Indyron
New member
Just completed our Circle Lake Superior tour with wife on our 2013 RT Limited. Travelled 1,309 miles. Started from Petoskey MI on August 3rd returned to Petoskey on August 12. RT performed flawlessly even stopped for a few times for several minutes in 85 degree heat in construction zones! And weather was perfect except for a little rain the last day of the tour. Here's what I learned (there are plenty of other posts on what to take for your Spyder):
PM me if you'd like more info.
- Make reservations. August is a busy month and several motels we visited were sold out.
- Drink lots of water. Riding in 80+ weather in a summer mesh jacket dries you out. Drink water even if you don't feel thirsty.
- Take a bottle of Aleve for sore... (fill in the blank).
- Use cash in Canada. The up charge on US credit cards gets expensive. Travel checks were useless, many motels and restaurants didn't accept, had to cash them at a Canadian bank.
- Allow plenty of time for spontaneous adventures. We averaged only 145 miles per day, could have gone longer but would have missed many sights.
- Used TripAdvisor for motels and restaurants and was pretty good. Even stayed at River Rock Inn and Bait Shop in Ashland WI and was one of our better stays. We never rode after drinking alcohol. All our motels were within walking distance of restaurants.
- Buy gas whenever you can. Stretches in Canada can be more than 100 miles without a gas station. And, premium fuel is not always available.
- Canadian beer is quite good! Canadian whiskey is even better! Forty Creek is our pick.
- Very easy to change Spyder settings to read in kilometers. 90 kph is about 55 mph.
- Zumo GPS worked perfectly in US and in Canada. Loaded all stops in "Favorites" before starting tour and never had to worry about directions.
- Canadians are very friendly and helpful.
- Take your passport. Easiest way to cross border.
- Mackinaw Bridge is awesome on a Spyder, and a bit scary at more than 300+ feet above water!
- More Canadian HD riders waved than in the States (IMHO). Only passed 3 Spyders in entire trip.
- "You betcha!" is very popular in WI and MN, and "Eh" is alive and well in Canada.
- The leg from Wawa to Sault Ste. Marie on the east coast of Lake Superior was the most scenic rides of the entire tour. Absolutely gorgeous views and vistas.
- Celebrated in Sault Ste. Marie MI and watched freighters pass through the locks. Awesome!
- Did not have a trailor. Took 2 pairs of "travel" quick dry underwear from travelsmith.com, awesome also!
PM me if you'd like more info.
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