Going Home

I'm home now, but will write a bit about the last two days on the road. LONG DAYS!

Starting in Sioux Falls, SD, we had 1,467 miles to home. On Friday morning we headed east/southeast and ended up in Danville, IL for the night. 678 miles for the day--a new personal record number of miles. The ride was hot, but not as hot as it was in the far west. We stuck with the GPS routing, which took us further north than either of us would have thought was prudent. But it was not a bad route, and made sense when looking at the maps.

Saturday morning, starting in Danville, IL, we continued the trek home. Along the way, I was on the fence as to whether to ride home to Clayton or whether to stop at Gary's home for the night. He wanted me to stay, it was a long ride, and dusk when we got to an exit near his home.

One of his concerns (as well as mine) was my rear tire. It had gotten more and more slick, with it being noticeable in South Dakota. At each stop, I'd look at the tread and wonder if it would make it home. I hadn't noticed it earlier-when I'd take a glance at the tire, I always saw enough tread to feel comfortable. But somewhere in South Dakota, when I looked at it, there was a spot with almost no tread. It didn't wear uniformly.

So, I'd look at it at each stop and wonder. By Friday morning, I was getting pretty concerned--no tread was showing on two places on the tire. I decided not to worry unless some of the tire fabric or steel started showing. When that happened, the bike would stop until it was replaced (however long that took).

When I was deciding where to stop on Saturday night, I took one final look at the tire. While more of it was slick, no fabric or steel was visible, so I decided to ride on to home. And I did with no problems at all.

Got home and looked at the mileage--789 miles for the day! That's a long way for a guy who, 5 years ago when I started riding again (after a hiatus of 35 years) , thought a long ride was 50 miles! WOW!! And, while I was tired, I wasn't exhausted like I probably should have been. Must have been an adrenalin rush....

So, I'm home now. Tired, but not too bad. Will write a summary and post it later.