Day Seven: Harrison, Ark., to St. Joseph, Mo.

Approximately 300 miles.

The calendar said Thursday and we’d been gone about a week. It was time to take to the highway one more time and make the ride home.

Compared to the other days and the miles we’d traveled, riding from my folks’ house in Harrison back to Joetown was a breeze. Well, at least it would have been if not for the bone-chilling temperatures.

Thursday dawned bright and clear. At least we were done with thunderstorms. Mom and Dad made sure we had a filling breakfast and my sister, Lisa, stopped in to visit.

We could see our breath when we pulled out bikes out from the garage and fired them up. Our fingers and toes would get chilly before we were too far up the road.

Basically, the ride was uneventful. We stopped twice to gas up, warm up and wake up but made good time and pulled into St. Joseph around 3 p.m.

According to Denny’s odometer, we traveled around 2,700 miles in seven days, an average of 385 miles per day. It was great trip. We saw plenty of country none of us had ever seen before. We ate some good food and some that wasn’t so good. We drank a few beers at the end of every day. We talked, laughed, joked, gave each other hard time.

But it was good to get home. My bed never felt as soft as it did that Thursday after I’d parked my bike, unloaded my stuff and stood in a hot shower for about 30 minutes.

And, we missed our wives and families.

That’s one of the best things about taking a road trip on a motorcycle with a bunch of guys… you might see fabulous sites and meet interesting people but it’s always good to finally arrive back home.