2023: A Girl, a Motorcycle, and a Gypsy Soul

I am so grateful that my dad and I can do annual trips together (and other local rides)!! This year we chose Michigan for a destination - partly for the weather forecast and partly because my dad got his new 2020 Spyder just a few weeks ago and he wanted to test it out closer to home after his 2019 Spyder debacle.  We cruised through the Upper Peninsula - there is some amazing country to ride through up here! And some pretty funny Yooper stops that I highly recommend (if you have a good sense of humor and are easily entertained)!! All things below are FREE!!!!  This guy is in Ironwood, MI - a bit off the beaten path. He happens to be the tallest Indian in the US.  Also in Ironwood - the Stormy Kromer hat factory. I admit, I didn't know what it was based on this - as the ones I have seen and know are red and black flannel hats with ear flaps on each side that can tie up or be left down. I thought this looked more like a hat from the Red Hat Club.  Here is what I know ...

I am beyond excited for this long weekend's trip with my dad! I woke up scoping out the weather app - I had to hustle if I wanted to miss the rain creeping quickly towards my house. I am not a morning person. Hustling in the morning is not an easy thing for me to do! But I made it!!! I beat the rain!               Leaving the clouds and rain behind me, eager to meet my dad to see where our 2020 adventure would take us! We met just outside of Jay Cooke State Park in MN and rode 210 through the park. 210 is a great road -there are tons of amazing viewpoints of the river, lots of fun corners, and the pavement quality is superb. From there we took 39 into Superior, WI. Super cool bridge - the train tracks get the top of the bridge, vehicles get the bottom. Luckily, no trains were above us. That would have freaked me out!   From there we jaunted around northwestern WI - turning on random back roads to see what we could find. Just after my dad...

1. "You are a girl who rides motorcycle. You must be a lesbian" -I hear that all the time. Just because I have a motorcycle, and have a  great group of girls to ride with, doesn't mean we are all lesbians, or anything more than friends. It is no different than a group of guys who ride together, travel together, and stay in hotels during a trip - whether motorcycles or snowmobiles - pretty sure no one ever thinks the same of a group of guys as they do girls. I am super fortunate and grateful for all the amazing ladies in my life that enjoy 2 wheels as much as I do. 2.  "That's a BIG bike for you" - Girls can handle horsepower just as well as guys. Yes, my bike is big (1750cc). No, it is not TOO big for me. I can pick it up after tipping it over. I can lean into corners until my pipes and floorboards scrape. I can do figure 8's with it. A well balanced bike means more than cc's in the world of having a big or small bike. 3. "You shouldn't...

The MN river bluff area is a great place to ride. On this ride, I went from County Rd 60 to Wabasha, then Brownsville, MN to New Albin, IA, and back up to Lanesboro, MN.  This route is 364 miles and 7 hours of ride time (not including stops).   Coming into Wabasha MN on County Rd 60 - lots of fun corners on good pavement, with a couple of great overlooks that offer expansive views of the river below.  Riding along the river, watching eagles flying over head, and seeing the rows of floating cabins on the river shores is so peaceful. There are cabin communities all along the river near Brownsville - and they are all floating due to the ever changing water levels of the river. Brownsville, MN Overlook: Once in Iowa, turned west on Iowa River Road. There was hardly any traffic on the road, lots of wildlife around, and cool looking buildings and farms, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  Turning north on 76, I headed back into Minnesota. I went up to Yuca...

Clutch Cable. Something I never really thought about beyond the fact taht everyone said "Be careful, it will break around 60k." So, to prepare I bought a Sav-UR-Ride clutch cable repair kit, threw it in my saddlebag and kept on riding. And then it finally happened.The clutch cable, having shifted gears millions of times over the course of 4 years and 124,765 miles, finally broke. Me and the bestie were riding in the middle of nowhere MN. It was when the CoVid had just started to hit MN - so a lot of things were shut down, but state parks were still open. Thinking no one would be out hiking, we headed towards a state park in southern MN. We saw all of 6 cars the entire way there, then, as we turned the corner for the final road before hitting the state park, the entire world awaited. Apparently everyone else had the exact same idea. The road TO the state park was back up quite a ways. As we sat in traffic, wasting the nice day away, watching car after car turn around and leave...

Over the many miles I have ridden, I have come up with a few hacks that add convenience to the trip. 1. Using my bag latches to hang (lightweight) things from with a bent paperclip. I have hung washable markers (that I use to write directions on my windshield), earplug containers, and clear glasses. Little things that tend to disappear in the depths of the bags can easily be found and accessed with this method! 2. Sticky backed business card holder - I stick it to the inside of my saddlebag for easy access to my insurance card and credit card (no digging around at gas stops!). I have another one that holds my business cards.  3. Hair ties around my mirror - no matter where I roam, I can never find a hairtie. By having a few around my mirror, they are easily accessed/found. They also offer a safe place to leave your glasses at stops. I have even used them to secure my phone to the holder in rough weather. Hairties have endless  uses!  4. I just recently learned this one. U...