Tour da UP

[junglejim]

This was posted elsewhere, but on the advice of DritFlier I'm re-posting it.

TurboJim and JungleJim are planning a ride in the UP of MI from about Aug 18 - 24. There is no route, no fees, and no promises. We hope to camp most of the time and just follow our noses around the best roads in the Upper Peninsula. We tentatively plan to meet in Grand Maris and both of are about one days ride from there. After that everything is negotiable. We can leave our base camp there and do day loops or find new camps wherever we land. There are lots of mom and pop motels in the UP if anyone wants those accommodations. TurboJim will be coming from southeastern MI (possibly via the MotoGuzzi alley at Interlochen MI) and JungleJim will be coming from NW WI. We may dip into WI but not into Canada.

While I'm here, if anyone would like to ride around the UP the week of 18 thru 24 , I'm planning on meeting JungleJim there , this is a weather providing ride as long as "things" work out. Planning on camping for the most part! Also might start it off with the Moto-Guzzi rally at CycleMoores in Interlocken Mi. the 16th thur the 18th!

Anyone interested give us a shout. Ride with us or just meet up for a day. We're just out to have fun.

DirtFlier suggested this post be moved from a different thread to avoid hijacking that thread. I guess he is trying to move up into a higher tax bracket by supplementing is income by becoming one of those overpaid moderators. Someone has to keep us mavericks on track.

 

[DirtFlier]

Yes, promoting the NT Gathering has been a truly lucrative venture for me!

Glad you U-P'ers have your own post now. I've crossed the UP two or maybe three times and always enjoyed it immensely.

 

[Miairhead]

I had the best breakfast ever in UP. Smoked brisket, eggs, and potatoes (yep used >e<). If my wife was not still nursing her ACL I'd ride up for a day. Almost always a bed (in RV) in West Michigan.

 

[Yoda]

I’d really like to see the UP with experienced guides. Very tempting, if only it weren’t for the 1700 miles across the midwest to get there. And back.

 

[junglejim]

Well it's over. The 2019 Tour da UP has ended. TurboJim and JungleJim rode for 5 days in the beautiful UP of Michigan. Here are some highlights.


We camped on the shore of Lake Superior at Grand Marais and viewed a great sunset and sunrise.


The weather was perfect and we rode the NE route first. It was Paradise.



Then we rode west and took our camp with us. We viewed numerous waterfalls, Lake Superior vistas, and the former K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base ending up in the Keweenaw Peninsula. The next day was our best day of riding the Tour. We took an early morning ride along the east shore. Good road, no traffic, great scenery.

The two Jims went to the Gay Bar (which was closed).


The we rode to the tip of the Keweenaw and went through the Fort Wilkins Museum, continued back down the west side on all the back roads and had time to tour the Quincy Copper Mine museum. We went down 350' into the mine. Then at the end of the day - well - uh -


we pigged out.

The last day took us west to the Porcupine Mountains and the Lake of the Clouds

And then further west to the mouth of the Presque Isle River.

Then after a short ride to Ironwood TurboJim got a motel for some well deserved rest and JungleJim rode another 70 miles west to home.

JungleJim thinks it isn't fair the TruboJim cheated on both ends of the Tour by taking In the MotoGuzzi rally in Interlochen before the Tour and then getting in another 2 days of riding home after the Tour. Well, fair or not, I'd do it again tomorrow - in fact I am going back to the UP next weekend, but for an archery tournament (the UPFAA Championships)

 

[Phil Tarman]

Looks like a great ride. I did the eastern part of the UP back in 2010 and rode in the hardest rain I've ever been in from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point through Paradise back to Sault Ste Marie. It was the only time I've evet been wet in my 'Stitch.

Thanks for taking us along with the great pictures!

 

[ARKNT]

Good pics. Looks like a great ride.

Brad

 

[Fieroguy]

Nice trip! That one is on my bucket list!

 

[junglejim]

Would have liked that. I lived two years (work) in the UP. And I'll be riding through in two weeks.

You have to know where to go, though. Much of the land is desolate...scrub growth after lumbering off, around 1950 or so. There's plenty of beautious pockets, but not everywhere is picturesque.

Lots of roads are just flat and straight and surrounded by scrub.

Well I’m back in UP again. Great weather - again.
Most of the logging was much earlier, around 1800. Logging remains a major industry today too.

 

[turbojim]

Hey Jim. remember the couple from Texas on the red trike we met at Wagner falls, I believe there was a fellow on an FB6 with them. I met them again yesterday next door to my sister cabin in the lower peninsula, they are looking at buying the house next door. Small world, to bad I remembered after they left. His bike was baked up along side of mine, I told him he looked very familiar!

 

[turbojim]

Here's another one of Jim enjoying the top of Michigan n one of the coolest lawnmowers!

 

[junglejim]

Wow, small world indeed. That guy from Texas has sure been around.

I had a good stay at Wonderland Motel in Ishpeming last weekend. Didn't do any extra sight seeing except for the ride up Deer Lake Road to South Camp road, twice, (on bad pavement). But the rides to and from Ishpeming were perfect. Love that 65 mph speed limit in MI, but some guy on a sport bike passed me like I was going backwards. I guess the cops were elsewhere.

TurboJim enjoying the "Tour da UP"

 

[DirtFlier]

Are you and TurboJim planning to ride east for our NT Gathering next May? It would be great to have you two and maybe others such as MikeSim could join you on the way.

 

[junglejim]

Are you and TurboJim planning to ride east for our NT Gathering next May? It would be great to have you two and maybe others such as MikeSim could join you on the way.

TurboJim and I have no plans, but we did talk about without committing.

I've given up on MikeSim - he won't even show up for ice cream.

It would be great if more members of from the "midwest" could make it to enjoy hour hospitality and ride your great roads for a few days. I don't know how to motivate them - I have enough trouble motivating myself. I can only tell others they are missing out on something good if they don't come. I guess we all have trouble with commitments. Besides, what would you do if 50 people showed up. You have a "right size" group now.

I shouldn't have thrown mud at MikeSim above. He really is a nice guy and he really did come to Spearfish - once.

 

[turbojim]

Are you and TurboJim planning to ride east for our NT Gathering next May? It would be great to have you two and maybe others such as MikeSim could join you on the way.

I certainly enjoyed this past years ride that you and Duane put together so as long as I can, I'll come again next year. I'm still hoping to get that way again this year, hopefully for the fall colors!

 

[mikesim]

TurboJim and I have no plans, but we did talk about without committing.

I've given up on MikeSim - he won't even show up for ice cream.

It would be great if more members of from the "midwest" could make it to enjoy hour hospitality and ride your great roads for a few days. I don't know how to motivate them - I have enough trouble motivating myself. I can only tell others they are missing out on something good if they don't come. I guess we all have trouble with commitments. Besides, what would you do if 50 people showed up. You have a "right size" group now.

I shouldn't have thrown mud at MikeSim above. He really is a nice guy and he really did come to Spearfish - once.

Well, hopefully I will be fully retarded... err... retired then and will have all the time in the world for such frivolity not to mention eating free ice cream!



Mike

 

[Frosty]

Great pics. Thanks.
I lived in the UP for 6 years in the 70's. The summer days were the best there, both of them.

 

[junglejim]

Well, hopefully I will be fully retarded... err... retired then and will have all the time in the world for such frivolity not to mention eating free ice cream!



Mike

And once again you will be wrong. You will enter a new time zone which will consume all the time and you won't even know it while it is happening.

 

[junglejim]

I lived in the UP for 6 years in the 70's. The summer days were the best there, both of them.

I'll bet most to the Airmen from K I Sawyer don't miss the UP but it is painfully obvious that the UP misses the Airmen.

The Government made a sizable effort to put the facilities to good civilian use when the AFB closed. Some of it worked but a bunch of it caused big problems. They converted a lot of living quarters to low income housing which attracted people that brought with them social and medical issues the Government forgot to anticipate. So an instant slum was created with insufficient means of dealing with the new issues. I suppose it may have improved the situation in some other inner-city areas, but the wind now blows through the broken glass windows of once nice buildings.

 

[Frosty]

We lived in base housing somewhat separated from the operational part. We later moved to a cabin on a small lake. I have seen other bases that transferred the housing area to local government while the Air National Guard used the operational areas. The decline of the housing areas were swift and disappointing.