Let’s play a little reverse leapfrog here and let me go back a few days to catch up on stuff I glossed over in my quick post yesterday morning. I mentioned that I had crossed over into MI to go along the southern shore of Lake Superior. It’s a little shorter this way, and it would allow me the opportunity to stop in at Aerostich and try on their products to determine my size. There was a lot of construction slowdown along that route and I found myself riding in the dark hunting for an open campground. In the darkness I spotted a quick flash of “Motorcyclists Welcome” on a billboard and went back and took that turn. I ended up at IndianHead Ski Resort but it appeared to be closed.
Turns out it was actually open. It had an old school ski lodge feel to it, and that combined with me being the only person there kind of gave me a “The Shining” vibe… But I didn’t see Jack or the twins so it all worked out.
The next day I made it to Aerostich in Duluth, MN.
If you go in person you can try on the Roadcrafter, Darien and R3 in your size. They have huge racks with a Short, Regular and Tall of pretty much every size so you can get a feel for which cut fits you best. I thought that would make it easy to see which one I preferred but after trying on a half dozen different suits all I got was “analysis paralysis”. I’m leaning towards the R3 Tactical Light.
While at Aerostich I got to catch up with Andy Goldfine. Such a genuinely nice person and a real joy to speak with. Our conversation touched on politics, homelessness, motorcycle apparel, old bikes, immigration and the good and bad of each of our countries, and no one got shot, insulted, or raised their voice. It’s a real joy to be able to speak to someone intelligently about the issues in all of our lives without it devolving into argumentative posturing and the overwhelming desire to bitch slap someone. I’m pretty sure we could burn through a cord of wood chatting around the campfire.
After I left Aerostich I headed back up towards International Falls. Apparently it’s against the law to turn off your truck, close your door, or have your volume set to anything less than 11 when filling up at a gas station. That’s just based on personal observation while in northern MN. Stopped for gas and asked the store owner about the campground down the road and he said “I have a campground here”. I asked where, and he pointed to the grass out front next to the highway. I said I was looking for a campground with toilet, and maybe a shower. “That’s called a motel”
I pushed on and crossed back into Canada and made it to Fort Frances, ON at the end of the day where all the hotels and the one campground were booked for some bass boat event, given the number of them being towed around town. I setup my tent in a park down by the water at dark, which was a semi closed campground that works on the honor system. Slept in till 9 in the park. I really appreciate how dark this tent is inside, and how it seems to better regulate a more comfortable temperature compared to a nylon tent.
I know Im heading west, but I took a detour north east to get to Sioux Lookout. My sister and her husband were at his family cottage and one of my nieces was flying in for a few days, so it was a great opportunity not to be missed. I woke up just before sunrise and was able to capture this.
Getting to Sioux Lookout was a great ride. Highway 502 from outside Fort Frances to Dryden was a great road. Perfect asphalt, no tar strips, some nice curves and an amazing view of the true Canadian north with pine trees as far as the eye can see, and exposed rock outcroppings of the Canadian Shield. There’s a certain beauty in the ruggedness of the landscape combined with the remoteness. I find it very appealing to my psyche.