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Simmons1
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I had told many people that if someone made a Japanese GS like bike I would buy one. So I put my money down and waited a long time for the Tsunami delayed Super Tenere's to arrive. Flash forward 3 years. I have been enjoying the Tenere a lot but so far I have missed out on going to the annual Rally. The first one was in Whitehorse, Yukon and the second one was in Ouray, Co.
Even though until recently it has been tough getting time off from work this year I was bound and determined to attend the third edition of this Rally being held in Marble Falls, AR.
Bike prep for the Rally was simple. Mount a set of more dirt worthy tires. I decided to try the Mitas E-07's which had recently become readily available in the USA.
The only other thing I needed to do was plan a route. I had been reading the reports about the Oklahoma Adventure Trail (OAT) and decide I would incorporate a piece of the Eastern portion in to my route.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=836706
I wound up getting around 400 miles of the route built in to my 720 miles route from home. My goal was to take as many back roads and dirt roads as practical on the way to the rally.
Day 1 Fort Worth to Broken Bow, OK
I hit the road after having an awesome breakfast that Linda made for us.
I rode about 30 miles of Interstate to get away from the metromess and then rode back roads to get to where I would start heading East on the OAT.
On the other side of the Carpenter Bluff Bridge I would be on the OAT.
The Red River was a little so I rode out under the bridge to check it out. I wonder if I am in Oklahoma or Texas right now?
The roads were easy and scenic with sneaky patches of sand or gravel to keep me paying attention.
Things got a little interesting for a few minutes considering I was by myself. The road started out nice.
Then start get more interesting until it I couldn't go any farther to due downed trees.
Being by myself I didn't like this mud on the way in. It wasn't any more fun on the way out.
When I re routed around the closed road, this was what was on the other side.
Back on track.
Next scenic stop was in Hugo, OK at the Mount Olivet Cemetery. Home of “Showman's Rest”
“The little town of Hugo, Oklahoma, has been the winter home of traveling circuses since the 1930s, and the eternal home for some of those who spent their life under the big top. The Showmen's Rest section of Mount Olivet Cemetery is bordered by sculpted tusked elephants on granite pedestals and each grave colorfully designed to show the personality and trade of the interred.
Hugo is still "Circus City, USA," as its welcome sign proclaims, with the Kelly-Miller and Carson & Barnes circuses currently calling the town home.”
After gas and a drink in Hugo it was time to move on.
I didn't get real far before this happened. Detour number 2 for the day.
I walked the bridge and really couldn't tell why it had been closed.
If I was on the WR of KLR I would have crossed it . Riding the Nimitz Class Super Tenere it wasn't going to happen.
Almost to Broken Bow
A found an old very nice kept Hotel to call it a day at.
Day 2 Broken Bow to Stillwell, OK
It was a pleasant cool morning and I had another long day of dirt and back roads planned after a nutritious breakfest.
After a short time I would be on dirt headed North between Broken bow Lake and the Arkansas Border.
I had scene a few deer and more squirrels than I thought existed on the whole planet. I even saw a couple horses that were not fenced in but the ran off before I could get me camera out.
After a couple hours I popped out on Oklahoma 259 headed to 3 Sticks Monument.
I had taken the big Bike bypass as I was by myself skipping the Western Side of the “K Trail”. After leaving the 3 Sticks I headed East on the “K Trail” for a few miles. It was a more rough with washouts and big rocks every where compared to the last time I rode it on my WR250R.
After making a loop I popped back out of the woods and crossed 259 heading East. Have been by this a million times and never stopped. A JFK Memorial in the middle of no where.
I often wondered where the dirt roads that went down of the sides of the Talimena Scenic Byway went. I would soon find out on a cool dirt road that took me back up the South side of the Mountain.
At the top.
What goes up must go down. I would soon be going back down the North side of the mountain. At the bottom was a fun road with lots of shallow water crossings. Some with concrete bottoms and some with rocks.
Soon after this I got on a great double track dirt road that seemed to go on for ever. I stopped in Heavener for gas and a drink and noticed my Top Box was not quite correct.
I threw on a couple bungy cords and resigned my self to the fact that there would be no more dirt today. I stopped at a Walmart and bought a $15 duffel bag to put the top box in and relocated it behind the seat. All was now good except for my taillight being obscured by the bent plate.
Made a quick stop in Sallisaw to buy some tools, and then rode the last little ways to Stillwell.
It was getting late on Sunday afternoon, so I stopped at the first Hotel got docked and then fixed my obscured taillight problem by flipping the top box rack upside down. Then it was off for supper.
An inspection of the bike also showed I hit my Rumbux bash plate pretty hard on something today.
Tour of Stillwell
It had been a very fun long day. One more short day to the Hub.
Day 3 Stillwell to Marble Falls, AR
Today would be a short mileage day of 175 miles twisty blacktop. The forecast for the week was for awesome weather except for Thursday when a 605 chance of rain was forecast. The weatherman was wrong as usual. At 6am when I got up it was pouring rain outside.
Since I was in no hurry I figured I would wait until the rain cleared and read a few chapters in Clement Salvadori's new book, “No Thru Road: Confessions of a Traveling Man”.
About 9:30 I packed up and was getting ready to load the bike and it started pouring again. As soon as it stopped again I loaded up and was off. In a few short miles I would be in Arkansas.
Since I had a short mileage day my planned route contained a lot smaller county roads like this.
I would soon be passing through Devils Den State Park. The roads are really nice through here. Unfortunately for me. cool temps, a wet road, and fresh leaves conspired against me running a spirited pace.
I would quickly be out of the park but still on great roads.
Since I left late, lunch time came pretty quick. I had eaten here in the past I knew I could get a quick burger.
In 2013 at the Hill Billy Dual Sport Ride.
It was still cool and wet but the sky was clearing and I was getting on more familiar roads. I got in the groove as the roads dried and there was no traffic. It was a wonderful afternoon to turn up the wick a little. Before I knew It I was getting close to the The Hub with no stops for photos except for here.
I made a quick stop for gas and a six pack of refreshments a couple miles from the Hub. When I arrived at the Hub there were a lot of people already there. The Hub is the old Hotel and Restaurant that were part of the long closed Dog Patch USA Amusement park.
http://www.hubinfo.com/index.html
“Dogpatch USA is an abandoned theme park located on State Highway 7 between the cities of Harrison and Jasper in Arkansas, USA, an area known today as Marble Falls. It was opened in 1968, and was based on the comic strip Li'l Abner, created by cartoonist Al Capp and set in a fictional village called Dogpatch.
Dogpatch USA was a commercial success in its early years. Investors tried to parlay that success into a sister park, "Marble Falls", planned with a ski resort and convention center. The venture failed and led to the park's closure in 1993. The property has since fallen into disrepair.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogpatch_USA
View from my room.
Checking things out.
At 6pm there was a gathering for all in attendance to pick up some SWAG and sign the official banners.
The day would soon be over and after a nice supper at Scooters it was time to call it a day.
Day 4 Peel Ferry Loop
I got a good night sleep and headed off for breakfast and set what kind of rides people were planning for the day. It was real foggy and no one was in a real hurry to get out on the twisty roads in the cool dense fog.
I decided to talk a nice loop into Southern, Missouri and back across. Jim one of the DFW guys said he would like to come with me on his Wee Strom. His roommate Tallgears had planned to ride some dirty stuff but somehow got lost in the shuffle of the big group leaving. He would ride with us today as well.
Getting gas after the fog lifted.
We would be doing a clockwise loop heading towards Branson first. The main rode to get there straight and boring so I plotted something on smaller roads. It was supposed to be an all blacktop loop but we were soon on some “accidental” dirt. LOL
We wandered about heading basically North.
At the Missouri border.
With our late start because of the fog it would soon be lunch time. When it was time to turn East there were no places to eat so we went right towards Branson. We were almost to Branson when I spotted this hole in the place for lunch.
Jim and Tallgears looked at me kind of funny but said OK to trying it.
We wound up having a very pleasant lunch out on the deck.
It would soon be time to get moving again.
We backtracked a few miles and get back on our loop headed East on Route 160. 160 is great rode that goes most of the way across Southern Missouri. We would only ride a short portion of it this afternoon.
We would soon be behind a County Sheriff for a while. He was doing the speed limit and which curtailed our fun a little, but I would rather have him in front of us where I could see him than running radar where I couldn't. Soon enough he stopped in the middle of the road and turned on his lights.
Soon enough we would know find out he was blocking the road so a wrecker could track and SUV that missed a turn back up on to the road.
Just past Reuter after a great stretch of perfect twisty scenic blacktop we turned South on Route 125 and headed for the Peel Ferry. We had to wait a bit to for the ferry as it we had just missed it.
On the Ferry and ready to for the big ride across the Bull Shoals Lake.
The boys enjoying the day.
Soon enough we would be off the Ferry and headed back to the hub after a wonderful afternoon ride.
Yamaha of Harrison left a power washer for people to use during the week and had stocked some extra tires and parts for Super Teneres. A few people took advantage of the power washer.
After another nice meal at Scooter's and a couple beers at the camp fire it was time for bed.
Day 5 Push Mountain Loop
Today was going to be another blacktop loop that takes in the “World Famous” Push Mountain.
“Push Mountain is composed of tight curves and knee-dragging stretches of pavement, as well as gorgeous scenery. AR 341 attracts sport bike riders from all over the nation.”
After a nice ride to get here we were soon at the Southern end of Push Mountain
The Southern end of Push Mountain was the best part of the 30 odd miles of the road. At the North end we turned west and headed back towards the Hub.
Aerial photo from the internet.
We stopped for a quick and not very good lunch in Gassville. At lunch we decided Push Mountain was pretty nice, but did not live up to the hype it receives. It was just another one of the many nice roads in Northwest Arkansas.
Back at the Hub.
After cleaning up Jim and I went for a walk around the old Dogpatch upper parking area near the Hotel. It was almost sunset so we made it a quick walk.
Almost back to the Hotel a guy on this old TDM stopped in to visit with us. He was an interesting character to talk to and he told us his TDM had 90,000 miles and had been ridden “every where”.
One of the guys was passing around a jar of black berries soaking in Moonshine. Boy were they tasty and a nice treat before dinner.
Soon after dinner the nightly camp fire was lit for everyone to talk about the days rides. I had an interesting chat with the guys from British Columbia and the Yukon. I also did some catching up with my old friend and Andrew T.
After a night cap of a another jar of Moonshine being passed around it was time for bed.
Day 6 Last Day of the Rally
Today is the last official day of the Rally. Tonight we would be having a group gathering for dinner and drawing for goodies but not before one more day riding.
The fog was a little late this morning which made for an awesome sun rise before breakfast.
After breakfast the fog rolled in as with the previous couple days I was procrastinating on what to do for a ride. I was catching up with Mike on a WR250R and meeting his buddy from Kentucky. The two Mike's are FJR riding buddies and I know Mike from meeting him at TWT Pie Run's before he escaped Houston for Omaha, AR. They had planned 140 mile mostly dirt ride that took in parts of the Arkansas 500.
http://www.arkansas500.com/index.html
They were geared up and ready to ride and I was in shorts and sandels. They were nice enough to wait for me to get my gear on.
In no time flat we were out on dirt.
Next stop was at quick visit to Osage Clayworks in the old general store in Osage. We had a nice visit with the owner and his cat. He went to college at UTA and then moved from Arlington,Texas to Osage. He told us that he never used his college degree and moved to Osage soon after college and that life has been great for him. It is neat place to stop if you are traveling through the area.
http://www.osageclayworks.com/history.html
Next stop would be a few minutes later at Lover's Leap.
It had been cool and cloudy all morning and after leaving Lover's Leap it would start drizzling and keep drizzling most of the afternoon. We headed West for a few more miles and then headed North up to Berryville where we had peanut butter crackers and drink for lunch before heading back East towards the Hub. Because of the drizzle the camera stayed put away until we were back at the Hub.
We arrived back at the Hub around 3:30 and people were already getting their bikes set up for the 4:30 group photo.
After the photo fun was over I headed up to the room to get as packed as good for the trip home. Soon it would be time for dinner and door prizes.
Getting our goodie bags. I sat with my good friends Andrew and Stephanie, two of the handful of people in attendance that have been at all three North American Super Tenere Rally's.
The hand out of the door prizes was a lot of fun for every one.
The Grand Prize winner was a lucky man indeed. Not only did he win big prize of set of Jesse bags he was also the long distance award winner taking home Rally banner signed by everyone in attendance.
One more night of fire.
Day 7 Marble Falls to Fort Worth.
I had planned two routes to home. A two day route that took as many twisties as possible getting back to Texas, and a much faster one day route that would be a little different the first few hours.
When I talked to Linda last night she said she would go for a ride with me on Saturday if I got home a day early. Short route it is.
I had planned to leave at sun up to be able to see able to see the deer and fog better. Unfortunately, I woke at 5am. Instead of hanging around until 7:30 I hit the road in the dark in 6am.
Instead of going South from the Hub like I normally would I headed North to Harrison and got on Route 412 heading West. I stayed on 412 all the way in to Oklahoma.
I liked the route pretty well until I hit Springdale, AR at rush hour. It seemed like it took for ever to get across town.
In Kansas, OK, I turned Southwest on Oklahoma Scenic 10. It was a pleasant surprise with lots of curves and nice scenery.
I arrived home to 90 degrees and bright sun.
BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE!!!
Day 8 TWT Pie Run to Whitney, TX home of the Roll the bones.
I try to make as many Pie Runs a year as possible when I am not traveling somewhere else. I had transformed the Super Tenere to a White Gold wing for today. Linda and I met my buddy Bill on his FJR in South Fort Worth and then Leon the Pie Man in Cleburne. It was a beautiful day and Leon picked a great route to get there.
We were the first ones there.
We had a bunch of Roll The Bones participants join us for lunch.
http://www.rollthebonesrally.com/
After lunch Leon led us to check out the the Whitney dam before heading home.
It had been an awesome week of riding, and an even more awesome week of seeing old friends and making new friends.
Basic route for the week
https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=b9be54414dc621614
Until next time.
Even though until recently it has been tough getting time off from work this year I was bound and determined to attend the third edition of this Rally being held in Marble Falls, AR.
Bike prep for the Rally was simple. Mount a set of more dirt worthy tires. I decided to try the Mitas E-07's which had recently become readily available in the USA.
The only other thing I needed to do was plan a route. I had been reading the reports about the Oklahoma Adventure Trail (OAT) and decide I would incorporate a piece of the Eastern portion in to my route.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=836706
I wound up getting around 400 miles of the route built in to my 720 miles route from home. My goal was to take as many back roads and dirt roads as practical on the way to the rally.
Day 1 Fort Worth to Broken Bow, OK
I hit the road after having an awesome breakfast that Linda made for us.
I rode about 30 miles of Interstate to get away from the metromess and then rode back roads to get to where I would start heading East on the OAT.
On the other side of the Carpenter Bluff Bridge I would be on the OAT.
The Red River was a little so I rode out under the bridge to check it out. I wonder if I am in Oklahoma or Texas right now?
The roads were easy and scenic with sneaky patches of sand or gravel to keep me paying attention.
Things got a little interesting for a few minutes considering I was by myself. The road started out nice.
Then start get more interesting until it I couldn't go any farther to due downed trees.
Being by myself I didn't like this mud on the way in. It wasn't any more fun on the way out.
When I re routed around the closed road, this was what was on the other side.
Back on track.
Next scenic stop was in Hugo, OK at the Mount Olivet Cemetery. Home of “Showman's Rest”
“The little town of Hugo, Oklahoma, has been the winter home of traveling circuses since the 1930s, and the eternal home for some of those who spent their life under the big top. The Showmen's Rest section of Mount Olivet Cemetery is bordered by sculpted tusked elephants on granite pedestals and each grave colorfully designed to show the personality and trade of the interred.
Hugo is still "Circus City, USA," as its welcome sign proclaims, with the Kelly-Miller and Carson & Barnes circuses currently calling the town home.”
After gas and a drink in Hugo it was time to move on.
I didn't get real far before this happened. Detour number 2 for the day.
I walked the bridge and really couldn't tell why it had been closed.
If I was on the WR of KLR I would have crossed it . Riding the Nimitz Class Super Tenere it wasn't going to happen.
Almost to Broken Bow
A found an old very nice kept Hotel to call it a day at.
Day 2 Broken Bow to Stillwell, OK
It was a pleasant cool morning and I had another long day of dirt and back roads planned after a nutritious breakfest.
After a short time I would be on dirt headed North between Broken bow Lake and the Arkansas Border.
I had scene a few deer and more squirrels than I thought existed on the whole planet. I even saw a couple horses that were not fenced in but the ran off before I could get me camera out.
After a couple hours I popped out on Oklahoma 259 headed to 3 Sticks Monument.
I had taken the big Bike bypass as I was by myself skipping the Western Side of the “K Trail”. After leaving the 3 Sticks I headed East on the “K Trail” for a few miles. It was a more rough with washouts and big rocks every where compared to the last time I rode it on my WR250R.
After making a loop I popped back out of the woods and crossed 259 heading East. Have been by this a million times and never stopped. A JFK Memorial in the middle of no where.
I often wondered where the dirt roads that went down of the sides of the Talimena Scenic Byway went. I would soon find out on a cool dirt road that took me back up the South side of the Mountain.
At the top.
What goes up must go down. I would soon be going back down the North side of the mountain. At the bottom was a fun road with lots of shallow water crossings. Some with concrete bottoms and some with rocks.
Soon after this I got on a great double track dirt road that seemed to go on for ever. I stopped in Heavener for gas and a drink and noticed my Top Box was not quite correct.
I threw on a couple bungy cords and resigned my self to the fact that there would be no more dirt today. I stopped at a Walmart and bought a $15 duffel bag to put the top box in and relocated it behind the seat. All was now good except for my taillight being obscured by the bent plate.
Made a quick stop in Sallisaw to buy some tools, and then rode the last little ways to Stillwell.
It was getting late on Sunday afternoon, so I stopped at the first Hotel got docked and then fixed my obscured taillight problem by flipping the top box rack upside down. Then it was off for supper.
An inspection of the bike also showed I hit my Rumbux bash plate pretty hard on something today.
Tour of Stillwell
It had been a very fun long day. One more short day to the Hub.
Day 3 Stillwell to Marble Falls, AR
Today would be a short mileage day of 175 miles twisty blacktop. The forecast for the week was for awesome weather except for Thursday when a 605 chance of rain was forecast. The weatherman was wrong as usual. At 6am when I got up it was pouring rain outside.
Since I was in no hurry I figured I would wait until the rain cleared and read a few chapters in Clement Salvadori's new book, “No Thru Road: Confessions of a Traveling Man”.
About 9:30 I packed up and was getting ready to load the bike and it started pouring again. As soon as it stopped again I loaded up and was off. In a few short miles I would be in Arkansas.
Since I had a short mileage day my planned route contained a lot smaller county roads like this.
I would soon be passing through Devils Den State Park. The roads are really nice through here. Unfortunately for me. cool temps, a wet road, and fresh leaves conspired against me running a spirited pace.
I would quickly be out of the park but still on great roads.
Since I left late, lunch time came pretty quick. I had eaten here in the past I knew I could get a quick burger.
In 2013 at the Hill Billy Dual Sport Ride.
It was still cool and wet but the sky was clearing and I was getting on more familiar roads. I got in the groove as the roads dried and there was no traffic. It was a wonderful afternoon to turn up the wick a little. Before I knew It I was getting close to the The Hub with no stops for photos except for here.
I made a quick stop for gas and a six pack of refreshments a couple miles from the Hub. When I arrived at the Hub there were a lot of people already there. The Hub is the old Hotel and Restaurant that were part of the long closed Dog Patch USA Amusement park.
http://www.hubinfo.com/index.html
“Dogpatch USA is an abandoned theme park located on State Highway 7 between the cities of Harrison and Jasper in Arkansas, USA, an area known today as Marble Falls. It was opened in 1968, and was based on the comic strip Li'l Abner, created by cartoonist Al Capp and set in a fictional village called Dogpatch.
Dogpatch USA was a commercial success in its early years. Investors tried to parlay that success into a sister park, "Marble Falls", planned with a ski resort and convention center. The venture failed and led to the park's closure in 1993. The property has since fallen into disrepair.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogpatch_USA
View from my room.
Checking things out.
At 6pm there was a gathering for all in attendance to pick up some SWAG and sign the official banners.
The day would soon be over and after a nice supper at Scooters it was time to call it a day.
Day 4 Peel Ferry Loop
I got a good night sleep and headed off for breakfast and set what kind of rides people were planning for the day. It was real foggy and no one was in a real hurry to get out on the twisty roads in the cool dense fog.
I decided to talk a nice loop into Southern, Missouri and back across. Jim one of the DFW guys said he would like to come with me on his Wee Strom. His roommate Tallgears had planned to ride some dirty stuff but somehow got lost in the shuffle of the big group leaving. He would ride with us today as well.
Getting gas after the fog lifted.
We would be doing a clockwise loop heading towards Branson first. The main rode to get there straight and boring so I plotted something on smaller roads. It was supposed to be an all blacktop loop but we were soon on some “accidental” dirt. LOL
We wandered about heading basically North.
At the Missouri border.
With our late start because of the fog it would soon be lunch time. When it was time to turn East there were no places to eat so we went right towards Branson. We were almost to Branson when I spotted this hole in the place for lunch.
Jim and Tallgears looked at me kind of funny but said OK to trying it.
We wound up having a very pleasant lunch out on the deck.
It would soon be time to get moving again.
We backtracked a few miles and get back on our loop headed East on Route 160. 160 is great rode that goes most of the way across Southern Missouri. We would only ride a short portion of it this afternoon.
We would soon be behind a County Sheriff for a while. He was doing the speed limit and which curtailed our fun a little, but I would rather have him in front of us where I could see him than running radar where I couldn't. Soon enough he stopped in the middle of the road and turned on his lights.
Soon enough we would know find out he was blocking the road so a wrecker could track and SUV that missed a turn back up on to the road.
Just past Reuter after a great stretch of perfect twisty scenic blacktop we turned South on Route 125 and headed for the Peel Ferry. We had to wait a bit to for the ferry as it we had just missed it.
On the Ferry and ready to for the big ride across the Bull Shoals Lake.
The boys enjoying the day.
Soon enough we would be off the Ferry and headed back to the hub after a wonderful afternoon ride.
Yamaha of Harrison left a power washer for people to use during the week and had stocked some extra tires and parts for Super Teneres. A few people took advantage of the power washer.
After another nice meal at Scooter's and a couple beers at the camp fire it was time for bed.
Day 5 Push Mountain Loop
Today was going to be another blacktop loop that takes in the “World Famous” Push Mountain.
“Push Mountain is composed of tight curves and knee-dragging stretches of pavement, as well as gorgeous scenery. AR 341 attracts sport bike riders from all over the nation.”
After a nice ride to get here we were soon at the Southern end of Push Mountain
The Southern end of Push Mountain was the best part of the 30 odd miles of the road. At the North end we turned west and headed back towards the Hub.
Aerial photo from the internet.
We stopped for a quick and not very good lunch in Gassville. At lunch we decided Push Mountain was pretty nice, but did not live up to the hype it receives. It was just another one of the many nice roads in Northwest Arkansas.
Back at the Hub.
After cleaning up Jim and I went for a walk around the old Dogpatch upper parking area near the Hotel. It was almost sunset so we made it a quick walk.
Almost back to the Hotel a guy on this old TDM stopped in to visit with us. He was an interesting character to talk to and he told us his TDM had 90,000 miles and had been ridden “every where”.
One of the guys was passing around a jar of black berries soaking in Moonshine. Boy were they tasty and a nice treat before dinner.
Soon after dinner the nightly camp fire was lit for everyone to talk about the days rides. I had an interesting chat with the guys from British Columbia and the Yukon. I also did some catching up with my old friend and Andrew T.
After a night cap of a another jar of Moonshine being passed around it was time for bed.
Day 6 Last Day of the Rally
Today is the last official day of the Rally. Tonight we would be having a group gathering for dinner and drawing for goodies but not before one more day riding.
The fog was a little late this morning which made for an awesome sun rise before breakfast.
After breakfast the fog rolled in as with the previous couple days I was procrastinating on what to do for a ride. I was catching up with Mike on a WR250R and meeting his buddy from Kentucky. The two Mike's are FJR riding buddies and I know Mike from meeting him at TWT Pie Run's before he escaped Houston for Omaha, AR. They had planned 140 mile mostly dirt ride that took in parts of the Arkansas 500.
http://www.arkansas500.com/index.html
They were geared up and ready to ride and I was in shorts and sandels. They were nice enough to wait for me to get my gear on.
In no time flat we were out on dirt.
Next stop was at quick visit to Osage Clayworks in the old general store in Osage. We had a nice visit with the owner and his cat. He went to college at UTA and then moved from Arlington,Texas to Osage. He told us that he never used his college degree and moved to Osage soon after college and that life has been great for him. It is neat place to stop if you are traveling through the area.
http://www.osageclayworks.com/history.html
Next stop would be a few minutes later at Lover's Leap.
It had been cool and cloudy all morning and after leaving Lover's Leap it would start drizzling and keep drizzling most of the afternoon. We headed West for a few more miles and then headed North up to Berryville where we had peanut butter crackers and drink for lunch before heading back East towards the Hub. Because of the drizzle the camera stayed put away until we were back at the Hub.
We arrived back at the Hub around 3:30 and people were already getting their bikes set up for the 4:30 group photo.
After the photo fun was over I headed up to the room to get as packed as good for the trip home. Soon it would be time for dinner and door prizes.
Getting our goodie bags. I sat with my good friends Andrew and Stephanie, two of the handful of people in attendance that have been at all three North American Super Tenere Rally's.
The hand out of the door prizes was a lot of fun for every one.
The Grand Prize winner was a lucky man indeed. Not only did he win big prize of set of Jesse bags he was also the long distance award winner taking home Rally banner signed by everyone in attendance.
One more night of fire.
Day 7 Marble Falls to Fort Worth.
I had planned two routes to home. A two day route that took as many twisties as possible getting back to Texas, and a much faster one day route that would be a little different the first few hours.
When I talked to Linda last night she said she would go for a ride with me on Saturday if I got home a day early. Short route it is.
I had planned to leave at sun up to be able to see able to see the deer and fog better. Unfortunately, I woke at 5am. Instead of hanging around until 7:30 I hit the road in the dark in 6am.
Instead of going South from the Hub like I normally would I headed North to Harrison and got on Route 412 heading West. I stayed on 412 all the way in to Oklahoma.
I liked the route pretty well until I hit Springdale, AR at rush hour. It seemed like it took for ever to get across town.
In Kansas, OK, I turned Southwest on Oklahoma Scenic 10. It was a pleasant surprise with lots of curves and nice scenery.
I arrived home to 90 degrees and bright sun.
BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE!!!
Day 8 TWT Pie Run to Whitney, TX home of the Roll the bones.
I try to make as many Pie Runs a year as possible when I am not traveling somewhere else. I had transformed the Super Tenere to a White Gold wing for today. Linda and I met my buddy Bill on his FJR in South Fort Worth and then Leon the Pie Man in Cleburne. It was a beautiful day and Leon picked a great route to get there.
We were the first ones there.
We had a bunch of Roll The Bones participants join us for lunch.
http://www.rollthebonesrally.com/
After lunch Leon led us to check out the the Whitney dam before heading home.
It had been an awesome week of riding, and an even more awesome week of seeing old friends and making new friends.
Basic route for the week
https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=b9be54414dc621614
Until next time.
