Hey guys,
Long-time /trv/fag. I live in Michigan and am going to get the heat shield on my motorcycle (pic related) repaired over near Detroit this coming weekend. I'd like to take a short road-trip by myself and avoid the highway. I've been to Chicago three or four times but never Toronto. Which city should I visit? Is Toronto exceptional enough to warrant the drive or should I stick with Chicago? Does anyone else have any other suggestions?
I don't really care where I end up, as long as it's sort of interesting and won't be too hard to meet people. Scenic routes could be okay, too.
I was thinking about hitting up Toronto Sunday night, leaving early-ish, taking some photos of the city front, and then crossing into Niagara Falls and taking a ride along the lake back to Michigan.
I travel internationally a lot but am kind of at a loss what to do close to home. Help me out, bros.
>>1133123
Toronto is certainly worth visiting if you're never been. I don't think it's really worth visiting if you're not even going to really stay one day, though. Toronto is kinda ugly on the whole (like all Canadian cities), and more of a city that rewards exploration. I don't think you'll really being doing it justice or be all that blown away.
Niagara-on-the-Lake is certainly pretty. I don't know how much time you have, but you could do a circuit around Lake Simcoe, or go to Kawartha (awesome ice cream) and back. That'll give you the right countryside vibe if you avoid the major highways. Watch some Letterkenny to get a satirized idea.
If you had a lot of time, you could make a circuit of Lake Huron. Tobermory up the Bruce Peninsula (pretty) has a ferry to Manitoulin island, where you can make your way to Sault Ste.Marie and down to Mackinac and onward to where ever you live.
Where in Michigan are you? I assume not on the UP?
Did you buy that in India?
>>1133123
>Canada's day weekend
>QEW one of the busiest in world
avoid it m8. toronto is alright, its a lot safer and calmer and more hipster than chicago or michigan. scenery leading to it is shit compared to michigan though.
t. lived there for five years
>>1133248
niagara on the lake has a more scenic route too.
>>1133250
True, dang, I actually managed to forget about Canada Day, lol.
Still, that means there will be all kinds of little town fairs and stuff going on. No trolling, if you tell people you're American and came to see what Canada is all about, I think you'll be treated pretty well. Canada Day is less bombastic than 4th of July though.
I'm not in Toronto at the moment, or I'd suggest grabbing a beer.
>>1133248
I think I can probably get Tuesday off and spend most of Sunday and Monday in Toronto. I'll be in Windsor on a sort-of date Saturday and would leave early in the morning from whatever cheapo motel I end up crashing in.
For what it's worth, this is more about killing time and seeing a couple cool things than having an authentic Canadian experience. Most of my family lives in New England, so I've been passing through Ontario since before I can remember.
I live in mid-Michigan - close to Lansing - about an hour and a half from the Ambassador Bridge. Getting to the UP would take me at least four hours. However, I'll still do a map check and try to see the places you recommended.
I bought my bike here but first rode one in India, which, coincidentally, is where I learned how to ride in the first place.
>>1133250
Why avoid it? Just because of traffic?
>>1133475
The thing is that much of southern Ontario immediately surrounded by the lakes is such prime farm land that, well, it's pure farmland. There are forests and small towns dotted around, but farmland doesn't thin out till you get about Lake Simcoe.
Personally, driving around a late summer evening on the backroads of Ontario is something I find comfy as fuck. It gets pretty rural, and it sure isn't fancy. I guess you know what to expect if you're familiar with smalltown Michigan. Only it's less Republican.
It can get pretty hilly in places too, but like gently undulating hills. You've got deer and the occasional coyote or black bear to look out for. It's obviously not a mountainous area, but it's not flat as a pancake either.
Toronto and the GTA is just all big highways and urban driving. Depends what you wanna do. I seem to obviously be leading you away from Toronto, despite being a local, but I think that's me just living vicariously and what I'd do to get out for a weekend. Honestly I think I'd save TO until you can do it justice and spend at least 2-3 days in the city doing city stuff.
>first rode one in India
Seeing Royal Enfield, that's what I wondered. How does she handle?
>>1133604
Yeah. I'm thinking tentatively now that I might just go home after Windsor and then take a trip up along Lake Michigan. The alternative is that I could spend the night in Windsor, do some of the routes you told me, and then try to get back the same day. I guess it's all down to how motivated I feel to see some new shit and put even more miles on my bike.
So far as the RE goes, it handles nicely. You can tell that it wasn't made with the most modern technology, in that down-shifts sometimes get stumbled or stuck, or the shifter won't always go to where it's supposed to and will vibrate around maniacally until you can get it in place. It also isn't too fast - I can accelerate quicker than most cars, but I max out around 85-90mph.
Of course, I wouldn't have bought my bike if all I cared about was performance. It's just a blast for me to ride and fits my height and stature (I'm 5'11") well. I've been shocked at how much attention it gets - I regularly have people rolling down their car windows to yell out compliments and always get approached by folks in parking lots or at gas stations. When I was in Windsor a couple weeks back and crossing the Ambassador Bridge, I had a trucker stuck in the right lane tell me that he was excited about seeing an Enfield since the last time he saw one was three or four decades earlier. I guess his grandpa used to have one and would give him rides on it, which is how he'd gotten in bikes in the first place.
The reaction from Indian guys is always priceless. Had some guy driving a minivan full of kids through my university start screaming, "that's my bike, bro! That's my bike! I have same bike!"
