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Bike Week
It was late in the day when I rolled into Ironwood, Michigan. Town seemed pretty busy for a Thursday night, but then again it was the start to Labor Day weekend. As rode through town, I thought to myself, I still don't really know this town. Once a mining town, it's now mainly known for its winter tourism. Every winter the town is flooded with skiers and snowmobiles. In the fall the are gets many visitors coming to the area to see the Fall colors.
For U.P. Cruising, it's the starting point for my Yooper Cannonball Run. This Labor Day I was running a modified Yooper Cannonball that would take me from Ironwood to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The first leg of my ride would take me to the Porcupine Mountains State Park for a long overdue ride on the South Boundary Road.
The South Boundary
Road - Porcupine Mountains
Back at the motel, I whipped the dew off my bike seat and cleaned off my windshield. Motels that welcome bikers usually learn to stock up on rags so bikers can whip down their bikes with out using room towels. I could already feel the day starting to warm up. In fact, the forecast for the entire month of September was shaping up to be some of the best weather of the summer. Seemed a shame we had to wait so long for it to show up.
It wasn't long before I found myself slowing down as I arrived in Wakefield, Michigan. Knowing there wouldn't be another gas station for some miles to come, I pulled into the gas station and topped off the tank. You won't find a gas station once you enter the Porkies until you come out the other end. While not as remote as it once was, running out of gas makes for a long walk back. The last time I had been in the Porcupine Mountains State Park on the South Boundary Road was a mess of broken blacktop and patches from one end to the other. That was the year my wife and I backpacked into one of the park's remote cabins. A fellow biker told me that since then the South Boundary Road had been repaved and I should definitely go back give it a ride.
Following Highway M-28 as it curled around Sunday Lake in Wakefield Michigan, I found myself wondering why their were no fishing boats on the lake this morning. It certainly seemed like on one fine looking day to be out on the lake. Just north of the lake, I saw the sign for the park and turned left on Highway 519/Presque Isle Road and began my ride into the Porcupine Mountains State Park. Highway 519 is two solitude lanes of nice blacktop that cuts its way through the forest to the Presque Isle Campground.
After passing a few houses, I found myself entering the woods. Cruising along I found myself staring off into the deep woods. Something about the look, feel and smell of the woods this time of the year can mesmerize me. That is until a deer pops out of nowhere causing me to quickly crank back on the brake lever.
When I reached the sign for the South Boundary Road, I pulled over to take a couple of pictures. Going straight would take me to the Presque Isle Campground, but no time for it this trip. Instead I pulled the bike off the road at the at the bridge crossing the Presque Isle River.
Today the river was flowing calmly as it slowly made its way down to Lake Superior. In the spring, the Presque Isle is one of the Upper Peninsula's wild rivers. In the Presque Isle Campground, you’d find a series of waterfalls that will blow you away.
Easy walking distance from the parking lot, a boardwalk brings you up close and personal with each waterfall.
Back on my bike, it wasn't long before a grin crossed my face. Putting my bike through each turn with the fresh morning air rushing past my face was absolutely exhilarating. As I leaned into the next turn it suddenly occurred to me that there could be a deer in the road when I came out of it. I quickly pushed that thought out of my head as I was having too much fun now to slow down now. So it came, turn after turn until I encountered my first bump and had to back it off.
The south section of the South Boundary Road is newer while the north end is older pavement with some patches and a few road bumps. Not bad riding, but just not as much fun. I don't know how long I had been riding, but I knew that it was ending when I could feel the breeze coming in off Lake Superior.
Some roads you get on and get off and never think much of them. Others, you just can't wait to get off. Then there are those where all you want to do is turn around and ride them again. That's the case for the South Boundary Road. Looking back at the ride, the South Boundary Highway is now one of my top five motorcycling roads in the U.P.
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Bike Week
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