August 8th.
At 8 AM on this date three brave individuals (Steve, George & Hugh) mounted their motorcycles and rode to the Addison Dunkin Donuts on US Route 20 for an overnight ride to beautiful Waldo, Ohio, home of the G & R Tavern and their world famous Fried Balogna sandwiches.

“This is where the magic happens”.
We headed west out of Dunkin Donuts, jumped on Southbound I-355 to pick up Eastbound I-80 which took up to Northbound I- 57 witch we followed to Kankakee where we picked up Southbound IL-1, that was the beginning of my chosen route.
We stayed on Southbound IL-1 until we picked up IN-28 east, which we rode across the entire state of Indiana. IN-28 was not a special road as it was not a rider’s paradise and it was not graced with miles of twistys and mountains of elevation changes.

In case you forgot why I wrote this story or why we rode here.
It was not an unpleasant road, just flat land with corn-field after corn- Field with a break in the monotony by the many small towns along its route. It did have one thing in its favor in that it took us completely across Indiana without having to use the Interstate. Also, leading George III and Hugh Brandt on a ride is at times like trying to heard cats. So with fewer turns there was less chance of losing either of them.

Left: Keith, George, Steve. Right: Ken, Rhys, George, Hugh.
IN-28 took us to OH-47 which we followed into Sidney, OH where we bunked in for the night at the Comfort Inn. After a couple of adult beverages at the hotel bar Georg, Hugh and I walked across the parking lot to the restaurant for dinner.
After a hearty meal and, I might add, a few more adult beverages, we walked back to the hotel where we headed for the lobby to partake in some more sparking and stimulating conversation. When we were all talked out (not George, just Hugh and I) we headed off to our rooms for some needed sleep.
August 9th

“The Magic” !
After a satisfactory breakfast we saddled-up rode the final 74 miles on OH-47 into Waldo and our destination the G & R Tavern. OH-47 from Sidney to Waldo turned out to be a rider’s delight. It was beautiful twisty road with lots of elevation changes thrown in for good measure to keep you on your toes.

YUM! YUM! YUM!
At 11:30 am local time (EST), four riders from the Detroit area BMW club I belong to rolled into town and joined us for lunch. I myself decided to skip their equally world famous pie and have two balogna sandwich’s while George and Hugh each had one sandwich and split a (rather generous) piece of pie.
The seven of us shared a lot of conversation at the lunch table before we split up and headed for home. Hugh Brandt left us in Waldo so he could ride a few more days on some of Ohio’ s more famous, or should I say infamous roads. George and I headed down US-23 to the Ohio Turnpike and the quick route home.

Only the brave dare enter here………………………..
Except for a couple of back-ups on the Indiana toll road, the ride home was quick and uneventful. I pulled into my driveway at 6:30 PM having ridden 350 miles. Our ride to Waldo on the two-lanes netted us 475 unhurried miles.
I hope to attract more riders the next time I lead people to Waldo to enjoy the gourmet food and the “Exotic Scenery” you’ll see on the ride there. Steve.