom Big Wheels

We didn't stay up too late. Actually, we never stay up too late any more. Around 11:00 PM, we just slipped away.

Today's Route (391 Equinox miles):

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23rd Annual Freedom Rally - Sudbury Ontario

The Freedom Rally, organized by the Freedom Riders Motorcycle Association of Northern Ontario, Inc., is over for another year.

Steve waiting for registration to open

Sandy once swore she would never camp on the ground again. There are times, though, when camping is the optimum solution and the Freedom Rally is one of those occasions. So is the VROC Interlochen gathering next week. We now have camp cots and Sandy made memory foam mattresses for them. They were used when we had the large cargo trailer. We also have a 9 x 9 Coleman dome tent, but the cots won't fit in it. I searched a found a tent on special at Canadian Tire. It has a 9 x 20 footprint, plenty large enough for two cots, two chairs and a table.

The rally, held at the Mine Mill Campground on Richard Lake south of Sudbury, officially starts at noon on Friday but club members showed up Thursday evening to set up. This included decorating the hall, preparing the registration packages and ensuring everything is in place. A few rally guests also showed up early. How smooth everything goes depends on how well the committee, who had been meeting for six months, planned things out. After twenty-two prior rallies, the old timers have a lot of experience doing this but the preparation is still a lot of work.

Friday morning, Sandy and I took the new tent down and set it up. It was a bit more work than a simple dome, but not that much more. The heat and humidity made the job a little oppressive.

My main job during the rally is Treasurer. Between registration, concession sales, merchandise and a variety of fundraising activities, a lot of cash changes hands and someone needs to keep track of it. This year, I was also the Assistant Rally Director. These roles kept me hopping all weekend. A few people, like Rally Director Ken, his significant other Carole (Smurfette) and some committee members also worked the whole time. Most other members signed up for a fixed number of shifts. Sandy did all her work in registration the first day. Friday night, honorary members Spyder's Web entertained in the hall, free hot dogs were served on the deck and the bonfire went on for quite a while.

Each morning started out with a complimentary continental breakfast. Somehow, that included a lot of really good bacon this year. Well done.

Saturday, three escorted group rides set out for the day. That night, there was more music courtesy of Spyder's Web, more hot dogs and another fire. One of the high points of the weekend was a wedding. Rally Director and Freedom Riders VP Ken and Freedom Riders Merchandise Director Carole (Smurfette) got hitched on Saturday evening. The processional was a chorus of revving motorcycles. After the ceremony, there was a parade around the campground led by the blushing bride on her Spyder with the groom riding bitch. It was a pleasure to witness the nuptials of such a nice couple.

Sunday, Pastor Jack conducted a worship service in the morning and motorcycle games in the field occupied the afternoon. The evening banquet was catered by Classic Catering, who have been feeding the Freedom Rally in fine style for many years. This year, they served 148 people, up from our usual 130. After the meal, various awards were announced and prizes were determined. Then there was a final bonfire.

It was dry Sunday night so Sandy and I took down our tent to avoid the morning dew. Mosquitoes came out in droves at 9:00 PM (none before that) making us rush the last bit. We took everything home and spent the night there.

Monday morning, everyone had breakfast and we said goodbyes to our guests. All the gear was loaded in trailers and trucks and a convoy of vehicles wound its way to the club sheds in Hanmer where everything was packed away for another year.

If we made any money this year, and I am sure we did well, the club members will allocate most of it to a donation fund we keep to support local children's charitable causes, as required by our bylaws. There used to be a circuit of club rallies around the province but this is about the last one. Club members are determined to keep it going and are planning for a major celebration at the 25th in 2018.

Richmond Kentucky to Sudbury Ontario

It was Sandy's birthday today and we would be spending it on the road. Happy Birthday!

The original plan was to take two days to get home but that changed. It was a little less than 900 miles and I believed we could do that in one. As a result, we didn't wait for the hotel breakfast. Instead, we were northbound by 5:57 AM. The only early rider we saw on the way out was Tbone.

It was still dark and 73F with patches of fog as we started out. It was amazing that the land was so flat around Lexington and yet, just a few miles east, there were the rugged rocky hills we had been traveling through yesterday.

We stopped at a very clean and fast McDonald's in Crittenden, Kentucky. They had chicken & waffles and biscuits & gravy on the menu but I couldn't see eating either of those while I was driving. I had my usual Sausage McMuffin. Sandy had a smoothie with her breakfast, unusual for anyone but her.

Sunrise over Kentucky horse country

As we approached the Ohio line, we needed to make a decision. We could continue north on I-75 back into the heart of Urban Michigan or we could head northeast to Buffalo and the Peace Bridge. It was slightly longer but we picked northeast.

A familiar Kentucky landmark

The Cincinnati skyline

I-71 was under construction just like every other road in Ohio. We followed it through Columbus and got onto I-271, which took us to I-90 east of Cleveland. Something we noticed along the way were three separate snow plow trucks driving north with their distinctive flashing white, amber and green lights. It was a hot summer day, so we had trouble imagining what they were doing until the radio gave us a clue. Cleveland was preparing for the GOP convention to start tomorrow and the plows were going to be used for security barricades to keep vehicles with bombs from getting access to the arena area.

Interesting cement work

On I-90, we stopped at the Angola Service Center to grab lunch to go and top up the gas tank with much cheaper US fuel. As we left the Thruway, an electronic sign said the wait time at the Peace Bridge would be 30 to 60 minutes.

Buffalo New York

Yikes!!

We started onto the Peace Bridge at 3:05 amid three lanes of stopped traffic. By 3:12 we were over the border and at 3:20, we were waved into the NEXUS lane. By 3:30, we had been cleared by a remote Border Services officer using an intercom and were underway again.

Home again

We love NEXUS lanes (where they have them)

Does anyone know what this is?

Redrum MC - First Nations motorcycle club

The rest of the trip home was almost uneventful. We took the ETR 407 toll road because it was a summer Sunday and traffic around Toronto was going to be intense. In fact, when we were heading north on Highway 400 away from The Big Smoke (Toronto), southbound traffic was stopped for many miles.

Someone was having a bad day

DeSoto from the tail fin era

Highway 400 North at King

Highway 400 north of Barrie

The reason I said "almost uneventful" was because we stopped at the On Route Service Centre in Barrie and got some Tim Horton's to go. I had a bacon ranch wrap and coffee. Somehow, while I was chewing on the wrap, I punctured my tongue with a molar. Not the edge, mind you, but right in the middle. It bled quite a bit, but stopped after 60 miles or so. Then it started to hurt.

Ouch!!

The temperature was dropping as we moved north and light rain started as we approached Horseshoe Lake Road south of Parry Sound. We pulled into our driveway about 9:00 PM at 65F with mild rain after having covered 878 miles. It was a good day to end a good trip.

Today's Route (878 Equinox miles):

Interactive map

Richmond Kentucky - Natural Bridge

Sandy and I got down to the breakfast room a little after 7:00 AM. A few were already there and others wandered in while I was chowing down on more biscuits, gravy and sausage. I wonder why I can't lose any weight? There was some talk about going to a gorge today but I didn't pay much attention at the time. After we ate, Sandy and I went back to our room so I could look after a few chores. Blogs, bills, that sort of thing.

I guess I lost track of time because, when I looked, it was 10:00 AM and I saw that the bikes were gone. The central hallway acted as an insulator so we didn't notice any departure activity. Now what did they say? A gorge? The only gorge I was aware of near here was the Red River Gorge close to Natural Bridge. We went there during WWR in 2009, so maybe that was it. Regardless, it would be a nice drive.

I put our fate in the hands of Mr. Garmin, gave the GPS the Natural Bridge State Resort Park as a destination and just followed directions. This can be problematic if you are trying to cover some ground but can also be fun if you are just wandering. The GPS took us east on Kentucky 52 to Irvine, north on Kentucky 82 to Clay City and then southeast on the Bert T Combs Mountain Parkway. After a quick stop in Stanton for fuel, we continued until we exited the Parkway on Kentucky 11. The Natural Bridge access road was a short way up 11.

The Natural Bridge parking lot wasn't very full when we pulled in. However, there weren't any familiar looking motorcycles so we prepared to pull back out and look elsewhere. Just as I put the car in gear, a line of bikes led by a blue sidecar outfit and followed by a red Slingshot appeared and pulled in to park. We found them or they found us. Didn't matter. If they had been five minutes later, we would have missed them altogether.

Look who we found

Looking around the parking lot, we saw one different looking vehicle. It carried the name Global Roamer 2 and had a link to their blog lettered on the side. They are from Australia and spend their time wandering all around the world, as the map and licence plates can attest.

Global Roamer 2

These were only a few of the licence plates

I've been everywhere, man.......

The group decided they wanted to see the Natural Bridge. There were two ways to do this. You could walk up the long, steep trail to the top if you were fit and ambitious. Being neither of those, Sandy and I joined the rest of the crew and bought tickets to ride the Sky Lift to the top. Round trip tickets, since walking down can be as bad as walking up.

Wrong Turn - I think the hat suits him

Sandy and I don't like heights. It's a toss-up as to which of us don't like heights more than the other. But we can sometimes distract ourselves when we need to go somewhere that isn't flat land. Today, we distracted ourselves with just about anything that didn't involve looking down.

Our way to the top

The Sky Lift starts out innocently enough

Goes without saying

Big Dawg ahead of us and Phillip, Jaime and Caleb ahead of them

The grade gets steeper and is almost vertical at the end

The welcoming party

Once we got to the top (it took a while because the Sky Lift kept stopping for short periods of time), we walked over to the top of the Natural Bridge, a large sandstone arch. Some of the group went down below but we waited above. There was another point that offered a view of the arch from the side.

Trail options abound

Standing atop the bridge

The other point

After looking around, we decided to head back down. The Sky Lift left the station and started straight down before leveling out somewhat for the rest of the ride to the lower station.

Sandy and Tbone ready to descend

They mean stuck ON THE CHAIR

The almost perpendicular part

Tbone approaching the bottom

When we all convened back in the parking lot, the consensus was that we were hungry. There was a DQ back in Stanton that everyone agreed that would do the trick. Everyone except Wrong Turn and KT, who were still on the mountain. We left a note on their motorcycle and they caught up to us in Stanton..

The DQ was nice and they had a $5.00 special consisting of burger, fries, drink and a sundae. Then the group headed south on Kentucky 213, which I would put on the list of great Kentucky motorcycle roads. It had the right amount of twists and winds and I even had fun chasing the group in the Equinox. We got to watch Stewey and Cheap B play, dropping back and then riding hard to catch back up again. When we reached Kentucky 52, everyone turned west and returned to Richmond. We arrived just before 4:00 PM.

The road back to Richmond

In the parking lot, we saw a pickup truck with a Kawasaki KLR 650 dual sport motorcycle on a rack across the back. I just had to look and, sure enough, the whole rack and motorcycle were being carried by the hitch receiver. That seemed to be an excessive amount of weight, but it appeared to be working for him.

Interesting motorcycle rack

You can see all that is holding it up

In the room, Sandy discovered that Facebook Messenger now allowed her to phone other Messenger users via WiFi. That is tablet to phone. She did this despite me telling her it wouldn't work. She called KT and then the two of them called Sherm in Arizona to verify the service. Wow, new things every day.

Tomorrow, Sandy will be 65 years old (although you would never know that by looking at her). I had asked Cargo before we left to come down here if we could have a group supper to celebrate since we would be on the road tomorrow. Cargo said sure. This morning, we talked and I decided that Sandy would probably like Olive Garden.

Cargo called and found Olive Gardens didn't take reservations. He went over before 6:30 and asked for a table for 22. We followed a little while later and they were still setting up. The staff had good senses of humour as we joked with them. The manager, a middle aged lady, was particularly friendly.

Rainman explaining how good it feels to be out of the "institution"

Eventually, we were escorted to a large table. Still, they miscounted and we needed a second small table. Sandy got to sit at the head of the big table and hold court. After the entrees, the staff brought out a birthday cake that Phillip, Jaime and Caleb had gotten. It had a personalized birthday greeting and a picture of a motorcycle on it.

All in all, it was a memorable way to spend a milestone birthday. Many thanks to Cargo for the planning, Phillip, Jaime and Caleb for the cake, KT and Wrong Turn for the meal and everyone else for sharing the celebration.

Long table of scary people

The birthday girl

Cutting the cake

The overflow table

After supper, we returned to the hotel and hung out in the parking lot. Some of us had long drives tomorrow so we didn't stay up too late. The one notable moment was when a large white rooster (about six feet tall and dressed in a white T-shirt and shorts) made a quick run around the group crowing loudly. It got away due to the surprise factor, but there were promises that if it retunrs in the future, it will end up deep fried.

Sandy and I packed our bags and put some of them in the car before we turned in for the night.

Today's Route (105 Equinox miles):

Interactive map