Saturday was the “Big Ride” day. After a good breakfast we headed north out of Houghton into the Upper Peninsula. (Da UP.)
One stop was at the ruins of the Calumet Brewery, once one of the largest breweries in the state. (1899 – 1919.) Prohibition put an end to this and many other breweries in the country. The remains of the building are impressive but are being taken over by vegetation.
Jerry at ruins of Calumet Brewery
We made a few other stops, then took off for a ride around the south side of the peninsula, going through the town of Gay. Of course, we had to stop at the Gay Bar for refreshment and to take photos.
Our group at the Gay Bar
A scenic stop was part of the Brockway Mountain drive, with views out over the town of Copper Harbor and Lake Superior.
Brockway Mountain overlook
After a 200+ mile day we ate dinner at the Red Jacket Brewery in Calumet. The room was a bit warm but the locally-brewed beer (I had the Downtown Brown) served with the broiled lake trout was excellent. The trout, fresh caught, was delicious.
Our motorcycles lined up in Calumet
After dinner it was back to the hotel to clean up, talk, and relax after the long day.
Sunday was short ride day as some of the guys had to start home. Erik led us out to the end of the shipping canal, dredged to open a natural passage though the peninsula for ships to pass through instead of having to go around. With the decline in copper and coal mining the canal does not see a lot of use but large freighters occasionally pass through. The lift bridge in Houghton goes up for ship passage then down for auto travel. In winter the bridge drops to it’s lowest position so snowmobiles can use the bottom level to cross the canal.
Lift bridge over shipping canal in Houghton
After lunch we returned to the motel and another fellow (Brent) and I decided to ride some local roads we had not been on before. Part of the afternoon was spent sitting under a pavilion overlooking the lake, watching the lake traffic and swapping stories about riding motorcycles. Later we rode some back roads and returned to the motel just in time to hook up with several other guys for dinner. We ate at Joey’s Fish Market in Houghton. Advice: Don’t order the 3 piece cod dinner unless you are very hungry!
Brent has a fondness for cigars
Back to the motel where farewells were said as all of us would be heading out our separate ways on Monday morning. It had been a good gathering with nice roads to ride, stops that combined a mix of history and scenery, and good company.
Next post: Visiting family in Wisconsin and the trip home.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Two Cents Worth:
While Fields was cycling da UP, I was driving back and forth to work with not-totally-healed bursitis. Ouch.
Happy Trails.
I note that the numbers of riders at your summer outings seems to remain constant or diminished slightly, and realize that all members are unable to make it to all locations. I also note what appears to be a few younger faces.
Is (your) group slowly diminishing in size as people age, or are new members joining to keep numbers in balance?
A scenic and historically significant ride, considering that indians began mining copper in that area 7000 years ago, and loggers were cutting down all the old-growth white pines 150 years ago…
Bursitis: ‘seems to just fade after 3-4 months — important to discover (and eliminate) the cause rather than just fighting symptoms.
ha! gay bar pic made me smile! looks like you had a lovely ride–very cool that the bridge drops down for snowmobiles…maybe you should have a ride re-do this winter on sleds!
aw pam, you poor girl
i hope you’re feeling better soon!
Brockway overlook is lovely. 3 piece fish too much, or awful?