The last real day of the trip. Versailles, KY was the perfect place for a send-off too. The restaurant served good food and more importantly excellent bourbons that are served in such small measures that I know I can try a few without regretting it tomorrow.

Breakfast was similarly grandiose, too. The south of the US has a lot of stereotypes attached to it, but the one I’ve found that is most accurate is how warm and friendly the people here are. Leaving Versailles, I manage to make a final pit stop for provisions. Well, the store had the word liquor above it and after last night, how could I not take a measure of this place home with me?

We were covering distance today, so while I knew Kentucky had some roads for us, we opted for the interstate. We sat back, rolled the gas on and watched the pastoral scenes of Kentucky ebb away as we headed further North. Maybe it was this die-straight pursuit of miles or perhaps it was last day fatigue but our asses started to get stiff much more quickly and by Cincinatti, we were ready for a break. After asking a local, we ended up by the aquarium at the Hofbrauhaus.

This place was a replica of the famous beerhall in Munich, and while it was clearly empty when we were there, the food was good and you could tell it was a place to spend a spirited night.

Back on the bike, we set off for Lexington, OH and the AMA Vintage days. While we were making good time on the bike, we were still behind schedule and I began to wonder what would be there. Maybe it would all be over for the day? After more interstate miles, I began to realize we were in the right place at least. There were a lot of bikes headed the opposite way. This fueled my fears as there were none following or ahead. After locating the mid-ohio sports ground, we found out we were too late. Kind of. It was 4:40 by this point and as we rolled up at the gate the man asked us for $50. Fifty? “Sorry, that’s how much it is”, he replied to our blank faces. We had $13 left in cash so we pulled back out and went to the credit card entrance.

Parking, we debated the idea of going in. He’d told us everything would be pretty much over in an hour but for that $50, we’d get to stroll around and look at the machines and attend the end of the swap meet. As I didn’t need the parts, we decided to sit on the bank instead and watch the people riding in and out the gate, getting more or less the same experience for a lot less green.

We were glad we did as we met Matt Olsen from http://oldbikesinsd.blogspot.com/. I never did get chance to ask him exactly what model of Harley he was riding, but it was beautiful. It turns out, he’s ridden 1,000 miles from Wisconsin to be there. He also would have broken the two-up Iron butt record as Mara was on the back, except that part way along they’d had a flat at speed. He described it as like riding on water before it started fishtailing the width of the lane. On such an old machine, I’d have panicked, but he managed to get it to the side, fix the tire and carry on. He’s out riding in the parade today and he’s well worth saying hi to.

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After finally dragging myself off the grass, we finally got to see some OH backroads. They’re not North Carolina but I realized I’m also missing a great opportunity as I have to be somewhere. Now I know how close it is, I can always return.

The sore butt’s return very quickly this time as we hit the US-30 and we resort to playing silly games as there is nothing else to do, the scenery little to comment on. It’s amazing how quickly time passes when you’re trying to explain the plot of the matrix to someone who’s never seen it. As the light fades, we finally make Detroit and the border crossing home, but we’ve one last stop planned at my friend Juliette’s place in Leamington. it’ll be a weekend off, no bikes and we’ve done 3762km since we left toronto – That makes 795 today. I’m tempted to suggest we go around the block to push it past 800 but my ass tells me not to push it. Besides, it’s dark around here and my headlight gave out a while back so I’m on full beam all the way.

So, now I am here drinking and eating, basking in the wonderful and generous company of an old friend and her family and I realize I’ve done it. I fall asleep wondering if I will miss riding the bike today. I know Marina won’t and we do have another 300 or so to get back to Toronto on Sunday, so we will at least break the 4000 mark for the entire trip.

Along the way, I’ve formed a strange and stronger attachment to my bike. It’s been my home for the past seven days. Our lives packed in two decent sized panniers and one overladen backpack. We come home with more than we left with but it’s now packed in less space. There’s some oil on the crankcase that I desperately want to take a look at and the Tiger needs a thoroughly good wash. And I’m also planning on getting the top box and a better seat and some new maps, too because soon, very soon, we’ll be back on the road again.

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