There is a strong possibility that I will be leaving on Friday as well. I will know for sure in the next couple of days. Where are you located in Michigan? I am in the very Southwest Corner, in Berrien County, just off I-94 exit 27.
I plan on riding to the Iowa, South Dakota border area on day 1. The rest of the way on day 2. I also prefer to ride along the South Dakota, Nebraska border, just in South Dakota at some places by a few miles. Once I leave the interstate 29, it is all 2 lane roads, but they are excellent and have very little traffic. It is much more scenic than taking I-90 across the state.
Some people take I-29 up to I-90 and then west to the promise land (Sturgis). I find that route very boring, as riding on Interstates usally is. One year, I met two guys on the South Side of Chicago. We rode together until I peeled off on South Dakota State Highway 50, just as you cross into South Dakota on I-29. They did not want to take the two lane route because they insisted that their route, I-90 across the center of the state is as they insisted "much faster than taking the two lanes across the state."
Well, when they reached I-90, the traffic was stopped for miles because an airplane had crashed right next to the highway and even through the fence bordering the interstate. It never hit the higway, thank goodness, but the flight path took it over that area and the investigators closed both directions of I-90. They opened the east bound lanes sooner than the west (so I am told).
They sat in the 90 degree heat for 6 Hours, on the highway with NO SHADE, stopped waiting for the road to open. Nothing cool to drink, a real undesirable situation. In a car or truck, at least you are out of the sun in air conditioning.
In the meantime, I got to Deadwood 6 hours faster than they did, plus my route included a Casino stop near Pine Ridge, in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Walked in and won $260 on the slots in about one hour...Not Bad. 
Anyway, let's see if we can't get a group together to ride. We could pick up bikers along the way.
In May, I took a trip out west on my Harley and I rode 5,400 miles in just over three weeks. The culmination to that trip was that on Saturday morning of Memorial day weekend, I left Laughlin, Nevada at 10:00am. I rode non stop to Michigan, which was almost 1,950 miles. I arrived home at 3am on Monday, Memorial Day. (I a AVERAGED 47 MPH for my trip home, for each hour it took me including stops for gas, food, etc. not bad:w00t
I certainly would have qualified for the Iron Butt records. Only problem was that I couldn't walk for about three days.....Anyway, let's stay in touch by posting on this board so we can get others to join our ride.....  |