Hey,thanks,everyone,this is all really helpful! The link posted above brought me to this map:
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From this I gather the magnetic north pole lies in Canada, somewhere directly north from, say, Lake Michigan. So in the lower 48 US states, then the upper peninsula of Michigan, or Minnesota, would indeed be the best place to be... assuming there's anything to see that night. I know, I'm oversimplifying....
Okay, so... what I need to do is pick a place where I can go for a nice bike tour, at a time of year when it's nice to be touring there, where I would have the best odds of seeing the Northern Lights. It would be nice if this could be a time of year when my kids are not in school, and it would be nice if I could get to the starting point and from the ending point pretty easily, i.e. by bus or train or, perhaps, car or airplane. Anyone want to suggest something ?
For example: How 'bout a ride all the way around Lake Superior? If so... when? What kind of weather conditions would you expect if you were going to ride around Lake Superior in March/April, or September/October?