Any trip takes a lot of planning. Traveling by motorcycle takes even more planning than normal because you’ve got to be prepared for exposure to the elements, be aware of the limited range dictated by the size of your gas tank, and just know in general that you’re going to stop more often to reduce fatigue.

Add to that the fact that neither my friend Mike nor I have actual touring bikes. He’s got a 2007 Victory and I’ve got a 1994 Harley Sportster. Neither is ideally suited to long distance trips. Not that that’s going to stop us! It does, however, mean we’ve got to do even more planning, starting with luggage, and a way to secure it.

As you can see from the picture of my motorcycle, there aren’t a lot of places to attach luggage. After looking at various packs, I decided that I needed to add a sissy bar to the rear passenger seat of my Sportster.

While I’d have loved to have just walked into my local Harley dealership and made the purchase, the fact is I’m doing this trip on a budget. That meant I had to search out aftermarket parts. I spent more hours than I’d care to account for searching online for the right style and length of sissy bar at an affordable price.

I finally found what I was looking for and placed my order through Debrix.com. Because of the way motorcycles work, this ultimately involved buying four separate pieces: a 14–1/2 inch tall sissy bar; the rails that connect it to the rear fender; a pad; and finally a rear fender luggage rack. The total cost, with shipping, came to about $210.

How does adding a sissy bar to my bike help get me around Lake Michigan? Because it serves as the mounting point for most of the touring luggage sets out there. The packs I’m looking at would secure to the back of the sissy bar and either rest on top of the luggage rack or on top of the passenger seat.

The added long-term benefit of the sissy bar is that I’ll be able to carry passengers without them worrying about falling off the back of the bike. For some strange reason, this appeals to my wife!

So, about that luggage. Again, I’ve spent more time online looking at different packs to mount to my sissy bar then I can even remember. There are actually a lot of options out there, ranging in price from $40 to $500 and more. I found some great sets in the $200–300 range. However, having just spent $210 for the sissy bar and luggage rack, I decided I needed to go with something cheaper.

I could sacrifice the convenience of multiple outside pockets and a stiff frame, but I still wanted a set with two bags: a large main pack, and a roll bag. My reasoning was that I could make use of the roll bag as a good day bag or for riding back and forth to work, which is the bulk of my riding anyway.

One thing I didn’t want to sacrifice was waterproofing. Since we’ll be traveling in mid-June I fully expect we’re going to run into some rain on this trip. While I’m not crazy about riding in the rain, I do want to make sure I’m as prepared for it as I can be.

What I ended up settling on is a nice no frills water resistant luggage set from Dowco called the Rally Pack. It doesn’t have a bunch of the fancy outside easy access pockets and compartments that some of the other bags have. It also doesn’t have a lot of external handles or backpack straps that would make it easier to carry, but I think I can live with the inconvenience, considering the price tag is only $74.95.

As you can see from the photo, it’s a two piece set consisting of a main bag and a roll bag. It also comes with a bungee net for strapping on extra gear and a waterproof liner for the roll bag. From the reviews I’ve read, the liner is junk and the zipper breaks easily. However, most people have said the bag is very water resistant. I may also choose to line the inside of both bags with garbage bags just to be on the safe side.

The bag straps onto the sissy bar using adjustable straps. The bottom of the bag can either sit on the luggage rack, or I can turn the bag around and let it rest on the seat. This would have the added benefit of providing me with a back rest. I plan to take at least one overnight trip before the big Lake Michigan trip, so I’ll get a chance to really test out the bag. This will also let me test riding the motorcycle with the added bulk and weight. Adding weight to the rear of the bike is sure to change how the bike handles, especially in turns.

In my next post, I’ll be talking about the motorcycles my two friends, Mike and Tim, will be riding for this trip. One of them is pretty unique, so be sure to watch for that!

In the meantime, if you’ve got any ideas or suggestions on what I should be packing for this trip, please leave a comment below. I could use some help!

Related posts:

1. Lake Michigan Circle Tour by Motorcycle: The Bike
2. Lake Michigan Circle Tour by Motorcycle: The Night Before
3. Lake Michigan Circle Tour by Motorcycle: An Idea is Born

In my last post, I said I’d talk about the motorcycle I’ll be riding for this 1,000+ weeklong trip around Lake Michigan. Anyone who knows even a little about motorcycles probably immediately pictured one of two kinds of motorcycles: a large touring bike with a huge fairing, comfortable seat and lots of luggage; or, a nice rugged BMW or KTM style adventure bike, made to ride on and off road.

I wish!

No, instead, I’ll be doing this trip with my butt firmly planted on my 1994 Harley Davidson Sportster XLH 1200, pictured below. Yeah, it’s not exactly the sort of bike made to go on long road rides like the one I’m planning. Maybe I’m stupid, but to me, this is part of the challenge: ride the bike you’ve got and adapt it to the journey.

The Author’s 1994 Harley Davidson Sportster 1200 XLH

There are going to be a few challenges involved riding this bike over a thousand miles. First, the gas tank is fairly small. It holds 3.3 gallons of gas and averages about 40 miles per gallon on the open road. A quick dose of math means that my max range per tank of gas is just over 120 miles. This means I’ll be stopping more often for gas than any of the other motorcycles going along on this trip; about every two hours if you assume 60 miles per hour. Actually, this isn’t a bad thing, as you’ll see.

Second, I don’t have a wind screen. This means I’m going to be eating a lot of bugs! More importantly, it means I’m going to have the full force of the wind directly in my face. That’s a lot of pressure against me, which will cause hand and arm fatigue as I hold onto the handle bars for hours at a time. If it rains, it’s going to be even worse.

“Can’t you get a wind screen for a Sportster?” Yes, I could. Harley even makes a great wind screen that can be easily removed when you’re not going on longer trips. The catch is they cost in the neighborhood of $350. I’m doing this trip on a budget. I may change my mind, but for now I’ve decided this is something I can do without.

This is why stopping every two hours or so isn’t a bad thing. I’ll be fatigued enough from the ride that a stop every two hours will do me good. I’ll be able to get off the bike, rest my arms, stretch my legs and generally take a break. I’ll just have to be sure to get gas when I do it.

The third thing that makes this motorcycle a challenge for long distance trips is luggage. As in, where do you put any luggage? Large touring bikes typically have lots of lockable hard shell saddle bags and other storage that make them ideal for longer trips. Mine doesn’t have any of that.

This lack of storage space, or a place to mount any luggage, is one of the major issues I’m facing in my planning leading up to the trip. My next post will cover how I’m tackling that problem as I kick off the pre-planning of my Lake Michigan motorcycle trip. In the meantime, if you’ve got any suggestions or helpful tips about doing a long trip on a Sportster, or any bike for that matter, please leave a comment below.

Related posts:

1. Lake Michigan Circle Tour by Motorcycle: The Luggage Problem
2. Lake Michigan Circle Tour by Motorcycle: Day Six
3. Lake Michigan Circle Tour by Motorcycle: The Night Before

Preliminary Lake Michigan Circle Tour Route Map

I’ve only been riding a motorcycle for a little over two years. As I’ve gotten more comfortable on my bike, my subconscious has been nagging me to take longer and longer rides. Last year, I got together with a few friends and we did a day-long ride to Starved Rock State Park in Illinois. That just served to whet our appetites.

Skipping over winter, in February we attended the Cycle World motorcycle show at the Rosemont Convention Center in Des Plaines, Illinois. This show always gets me geared up and anxious to get back on my motorcycle! While roaming the aisles of new bikes, gear and accessories, my buddy Mike and I started talking about doing a longer trip this year.

A few days and a few phone conversations later, Mike proposed the idea of doing a week long circle tour of Lake Michigan in early to mid June. To say I got a little excited would be an understatement.

The more I thought about it, the more this seemed like the perfect first-time long range motorcycle trip. While we’d cover a lot of miles, we’d never be more than a day’s drive from home base in case something went wrong. We’d also be covering new ground the entire trip and ending up back home in one big loop, as opposed to a “there and back” straight line sort of trip.

We’re still in the early planning stages right now, but we’ve agreed on some basics. First, the trip will take place the second full week of June, the 14^th through the 18^th. The weather should be moderate enough for some great riding during June.

The second thing we’ve agreed on is to stick to county highways, local roads and scenic routes. Riding highways just isn’t as fun. They’re straight and not as scenic. While we’re still working out our final route, the preliminary version promises lots of curvy, meandering roadway running right up against the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on the Michigan portion of the trip.

The third thing we agreed on was that we’ll be staying in motels/hotels. Initially I proposed that we camp instead. This would save a lot of money, but it meant that we’d also have to carry more gear (tents, sleeping bags, cooking gear, food), be a little more limited in where we could stay, and would be a lot less comfortable. Hey, I’m 42 and I’ve got a bad knee, comfort matters to an old man! Ultimately, we decided in favor of hotels. With four to six of us, we figure we’ll cut costs by splitting the hotel bill. We’ll also have comfortable beds, showers and bathrooms. Always a good thing!

In my next post I’ll talk about the motorcycle I’m planning on riding for this 1,000+ mile week-long trip. Hint: It’s not a touring bike. I hope you’ll tag along for the ride!

Related posts:

1. Lake Michigan Circle Tour by Motorcycle: The Bike
2. Lake Michigan Circle Tour by Motorcycle: Day Six
3. Lake Michigan Circle Tour by Motorcycle: The Luggage Problem

I admit it, we now live in the suburbs. We lived in the city for many, many years and loved it, but our jobs changed and we started the reverse commute process. Then kids entered the picture, and it seemed pointless to hold out any longer. We succumbed and moved to the suburbs. It was closer to work, and more grass and open space for the kids we told ourselves. We’re still waiting for the day we move back into the city, because our hearts are still in Chicago.

Our kids love hearing stories about living in Chicago. The older they get, the more they want to know about it, and the more interesting it is to go back to visit some of these places. This was the general idea this year for our anniversary, a day of memories.

On a nice day in May, we headed into the city to do some sightseeing. The idea was to spend little money and revisit old haunts and rekindle old memories, not to visit the museums. Instead, we would visit some of the places we used to go all the time or lived near and loved, and walk our old neighborhood.

We added to the mix a visit to Millennium Park to view the Cloud Gate sculpture since this fell into the outdoor sightseeing category, and it is always a fun time for the kids. Who doesn’t enjoy standing under the “Bean” and waving at your reflection, or marveling at the cityscape reflected back at you. Probably more photos are now taken here in the city than any other location! OK, so this was a stop for me since I like to take photos of our kids here, I admit it, but they go along to humor me anyway.

Millennium Park

Of course, we didn’t find nearby parking, and ended up parking some distance away, near the Swiss Hotel. It proved to be a bit of a hike, but that was the idea for the day, no set schedule, just walking. We set off along Columbus Drive, which ran underneath Wacker Drive, ready for anything, when we walked right into the middle of a film set!

Police Line — Do Not Cross. Photo by eJourna.

The police were stopping all cars and monitoring the foot traffic. We had visions of a Dark Knight sequel being filmed, but it turned out they were filming a car commercial. We hung around like tourists just out of camera view and watched the car slowly circling the drive with a huge camera mounted to the hood.

We couldn’t figure out how the driver could even see, let alone avoid hitting a cement support beam. After all, we’d seen many people do that during a normal day’s commute! We tried to pay attention to the make and model of the car so we could watch for the commercial later and be able to say we saw it being made.

Even though the car was moving so slow, I’m sure the commercial ended up looking like it was moving at the speed of light. Though we haven’t recognized the commercial yet, and probably won’t ever see it, the experience was fun and enlightening for the kids. Where else but Chicago can you walk into the middle of a commercial being filmed? Chalk one up for the day of adventure, off to a good start!

Author and sons in Lurie Garden. Photo by eJourna.

As a concession to me, since I love gardens, the family headed into Millennium Park by way of Lurie Garden. The garden was beautiful in May, with many things still in bloom. This year was a bit of a late season with spring plants still going strong in parts of the area due to the cool weather we experienced all summer. On this day, the birds were especially chirpy, making for a relaxing, peaceful walk. Even the kids slowed down.

We meandered our way past the Jay Pritzker Pavilion and marveled at all the people just hanging out on the grass enjoying the day. We decided that the next time we visited, we’d most definitely bring a picnic lunch to enjoy on the lawn. There were no performances the day of our visit, but the kids agreed we should try to come to one here sometime in the future. It would be petty awesome to lay back on your quilt and listen to the symphony.

Cloud Gate from Pritzger Pavilion lawn. Photo by eJourna.

We took our time, and eventually made it to the Cloud Gate sculpture, more affectionately known as “the Bean” because of it’s bean-like shape. I never get tired of photos here. Of course I take photos everywhere, but who doesn’t love to stand around different sides of the Bean, finding your reflection in the crowds? Or taking photos with the cityscape reflected in an angle around you? Or taking a picture of your kids jumping up to touch the underside of the bean with their hair flying all around? It’s just fun, and by the number of people who joined us, others agreed. Tourists and residents alike fell under its spell, and we were happily part of the group.

We spent a little time having fun: posing with the performers that were entertaining the crowds, laying on the ground under the “Bean” making ourselves look like we were climbing it. Just like everyone else, but fun all the same. We were having a tourist day, so why not act like tourists?

Digital sculpture at Crown Fountain. Photo by eJourna.

The kids didn’t want to leave the park without a last stop at Crown Fountain. Crown Fountain is interactive art, fountain and splash park all rolled into one, done up in a way that could only be pulled off in Chicago. The kids figured if we still lived in Chicago, they would be down at the fountain to play in the splash area all the time, and it was fun for them to see all the kids getting wet. We thought about running through, but changed our minds when we got there. It was a pretty chilly day, and the mist was already making us cold. Maybe next time.

Eventually, we made our way back to the car. I felt like it was getting colder as we walked. The wind was definitely picking up off nearby Lake Michigan and, as I mentioned this, the kids, with their dry sense of humor, felt compelled to remind me that “this is the ‘Windy City’ you know!” They both shook their heads as if I were a bit daft, it was all so obvious to them!

We followed the same path back to the car and you would never have known there had been a commercial being filmed just a couple of hours earlier. All traces were gone. It was amazing that they just packed up and moved on with no visible evidence.

Lakeview and Wrigley Field

For the next part of our day, we headed north to the Lakeview neighborhood where we once lived. Lakeview is in the Wrigley Field area, but luckily the Cubs weren’t playing at home. It’s not that we don’t enjoy a game day crowd, but not when we’re trying to drive through the area. Cubs fans tend to wander out into the roads with their beer in hand at times, making the driving a bit more challenging. We would often find ourselves muttering under our breath “Hello! Did you forget you’re in a major city? Get out of the road!”

We did a driving tour around the ballpark to show the kids where the Cubs played and were once again amazed that the field sits right in the middle of a vibrant city neighborhood. We marveled at the fact that when we lived in the neighborhood, we didn’t really follow sports too much, even though we lived so close to Wrigley Field. Now that we live further away we only get to watch the games on TV, and pine for the days when we could have walked to Wrigley for all the day games we wanted.

We headed over to Belmont Avenue, near Roscoe Village, where our last house in the city was. This area had really changed in the past ten years. A lot of the houses and buildings have been converted into condos. Our old house was even torn down and was now a three flat brownstone. Wow, if we had stayed would we have done the same or would we still be living in the old Victorian house tucked between a school and a business? Who knows, it was a great location. The rest of the road was now pretty well gentrified, and looked nice.

Uncle Fun, Robot City and Leona’s

Uncle Fun’s on Belmont. Photo by Mike Gonzalez.

Some of the same businesses were still here, and a lot of new ones were taking root. Time moves on. We decided to take the kids to one business that will probably always be here, and is definitely worth the trip if you like something a bit quirky: Uncle Fun! Anyone who can’t find something to tickle their fancies here, well, you get the idea. Uncle Fun’s is a carnival of a store. The kid’s eyes lit up the second they entered the store. Cries of “Oh wow, look at this! We found old Star Wars trading cards!” echoed out of our kids’ mouths as they stumbled across one of a kind postcards to send people and useless plastic animals to keep in their pockets. “They’re just cool, mom,” I was told. They had a hard time choosing just a couple of things, so we escaped by promising a future trip. They are working on their lists for next time. I’m sure you will be too…

Time goes fast when you spend the day reminiscing. The day had been good so far, and we had done quite a bit of walking. We unanimously agreed that the time for food had arrived! We decided to take the kids to an old neighborhood spot that was a tradition for us, Leona’s! Yum. Leona’s is located on Sheffield Avenue, just north of Belmont. This is one to try if you are in the area. Probably everyone who lives nearby has been here more times than they can count, whether they admit it or not. It is still a family friendly Italian restaurant with good, inexpensive food. The service is fast and friendly, and the portions are large and filling. Their signature dish is lasagna, and you have a lot of varieties to choose from. Luckily for me, lasagna is one of my favorite dishes! Our kids will always eat pasta or pizza, so we all found something we liked on the menu. I swear, this cost us less than some of the local places in the suburbs for a family of four, and we still ended up taking home leftovers for a couple of meals.

Climbing Robot Kit, Robot City Workshop. Photo by eJourna.

As we walked out into the late afternoon sun, caught in clutches of a wonderful food coma, we saw a new store across the street: Robot City. Robots? The kids love robots! So does my husband, so we decided to give it a try. As we walked in, we were overwhelmed by all the crazy robot stuff! It was just as advertised, a store brimming with robots and robotics related books, kits and toys. The store was full of robotics and electronics kits you could take home and build on your own. The kits did all sorts of things: lights with circuit boards; motion detectors; sound detectors; and, well, you get the idea. As I’m the mother of two boys,  this was exceptionally fun for them. It was hard to choose only one item apiece, but in the end we managed it. I left with some brochures about robot building classes, which the kids wanted to sign up for on the spot. “Mom has to plan a bit more than that,” I explained. “this isn’t just right next door to us anymore,” I said, with more than a little hint of sadness in my voice, I’m sure.

Out of the kids mouths came “we like this neighborhood! It was fun!” and “we could live here again!”

Winding Down

Our day trip came to an end as we made our way out to the interstate and headed back home. Our day of activities, while fun, was just a glimpse of what’s around. When our kids get to be a bit older, we’ll be sure to check out The Alley store, another neighborhood landmark that seemed to have grown to cover an entire city block; as well as all the clothing stores, music shops and countless restaurants we used to frequent. Wait, they probably won’t want mom and dad along by then, but who knows? I can hope, can’t I?

Additional Chicago Resources

For more photos of our day trip to Chicago, see the Gallery.

maps.cityofchicago.org
www.explorechicago.org

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1. A Unique Way for Kids to Learn About Chicago
2. Travel With Kids Without Breaking A Sweat: Fodor’s Launches New Line of Children’s Guidebooks
3. Chicago’s Celtic Fest Takes Over Millennium Park This Mother’s Day