"I really like that dark blue bike," Kate said. "That's the first bike I've seen that kind of makes me wish we were on it instead of yours."
"Don't let the Hawk hear you? It might buck you off."
"I love the Hawk. But look at the way the blue and the silver go. And those handle bars are awesome. I think that's the kind of bike I want. Only smaller."
"The bike you want, huh?"
"I'm thinking about getting one to learn on when I get back."
"Attagirl."
The platitude came out to hide the involuntary sting I felt at thinking about Kate going back to Blake. We had only a day and a half left. It wasn't something I could get my head around at that moment.

The sun had dropped low in the sky and it glowed bright orange. The road continued north for about fifteen more miles until it joined with Indiana 46, the road that heads due west to Bloomington. There were no cheap hotels along the way. We would have had to go on into Columbia and I just made the turn and kept hammering. The longer I rode, the more furious a rider I became. It was partly a way of fighting the fatigue and staying focused. Like becoming an iron centaur, half man, half machine. But it was partly that I was angry at Kate for having control over me.

In Chapter VII Giles and Kate finish their ride. Giles learns his father is sick. Kate goes back to her tribe. And they have sex for the last time.

July 11th, Bloomington, IN to Chicago, IL. I was stiff and my face still radiated sunburn from the day before when I woke up. I looked over at Kate. She was lying face down with her head turned to the left. She'd fallen asleep without the t-shirt she usually put on at night, and so her back was naked. Her arms and neck were sunburnt too, but her skin had already turned it brown. I think my favorite thing in the world is to see a woman twisted up in sheets with their back naked and their underwear riding up a little from shifting around in the night. I wanted to wake her up by kissing her neck and back softly until I could feel her move underneath me.

We got back on the bike and followed the guy's directions to the state highway. We could see the traffic jam inching along as we sped down a two-lane highway between two cornfields. I had that rare feeling that I avoided a disaster by chance. We cruised along for about ten miles before the road ended so we jogged back over to the interstate. It was moving fine.

We ended up on some kind of parkway, making great time. The skyline was dead ahead, the sun glowing low to our left. Eventually we hit Lakeshore Drive. Lake Michigan appeared on our right and the Sears tower grew bigger and bigger over the layers of the Chicago Skyline. I think I'd take the Chicago Skyline over any other American Skyline. There was thick traffic on the drive, but it moved fast. At one point this old guy who could barely see over his dashboard changed lanes into us, and I had to scoot left kind of blind but it didn't scare me. I think it scared Kate but I saw him coming early and made sure I sped up so when I jogged over I was going faster than the cars around me.