Adventure Motorcycle Blog

It is that time of year again where we look at vacation schedules, review ADV bike routes, ride bikes when time allows and watch countless hours of ADV bike YouTube videos in search of the next challenge. No pun intended, but this year we are switching gears on the approach of the next big adventure. Most big ADV multi-week routes have been previously developed by organizations, and the bulk if not all of the bugs have been worked out. From there it is just a matter of acquiring gear, reading daily blogs of each section, and going.

This time I wanted to focus on a trip a little closer to home and see if it still has the same appeal, technical challenges, and ruggedness of the Continental Divide or even the Backcountry Discovery Routes. After looking at hours of blogs, joining dozens of FB groups, and watching videos, the journey this year will take us to the Michigan Upper Peninsula and Northern Wisconsin. These are two different trail systems made up of logging roads, snowmobile trails, dirt roads, single track, dual track, thick remote forest trails, with plenty of lakes, rivers, streams, and a ton of sand. Not all, but the bulk of the bikes that run these trail systems are dual sport, dirt bike, enduro or similar. Some of us will be on ADV bikes while others will be on enduro style bikes.

The MI UP trail is around 1300 miles, and the Wisconsin section is somewhere around 800 miles. We may not have tiime to complete both sections, but we are going to go hard and see what we can do. We may have 5 people on this trip with at least 3 of us. I am out of IL; another is from TX and a third is from PA. We are all going to meet just South of Marquette, MI and start from there. As seen in the graphic, the UP-trail system forms a figure 8 all throughout the UP. I’m taking my travel trailer/toy hauler up with me and parking it near the center of the figure 8 just South of Marquette. Tents are fun, but we are old and have other options these days. Still, plenty of Google Earth research to do specific to gas stations, powersports dealers/service centers, food, etc., but the basics are done. There’s miles and miles of deep sand, and dirt trails.

After reviewing the vids on these systems, things can get a little sketchy after a hard rain. The dirt turns into a super slick slime that immediately encases tires and renders them worthless. Honestly, it sounds like a blast! The WI trail system is much of the same and some sections are extremely remote. This trail system also has a figure 8 appearance, and my trailer will be located somewhere near the middle of the system. There are blogs out there saying everything can be done in 8 long hard days. We are all experienced, so the goal is 7 days. Anyways, tons of planning to do, gear to functional check, tires to swap out and oil to change before heading up.