Circle Trip - June 28, 2020 - Day Two

Day Two: M22 and the Curse of Harley Engineering

The day began with a beautiful morning in Ludington, Michigan. Note: there are no clouds in the sky. 

I walked down to the park along the lakeshore because it was so delightful. Workers were picking up the trash at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. Chicago take note. 

Magellan needs to eat, or he gets hangry. Eating was more important than the quality of breakfast, so Magellan wanted to stop at the nearby McDonalds. The only problem was that the dining room was not open leaving us with the prospect of going through the drive-thru on our motorcycles, and eating our food on the curb. Well, Buttercup would have none of that, so he told Magellan to continue on and see what unfolded. 

Buttercup found a a fantastic local diner a few miles down the road. It was enjoyable to simply sit down and have breakfast - unusual in the pandemic. And Buttercup was so proud of himself that he was smiling from ear-to-ear. He one-upped Magellan. 

Magellan countered that finding the diner was not such a big score. After all, it was just food. Buttercup would have none of that either, and provided long stories about the merits of a diner over McDonalds until Magellan conceded the win by his silence. 

M-22

After breakfast, we drove on M22, Michigan State Road 22, which is a scenic byway, which is very well promoted and is very well known. 

It was a gentle drive through the forest. 

We stopped at one of the scenic lookouts to view Lake Michigan. Notice how calm the water is. That is the way the lake was for our cruise on the Badger - smooth as glass. 

By then, it was time to feed Magellan again. 

We sat at an outdoor cafe, and Buttercup ate his first Walleye. I think he was impressed.

Navigation requires deep concentration. 

After lunch, we drove through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The dunes reach 460' in height. 

There is an area where you can climb the dunes. 

 Long ago, there was a thriving lumber trade in the area. However, ships laden with timber often ran around in the shallow water. The Coast Guard station was there to provide assistance. 

And that is where the wheels came off - sort of. It began my bike malfunction. 

The Curse of Harley Engineering

While Harleys are cool, they are very poorly engineered. Already on this trip, Magellan's bike lost its water cooling system - although the bike has an air-cooled function. A malfunction is a malfunction. 

On my bike, the gear shift assembly failed, so I was stuck in one gear. Not good. I'm taking the bike to the Harley dealer first thing tomorrow morning. Wish me luck, and stay tuned.  

Taps

As a result of the equipment malfunction, we only drove 152 miles today. Tomorrow is an unknown. It all depends on whether the motorcycle is fixed. However, we hope to be in the UP tomorrow night. 

The M22 was beautiful. I can't believe how many bicyclists and bike trails there were. And the towns which dotted the M22 were quaint. 

Stay tuned about the bike maintenance.