So how many times have a group of buddies talked about doing a weekend bike trip together, and never got around to making it happen? That was the case of the Country Mile for years until the topic could not be hidden any longer. Basically the trip would consist of a group of gentleman on two wheels tearing around Lake Michigan stopping whenever and wherever they thought it would be a good place to have a few a drinks or smokes and to rest their heads, with a bunch of mayhem in between of course.
In 2007 the inaugural Country Mile went down in history as a great time with antics such as getting into bar fights with a little red headed man who thought he was Michael Jackson and hooking up with some girls in the middle of nowhere who invited all 10 of us back to their daddy's hunting cabin. Even a drunk guy got branded with a homemade branding iron. Enough about the first run, let's get back to Country Mile numero dos.
For the second annual event, quite a few more people showed up. The run started out of Chicago without a hitch, but by the time we made it into Michigan, we had lost a Triumph. A few hours after we loaded the Trump into the chase truck, the crew stopped and had a couple of beers at an old gas station. It was closely hitting nightfall so we set out for our campsite and pitched our tents. The first night's stop actually turned out to be one of the best parts of the trip. Between all of the stories, the weird smoke being blown around the campfire and starting the picnic table on fire with bug spray it ended up being quite a night.
Day two started with a whole bunch of rain, which was to be expected. We fought through the downpour and motored on to the Mackinaw Bridge. Once across the bridge we hit the north beach of Lake Michigan on the Upper Peninsula where we decided to take a nice stroll on the beach with our motorcycles, which stirred the beach goers into a frenzy. Back on land and doing 90 miles an hour in a swarm of motorcycles across the peninsula, we made it to the little town where we would stay for the night. While everyone was eating, some of us including myself decided to scout out a place to stay for the night. On the way to the campsite, we had our first human casualty with our man Bacon putting a hole in his calf with his footpeg. This did not of course hinder our beer-fueled frenzy. With numerous threats to be kicked out of the site we decided to call it a night.
The morning of day three was pretty chilly. Some of us peeled off early and the rest of us set a course for the next unsuspecting little town in our path. We caught a lucky break and were told of a bar on a farm, in the middle of a field that was willing to let us drink all night then sleep it off in their backyard. What more could a bunch of dirty drunks ask for? After the best ride into the sunset ever, we made it to the bar. Lots of beers later, some shit got started between drunken friends and a few punches were thrown. After that we called it a night and all woke up friends.
The last leg of the run on day four is always bitter sweet. Bacon and myself were the first to peel off in Milwaukee. The rest of the group headed south toward their respective destinations. In my opinion this ride was the best in a long time. Even with the drama at the end. All of highs and lows of the weekend burned a permanent spot in my mind with the best part of Country Mile was that we were all together RIDING! And isn't that what it's all about? SC