We started off in Clarksville, Indiana....just across the river from Louisville, Kentucky.  The last day of our trip.  The weather in Clarksville was a little foggy with light rain.  Nothing major, but rain gear was required.  We took I-65 all they way up, through Indianapolis.  We stopped a few times for gas, and besides taking some time to reflect on the trip, the only thing that really stood out was the WIND on I-65.  It was freakin' WINDY!   Even Brian on his bike that outweighs mine by 600 pounds said he was getting blown around a bit.  There were a couple of time when we passed trucks that I felt like I was going to get blown off the road.  It was a little unnerving.

Outside of the wind at points, the rest of the ride was just reeling in miles and keeping gas in the tank.  I did finally have the opportunity to justify carrying my tool kit with me, however.  Not anything the bike per se, but with the tubes that I mounted on the side of my top box (the action packer).  One of the nuts had come off the bolt, so it was hanging by one bolt while I cruised down the highway.  Luckily, the way they were designed, the bolt was somewhat captive by the screw on top, and the nut and washer simply fell inside the box.  So it was just a matter of putting the nut back on and tightening it (and the other 3 while I was at it).  Quick fix.

After a week of packing stuff and fighting with the space limitations, I came to a realization today.  What I discovered was that I can always fit "one more thing" into my tank bag or action packer (top box).  Especially the action packer....you just need to press harder, and not get concerned if the side looks like it may burst at the top....just put the locks on and roll!

After stopping for lunch in Merriville, Indiana, Brian and I decided we'd get back up on crazy I-65 and took it to 80.  He warned me about the crazy drivers on I-65, and he wasn't kidding.  That was a free-for-all.  From there he got off at LaGrange Road and I contiued on to 355.  Traffic was okay until I got onto 355.  From there on, I just turned the music up on my bluetooth headset, twisted the throttle and put the hammer down all the way home.  Since I was wondering how much gas I had left and didn't want to have to switch to reserve after the engine died at speed, I reached down and switched to reserve before I needed to.  If I ran out of gas, I was really out of gas in the tank.  But I still had my two 30 ounce MSR fuel bottles in the tubes on my top box.  Riding at higher speeds on my bike really affects the gas mileage.  The 70mpg that I was getting in the mountains was a distant memory.  Hammering along at 70mph at sea level was giving me more like mid 40's and I was going to need about 100 miles to get home.  With 96 miles on the tank, I pulled into the gas stations a couple miles from my house.  Surprisingly, it only took 1.6 gallons to fill up.  I got better mileage than expected.  We were taking it pretty easy the last leg before Brian and I parted ways at LaGrange road.  When I got home, I unloaded the amazing amount of stuff that I was able to fit on my little "dirtbike".  I was happy to see that my large folded map of Cherohala Skyway was still in good shape, which is amazing considering how I continually jammed stuff in that thing on the way home today, and really all week long.  I lubed my chain, and in doing so I noticed some links that were a bit kinked.  Probably time for a new chain.  But the bike kept it all together for me.  It was an amazing trip with a good friend.  Brian and I always have fun together...even when things get tense we can always laugh about it later.  It helps that we're both young at heart.  Before we left Clarksville this morning, Brian was already talking about our next trip.  Who knows.....