A good friend of mine advised me I should put a name on the trip.  I tried to ponder what some of the great epics had in common with this trip.  Homer, Herodotus, Drake, Lewis and Clark, heck even Tolkien.  I got nothing.  So there you go!   🙂

This was a productive day.  It wasn’t particularly fun.  I will have to admit I am a whooped puppy.  Up early and left the house before 7.  Clear skies and in the 50’s – perfect.  Topped off fuel in town and got on the interstate.  First day I wanted to make time.  So I broke my golden rule and stayed on the interstate all day.  The reason was I wanted to blow through Indiana.  Not particularly scenic and mostly straight roads.  The back roads are nice but I needed to get a kick start on the mileage.  Saturday, not as much traffic, blah blah blah..  First fuel stop in Indiana.

The day heated quickly.  I hit Indianapolis 11ish and it was already in the 90’s.  Stop and go construction on the outer-belt around the city.  South of the city I pushed the bike hard.  Very hard.  South of Bloomington, traffic was very light. Very rural, hilly and 10-15 miles between exits, some with no services.  I usually go 125-150 miles between fuelings.  At about 100 miles, I start thinking about when the next stop will be.  This time I had  about 90 miles on this tank, I had just passed a truck and the bike started sputtering.  It had run out of fuel…  Luckily I have reserve, so I found and flipped the switch under the tank (while still at speed) and it got me to the next gas station.  So I took it easier the rest of the trip.  Lesson learned.  Extended interstate riding burns more fuel.  High speed extended interstate riding burns even more.  I took a break and fueled after that in beautiful Newberry, IN and spent about a 1/2 hour hydrating.

Back on the road and another hour or so to Evansville, IN – on the Ohio River.  This was my initial first day destination.  Make it at least to the river.  Got off the interstate, found downtown and got lost.  Inquired with a local who pointed me to a local establishment, The Peep Hole.  Found same, had a quick ice cold beer and relished in the air conditioning.  Did I mention how hot it was.  Humid too.

It was about 330p.  I believe I had crossed into the Central Time Zone at some point.  Using my expert decision making and navigation skills, I figured I could make Paducah, KY.  It was only another 130 miles or so.  Maybe 2 1/2 hours.  Right?  That would put me there before 6p local..  I set up a route on Google Maps, mounted up, found the bridge over the Ohio river and headed into Kentucky.  It gets rural very quick. After an hour so it was time to fuel.  I had to leave the route I was on and found some little hallow that had gas.  Apparently I had gotten turned around a tad and was now on a new route.  No worries.  15 minutes later my crack observation skills fired up my synaptic nerves.  I pulled into a truck stop and checked the WX app.  Surely those red storm cells meant I was going to get wet.  I put on the weather gear and secured the bike.  Did I mention how hot and humid it was?

Bottom line is the last hour into Paducah it rained.  It was actually nice.  It cooled things off considerable.  Fueled up right away so I didn’t have to do it in the morning and started dialing for hotels.  Apparently a few events were happening in town, including but not limited to the National Quilt Convention.  This had the effect of sucking up all the hotel rooms.  By this time it was after 7p (central time).  I found a place that offered me a room for $55.  I went by, and kept driving by.  My needs when I’m solo are basic but I have to set a standard somewhere.

I found a place, not the best but, the a/c is cold and robust, wifi, hot water, and several eateries right next door.  Including a Starbucks!  I unloaded the bike, took a shower, got something to eat and went right to sleep. 930ish.

I tallied up yesterday.  13 hours on the bike.  595 miles.  5 fuel stops. 3 states. I am done (I hope) with the interstate.

So this morning I am refreshed and now need to figure out where I am going.  I failed to mention.  When I was packing I realized I had too much ‘stuff’. So I started pulling things ‘en mass’.  One of those items that decided I could do without, was all the maps.  I have one map of the US.  That’s so I can figure out what states are next to each other.  Good Idea? Downside is trying to figure where you are going etc.. Who needs maps..

So I have my Starbucks, a nice sunrise and places I need to explore.Life is good…