Was able to get this Lil Red Versys to The U.P. of Michigan for a look-about. I have been a UP fan for many years as our family had a cabin near Iron River for quite awhile. Put some gear on the bike and away we went.

Rural cemetaries make good places to take some quiet short breaks. Lots of shade and the residents dont complain much.

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Hy 55 thru the Menominee Indian Reservation is a fun road. Twisties, trees and a few shots of the Wolf River.

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Getting dark I found a nice place to camp near this dam.

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I'd had a sandwich already, so after I got the tent up my bedtime treat was rum and gorp. Ya real health food I know.

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Next morn after three cups of joe was ready to roll.

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Not a bad view of the tiny lake from my tent. Bugs were bad but oh well--life is good camping on a bike.

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later,,

Very nice! Looks like spring time up there. I thought you guys were still having cold, winter-like weather...

Keep 'em coming!

I've been wanting to take a trip up there. Take the roads up Western Michigan along Lake Michigan and up to the UP. I've never been up there but always wanted to go. Looks like fun.

I just had a friend and some guys he knows make that trip on Memorial Day weekend. I was invited but the timing didn't work out for me. Sounds like it was a great 1100 mile (round trip from NE Iowa) 5 day ride. Wish I could have gone.

So, back to exploring. I found Ralph. The Post Office is only open two mornings a week.

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The U.P. is full of waterfalls. I hiked to some of them.

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I've been married to my first wife for almost 30 years. Every time I go on one of these solo wanders, I get "the talk".
"You better stay out of trouble. And you will NOT come home in a box not breathing". I saw this poster in a gas station and thought maybe I could get away with a little trouble.

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So I hit the backroads. Really, this trip was a shakedown cruise to see how a loaded Versys would handle on dirt and gravel. In prep for a Montana, Idaho, B.C. trip I got coming up.

This looked like fun. It was pure snot. What the heck, what could happen?

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Then came the waterholes. The first one was over the muffler. The bike was making a lovely blurb blurb sound. I dared not stop-it had a hard bottom. The next one was shallower.

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I loved the ripples the exhaust was making.

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I was having a blast. But was wondering how much fun it would have been on this bike I spotted in a motel parking lot.

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Just stand on the pegs in the bad parts. The Versys passed the snot test.

I am guessing I did about 200 miles of gravel. Washboard, freshly graded, potholes, streams going down them, the Versys did just fine. I do have it lowered so I should have had probs but didnt. It has more than enough suspension travel left to meet my needs. This lil bike is a delight off pavement.

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It dont like sugar sand but really, does any bike with street tires?

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I gaurded this little guy while he crossed the road.

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Then I said to myself what the heck am I gaurding him from? Had not seen a car or truck for three hours.

The sign said no 4 wheelers so since the Versys has only two I trekked on,,,,

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But then I came to this sign. Turned around. Oh well. I was on single track so it was for the best.

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In many places small springs run right down the roads.

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later

more, more. Man that is awesome country!!

I made my way to Lake Superior. And hung out on some sandy beaches.

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Hiked up some sand dunes in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

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This ore boat was heading right into a storm.

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Grand Marais has a memorial for it's missing fisherman.

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Hunted down some more waterfalls and twisty roads. H58 was new blacktop and NO Park Rangers!

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:thumb::thumb::usa:

I soon got tired of eating the food I had brought with me. In other words, I craved something with grease.:eek: Andy's Bar looked it would work. For a $20 bill I gulped two beers, a drink, a humungus bacon cheeseburger, and greasy fries. Well worth the stop!

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All the bars "up north" have mounted dead animals on the walls. Mostly heads and racks. Andy had a deer azz on his wall.

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Starting to make my way home. Back in Wisconsin I had a geography lesson.

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Most of got lost somehow. Ended up back in Alaska. I did not see any mountains or grizzly bears tho,,,

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Following Lake Michigan working south, my eyebrows caught on fire. And the bike started acting funny. And my I-Pod starting glowing. WTF?

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Oh. That explained it. A buncha little nuclear dudes were making babies.:rolleyes:

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The facts.
1240 miles in three days. Some rain, not bad. Traveled some great backroads. The V performed A+. My longest tank was 259 miles put in 4.8 gals of fuel. The U.P. is a fine area to get lost in. And not many people in the way.

david

Wow! Right at 54 mpg! Great trip, great report, great pics & looks like a great burger!!!


Thanks for the report & looking forward to more!

Nice Report. good pics. :thanx:

I wanted to head that way this weekend but I didn't for various reasons.

I love it UpNort. Used to have a place in Woodruff WI which was great as a base for exploring northern WI and the UP.

I'll get up there this year. maybe base out of Houghton and do the Copper Harbor loop.

Nice photos!

I have that same MotoFizz bag. I really like it.

I plan on doing the U.P. either this year or next.

Fantastic, great pics.