Rain, Fog and Other Stuff

Tomto and I always say we hope the folks along our riding route need the rain because precipitation seems to ride with us on our motorcycling tours. A few years ago on a trip to Everett, WA across US Rt. 2 the rain found us just after we crossed the Mackinac Bridge to the UP and didn't let up until we hit eastern Montana. The rain and mist caused the cancellation of fireworks in Duluth on the 4th of July that year.

This year we seem to have broken the string of wet days. After we left Door County, WI we were dry all the way to Marquette, MI. From Marquette to Copper Harbor we had a few showers but not enough to challenge our GoreTex Aerostitch riding suits. Our stay in Copper Harbor was dry and sunny except for the fog bank and mist that rolled in on our last night there. By morning light the sun had returned and we rode away from the Land of Make Believe with the sun smiling down on us.

However, somewhere between Houghton, MI and Ashland, WI the rain gods found us again. We started looking for a motel in Ashland and finally found one that fit our criteria (cheap, close to food and drink) in Eagle River, WI. The Lumberman Inn also welcomed pets... the owners' standard poodle roamed the halls and the cheerful barks of other canine guests could occasionally be heard. Unfortunately, the "close to food and drink" bar and grill next door was permanently closed and for sale. We had to settle for A&W hot dogs and root beer from down the street. We spent a rainy night at the Lumberman but rode off to Duluth in the dry.

This time our stop at the Rider's Wearhouse in Duluth was dry and undramatic. Last time we had to lay over a day to wait for the Mecca of distance riders to open its doors after a stormy Independence Day weekend. The GPS I'd snitched from Loretta's car when we left Door County led us directly to the store-that-looks-like-a-warehouse in the industrial section of old Duluth. The Wearhouse is not much of a shopping experience, the display area is about the size of a normal family room. The glass cases are haphazardly filled with items from the catalog and the walls are hung with sample tee shirts and other gear riders might want or 'need'. I bought a light weight dry bag and a tee shirt I'd long admired in the catalog... it has a picture of nun smoking a cigarette sitting astride a vintage Montessa motorcycle. The words: "Where there is sin, there I must go". I know, I know, not so funny when I see it here but it struck my funny bone and I had to have it, now I don't know where I can safely wear it.

While we were shopping Tomto struck up a conversation with another customer. As it turns out he is a participant in the famous/infamous Iron Butt Rally held every two years. A kind of uber-scavenger hunt/competitive long distance motorcyle ride thing. This middle-aged ordinary looking guy was telling Tom about hitting a cow during the rally a couple of years ago. He was riding through open range in New Mexico at night and a cow wandered out in front of him and he hit it square in the side. His Aerostitch Roadcrafter suit and his helmet saved him from serious injury but the encounter ended his Iron Butt prize chances for that rally. He says he's still trying to get the cow shit out of his suit.

No more rain until we reach Nipigon, ON. Threatening clouds and showers send us eventually to the Beaver Motel (not cheap, not close to food and drink and the worse possible motel name to phone your wife about).

The town of Nipagon is slightly off Canada route 17 which is the major east-west route through southern Ontario. It has definately seen better times. Lots of closed store fronts. Gritty, weather and time-worn streets. Small groups of teenagers with little to do hanging around the convenience store/Subway near the center of the business district. But, near the center of what was once the main street is Paddle-to-the-Sea Park and Library. The park is dedicated to the 1941 Children's book of the same name. The book tells about a toy canoe called Paddle-to-the Sea built by a First Nation boy near Nipigon. The canoe follows the waters of the Nipigon River to Lake Superior and eventually to the Atlantic Ocean. Follow this link for the full story of the park, the book, and the movie: Paddle-to-the Sea

Morning dawns, at least it is time for the sun to come up in Nipigon. It's raining and worse yet visibility is waning... lots of mist and fog. We ride off with only the room-made coffee in our bellies. The next town with a cafe and gas station is Schreiber, ON (Celebrating 125 Years of being a railroad town). We stop for a real breakfast thinking we'll wait out the rain and fog. No such luck, the rain is steady and the fog is getting worse. We finally leave and ride through Terrace Bay which should be the most picturesque part of the Canadian route around Superior. We see nothing in the town. The fog is so thick we only sense the presence of water on one side of the road and perhaps a gas station on the left. It's so foggy we can't stop for fear of being run over by one of the many semis that run this road night and day. We ride for maybe 3 hours with only the painted lines on the road to guide us. Every few minutes headlights of oncoming vehicles pop out of the fog and whiz past, their tail lights disappearing in the rearview mirrors almost immediately. Fortunately we are able to ride at a pace that keeps the trucks at bay, traffic does not stack up behind us at least. At last we arrive on the outskirts of Marathon, ON. On the right is a trifecta oasis: The Airport Travelodge, a gas station/convenience store AND a restaurant with a beer license. It's only 1:30 but they have a clean room and let us register. Cost is no object for this stop but it's no more expensive than last night's minimalist Beaver Motel.

We are out of the rain and fog with wifi and satellite TV.