Mid-Michigan

Anyone from Michigan want to hook up and go for a ride some time or does anyone know of some nice rides. I live in Bay City.

Yeah Michigan. I live in Lapeer, a group of us from work drove up to Castaways in Bay City a few weeks back for a tuesday bike night. Pretty fun group, a few harleys, a few rockets, even a trike. I've been meaning to take a ride around the thumb all summer but haven't yet.

I have not stopped into Castaway's since I got the bike but I know the couple of times that I've been by there on Tuesdays they usually fill the parking lot up. If you ever want to go on that ride thru the Thumb let me know, I would be like to do that too. My dad and I and maybe my brother plan on going on a day trip in the next few weeks. We all get days off during the week.

Being originally from Marquette, MI (The UP)...........and my parents now live in Petoskey, MI. I may be coming up through Michigan sometime before the summer is over. I'll let you guys know if I pass on buy to possibly meet up.

-Nick-

Me and some friends from work did this route last Saturday - going counterclockwise from Lapeer (to PH first) It was pretty fun and not really twisty except for the bit of backroad we did when we got off the highway before Port Huron. It's starting to get a touch chilly off the lake though, so I was glad to be wearing my leather. I recommend you check out that lakeshore before it gets too cold.

from:M-24/S Main St @43.049950, -83.318630 to:M-19 @42.992739, -82.765276 to:Emmett Rd/M-19 @43.073266, -82.765575 to:43.020839,-82.455482 to:Gill Rd @44.066099, -82.934066 to:Grindstone Rd/M-25 @44.040622, -82.993685 to:Center St/M-25/N Unionville R

Thanks for the tip. Not sure if I will be able to go on any long rides the rest of the year but this is one I will do next year for sure.

I'm From East Lansing Area Lapeer & Bay City are a little ways out for me

Some of us on the forum are talking about doing a short tour around Michigan next spring some time. We havent really started making any definite plans yet. I would be willing to listen to any ideas/suggestions for a 2-3 day trip. I guy from work suggested that if I am going to go for a couple day trip to head over to the west coast of the state.

I'm kinda bummed that I live in the Northwest corner of the lower peninsula. A group ride sounds like a lot of fun.

I wouldn't be against heading up that way or meeting somewhere in between and going farther. I would like to found out how many people would be interested and than try and figure out a route to take.

I might be interested if you decide to do something later in the spring or summer and a couple of my close buddies would probably like to go... we were planning a trip to cedar point some time as well on our bikes.

[sent from my voyager]

I'm in for sure. I was on 275 yesterday and passed another FZ6 rider. It would be cool to have a group of people on the same bikes.

Whenever people would like to start doing some planning I am game.

DEFINITELY count me in!

I'm in Albion (off I-94 between Jackson and Battle Creek).

If anyone's up for a ride let me know.

dimitre977 said:

Whenever people would like to start doing some planning I am game.

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It's a long winter, but it would make sense to start thinking about routes and dates.... LET'S DO THIS!

Responses to these ideas.....?

(1) Length: How about a 2-3 day route totalling 600-900 miles? Having a fairly long route (with plenty of stops) would allow people to jump in at various points along the way. Folks wouldn't have to ride for the whole trip, but it would be good to have it run long and far enough that many could ride for at least a day. We could start the "official run" on either side of the state or maybe in the middle (Lansing?) depending on who wants in.

(2) Dates: I've done other rides on the Memorial Day weekend and that seems to work well. I realize it's not the best time for some people, but it seems as good as many and it would give us some flexibility. By late-May it's usually starting to warm up around Michigan. If we waited until later, it won't get easy to schedule stuff and everything gets more expensive.

(3) Route: I hate Detroit, but I'm sure lots of people are from that area. Perhaps we could organize several spots to meet up and then we'll head more to the north. Once we know who's interested we could plot out a map and develop a plan. I'd love to see a bit of the UP and I love the NW of the LP as well (there are some fantastic roads the run in the dune areas near the Lake - Manistee area is amazing too). Of course FOOD and BEER (at the end of the day) are major considerations as well. I've got that 'Motorcycling Across Michgan' book which could be a good resource.

(4) Camp or motel? I'm flexible, but it does get cold at night and I'm not sure most FZ6 riders have the cargo space to pack a tent and camping gear. A cheap, but decent motel is likely the best way to go.

(5) Open to all bikes (bring your friends), but organized by us.

I did a ride around Lake Erie last spring with a bunch of Harley guys (Sportster forum - I was the one non-HD rider in the bunch). Those guys needed to stop every 60 miles to smoke, stretch, and refuel. We still managed 300 miles a day easily. It was the best group ride I've ever done. We started in my town (Albion) and even had guys from Wisconsin, Illinois, and Baghdad (a guy on leave) come along. There were about 6 of us that did the whole ride around the Lake, but more than 50 bikes participated in total. Doing the same thing around Michigan might be easier than going into Canada (and cheaper).

Thoughts?

According to Google Maps a trip around Michigan would be roughly 1100 miles. I just put together a quick outline of the state. I didnt take into account where people would meet up or good places to stop but figured this might give us a starting point. This is the first time I looked at doing a circuit of Michigan and didnt know how far it would really be. If anyone has any suggestions I think you can drag and drop the route of the map as you want and then just link the new map to the thread here.

D-Mac, I agree with the idea of starting to plan now. As far as the rest of your questions:

#1- I agree with the 2-3 day ride. Once we know who would be interested and where they are from we could start coming up with places to meet up. Like you said if we have a route planned out ahead of times people could do as little or as much of it as they want.

#2- I dont know how traffic would be during the Memorial Day weekend but if that would work for others it would work for me.

#3- I agree with trying to avoid Detroit (and any other high traffic areas that could really slow us down). Your book would be of great help trying to set up a route.

#4- I would stay in a motel/hotel. I think it might be kind of hard to pack gear for camping with our unpredictable weather. Plus I'm not a big fan of tent camping.

#5- I agree with bringing along as many bikers as possible (I would try and get my dad and brother to go, they both ride BMW's) but the planning should be done by us here on the forum. If a friend has a suggestion great, post it and the ones of us here on the forum going can decide on it. But I think whatever route we choose we should stick to as closely as posibble.

what about a ride around lake michigan? start in lansing and it will take us around the lake, by chicago, through the UP, over the mac bridge, trough traverse city, then down through ludington, grand haven and holland, then though GR then back towards lansing??

Google Maps

FZTofer said:

what about a ride around lake michigan? start in lansing and it will take us around the lake, by chicago, through the UP, over the mac bridge, trough traverse city, then down through ludington, grand haven and holland, then though GR then back towards lansing??

Google Maps

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Good idea. I'd want to make sure we have enough riders willing to do the whole circle around the Lake. Going around the lake means that people would have a tougher time bailing out early or joining up late, but it also means we don't have to back-track.

Here's an idea.....how about a start in Michigan (say Lansing), then a ride over to the ferry (at Luddington I think?), cross the Lake, and then ride up and around the UP and back down the Lake Michigan shoreline? This would avoid Chicago, but folks from that area could meet up with us on the other side....just a thought. I'll try and play around with some maps tonight.

Here's a route taking the ferry from Ludington to Manitowoc Wisconsin. This route starts us in Lansing and then ends up back in Ludington. Just to give people an idea of cost I looked up prices for the SS Badger and right now it is $67 per person and then another $34 for the bike. The website says it takes 4 hours to cross the lake.