GREAT LAKES GOLD
June 16 – June 18, 2001
Please respect my intellectual property rights. Do not distribute this document, or portions therein, without my written permission..........Neil Dolson
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
To the best of my knowledge I am the first Canadian to complete this ride. Eddie James of Cleveland Ohio is the only other person to have completed the run (April 2001) at this time. The Iron Butt Association has now recognised the Great Lakes GOLD as an extreme ride.
Start……………...07:23AM Fort Erie, Ontario CANADA
Finish……………..07:10AM Fort Erie, Ontario CANADA
Total elapsed time...47 hours, 47 minutes
Total Distance…….3,954kms (2,452 miles)
...............................4 Border Crossings
…………………...7 States
…………………...1 Province
Fuel Stops………...16 (including finish)
Sleep…………...…2 stays at the Iron Butt Motel (they have more locations than Super 8!)
Bike……………....1996 Triumph Trophy 1200 BRG “Sit & Twist”
……………..…….Russell Day-Long Saddle
…………….……..6.6 USG stock fuel tank
...............................Throttle Rocker
………………..…..no electronics or electrics
………………..…..paper maps rarely used
This is me just after my arrival back home.
BACKGROUND
My name is Neil Dolson and I live in Southwestern Ontario about 2 hours west of Fort Erie/Buffalo. My introduction to l/d riding came from two friends in town both of whom had completed SS1000s and one also has competed in the BlackFly 1600 rally here in Ontario twice.
Some time late in 2000 I remember Rick D from Michigan posting something to the l/d list about a ride he called 5L50……….a circumnavigation of the 5 Great Lakes. He and I communicated and I immediately became focused on doing this ride in summer 2001. Thank you Rick for this introduction and your participation in the planning. It seemed to me that no one else had done it and to be honest I began planning to do the run on Fathers Day weekend 2001 and to be the first to accomplish the feat under 50 hours. I had no allusion of grandeur with a fast time. Getting under 50 hours was the goal. I wanted to take advantage of a weekend closest to the longest day of the year and since June 23, 24 had been spoken for with a personal commitment it was destined to be the 16th. I have to thank my wife Gail and our kids Rachel (21), Pamela (17) and Scott (13) for giving me the weekend to ride as my Fathers Day gift.
PLANNING
All of my motorcycle efforts became
focused on this trip. It certainly
has not been all consuming but there was no doubt in my mind that success was
going to hinge largely on excellent and detailed planning.
The first thing I had to do was think
about selling my ’86 Shadow 1100 and buying a bike that would be better suited
to l/d touring. My interest was in
a Sport Touring Bike and even though I was particularly struck by the Trophy I
found an ST1100 in Montreal that seemed too good to be true (2000 with 2500kms
for $10,000Cdn). My wife questioned
my sanity about l/d touring as soon as I completed my SS1000 last October.
Investigating this bike confirmed her suspicions.
The conversation went like this……..
Gail: Let me get this right. You’re going to spend $10,000 on a motorcycle you’ve never seen?
Neil: Right, but I’m having someone look at it before I commit.
Gail: Oh yes, right! A guy you met on the internet on something called an ST e-mail list!
Neil: That’s it! You understand know!
Gail:
Walks away disgusted! *S*
Thanks to Claude Fournier for looking at
the bike and giving it the thumbs down. We’ll
never know if that was a good or bad decision but the short outcome is I ended
up buying a 1996 Triumph Trophy right close to home in London Ontario.
It met all my requirements for an l/d machine………..yes, even though
it’s chain drive! I LOVE this
bike!
Next I set about making myself safe,
comfortable and dry. First Gear
Kilimanjaro Jacket and rain pants, HJC
Symax helmet and a great deal on a used Russell Day-Long that turns out to have
been made for someone very similar in size to myself. I was getting advice that safety and comfort had to be first
and other toys like fuel cells, GPS, radar detectors etc. could be acquired
later if I really still wanted them.
Route planning really was pretty simple.
Streets & Trips and my basic knowledge of the geography around the
Lakes confirmed that a Buffalo>Toledo>Chicago>Madison>Eau
Claire>Duluth>Thunder Bay>Nipigon>Longlac>Hearst>Cochrane>North
Bay>Arnprior>Brockville>Watertown> Syracuse> Buffalo route would be
for me. Yes, I could take a
“southern route" through Wawa and Sault St. Marie but my local knowledge said
it would not be as efficient as the northern route.
Hours went into planning departure times that would give an optimum
“Chicago passage” and also optimum use of my 6.6 gallon fuel tank.
By the time I left home on the 16th I had internalized the
route to the point where all I had was one sheet of paper in my tank bag map
window with an overview and the distances marked between way-points.
In my mind nothing except comfort is more important than detailed
planning. The execution became
easier this way for sure!
Even with detailed planning there’s
still choices to be made and I had solicited lots of advice on getting through Chicago.
To have a shot at 50 hours I
knew I had to leave home after a good nights sleep, unfortunately Chicago would be arrived
mid to late Saturday afternoon. I
made the final decision to run I90 through the city and in the end it cost me
time……DAMN!
I had done all the inside planning I
could do but I still needed an l/d run on the Trophy to actually see if it would
do what I wanted it to. I set out
for the BIG TEXAN STEAK RIDE on May 11th.
I reported that ride earlier but what it really taught me was I needed to
be well rested before leaving if I was ever going to have a chance at completing
the Great Lakes under 50 hours. Even
though I failed in my attempt at a BBG that weekend I learned more than one
invaluable lesson that contributed to my Great Lakes success.
It would appear that I was all set. My route was set, my bike was ready, I had purged my system of caffeine and I was well rested. I packed my bike with rain gear, cold weather clothes, bananas, granola bars and water. I was ready to go and went to bed around 10 PM on the 15th.
NEXT………………THE RIDE!
WAIT!!! How could I forget. That fateful day in late April when I saw the post on the l/d list that Eddie James had done the Lake run and under 43 hours to boot. I don’t mind telling you I was momentarily pissed at a guy I had never met! I mean, I was never going to challenge 43 hours butt he had beat me to the punch on being first to complete the ride, however I congratulated him sincerely and got on with my own plans. Eddie and I have exchanged a couple of e-mails about the ride since my completion and I hope some day to meet him personally.
NOW, THE RIDE…………..
Saturday June 16th I awoke shortly before 5AM. I got up, showered, dressed and prepared to go. It was going to be 160kms (100 miles) to Fort Erie before the official start and this kind of timing seemed almost ideal. It was just starting to sprinkle light rain so I put on the rain gear, kissed Gail goodbye and left home........5:23 AM and I was on the way to start my adventure.
7:23AM Fort Erie Ontario. Starting receipt and witnesses “in the bag” and I'm off!
So much of doing these rides I'm convinced is in preparation, both physical and mental. I had my route internalized but I didn't let myself see forward past maybe one or two fuel stops. It seems so much more manageable this way, splitting it into several mini trips.
Across the Peace Bridge, no toll, then through customs. I've decided the easiest way to do this is flip up the helmet face and shut off the bike to make it easier for the Customs agent to hear my answers to their stupid questions. I answered the requisite questions and scooted off on I190 heading to I90 West. How much trouble can I get into, after all I had just left home a couple hours ago and I was fresh and clear minded. WRONG! By the time I took my second fuel stop in West Unity Ohio I had run through about an hour and a half of rain and I had convinced myself that this was a stupid idea. My helmet was leaking inside the face shield (typical Symax I've discovered), my problem left hand was tingling and I had let myself look forward to the end and I realized how far I had to go. I called Gail and told her I was going to abort and figure out a turn-around point to get home in a 1,000 miles, then I'd sleep at home and run another 1,000 on Sunday for a SS2000. To be honest folks I can't remember exactly what she said but she wasn't really happy. She reminded me how much effort I had put into planning butt of course it was my decision. Anyway, whatever I was going to do I needed to get going so I said good-bye and headed on down I90 West. I really don't know what had gotten into my mind but it didn't take long before I was again focused on the task at hand and committed to the full Great Lakes ride. I shifted my focus to two priorities......... getting through Chicago and buying fuel as late as possible in Indiana so I could avoid what I had been told are obscene Illinois taxes! Fuel at Portage Indiana solved the one issue...Chicago is another story.
I have to stop here and thank George Barnes for his description of an efficient fuel stop and Ron Ayres for his use of bananas. I took advice from both of them and enjoyed bananas and very efficient pay-at-the-pump fuel stops. Do you know how fast bananas ripen inside a black tank bag in the direct sunlight and HOT conditions? FAST!
Anyway, I decided that a run right through Chicago on a Saturday afternoon couldn't be all bad. Surely the traffic would flow and the pace I had established could remain intact. It was important to my goal to establish a strong pace on day 1 as long as the interstates continued (through to Duluth). There was this guy in a black SUV that had other plans for me. He was a single vehicle roll-over (southbound) near O'Hare that backed my northbound traffic up quite a piece. I don't know exactly where the backup started but I do believe we were at a crawl shortly after White Sox Stadium and all the way through to and past O'Hare! And it was HOT!!! And I was all covered up in my fine protective clothing! The traffic never really came to a full stop so it was one hand to undo the Jacket and try to get some air moving around me. The only bright spot was meeting up with a fella on an R1100RT on his way to Green Bay. Rode rode together for a while and waved when he cut off on I94. Eventually the traffic started to flow and I took advantage of a toll booth to do the jacket back up into protection mode. I had made myself a commitment to always ride protected and I followed through. I wonder how I'll feel when I ride the Southern States some day in the summer time. The road quickly opened up and I was through Rockford and heading on to a fuel stop in Madison. Actually the receipt says "Cttg Grv, Wi" (17:58CST).......now I can say I've been there.
Madison to Eau Claire is the next leg and should be a piece of cake. I'm feeling great and the road is open and clear. I'm moving with the flow of traffic and making good time. DAMN, that sure is an enormous black storm cell off to the near North East! Good thing the road is heading just under the western fringe of this HUGE storm cell. I can see lightening off in the distance and realize that I have never been in this situation before and no one has ever told me what to do in a serious storm on a bike. Oh well, not to worry, I'm heading towards bright sunshine *S*. WAIT, what's this? A broad right hand sweeper that turns me right into the heart of the storm.....DAMN! Momentary fear is alleviated by a moderate left-hander that takes me just under the trailing edge of this Behemoth. The winds were absolutely vicious for about two minutes and the rain was intense for about the same amount of time, then I rode into the sun and through the steam rising off of the hot, wet pavement. I now know that I had dodged a major storm.........maybe the slow up in Chicago held me up just enough to miss it's full fury.
Eau Claire is fuel stop six at 21:44 CST. I eat a granola bar while I watch a couple pull in on their brand new Canary Yellow 1800 Wing. They look a little out of place with matching yellow Honda snowmobile coats on. The colour matched, just not the season. I take off my helmet for the second time today and call home with an update from the parking lot pay phone. The 800 number at home makes it pretty simple to keep in touch and let me reserve the cell phone for emergencies.
I had been told that Rt53 from Eau Claire to Duluth is a Bambi road. I haven't see any live deer yet on the rip butt there sure have been plenty of carcasses around that pose a considerable risk. This leg passes uneventfully except for noting that the last vestige of sunlight disappears from the sky around 11PM. My decision to ride close to the summer solstice has been a good one. As I enter Superior Wi. there are plenty of fuel stops so I presume that there will be plenty again on the way north out of Duluth. WRONG! It's about midnight, I'm getting cold, just flipped to reserve and there's no sign of civilization, let alone fuel! All of a sudden a little hole-in-the-wall bar. STOP. I park in front and go in with all my gear on and am met by the waitress who reminds me that snowmobile season is over *S*. I ask if there's 24 hour fuel close by and get the answer that you are likely suspecting as you read this. The drunk smiles and and says in his best alcoholic slur "there's a SuperAmerica 1/2 a mile further up the road buddy". Damn, more time wasted stopping to ask than if I'd kept rolling. The comic relief has been worth it though and after all, I'd rather stop and ask than run out! I don't know how cold it is butt I'm freezing! After fueling up I put on all the clothes I brought with me. A Triumph short sleeved T-Shirt, my Spring Fling long sleeve shirt, a sweat shirt, my fleece liner, my jacket, my fleece neck warmer, winter ski gloves and my rain pants as well. I'm getting tired of Granola bars so I buy a Milky Way (do you believe they didn't have Mars bars!) and I head off down the road, next focus..the Canadian border. btw.......the fuel receipt says 00:21 CST.
I got a neat little surprise while stopped for fuel that really lifted my spirits. I was sorting things out in my tank bag and noticed a GOLD envelope that didn't look familiar. I took it out and opened it and inside was a Fathers Day card from my kids. What GREAT timing for an treat like that!
I had been up for 21 1/2 hours and had ridden some 1061 miles in the past 18 hours since I signed out in Fort Erie. I supposed I shouldn't have been surprised when I realized I was very tired. What's this? A State Park, aka Iron Butt Motel? The desk agent had gone home for the night so I checked myself onto the only premium bench available. I prefer picnic tables butt couldn't see any available. The place was absolutely deserted so I knew when I set my Meanie for two hours it would only disturb me. It was FRIGGEN COLD and after an hour and a half I think I shivered myself awake! ;) I got up and jumped around a bit to warm up before heading off into the clear night. Eddie James stated it in his report and I will here too. Rt 61 from Duluth to the Canadian border has simply got to be one of the most beautiful roads around! It twists and weaves and curls around the west edge of Lake Superior in what must simply be a stunning fashion. You see, I couldn't really tell because it was DARK! Every once and a while the trees on my right would open up and reveal the moon glinting on the still surface of a calm Lake Superior. I decided right then and there that I was coming back some day soon in the daylight! Oh yes, daylight, it started showing it's glorious rays of sunshine just before 5am on my clock. Another reminder of a good decision of riding close to the longest day of the year.
I arrived at the Canadian Border still having only seen dead deer! The border guard was a little dead too! It took me a few minutes to convince him that I wanted back into my own country. For some reason he figured I was American. He said "and how long will you be visiting Canada". I looked at him and in my most polite voice announced "I'm Canadian and I live here!" damn fool!
Scooting off down the road towards Thunder Bay I see my first significant live animal. A big Cow Moose about 30 yards off the right side of the road grazing the vegetation in the ditch. I beeped my horn at her, she raised her head wistfully and seemed to say "don't disturb my breakfast". About five minutes down the road I met her psychotic sister who upon hearing my horn bounded off into the bush. For such a large animal I was amazed at how graceful she moved.
In no time at all I was at the east end of Thunder Bay. Where had the fuel stations been? Oh well, I pulled in to the Terry Fox memorial at the side of the Trans Canada and decided to take a picture to prove my presence in T. Bay. You can tell I'm a real rally veteran though, I got off the bike in the parking lot, walked over to the Memorial and snapped a couple of pictures. It wasn't till I was home that I realized this proved nothing! Neither I nor my trusty Triumph were in the picture! Live and Learn.
I back tracked a couple of miles and slipped three or four blocks into T.Bay for the fuel stop marked 8 on my map. The receipt reads 06:48 EST. I get back on Hwy 17 and the sign reads Cochrane 745 kms. A beautiful day unfolds in front of me. Wait.....what's this? Remember the psychotic Moose Cow? Well, she's not gonna be happy because here's her cousin Bullwinkle dead at the side of the road. This VERY large Bull Moose had obviously gotten too close to a transport and judging the fresh appearance of the remains the event had been pretty recent. Not a pretty sight.
I had decided to run Hwy #11 around the Northern route through Nipigon, Longlac, Hearst, Kapuskasing and then on to Cochrane before heading down to North Bay. There really isn't much to report because the road was open, clear and smooth. The sky was blue, the air was fresh and the temperature was moderate. A simply gorgeous day for running with the flow of traffic across the north end of civilized Ontario. Kilometer after kilometer clicked off with boring monotony broken only by fuel stops in Nipigon, Longlac, Hearst and Matheson. In Nipigon during my fuel stop two interesting things happened. Firstly I called home to report in with Gail. The receipt says 07:53 EST. Secondly I met another Triumph rider. He pulls in to the pump be side me on a Thunderbird. He's on a scenic tour of Lake Superior. He sees my IBA license and asks if I'm on "a ride". I tell him what I'm up to and guess what? He says "do you know Eddie James? he did the same run in April"! DAMN, this guys knows Eddie from somewhere and knows of his exploits too! Small world!
Anyway, I'm cruising along, enjoying the sites and wondering where all the livestock ( moose & deer) are. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy they're in the bush, however I am surprised. The kilometers continue to click off pretty easily and the only thing that breaks the monotony are my fuel stops and a few little breaks for the call of nature and a stretch. Somewhere east of Hearst I stopped to checkout the comfort factor of a picnic table for 15 minutes. VERY refreshing. During this stretch I was also reminded often of the practicality of a flip face helmet and a water bottle!
Remember the sign that said Cochrane 745 kilometers? Well I arrived in 7 hours......not bad progress if I may say so. Another stop in Matheson and then I'm in North Bay at 18:21 Saturday evening. I'd like to tell you more about this part of the trip but there simply isn't more to tell. Miles and miles combined with bugs and bugs. What else can I say.
After fuel in North Bay I headed east on Hwy 17. This was a great evening ride with the sun fully on my back. The speed limit was 90kph and traffic was traveling WELL over the limit. To be honest I didn't even keep up with the flow. I had still not seen a single cop in Ontario but I was not in the mood for a performance award, and remember, breaking 50 hours was the goal, not setting a record. It sure seemed like a long way but I eventually arrived at Arnprior and fueled up (stop #14 at 21:33). I made the decision to run over closer to Ottawa before heading down to the 401. I know this route and given the time of day figured the extra 20 miles or so would be easy to make up with higher speed limits. I quickly ran into a visibility problem with serious bug kills! The ride down to the 401 and back west to Brockville was at times frightening because of my reduced visibility and NUMEROUS deer carcasses on the road and the shoulder of the road! It sure reminded me of my vulnerability. I was also feeling some fatigue creeping into my body which surely didn't help the situation.
I fueled up (#15) at the 401 service centre west of Brockville at 23:29 where I discovered the main cause of my visibility problems. I was 2,200 miles into a 2,452 mile journey and every bug the front of my bike had killed was still roasting on my headlights. No wonder my visibility was impaired! I completely washed the headlights off and after I was back underway thought about Warchild when he first tried out his HID's. Compared to the previous few hours I could now see through time (relatively speaking). While stopped I took a short brake for the call of nature and to call home to let Gail know I was still ok. I suited up with everything except my sweatshirt on to guard against the cool, damp night air.
The border crossing back into the US was uneventful except that at the late I hour I had to get in line with the transports and that cost me a few extra minutes. Five minutes in from the border I saw my first live deer of the trip! I beeped my horn and she disappeared into the darkness (how obedient). I81 is a desolate road and I now believe I was really suffering from real fatigue. Within minutes I was sweating and had to pull over to the side of the interstate to take off my cold weather gear in the dark! 30 minutes later I was in a rest area putting it all back on because I was shivering. While there I saw a nice comfy picnic table and I checked in to the Iron Butt Motel again, set the Meanie for 15 minutes and dozed off, my helmeted head using my tank bag for a pillow. When the Meanie went off I reset it for 15 and dozed again. I remember hearing it again the second time but when I did get up it was 1 1/2 hours later! HOLY SHIT BATMAN talk about being jolted awake. I was up and on my way in no time.
It surely is amazing what fatigue does to you. I swear this next episode was not an hallucination. They I am, early AM, pitch dark zippen down I81 in the cold and all of a sudden out of no where is a well dressed man (business slacks and short sleeve dress shirt) at the side of the highway trying to thumb a ride! Where the H@^% did he come from? He didn't appear to be in any distress so I just kept on going! Nope, I swear, that was NOT an hallucination!
I had not allowed myself to look forward to the finish at all until Brockville and crossing back into the States but even that was too soon. I don't mind saying I was pretty depressed when I turned back onto I90 west at Syracuse and saw the sign that said Buffalo 100 miles. It was truly the longest and toughest 100 miles of the trip. 04:30 saw my final en-route fuel stop at Waterloo NY and a little walk around to fight the drowsies. After a few more miles I remembered someone on the list talking about using coffee in the final stages of a rally for a boost. What did I have to lose. Coffee had never kept me awake before butt I had been caffeine free for two weeks so I gave it a try. Zip into the service centre, drink a half a coffee and off I go just like I had received IV drugs! YEEEEE HAWWWW It lasted 20 miles and BAM, I was right back to where'd I'd been energy wise. I stopped and did it again and the second cup got me back to Buffalo, through some surprisingly light 06:30 traffic and back to the Peace Bridge and Canadian Customs. I told the nice lady I had been gone two days and had nothing to declare. She said "welcome home" and I zipped literally around the corner to the same fuel station I started from. My ending receipt says 7:10AM June 18 which gives me a GREAT LAKES GOLD in 47:47 (pending document certification). Witnesses and fuel receipt and I was done. It seemed so unreal to have actually completed what I had planned all winter for. All of a sudden it was over. WOW.
Another 160 kms (100 miles) got me back home. Gail took my picture on the bike (I'll post it when it gets developed along with Terry Fox). I showered and slept most of the day after giving Gail the quick review of the trip. I was SOOOO tired! I'm kind of tired right now writing this to be honest.
I've told the story many times since I've been home and will likely tell it many more. I get asked if I'll do it again.....the simple answer is yes...........BUTT next time it will be two up on a nice touring machine with Gail and we'll take a week. I want to do Rt 61 in the daylight!
Am I glad I did it? ABSOLUTELY! Would I do it differently again? I expect so yes but isn't that always the case. You make a run and learn something every time. I'm glad I did it and I'm glad to be home safe and sound. I wonder when the next challenge will hit me? There's nothing planned right now except a visit to IBR checkpoint day in Maine this September. If you're there find me and say howdee!
That's all for now. Thanks again to my wife and kids and anyone else who helped or encouraged me in the process of planning and executing the ride. Till next time............
GO AS FAR AS YOU CAN SEE.......THEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE FURTHER
Neil Dolson
Norwich ON GWN
'96 Triumph Trophy 1200 BRG "Sit & Twist"
IBA #7423
Email me here if you have any questions.
© neil dolson 2001
Here's my route map with fuel stops marked in sequence.
