• Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! Feel free to hang out and lurk as long as you like. However, we would like to encourage you to register so that you can join the community and use the numerous features on the site. After registering, don't forget to post up an introduction!

[Trip Report] TWT Invasion of Arkansas 09/18/03

Sorry it’s taken me so long to get my trip impressions posted, but better late than never, huh? :roll: :wink:

This ride may have been sort of a substitute for the TWT Arkansas invasion that nobody signed up for, but it probably turned out better because of it. For one thing, we missed the circus going on down in Hot Springs with the huge Harley riders event occurring that same weekend, but more importantly, I can’t imagine how there could be any better riding anywhere in the country than what you’ll find in northwest Arkansas and southern Missouri. Scott’s route selection was superb, and with a little help from a friendly Suzuki Bandit-riding UPS driver in Missouri, we were directed to the best set of smooth, sweeping curves that I’ve ever experienced, and they went on for miles! The roads in that part of the country provide every type of a challenge a sport-oriented rider could want, from fast sweepers to tight, technical twisties, and the pavement quality on most of the secondary and county roads makes what we have to endure here in Texas seem almost shameful by comparison. I don’t know how they find the money and resources to maintain their roads in those states, but the Texas Highways Department could learn a thing or two from their counterparts in Arkansas and Missouri. Seriously.

The scenery is also very nice, so if you’re inclined to ride at a more relaxed pace, there’s still plenty to enjoy. If you’ve never been there, imagine the Hill Country west of San Antonio combined with the lush forests and greenery of east Texas and you wouldn’t be too far off. It’s a region of hills and high plateaus cut by numerous river valleys, so you’re constantly experiencing significant elevation changes as you travel. The phrase “God’s country” might have been invented just to fit the region. Every now and then, we’d be riding along through the woods and suddenly a beautiful vista would burst open before us. Eureka Springs itself is a picturesque little town that caters to the tourist crowd, but thankfully, there didn’t seem to be a huge number of people there at the time. Even if there was, you can be out of town and riding on some great roads in less than 5 minutes. The old downtown area is the sort of place that I’d love to explore if more time had been available, with lots of quaint Victorian-era store fronts and renovated homes set on steep, narrow winding streets. I would be happy to spend a couple of weeks in Eureka Springs; it‘s that nice. There are some pretty good restaurants in town too.

Did I mention that the weather was perfect? Fall arrived there at the same time our riding group did. The first morning started out in the low 50’s and never broke the upper 60’s. The second day only got into the mid-70’s, and we had clear, sunny skies both days. It was a fabulous break from the oppressive summer heat we had been having down here in Texas up to that point.

We also had a great group of guys participating too, with a pretty diverse background. How they all ended up riding VFR’s seemed kind of odd I thought, until Hugh Howell traded bikes with me for few miles. Smooth, comfortable and (with a Micron pipe) soulful is the best description I could give of the Honda. Loved the buttery, smooth transmission too. Oh, sorry - I was supposed to be talking about the riders, not their bikes! Hugh was easily the fastest rider of our group, what with his many track days and training by professional racers under his belt but you’d never guess it if you hadn’t seen him on a bike before; he’s the nicest, easiest-going East Texas good ole’ boy you’d ever meet.

Hugh’s buddy John didn’t have any trouble keeping up either I noticed, and the stylish full leather suit he was wearing when he and Hugh rolled up to the motel gave me the impression that I’d be riding with a pair of riders who might be a little hard to keep up with.

Garrell was our steadying influence, with his yoga expertise (he’s an instructor) and calm demeanor. Just don’t put a fresh fruit pie within smelling distance of him though, because he will attack it with a vengeance! I think he’s on a mission to find the perfect pie, because he asked about that everywhere we’d stop to eat.

Then there was Larry on his sweet, red ‘02 VFR. He and his wife Shelly were nice enough to put me and Scott up overnight at their new home in Grapevine on the way up. Underneath his responsible, family-man demeanor lurks the heart of a road warrior, as he would leave me for dead in the turns. Must be those track days again.

Scott? Well, he’s Scott; what can I say. He’s the man with the plan - and the tools and ability to take care of anything that might happen to fall outside of those plans. After the first day’s riding, Larry’s front tire proved to be a little too worn for the pace, but Scott had packed a set of replacement rubber and he made quick work of swapping it out. Toward the end of the second day, Scott’s own rear tire went flat, but he calmly proceeded to demonstrate how to plug it and re-inflate it by the roadside and we were on our way again in no time. Very impressive!

So that’s the short version. I left out my impressions of the single-lane suspension bridge we traversed, the sublime Thorncrown Chapel, and the custom car show we rolled by, along with a bunch of other cool and interesting things we saw along the way, but you’ll just have to go yourself next time if you want to learn about all that. :P 8)
 
Guest = Scratch. I obviously dawdled too long while typing and editing and was automatically logged out. Oh well! :roll: :lol:
 
Good write up Paul. I haven't given up on writing my trip report yet. I have been reliving each day over and over in my head. It was such a great ride and extremely therapeutic if you know what I mean.

I wish you could head up to Ava with us. It would be nice to see you again.

Later,
larrysig.gif
 
leadwolf said:
Good write up Paul. I haven't given up on writing my trip report yet. I have been reliving each day over and over in my head. It was such a great ride and extremely therapeutic if you know what I mean.

I wish you could head up to Ava with us. It would be nice to see you again.

Thanks, Larry! I wish I had the time to join you guys again too, but my work situation makes it kinda hard for me to get away - the pace always pick up in the fall. It was almost like pulling teeth just to get off half the day next Friday in order to do the Hill Country ride this coming weekend. I'm sure we'll hook up again somewhere along the way. Say hi to Shellie for me!
 
Glad to hear you all had a great time, I'm sure as more and more people read this kind of thing, more and more people will be willing to take off on a trip like this, with complete strangers! (I dont get it either, I'd ride anywhere, with just about anyone, long as they were safe) It really is too bad the TWT rally didn't happen, but this is a good start, and as the site grows, and brings in more folks, I'm sure it will just keep getting better, and better. I'm down for next year!
TR
El Centro CA
(6 weeks, and TX bound!)
 
Paul,
Fantastic write up. I’ve been reliving the roads myself since our trip. It was a good experience meeting new riders. I also thought it was interesting how many VFRs there were. Your Triumph RS is very close to a VFR. Even though I couldn’t hear it when I rode your bike, it also sounded sweet when I was riding behind you.
Thanks for the trip recap,
Hugh
 
Back
Top