Cooler by the Lake
The Great Lakes that is, all five of them.
Some of you may remember that last year around this time I had planned to do this Great Lakes Challenge thing with the Team Strange Wackos. Ride around all of the Great Lakes with 140 of your closest friends all according to Iron Butt regulations. Well I got sick just before the ride but still showed up for the start only intending to ride a little ways and then head for home with a DNF. So I had some unfinished business to take care of and this past weekend I finished what I started last year.
This is one of the Iron Butt certified rides see http://www.ironbutt.com/rides/gl50.htm for details. In a nut shell the requirements are to document by way of a gas receipt that you traveled through Duluth MN, Thunder Bay ON, Sudbury ON, Watertown NY, Cleveland OH and Illinois. Do this in under 100 hours and earn a Great Lakes certificate, do it in under 50 hours and earn a Great Lakes GOLD certificate. Right there on the IBA web site it says “Please note that depending on the route you take, the mileage around the Great Lakes is 2,450 miles. Attempting to earn this certification in less than 50 hours is not recommended” so of course I set my goal for under 50 hours. To give you some perspective the shortest coast to coast route is from San Diego CA to Jacksonville FL which is 2350 miles. The Great Lakes route is not only 100 miles longer but 1175 miles of it are two lane highway.
My plan was to start and finish in Duluth MN with a break for some sleep in
North Bay ON. So Thursday after work I rode to Duluth and checked into the
Motel 6 and made my final preparations. One of those preparations was to get cash so I walked over to the gas station next door and used the ATM. One of the strange things that happens to you once you start this certified ride thing is you always look at your receipts. Not at the total or how much tax you paid but is there the name of the town your in, the time of day and the date, this is the info needed on a receipt for documentation from the IBA. I notice this is a “good” receipt. I walk back to the motel and get to see the early stages of the lunar eclipse over the Duluth Harbor. I finish packing for the morning departure, check the weather channel one last time and get some rest.
I chose this spot to start from for a few reasons. A cheap motel, it’s right on the freeway and right next door is a restaurant and gas station with pay at the pump for a quick departure. So after a good breakfast I pack the last things on the bike and roll over to the gas station. I fill up and check my receipt, time, date but no town just a store number, shoot. I head into the store and ask the clerk to give me a receipt from the register still just the store number, shoot. Back out at the bike I look down the block and see another gas station. Then I remember, the ATM! Back in the store, swipe my card, enter PIN, balance inquiry and out pops a “good” receipt, 6:28 am and I’m on the clock.
I head out through Duluth and northeast on Hwy 61, of Bob Dylan fame and just enjoy the beautiful but slightly chilly morning along Lake Superior. Getting ready for this ride I had some trouble with my mental preparation. I wasn’t looking forward to this ride I was actually dreading it some. Two or more hard days on the road, 1200 miles of interstate, big cities, Cleveland, Toledo and worst of all, the city I hate to drive through most of all, Chicago. I hadn’t yet convinced myself this would be fun. So the mind set is, if the ride gets crappy for some reason and I’m not enjoying myself this ride turns into a vacation rather than an endurance test. I’ll get a room and just have some fun exploring where ever I end up and work my way home at my own pace. But for now the road is nice and the scenery is great and I’m having a good time.
The towns click by, Two Harbors, Castle Danger, Silver Bay then I remember I need a water sample. I’ve brought with me 5 vials to collect a sample from each of the Great Lakes to display with my certificate. Some folks that do the coast to coast ride will do this, get a vial of water from both oceans. So I find a spot where the road is nice and close to the lake and fill the vial marked “S”, pack it back on the bike and head for the border.
Crossing the border is a snap, a couple of easy questions and its “have a nice day, enjoy Canada”. I’ve got my passport, my bike registration, my insurance card complete with a Canadian endorsement. Do they want to see any of it? No. It’s like bringing your rain suit on a bike trip, if you bring it you don’t need it but if you forget it, you know what happens.
From the rolling hills outside of Thunder Bay you get glimpse of the Lake and some spectacular islands with tall soaring cliffs that match the cliffs inland on this side of the border. TB is a required stop so I find a convenient convenience store to gas up. Filling the PC from dry now requires 10.2 gallons! One of the additions I made to my bike before I left was the 6 gallon auxiliary gas tank. It’s an outboard motor fuel tank strapped to the passenger seat. I got the idea from former PC owner Chuck Chiodini who also did some long distance riding on his PC. Continuing northeast, in Nipigon Hwy 11 splits off to the north and with it most of the trucks and there I also locate a rest stop I found on my Lake Superior Circle tour. It over looks the Gulf of Ignace where the Islands of Nirvana reside I take a short break and have a snack at the northern most spot on the trip. Hwy 17, the Trans Canada Hwy, is a nice road real nice for a motorcycle trip but the speed limits here in Canada are let’s say somewhat stifling for a guy on a schedule like mine. As luck would have it I find a couple of “rabbits”, not the cute fuzzy ones. A guy in a pickup and another in a Cadillac and they’ve both got some where to go and need to get there in a hurry. I tuck in behind them about a quarter mile back and make some very un-Canadian like time.
I roll into Wawa ON around 4:00 pm and now the sky has turned overcast, a harbinger of things to come. Here I leave Hwy 17 and get on a secondary, hmmm maybe a thirdary road, Hwy 101. It’s good road but there’s almost no other traffic and this really heads off into the wilderness. About 40 miles down 101 I turn south on 129. This little detour was part of the Team Strange route from last year. I don’t think it’s any shorter but you miss the slow down of going through Ste. Saint Marie. As I’m soon to find out it’s more to challenge and entertain the rider. OBTW, it’s raining now, not really raining just a heavy drizzle. As I head south on 129 the road ahead look like it turns to gravel! I squint to see better. The road changes to a definite light brown color and the closer I get I can now see that it is in fact paved. Unfortunately the term paved is being very generous in the description of this road. It’s rough and coarse and cracked and generally a piece of you know what. As I head south on this poor excuse for a road ducking and dodging the big holes I remember back to the pre-ride banquet from last year. A couple of Canadian riders commenting on this road “oh, hey look their taken us down 129, eh. Yoo know da last time I was on dat road hey, I blew out my fork seals, eh”. From here it’s about 60 miles yet to hwy 17 and smooth pavement and about half way there it gets even better. I come across a curve warning sign “50 kph next 20 km”. WOW what a road, oh it’s still rough as ever but this is like a back woods roller coaster with dips and drops that put your stomach in your throat. All this and the road follows along the Mississiagi River lined with big pines and the occasional moose. Oh yeah, moose, by this time I spotted a few most are just off the road a ways in some swamp but I did come across one poised to cross the road in front of me. It wasn’t close at all but as soon as I saw him I grabbed a big handful of brakes, I wanted to stop as far away from him as possible. Once I got down to 20 mph or so I tooted the horn at him and he just looked up at me, turned around and trotted back into the bush. This was not threatening at all but it was sobering, these are LARGE creatures and I didn’t want to tangle with one.
I finally reach hwy 17 and the pavement is finally smooth again. A little farther down the road and I’m on the lookout for a spot to fill my second vial. In Blind River I spot a boat ramp and ride down to the end and pull out the vial with the letter “H” on it, scoop my sample and I’m back on the highway. Now the sun is beginning to set and the drizzle is still coming down and this combined with the headlights of oncoming traffic is blinding me. My night vision must be getting worse because there were times I couldn’t see the road at all. I tried following a couple of cars, that helped a little. Finally I hooked up with a semi truck and that worked pretty good. I followed him into Sudbury around 10:00pm and called it quits for the night. This was about an hour short of where and when I planned to stop so I hope to be able to start an hour earlier than planned in the morning.
I find a Super 8 and check in. This turns out to be a real nice place for a Super 8. I soak in a hot tub for a while and shower, I eat some trail mix, ice my knees, go over some maps for tomorrow, make some hot tea, check the weather and finally, get some sleep. I had planned for a 6 hour stop, stop at 11:00pm and leave at 5:00am. So now I had stopped at 10:00 pm I need to get on the road at 4:00am. I set the alarm for 3:30 and hope that the rain will have ended by then. Lights out.
When my alarm goes off at 3:30 am I stumble to the window and look outside only to see that it’s still raining so the same visibility troubles will plague me. I reset the alarm a return to bed, I can’t say I was looking forward to getting back on the bike at 4:00am, the bed seems like a much better idea right now. Once I’m up, pack, gassed and on the road it’s just past 6:00am. I’ve been stopped 2 hours longer than I had planned. Before I reach North Bay I spot a local cafe in Sturgeon Falls, seven pick-up trucks, hmmmm must be a good place to eat. So I do and it was. The rain has stopped and the road is drying, there’s even an occasional spot of blue sky. As I move farther East and South approaching Ottawa I find myself in an area that I believe is known as Cottage Country, lots of small towns, lakes and resorts. This is a holiday weekend for the Canadians, Victoria Day is Monday and everyone is headed to the cabin. Fortunately I’m headed away from the cabin so there’s not too much traffic the way I’m going but it make passing more challenging. There’s also more small towns to slow down for and so my mediocre Canadian pace is slowed even more. Finally I turn off of Hwy 17 heading south for the 1,000 Islands Bridge the traffic lessens but the small towns increase and my frustration with my pace is beginning to increase. It’s now noon and I still haven’t reached the bridge and the half way point of my ride I’m sure that my 50 hour goal is out the window. I cross over the bridge and the border at 1:24 pm and look around for a place to get my Ontario water sample. I find a small park to dip my vial then a gas station to remove some of my warm clothes, now the sun is out and it’s a beautiful day to ride. I grab my phone and give Tim Davies a call, “hey Tim, this is Rick, watcha doin? Wanna go for a ride? I’m in the neighborhood.” Tim agrees to meet me at a gas station near his house just off I 90 with a new cigarette lighter plug for my electric jacket. The weather was so nice at this point I considered not even asking him to help me out but this really saved my bacon later. So now I’m 30 hours in to my ride and just past the half way point and I’m trying to figure out my game plan for the rest of the ride. Then I got thinking to myself “There’s no way I could make it now, I’d need to average, hmmm, what would I need to average to make it? Let’s see 20 hours to go and 1200 miles that’s about 60 mph average. Sixty mph!! F**k’n A!! I can do that!!” So I grabbed a hand full of throttle and hit the road with a new found enthusiasm.
I meet Tim at exit 41, as I gas up Tim gets ready to fix up my jacket. We’re on our hands and knees on the side walk out in front of the gas station with tools and crimp connectors and zip ties spread out all over, quite a sight I’m sure. We chat a bit while I woof down a power bar and I hit the road. I’m just knock’n down miles until just before Erie PA and I pull off the interstate to get my Lake Erie sample. Now on to Cleveland.
I’m gassing up just outside of Cleveland and have just stuck the gas nozzle into the 6 gallon auxiliary tank when a cop pulls up. Now I’ve tried to keep my bike as stealthy as possible. I’ve got the big honk’n lights on the front but I keep the covers on them and cover those over with black tape so they don’t draw too much attention. I tried to do the same thing with my gas tank, I found a large gym bag that the tank fit in and placed the tank in that and then on the back of the bike so it just looks like a big duffel strapped to the passenger seat. I don’t need some cop seeing this big red gas tank strapped to my bike and thinking “What’s that boy up to??” So needless to say I’m a bit startled by the cop and he’s a little taken a back by the fact that I filling my duffel bag with gas. As it turn out he’s just a former PC owner and curious about the bike and how far I’ve come. Whew!
Just as I get back on the road I miss a turn on the freeway and end up several miles out of my way, but there was entertainment, a police chase! Just before I missed my turn there were a couple of squads heading some where in a big hurry, lights no siren. As I got further down the road I saw squads parked in the median between the openings in the concrete barriers. Then came the perp with a couple of squads right on his tail all followed by what seemed like 30 more squads all with lights a blaze. All very Blues Brothers like. Now I’ve got to turn around and go down that same road they were on I hope they don’t forget one of those tack strip things and leave in the road for me.
More miles. Now I’m just west of South Bend I want to be full of gas heading into the Chicago area. It’s after mid night and I don’t want to be looking for gas in the wrong neighborhood this time of night.
I’m at an oasis west of South Bend. It’s now near 1:00 am and I’m beginning to feel tired, more tired than usual at this time of night. I’ve been making great time, when I passed over the bridge my average speed to that point was 38 mph. To make 2400 miles in 50 hours you need to average 48 mph. At this point I was up to nearly 44 mph, making good progress but no time to stop for any length of time. I get some coffee to stay alert. I don’t like to do this, not because I’m a purist or anything but when I start to drink coffee to stay awake I need to keep drinking it. From this point on things begin to crumble a bit.
I forget to put in my ear plugs and need to stop, some time lost. I need to pee now that I’m drinking coffee and I choose an exit rather than an oasis to stop at so I have to pay the toll and find a gas station and then get a ticket before getting back on the highway, more time lost. I miss a turn in Chicago and wind up in O’Hara airport at 3:00am! I figure I just need to follow the road around past the arrival/departure gates and it will bring me back out to the freeway and it does but east not west! I get off at an exit and try to find a way back on going west, can’t find one. Try my GPS, but apparently it little brain is as scrambled as mine. I finally stop at a convenience store and ask directions. Directions from strangers can be hit or miss sometimes and I’m a bit concerned that this could get me in even more dodo, but the guy knew what he was talking about and the next thing you know I’m west bound again but I’ve lost a bunch of time. At my next gas stop in Rockford IL I need another cup of coffee, more time gone. Stop at a rest area somewhere in WI to pee, that coffee, more time bye bye. At some point just after dawn I’m startled by a couple of deer on the side of the road. I hadn’t seen them, not because they were hidden but I’ve become a rolling zombie, eyes wide open but the brain shut off. I’m off at the very next exit for some nap time. About a 20 or 30 minute nap and another cup of joe and I’m back out there, but more time lost.
It’s around this point I realize that the 50 hour goal won’t be met, not without some very elevated speeds and between my mental state and the Wisconsin State Troopers, that are out in force, that’s just not a good idea. So, some where just north of Eau Claire WI with just 145 miles to go the 50 hour window snaps shut. Damn!
I finally roll into Duluth and up to the same gas station I started at, go inside to the ATM, swipe my card, enter PIN, balance inquiry, out pops my finish receipt, 10:38 am CDT.
So my ride is filled with shoulda, woulda, coulda and few if onlys for good measure.
When your opponent is another human being and you make a mistake, if you’re lucky, he won’t be able to take advantage of it. Even when it looks like you’re beaten you can still hold out hope that he will falter and give you the opportunity for victory. When you compete against the clock that will never happen. The clock will never falter and every mistake you make will be taken full advantage of. A mistake free ride is the best way to meet your goal.
Here are some of the numbers;
Start and finish, Duluth MN
Total miles, 2449
Overall Average speed, 47.1
Moving Average, 65.4
Trip Time, 52 hrs. 10 min.
Trip Time Moving. 37 hrs 31 min.
Trip Time Stopped, 14 hrs 39 min.
Moose, 4 sightings of 6 moose
“Its only far if you don’t go.”
Danny Liska
Rick
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