I’ve checked and double-checked the packing list, and loaded everything (except me) on the scooter. This is the first time in a few trips that I haven’t needed to bring a backpack (for days on the trail), which makes it a bit less complicated. Clothes go under the seat; tent, sleeping bag, pad, and pillow go on the rear rack; and rain gear, camera, and everything else go in the bag (which will sit on the seat behind me).   

Figuring out ahead of time the route I’ll be taking each day is usually a fun challenge. Not so much this time. The first day’s ride is obvious; I’ve even done it before. But the second day… Ugh. 

The second day starts east of Gary and ends northwest of Chicago. Normally my strategy for dealing with big cities is simple: avoid them. I stayed away from Detroit, and detoured around Flint, Lansing, and Kalamazoo. But Chicago is too big. And it’s in my way. 

The problem isn’t finding roads to take. The problem is too many roads to choose from. 

Normally I can tell a good road from a bad road by looking at it on a map. But the things I look for don’t work in a megalopolis. A road following a river is probably an expressway, not a scenic drive. A road running alongside an Interstate is probably an overflow route, not a locals-only access road. 

But I think I’ve mapped a route out. It’ll probably suck, and I’m sure I won’t stick to it once I get out there. But at least it’s a route. 

It’s close enough to the big ride that we now have weather forecasts for the whole trip. Here’s the projection for Milwaukee, which is roughly in the middle of the area I’ll be in.

So it’s… not bad, I suppose. There’s some chance of rain around here on Sunday, but I’ve had a few previous rides that started in the rain. As for Thursday and Friday…. typically when the forecast is for variable percentages up to 50% that means off-and-on rain moving through the area. That’s not so bad, compared to the kind of weather where it just rains all day. I’ve ridden in that, and it’s not much fun, even with rain gear.

But I don’t think I’ve gone on a ride of more than a couple days without getting some rain, so if this turns out to be off-and-on rain for a couple days, that’ll be OK.

It’s been almost a year since I finished my quest to visit every county in Michigan by scooter, but I’m not finished scooting.

On my first ride back in 2009, I went half-way around Lake Michigan: up the west coast of the Lower Peninsula, along the south coast of the Upper Peninsula, and down into Wisconsin, before taking a shortcut across the Lake to get back home.  This time I’m going to finish the loop: riding around the south end of the Lake.  I’m still “scooting around Michigan”… it’s just around Lake Michigan this time.

The basic itinerary is this (leaving on the 19th):

• Sunday: Down the Blue Star and Red Arrow Highways to Indiana Dunes State Park, just the other side of the border.
• Monday: Around Chicagary (as best as I can manage) to Chain O’ Lakes State Park, just south of the Wisconsin border in Illinois.
• Tuesday: Up into Wisconsin (steering west of Milwaukenosha) to High Cliff State Park on Lake Winnebago.
• Wednesday: Angle northeastward toward the Door Peninsula (Wisconsin’s analog to Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula) up to Peninsula State Park.
• Thursday: Ride to the tip of Door and exploring Washington Island, then Rock Island where I’ll camp.
• Friday: Head back south to Manitowoc, where I’ll catch the S.S. Badger‘s overnight crossing to Ludington.
• Saturday: Ride home from Ludington.

On my previous rides, even the last one, which included quite a bit of distance in Wisconsin, I never spent the night outside of Michigan. The closest was sleeping on the Badger while it was crossing the Lake.  This time will be the opposite: I’ll have one night in Indiana, one in Illinois, and three in Wisconsin (with another on the Lake).  So instead of this being a “MI way” expedition it’s more like “INILWI way”. But let’s overlook that, OK? I’m not changing the web site.

I’ll admit that this ride doesn’t excite quite the same anticipation that last year’s ride to Isle Royale had, or the two times I rode across the Mackinac Bridge.  Sunday’s ride will be a repeat of one I’ve done before, Monday is going to be an urban/suburban slog, and the final leg on Friday night/Saturday is a re-re-run.  But on the other hand, Door County should be more scenic than scooting across the southern farmland counties of Michigan a few years ago. 🙂

And any day scooting is better than a day answering support calls.

OK, so I’ve done it.

I’ve ridden a motor scooter to every county in Michigan. Some of them multiple times. And a baker’s dozen of counties in Wisconsin, plus a few in Indiana and Ontario, along the way.

So… now what?

According to legend, Alexander the Great once lamented that there were no worlds left to conquer. Fortunately that’s not the case for me; if I decide to do more of this, I have some options for new places to ride.

On my first big ride, I briefly considered going all the way around Lake Michigan. Then I checked the distance and concluded that it would take too long. Plus going all the way would require going through Milwaukee, Kenosha, Chicago, and Gary, which is mostly urban sprawl. So I took a shortcut home across the Lake. But on further consideration, finishing the loop might not be so bad. What about a ride from here down to Indiana, then through Milwaukenochicagary (in a day), and up into scenic Door County (the peninsula sticking into Lake Michigan) for a couple days, taking the Badger back across, and riding home? That could be a nice way to spend 6 or 7 days, and provide some closure on the first ride. (You may have noticed that the map on the main page now includes those counties, un-colored.)

Other than that… I’m not really sure. I might consider some vacation plans that don’t revolve around the scooter… or even involve it at all, if you can imagine that. I’d like to get in better shape and do more backpacking, either nearby or out of state. I haven’t been to Europe in almost 20 years, which is pretty amazing when you consider that I accumulated half a year there in five trips from 1983 to 1996. To say nothing of other parts of the world. Maybe even the foreign land of California.

So there are definitely worlds left to conquer.

But right now, I need a good night’s sleep in my own bed.