Circling Wisconsin

How does one get the opportunity to see Lake Michigan in the morning, Lake Superior in the afternoon and the Mississippi River in the afternoon? It has to be a SaddleSore 1000.

I had been planning this trip long before I picked up my 2004 Honda ST1300 in May. Through the break-in period, the early oil changes and the re-introduction of rider to motorcycling in general and the ST in particular, I continually reviewed and refined the route around the Great State of Wisconsin. The base route was to be the four corners of Wisconsin: Marinette - Superior - Hazel Green - Kenosha, but as I continued to review the route I saw that Hurley, WI had to be in the picture as well so "Four Corners" became "Five Corners."

Enter Delorme Street Atlas 2004. Slab it to Marinette - 185 miles, 3 hours, up to Rte 2 in Michigan to Hurley, across the top of the state to Superior, WI, down Hwy 53 to Eau Claire and LaCrosse, down the Great River Road to Prairie du Chien, backroads to the southwestern corner of the state (Hazel Green), then across the bottom of the state via Hwy 11/50 to Kenosha and up I-94 to home, just west of Milwaukee. Total map distance: 1044 miles - good enough.

Bike and rider break-in were proceeding well after picking up the brand new never-been-ridden before Honda ST1300, christened "Tigress." I followed a "Motoman" break-in, changing oil at 80, 1000, 2500 miles using regular dino oil and finally switching to full synthetic at 5000 miles. I had prepped myself by taking progressively longer day rides: 400 miles to Door County. 450 miles to LaCrosse and back, 550 miles to Iron Mountain and back, then 800 miles over a weekend to RiderWearhouse to get fitted for my ultimate riding gear: an Aerostich Darien jacket and pants.

Unfortunately, the best laid plans sometimes go awry. While starting out on one of my weekly warm-up trips, I had stopped at the video store to return some rentals. While waiting at a stop light for the light to change, I was rear-ended - not injured (because I was wearing all my gear) - but my beloved Tigress was wounded - entire back end of the bike was destroyed, including both saddlebags, rear sub assembly and most of the tupperware from the drivers seat on back - BUMMER!

The Honda dealer did a great job of getting the estimate together, the other driver's insurance company paid up quickly and within 2 weeks, plans were back on track except for on thing - no saddlebags. I had a tank bag and could have used a tail bag, but the ST isn't the same thing without the saddlebags. The day before I was planning to leave I still had no saddle bags. The dealer had one complete bag, but only half of the other bag. After looking at the remains of the wrecked bags, we decided to use part of the wrecked bag (no damage other than scratches) to cobble a set of bags from the carnage and I was good to go.

FINALLY, the day arrives - I'm going to drive a motorcycle 1000 miles in 24 hours or less. I had spent the previous evening checking all the things that need checking and getting the necessary gear together, packing the bike and nervously fidgeting. Where's the cellphone? Is the toolkit packed? Do I have my water jug? Sunglasses? How does the weather look up north? Will I run into rain, if so, do I have rain gear and extra gloves? 1000 questions and not enough answers.

Knowing that I was going to get up at 0330, I want to bed early to try to get some sleep. Sleep didn't come easily, though with my mind racing about all the possibilities and options and I woke up at 0330 a bit less than optimal. This would be a factor later on in the run.

Got to the 24/7 Kwik Trip that I had chosen as my starting point and had visited with the night shift people before to let them know of my intentions. Judy signed my witness form, I filled up at 0416, hit the starter button and I was off on the grand adventure.

My initial leg took me through downtown Milwaukee to I-43. I normally avoid the downtown area because of congestion and construction, but at 0430, who's going downtown? I-43 heads north from the city and I'm soon out of the urban area, motoring up the shores of Lake Michigan. It's 55 degrees outside but I'm toasty warm inside my 'stich, windproof liner, long sleeve shirt and t-shirt. At Sheboygan, the first signs of daylight are coming into view in the east and I'm looking forward to the daytime. It's not that I mind running at night, but being in the sunshine is soooooo much nicer. As I pass Sheboygan, I'm starting to have trouble concentrating, losing focus. I stop at a rest area to change to sunglasses and try to rest up a bit - not a good sigh this early in the trip, but I pass it off as early jitters and keep on rolling.

I get to Green Bay and cross over the Fox River in early dawn light, but the "wanders" are still with me and I'm still not in focus. I fight this for as long as I can and finally stop again by the side of the road to clear my head. Arrive in Marinette, WI, at 0715, the first "corner" of Wisconsin for fuel and food. The rest and food make a big difference and I feel somewhat refreshed. From here I leave the shores of the lake and turn inland toward Iron Mountain and Crystal Falls, MI and Hurley, WI. Distance so far: 183 miles/3+ hours.

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan (The UP) is hugely underpopulated and largely forest land, mostly pine. There are stretches of highway where you may not see another car or person for 40 miles - eerie in winter. In summer, however, these roads are traveled by the RVs, campers, bikers canoeists and outdoors enthusiasts wanting to get away like me. Rte 2 from Powers is reasonably busy, but not so congested as to be a problem. There are enough passing areas and passing lanes that I blow by the slow movers easily. There are some construction zones with gravel detours -oh uh - but the gravel is pretty hard packed and I can get through them without problem. Iron Mountain is one of the larger cities in the UP and its active for early Saturday morning. The people up here like the sun as well as I do. (Normal weather for the UP is one of three forecasts: shitty, truly shitty or extremely shitty, depending upon season...) I cruise through Iron Mountain headed for Crystal Falls, crossing back and forth between Michigan and Wisconsin a couple of times, finally staying in Michigan for most of the rest of the time to Hurley. The variety of the road, scenery and road diversity keep me awake and I arrive at Hurley, WI at 1130 for fuel and food.

Can't help wondering why the road surfaces up here are in so much better shape than those "downstate" - fewer tar snakes, much cleaner and more even surface, much less concrete (is that it?) and far, far fewer potholes. And yes, there are large logging and mining trucks pounding that pavement 24/7, so that's not the reason.

The road from Hurley to Superior is pure joy - it's fast, easy, beautiful and affords some spectacular views of one of the greatest (and largest) bodies of fresh water in the world. The sheer size of this inland ocean has a large effect upon the local weather and you can almost watch the temperature drop as you get closer to the shore. Whatever you feel about any body of water is multiplied by being on the shores of Lake Superior - it's an imposing "lake". I've raced a sailboat across the Lake (twice) and I have nothing but extreme respect for Lake Superior. Today there are a lot of cyclists on the road, mostly going the other way and I wave at all of them. I'm on the lookout for forest rats (deer) but only see one bounding across the road, far ahead of me. During the planning stages of this trip I considered going in a clock wise direction, but rejected it because I would have put me in this area late in the evening and the forest rats would have been a reason for significantly increased concern.

Arrived in Superior, WI about 1330. My waypoint was set in downtown Superior, but I simply found the nearest reasonably priced gas station and fueled up. The receipt said Superior, so I'm satisfied. This is pretty much the halfway point in the trip and I'm starting to get tired. Its showing in my riding: missed shifts, poor turns, small mental errors, etc. I'm struggling as I make my way down Hwy 53 toward Eau Claire and have to stop several times to clear my head. Finally it gets to the point where I can't remember what happened the last 100 yards and I KNOW I need to get off for awhile. I've made too many stops and am losing time because of the stops. I pull off at Rice Lake, find a truck stop and a shady place. fold up the 'stich for a pillow and crash for almost an hour.

Without that sleep stop I don't think I could have made the rest of the trip without "incident." I was simply too tired. The IBA Pearls of Wisdom suggest "stop to go further" and it's true. After the Iron Butt siesta, I felt great and completed the remainder of the trip awake and alert. Wish I had stopped earlier ...

Up to now the road have been mostly Interstate and fast, straight two-lane roads, so my overall average speed has been in the 51-53 mph area - IB Gold speeds - and I was pleased that I could maintain that pace. What I had not planned upon, however, was that the second part of the trip was on back roads, twistier, and less travelled, therefore, slower speeds, but still more enjoyable and fun than simply slabbing it. The IB siesta dropped my average speed to almost 48 mph and I would have to hustle to regain the pace. I knew than that I wasn't going to make 20 hours, but just finishing within 24 hours was enough for me. Soooo, press on regardless.

Happily, the route between Eau Claire and LaCrosse was some of the most interesting and enjoyable part of the ride. Fine roads, plenty of turns, small towns, ups and downs, few cagers.

Arrived in LaCrosse about 1830, low on fuel both for me and Tigress. Tigress came first and I fueled up in downtown LaCrosse, watching a parade of some 50-odd local Harley riders disturb the peace. I took some more ibuprofen and put some eyedrops in my eyes. These may be small things, but they do make a difference later on down the road. At this point I had been riding for some 14 hours and had not been feeling any pain other than sore knees and a somewhat stiff back, but that was to be expected.

Leaving LaCrosse, I turned onto the Great River Road along the shores of the Mississippi River and a truly great road it is. Since this was near sunset, I was able to enjoy the last hours of the fading sunlight traveling down a famous highway - the "Mighty Muddy" on the right and imposing cliffs on the left. I had tried to travel this road in mid-May, but because of the practically continuous rain this spring, the road was closed because of mud slides and I had to take the high route on top of the bluff. The remnants of the slide were still visible along the roadside. If you ever have an opportunity to travel any portion of the Great River Road - take it! The road is beautiful, the towns are a reflection of times long past and although many are declining, they're still a reminder of our origins 100+ years ago when commercial traffic moved by water.

Stopped for a quick dinner at Hardee's in Prairie du Chien and mentally prepared myself for what I considered the hardest section of my trip. The roads in southwestern Wisconsin are serpentine through farm country, poorly lit - if at all- and well known for deer strikes, a nice euphemism for hitting a forest rat. At this moment I was very, very thankful for the Iron Butt siesta a few hours ago because I was alert and ready to go. Since I travel this area frequently for business, I'm very familiar with the roads here, so that's at least a one thing in my favor. My plan was to travel the known roads to the most southwestern city, town, village - whatever- in the state and to my mind, that meant Hazel Green. Hazel Green has some historical significance in Wisconsin history in that it is the "Point of Beginning" - the geographical point from which the entire remainder of Wisconsin was platted into townships, counties and towns. By the time I reached Hazel Green it was approaching 2200 and I had doubts about what was going to be open at that time of night. I had covered my base by stopping at Cassville earlier and getting a receipt for something to prove that I had been there, so a receipt from Hazel Green wasn't absolutely necessary, but it was a point of pride. I cruised thru town - nothing open - so I headed back toward the "main" highway and found a Citgo station, stopped, bought some water and chocolate and got my receipt. Mission accomplished - southwest corner of the state conquered.

On to Kenosha for the final corner of the state. Route 11 crosses the southern part of the state and one which I've also traveled frequently for business. It's a fairly fast 2/4 lane highway with little to slow you down. Shullsburg is a slow-down, Gratiot is but a wide spot in the road and the 4-lane bypass takes you around Monroe, the biggest town in that part of the area. Stopped for fuel at Janesville about 2330 and proceeded to join Hwy 50 toward Lake Geneva and Kenosha. At Lake Geneva I hit 1000 miles by the bike's odometer and I let out a yell as I watched the odo turn over to that magic number. Knowing the most Japanese cycles have speedometers/odometers which read high, I continued on to Kenosha, thinking that somewhere in this stretch I would pass 1000 miles on the GPS. I rolled into the Speedway at Hwy50/I-94 junction at 0116 and 1004 miles on the GPS - I did it!!!

I got 50 cents worth of gas for the receipt and climbed onto I-94 for the trip home. Traffic was light and I made good time for the remaining 55 miles. Checked in at the Kwik-Trip near my home - my starting point - at 0207, got the witness form signed and was back home for a very cold beer and a self satisfied, well deserved rest.