UPAT, Day 7, Dollar Bay, MI – Iron River, MI

I kind of forgot about the last post, so here we go… This took place on September 5th.

It was a day that included pouring rain, a cold front bringing temperatures down to the low 40s, and at times, we faced winds of 20-30 mph. Our gloves were soaked, fingers numb, visors fogged, and a massive reroute on the longest travel day. At the end of the day, we finally ended up back at the ski chalet where it all began seven days prior! Fun times!

We found ourselves way up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula near Dollar Bay, mentally preparing for the final leg of our 7-day ride. We had a mere 238 miles of every type of terrain one could expect in the UP on a trail designed for dual-sport and adventure bikes. The plan was to get up early, roll out soon after, hit it hard, and arrive at the last Vrbo of the trip sometime in the late evening. While that looked great on paper and seemed visually doable, that’s not what happened.

Due to vacation schedules, travel to and from Michigan, and other factors we had highlighted during the trip’s planning phase, we had realized months ago that one of the days needed to be long. This was necessary to hit a predetermined end date, keeping the rest of the trip on track for those driving back to Texas. During planning, that long day ended up being the last day of the trip. Each day, we religiously monitored weather apps and researched alternative routes, especially for sections of the trail labeled “sannnnnd” or similar. If you saw more than one “n” in the word sand that meant it was going to suck. By this point, we were about three days into a massive cold front moving across the Michigan UP. With each passing day, the temperature dropped a little more, the rain fell harder, and the wind picked up.

When we first set out that morning, it wasn’t exactly pouring just yet, but there was a light drizzle. We all had our riding jackets, pants, and protective gear on, along with our rain gear. Despite the prep, during the day, some of the rain was so heavy that it still seeped up the sleeves or down the neck at the back of our helmets. My rain pants were so worn out that I had to tape them to the bottom of my riding pants with electrical tape just to keep them in place. It helped keep the water out of my boots.

That morning, we suited up, strapped all our gear to the bikes, and fired them up for the day. Nothing beats the sound of cold starting two KTMs, one BMW, one Honda, and one Yamaha all at the same time. One of the KTMs was notorious for being cranky (no pun intended) on the first start of the day, but once it was running, it became a beast. Within minutes, steam rolled off the pipes from all the condensation, the rough idling smoothed out, and the bikes were ready for whatever we could throw at them.

It’s been a month, so I’ve forgotten some of the minor details about that day, but long story short, it was cold and wet, and we ended up diverting S/SE back to Iron River, MI, instead of heading W/counterclockwise for the long haul. This diversion cut half the distance out of our day, but we were ready to wrap things up. The quickest route back to the Vrbo was all blacktop/highway in the rain. After hours of white-knuckling it on the highway with low visibility, sharing the road with semis and larger vehicles, it was a relief to finally switch to less-traveled roads and head back to the ski chalet. There, we changed out of our wet clothes, relaxed for a bit, went out to eat, and then loaded up the bikes for the trip home the next morning.

All in all, it was a great trip. The forecast before and after the cold front was in the mid-70s, which is what we planned for, but half the trip was spent in the 40s. Originally, Matt and I planned to ride the Wisconsin segment the next day, but the weather was expected to be the same, and that would have involved five days of primitive camping. The ground was already muddy, and it looked like we were in for another week of bad weather, so we decided to end the trip there. We did manage to stop at House on the Rock on the way back, which was fun.

That wraps up the big trip for this year. I have a small motorcycle event tomorrow in SW Wisconsin and possibly a trip to Big Bend National Park, Texas, in January. Other than that, the next big trip will be the Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route next September. We couldn’t figure out the logistics for the Idaho Backcountry Discovery Route, so that will need to be a different year.

Kevin