Hey out there. This is my story of freedom found. Tales of camaraderie, mishaps and adventures. Come along and enjoy the ride.

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Metro Detroit, Michigan, United States

Monday, June 19, 2006

Was a good weekend for a ride. IF you were riding on Saturday, and I was. Was steaming hot and in Michigan, when the weather hits 90 degrees, you head for the water and that's what we did. Arpad, riding the Beemer, and Barb on her FZ1 invited me along for a ride Saturday evening up along Lake St. Clair and St. Clair river. I was all about that so I met them at their house to take off from there.

To get to the water, we had to hit the slab for a few miles. We jumped on 696 over to 94. Once on 94 we were going to head for 59. Mille, that's Arpad, for a split second decided to open up that BMW for a few but his mind was quickly changed by the Michigan State Police SUV hidden in the median. Mr. Police stayed put and we were all happy. Once on 59, we jumped right over to Jefferson, where we were welcomed immediately by that cooling breeze blowing off the lake. No, it just doesn't feel the same in a car.

From Jefferson, it didn't take too long to get to 29. A quick turn east and we'd be heading up the lakes coastline. Traffic was a bit heavy, but it didn't even seem to matter. We weren't on a search for twisties, just a search for a ride. This was a nice lazy ride and still loved every second of it. Sometimes it's nice to see how the cruisers do it when they ride.

After a short time on 29, we took a detour onto Anchor Bay drive, right before the St. Johns Marshland Recreation area. Follow that back to the boat yard and keep to your right. Watch on your left and you'll see Deckers Landing on your left. This is a great place to stop for a break. We only grabbed something to drink and listened to the live band for a few minutes but the scenery is great and it is a great chance to grab some pics. Here are a few that I shot of the bikes and the sights.



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Once we were satisfied we'd enjoyed the moment long enough, we got back on the road. We got back to 29 and continued our trek up the eastern coast of the thumb. We enjoyed lighter traffic from this point on and seemed like we pretty quickly made it to Marine City.

Once in Marine City, we found the ferry for a ride into Sombra on the Canadian side of the river. This was a first for me on a motorcycle. Do I have a picture of it, no. That is because I managed to drop my helmet while trying to get my camera out of my pocket. I should have just left it on because the ferry ride is short. Maybe two minutes. Well my shield popped off and the assembly on the helmet broke and the visor would only stay on if you kept it about half way open. I couldn't close it or open it all the way. Was a minor pain to deal with and my eyes paid a bit of a price, but, live and learn.

Once off the ferry we meandered up a nice two lane in Sombra for just a ways until we found a nice roadside park that was well shaded and had great views of the river. Was another nice spot to rest for a minute, take a drink of water and get some good pics to share with you.



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Well, by now our stomachs are telling us it's time to find some food. We all jumped back on our bikes and headed back into town (and it's not much of one of those) the way we came. Right where we got off the ferry was a little restraunt so we stopped in there. They told us, since we didn't have reservations, the only openings were on the patio. An enclosed patio with very slowly moving ceiling fans on an 85 plus degree day. Yeah, OK. We decided to cross back into the good ole' US of A and find someplace more familiar. This time, I got pics from the ferry.


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And here's Mille showing me the proper method for transporting your lid across a river. (And finding a new place to eat for our next visit. Gotta love locals!)


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And here is myself showing that I can learn a lesson. Even if it is always the hard way.


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Once back onto the shores of the homeland, we headed back south. We rode into Algonac to Snoopy's Dog House. All I can say is my burger was an actuall burger, thick and juicy and very good fries. And after seeing Arpad's plate of fish, WOW! It was a huge plate of walleye and he said it was very good. The fill-up we took on in Snoopy's made sure we would be on a lazy pace the rest of the way home. Before we took off, though, there was this "biker chick" that couldn't keep herself off of Mille. You know, the kind that sees your helmets and jackets and gets all turned on and wants to go for a ride and all that. Well, I had to snap a pic of this piece of tail that Mille could've pulled if he wanted.


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Well from there we hit the streets headed home the way we came. Once on 59, we split off since I didn't trust my shield at freeway speeds. Didn't want it flying off and hitting anybody's car. So after a good-bye wave I shot over to Gratiot and headed home. They hit the slab to their side of town.

Thanks for the fun day Arpad and Barb. Can't wait to do it again!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great report/write-up, Dave!
(need to edit out my beer belly)
MilleArp

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