stutters July 23, 2008 Share stutters GC Alumni July 23, 2008 i found out this weekend my grandmother (92) who has been living with alzheimer's is going into hospice care. my grandfather (96) is also having failing health. they've both lived incredibly rich lives and been under the incredible care of my uncle who has lived with them for some time. leaving the corporate world behind me, i'm in the good fortune of being able to work remotely. even more fortunately, my employer just bought me my own (get to keep it forever) mac book pro, which is the power i need to be fully independent of my desktop. funny how all this timing works out. so, long story short, i'm mailing some stuff back to my parents place near grand rapids, michigan. i'm taking my bike through the northern wisconsin, through michigan's upper peninsula, across the mackinaw bridge, then down through scenic northern michigan. the guys i ride with caught wind of it, and it sounds like we're going to have a small army making the trip. should be quite the trip. i'm sure we'll be doing a photo log of the trip - if anyone is interested, i'll post links to them, otherwise, ....in a week or so (no firm dates, yet). how exciting, my first biker gang! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magruter July 23, 2008 Share Magruter Member July 23, 2008 Rubber knife gang on the prowl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demoner July 23, 2008 Share Demoner Member July 23, 2008 how far north are you planning on going thru the U.P. ? I suggest making a trip all the way up to Copper Harbor if you get the chance. Really, cool to see this time of year and right when the leaves are changing colors. Either way I hope you enjoy the trip and look forward to seeing pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmerisme July 23, 2008 Share farmerisme Member July 23, 2008 Sounds like a blast, how long are you going to be up there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stutters July 23, 2008 Author Share stutters GC Alumni July 23, 2008 we're going to try to make it to grand rapids in two days, which is pretty reasonable. we'll do about 500 miles the first day, 300 the 2nd. the guys im riding with are going drop me off and then make a loop through illinois back to minnesota. i think they're nuts, but they're going to make it back to minnesota on the 2nd day (yeah, about 700 miles in one day). since they're all going to be racing against the clock, we're going to keep a pretty tight route, so hug superior and stay down near escanaba and manistique. i actually spent some time in houghton @ mtu, so i know what you're saying about how nice it is up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demoner July 24, 2008 Share Demoner Member July 24, 2008 well either way man, Happy riding. Yeah 700 miles in one day is a bit nutz and crazy if you ask me. I've gone back in forth from school on my cycle 360miles one way, but even that i found to be a long ride. Granted my bike is 33yrs old and not very big so. I guess depending on what their riding (I'm guessing all 500cc and up) it probably wouldn't be quite as bad. Either way does sound like a fun trip. Now I really wish my cycle wouldn't of broken down on me this past 4th of july weekend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmerisme July 24, 2008 Share farmerisme Member July 24, 2008 Man from minneapolis to cleveland was like 766 and even in a car I felt braindead and exhausted after that drive. Tell em to be careful and take some breaks. 11 hrs on a bike, dang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stutters July 24, 2008 Author Share stutters GC Alumni July 24, 2008 i guess he's really shooting for the "saddle sore 1000." me? no thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bush July 25, 2008 Share Bush Member July 25, 2008 Have fun!! I've gone that way many times from Detroit Lakes (in a pickup), and always went through Duluth on Hwy 2 (you'll take 35 up to Duluth I assume). It's a great drive and when I did it I would push to Escanaba, Mi or if I got a late start in Iron River (the American Inn isn't bad there btw). Make sure you watch for the deer. Especially between Ironwood to Escanaba this time of year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clueless July 25, 2008 Share Clueless GC Alumni July 25, 2008 Dam....I wish I was up there, I would love to go....down here everything is so flat and straight...very boring, that is one thing I miss about the north, oh well...Have a safe ride man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boiler July 25, 2008 Share boiler Member July 25, 2008 Have a great ride up there! I'm sure the roads and scenery beat the heck out of the crap I have to ride around down here. btw, the thought of riding for more than 2 hours on a crotch rocket makes my body hurt. I would MAYBE consider making that ride on a Road King, but even then I have to stop for a few minutes every three hours so my butt doesn't go numb. You've got a good lookin bike though, so at least you will look good while your butt is sore and you're walking funny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymo July 25, 2008 Share anonymo Member July 25, 2008 Have fun buddy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunk July 25, 2008 Share Lunk Member July 25, 2008 What kind of bike do you own? I'm just curious what you'll be making the trip on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stutters July 25, 2008 Author Share stutters GC Alumni July 25, 2008 What kind of bike do you own? I'm just curious what you'll be making the trip on.2000 naked suzuki sv650. no saddlebags, no tank bags. just me, my backpack, and the wind at my back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stutters August 5, 2008 Author Share stutters GC Alumni August 5, 2008 alright, we're hitting the road early thursday morning. day 1, ~ 360 miles: day 2, my leg ~ 430 miles (a-d) day 2, andy's leg ~ 1000 miles (a-h) andy is going for the saddlesore 1000, some nutty award for putting in 1,000 miles in a single day. he's got about 40,000 miles of riding, so he's got the experience to know whether or not he can do it. i'd pass, if i had a choice. if there are any road pics worth sharing, i'll upload them from the hotel or once i make it to my folks. packing for this is pretty insane, too. i'm not sure how long i'll be there, so i'm shipping a box of clothes and computer crap. the mix is about 75% computer crap, 25% clothes. this will get interesting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoot August 5, 2008 Share shoot Member August 5, 2008 (edited) Just fly... It's much faster. I wish your grandparents the best. Elder parent/children relationship, or talk of it, is almost non existent now a day. Our parents have spent great part of their lives rearing us and It's only right to take care of them when old. It's great that they have a good son like your uncle. I'll pray for them. Ride safe brother. Edited August 5, 2008 by shoot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clueless August 6, 2008 Share Clueless GC Alumni August 6, 2008 Safe trip man, hope you have a great time...should be a blast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stutters August 7, 2008 Author Share stutters GC Alumni August 7, 2008 if you feel like following along, we're going to be posting updates here: http://michiganride.tumblr.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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