From The Tail of the Dragon Back To The Cornfields

After four days on the motorcycles, including two days riding some of the best roads we’d ever been on, it was finally time to start heading home. We still had about 400 miles to go, but we planned to split that up over the next two days.

Day 5 started in Cookeville, Tennessee. We got up early, packed the bikes, and headed toward Evansville, Indiana. We took a few smaller roads along the way, but most of the day was just about covering miles and getting closer to home.

There were still some pretty areas to ride through, including a few stretches with big rock cutouts along the highway. Nothing quite like the mountain roads we’d been riding, but it was nice scenery anyway. And after all those curves, we weren’t exactly complaining about getting to ride some straighter roads for a change!

We made it to Evansville after about 240 miles and checked into Bally’s Hotel and Casino, the same place we’d stayed on our first night. After getting cleaned up and enjoying what felt like the best shower ever, we headed out for something to eat.

We went to BRU Burger Bar, which is inside an old Greyhound bus station. We’ve eaten there before and really like the place. The burgers are good, but the real reason we keep going back is their soft pretzels. Seriously, they’re some of the best we’ve ever had!

Since we had a little time to relax, Kennie also decided to show off the fishing gear he’d been carrying on his motorcycle for the entire trip.

Instead of trying to pack regular fishing poles, he uses Cuban hand reels, sometimes called fishing yo-yos. They’re small, cheap, and don’t take up much room. He even carries enough gear for both of us, including tackle, lights, and a couple of tiny blow up seats.

He gave a little demonstration of how they work, although his first cast didn’t go quite as planned. And then he managed to get snagged. So much for showing everybody how easy they are!  They take a little practice to get the hang of it, but after you figure it out, it’s a pretty good setup.

We never actually got around to fishing during this trip, mostly because we hadn’t bought fishing licenses for Tennessee or North Carolina. But at least we know we can bring everything we need without having fishing poles sticking out all over the motorcycles.

We spent the rest of the evening enjoying Evansville and relaxing. Even after riding all day, we still wanted to get back on the bikes and ride around a little more. Apparently, we hadn’t had quite enough motorcycle riding yet. 

We decided to spend a little time in the casino and both of us came out ahead. So far ahead that we paid for our trip with our winnings. WooHoo!! We didn’t do any recording in the casino but figured that part’s worth mentioning.

Day 6 was our final ride home to central Illinois.

We were hoping to get a little extra sleep that morning, but the hotel alarm clock had other plans. It went off around 6 a.m., and then the snooze alarm went off again because Chris couldn’t figure out how to shut the stupid thing off. So much for sleeping in!

Before leaving, Kennie spent a little time wiping down the bikes and checking everything over. He also showed off some of the things he likes about his V-Star 1300 and talked about how well both motorcycles had handled the trip.

Then we loaded everything up and headed for home.

Our first stop was the Love’s truck stop in Olney, Illinois, where we’d also stopped on the way down. We grabbed some fuel and took a break before getting back on the road. Of course, almost as soon as we crossed back into Illinois, we were greeted by road construction and somebody wandering into our lane. Welcome home!

We made one more quick stop in Kansas, Illinois, to stretch our legs. Kennie also took a minute to show how differently the tires had worn from riding the straight roads around home compared to all the curves we’d been riding in Tennessee and North Carolina.

From there, we only had about another hour to go.

We made it home around 11:30 that morning, unloaded the motorcycles, and spent the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing. After six days of riding, that sounded pretty good!

Our first big motorcycle trip was officially over. We’d ridden some amazing roads, seen some beautiful places, gotten lost, gotten rained on, lost motorcycle keys, and learned quite a bit about traveling on two bikes.

We were tired, sore, and definitely ready for a break. But we were also glad we’d finally done something we’d been talking about for so long.

And now that we’d made it from the cornfields to the canyons and back again, we were already thinking about where we wanted to go next!