Lake Erie Circle Tour

For the Labor Day weekend I decided I was going to pull off another motorcycle tour before the season comes to an end. My friend Sharon has done several spectacular Great Lakes Circle Tours and this gave me and idea to do this trip. I live just a few short kilometres from two of the a lakes. The trip was only 634 miles, an easy two day trip. It could be done in one but I'd really be pushing it. Also, I could swing down to Youngstown and meet up with another motorcycle buddy - Dave. We met on the Kawasaki Versys forum.

The weather was the best - about 78F/25C on average. Saturday morning started out cloudy and misty. The kind of magical low lying clouds that tend to part as you go through them. Nothing foggy that blocked my vision but just Misty clouds. These clouds also muffled the sound and it felt like just my bike and I were on the road. I thought it looked like I was going to get wet in a few places but nothing of the sort was to be had the whole weekend. The clouds eventually burned off by noon and I was left with blue skies for the rest of the weekend.

I left my house at 6:20 am. I only took the two side bags and left the top case at home. Being an over night trip I didn't need the whole compliment of bags. The border crossing at 6:30 am went smoothly. I think the border crossing had either a look of 'You lucky bastard' or 'May God have Mercy on Your Soul'. I'm not sure which - I didn't give a crap, just wanted to get out of there without a strip search. A stop for fuel and snacks at the local Sunoco was next and on the road by 7:00.

Lesson learned on the GPS. I've had it for almost 2 years - it's a Garmin 60CSx. I like it - it's not the best for a motorcycle but I've adapted. The problem I encountered is that the route I projected had more than 50 way points. I didn't realize this was a problem until I attempted to navigate the route and got a nasty error that said it could do 'follow road' navigation with more than 50 points. I was at the Sunoco dropping points off the list until I got it down to 50. The first part of the trip was the most important - getting through Buffalo and down to Youngstown was part I need the most, followed by back to the lake and through Cleveland.

My first stop was in Buffalo. I've been wanting to see 32 Wasson avenue. This was the location of the house in the movie Lackawana Blues. I found it easy enough and like most things, there wasn't much left there at all. The house has probably been gone for decades. The only thing left is an old store with the architecture correct for the period and a more modern housing project. Mostly vacant lots. I wasn't expecting much yet it was nice to reflect what once was here - vibrant neighborhoods filled with active people.



After a few pictures I rolled on to Hwy 5 and began my track around the lake. I went passed old industrial sites - some in operation and some abandoned. This area could be beautiful but there is so much abandoned human enterprises left scattered about that it would take a monumental effort to clean it all up. So, it remains to sit and rot. Eventually the industrial sites of Buffalo were left behind and I found myself going past old lake houses and long forgotten businesses. Some with rusty signs that you could hardly make out what went on there. One was for a motel and another was for some one's world famous stakeburger. These places must have been important at one time before the interstates came through.

I made it to Ashtabula by 11. I called Dave and let him know I was on the way and should be at his place by noon. Dave and I yacked about bikes and he showed me his place. An interesting place that he's lived in since he was a kid. He has three distinct and seperate garages. This guys got plenty of toys including a woodshop with lots of nice equipment and tractor (I'm mean tractor not lawn tractor) to boot. We shared a pizza with his wife Jo and son Devon. Our last event was to head over to Shade Tree motorsports. A place Dave likes to go to for the bike parts and the sale staff. It's about an hour away from his house and a very nice ride. Dave and I parted ways at Shadetree and I headed back to the lake. Dave made it home fine by himself. That was nice to spend time with a fellow enthusiast.



Worked my way back to the lake and continued my journey. I arrived in Luna Pier at around 8:00 pm and spent the night at the Motel 8. My dinner was at the local Gander Restaurant. Highly recommended - nice place, good food and kind staff. The Motel 8 was clean and serviceable. The next morning I was back on the road at around 9:00 am. My partner wanted me to visit The Henry Ford Museum to visit the gift shop. The gift shop didn't have what he was looking for and I motored on. I chose the Ambassador bridge to cross and that went smoothly as well. From Windsor I made my way to Hwy 18 and then to 3 and back home, arriving at about 5:30 pm.



The total journey was 1200 kilometers or about 730 miles. I was tired but enthralled with the journey. Now I'm eager to try out some of the other lakes like Sharon has.