TWT Arkansas Invasion Rally 09/16--09/19 2004

[Tourmeister]

Hood, what DS do you ride? I am dying to put together a DS ride up there!

Adios,

 

[Thermalser]

Pictures

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=3578510093

 

[Tourmeister]

Ggrrr... I can't stand having to join just to view images Guess I need to look into setting up a hosting service for TWT members.

Adios,

 

[dower]

Here are some pictures from the trip. I'll add captions and a ride report soon.

TWT Arkansas 2004

 

[Dirtrideroader]

Great pictures Will. Where were you swimming?

 

[dower]

Great pictures Will. Where were you swimming?

Remember that one lane bridge on 123. (i think) We stopped there on Thursday. And I decided to cool off. IT WAS COLD.

 

[pdef]

The one with you and Scott stopped is kinda funny. I can't tell if Scott is smiling or upset.

 

[dower]

The one with you and Scott stopped is kinda funny. I can't tell if Scott is smiling or upset.

That is his, "But Officer, I didn't do anything!" expression.

 

[Squeaky]

Will, great pics. Debbie looks right at home on Ally...

I expecially like the shot where you get the road reflecting off your mirrored visor. I know you had tried that before but this one looks great!

 

[Hood Ornament]

Hood, what DS do you ride? I am dying to put together a DS ride up there!

Adios,

1150 GS ADV.

 

[Tourmeister]

How cool is that? I think I will start planning a trip for the spring. Big Bend... Arkansas... Southern Missouri... So many choices!

Adios,

 

[Hood Ornament]

Big Bend would be very cool also.

 

[Tourmeister]

My pics

Howdy,

Here are all of my pics with some narration:

The intrepid duo, myself and Squeaky about to set off on her first "big trip". Can you see the grin on her face? This is about 7:30am on Thursday.

We made the run up to Texarkana via some highways and backroads. We played phone tag with John "Dyna Sport" MacQueen and Matt "Vio" Lanier in an effort to hook up with them in Texarkana. We finally found them waiting near the Waffle House on Hwy 71 and I-30. John had been there since 10:00 because he thought I said we'd be there at 10:30am! It is noon when we arrive, I could swear I told him 11:30-noonish. No matter, he is ready to ride as is Matt. Did I take any pictures? Heck no

We head up Hwy 71 towards Mena. Matt has a little cafe he knows about and that is where we plan to eat lunch. It is warm with spotted cloud cover. Matt takes us down a nice little road just North of Hattfield that comes back out on 71 just South of Mena, a nice diversion from the traffic and boredom of 71.

We reach the cafe shortly after passing through Mena. I have no idea where we are because Matt has been leading and I have been daydreaming. However, the food is good. While we sit inside letting things settle, it begins to rain quite hard. Matt and Rebecca run outside to rainproof what they can and bring in what they cannot. Soon the rain has let up. we pay the tab, and get back on the road. I expect it to be muggy but am pleasantly surprised to find out the rain has cooled things off nicely.

We reach Hwy 23 and turn off of 71. The run up to Booneville is nice and relaxing. We stop in Booneville for a break then take off for Ozark. Once North of Ozark, Hwy 23 gets fun. This section is known as the Pig Trail Scenic Byway. It consists of lots of tight 10, 15 and 20 mph hairpins and switchbacks. I let everyone else go on ahead and hang back for a few pics and a nature break

Looking South on 23 just before entering the Pig Trail

Hwy 23 continues straight, 215 goes off into the mountains and deadends into gravel... my knobbies are back at the house

I catch up with everyone at the end of the road and we turn North. Hwy 16 and 23 run together here for a while. We are now back down in a nice valley with pastures lining the sides of the road.

We stop for gas in Huntsville and then make the final run up to Eureka Springs. Rebecca had been very nervous about this trip but so far she has been riding well. She's happy because we have bike-to-bike communicators and she can sing to me Fortunately, there is a volume control on the unit... :nana We arrive shortly after 7:30pm, almost exactly 12 hours and 520 miles. We see other bikes already in the parking lot. Some of the early arrivers have already gone for dinner so we walk up the road and get dinner at Sparky's Grill. Good food!

Friday morning rolls around and we have the whole gang in attendance except for Randy and Chris Blaschke. They will be arriving tonight and riding with us tomorrow. Today, I plan to lead a slower group on a shorter route and Will "Dower" Howard will lead a group on the longer route. At least that is our plan.

Johnathon with his BMW R100GS/Dakar and John on his Dyna

Larry "Leadwolf" Johnson waiting patiently on his VFR 800

Will heads out with his group in tow and they take US 62 West out of town. Myself, Rebecca and Danny head directly North on Hwy 23. I plan to get ahead of the others so we can hopefully hook up with them for lunch if our timing is right. Rebecca is a little stiff when we first set out, but she soon visibly relaxes and start working on her form in the corners. Arkansas is a great place to get your cornering skills down! We head Up Hwy 86 in Southern Missouri, a twisting winding snake like road with perfectly smooth asphalt. Near Cassville, we head South to a little county road that cuts a few miles through a bunch of pastures before plopping us out in Washburn on Hwy 37. It's flat here on this little road and there are the typical ninety degree corners around the pastures, but it is still a fun little road.

In Washburn, we hit the start of Hwy 90. At first blush, this does not seem like anything special. Then we reach that first long hill topped off by a nice right hander. From that point on, the name of the game is rythm and smoothness! The curves come back to back in rapid fire succession, few if any posted at more than 25-30 mph. The road snakes along a ridge through the forest for nearly fifty miles before dropping down into the teeny weeny town of Noel... where everyone smokes, including kids. We stop for gas and to grab a mid morining snack. The gas station sits on the banks of the Elk River:

As we are getting ready to head out, the main group arrives, surprised to see us here before them, hehe. Hoping to stay ahead of them, we take off without waiting on them and again take another short cut We take Hwy H out of town and follow the Elk River to Hwy 71 just South of Pineville. It is a nice scenic ride. We head South on 71 a mile or so and pick up the start of Hwy K, another real twisty strip of road. This one runs through the Huckleberry Ridge State Forest. At one point, I realize we have lost Danny. Rebecca has no idea where he is. Moments later he arrives and everything seems fine. We keep going.

The road looks like white pavement but in reality it has been tarred and covered with a fine white gravel. In the center of the lane and on the shoulders the gravel is a little loose. As long as I stay in the tire tracks, everything is groovy Howver, Danny's Harley felt a little squirrely to him, making him think perhaps he had a flat when in fact he was sliding around on the gravel. Soon we are back on Hwy 90 and continue East back to Washburn. Here we backtrack on the little country roads to get to the far side of Cassville. The rest of the group is routed to go up through Cassville on Hwy 37, a little out of the way, but again gives us a chance to head them off at the pass so to speak.

We make our way back up to Hwy 76 and continue heading East. Now we are heading into the Mark Twain National Forest. Hwy 76 is a lot like 86 and 90, the pavement is real smooth and the curves are just incredible. There are literally no straights! Everything is gong just hunky dory until we get stuck behind a slow moving eighteen wheeler. It's not that he isn't doing his best to go fast, but on such a twisty road he just can't! There is nowhere for him to get over so we can get around and there sure as heck aren't any safe places to pass. So we just wait it out. Evetnually we get around him, just a few miles before our next stop. Sure enough, we stop and he arrives moments later hehe.

We have stopped in Cape Fair. This little town is right where Hwy 76 and 173 meet. There is a nice little 50's style cafe here and the food is great. The only problem is that they have changed the hours on us since we were last here!! It is only 1:15 or so and they don't open until 4:00pm We decide to head on into town and see what we can find. Just up the road we find the Maple Hill Restaurant. I pull in and park in the corner of the lot so the main group will see the bike when they come looking for a place to eat as well We head inside to see what is in store for us.

Mere moments after we place our order, the main group comes along and finds us. We pretty much take over about half of the little dining area.

Johnathon's immaculate R100GS/Dakar - entirely too clean for a GS

with a fancy shmancy Ohlins shock on the back :hail

And the rest of the gang's purty motorsickles, most of them anyway...

Meanwhile back inside... Kevin, Larry and Kevin

Matt "Vio" Lanier and Stuart "Thermalser" Robles (Matt is usually smiling hehe)

During lunch, the consensus is reached that there isn't a chance in the world that the main group is going to be able to finish the full route and get back to the hotel before long after dark. So the decision is made to cut the route short. Rebecca and Danny decide that they would like to continue heading East to run Hwy 125 and ride the ferry across Bull Shoals Lake. This means we will be doing close to 350 miles instead of the planned 250 for our little group. It also means we will be doing the same route as the main group, so we have to get a jump on them again. Off we go...

The ride out of town on Hwy 76 is fun and twisty. We reach Hwy 13 and then head over to Hwy 248 so we can cut over to US 160 which we plan to follow around the North side of Branson. US 160 is a nice wide road with wide shoulders. It is still a really nice ride though as it twists through some hilly countryside. Soon we reach US 65, an interesting intersection.

I have to wonder what Highway Engineer planned this out? The intersection is right IN the middle of a large hill. Rather than go around it, or over it, it was decided to just go through it! The terracing looks pretty cool up close. We pass thorugh and keep heading East on US 160 until we reach Hwy H. Lettered highways in Missouri can be confusing because they get repeated. Recall that we were on Hwy H when we left Noel earlier? That is a totally different Hwy H than this one. In reality, they are County roads that happen to be well paved most of the time and they are referred to as highways. Still with me? So anyway, we turn North on Hwy H and head into some great twisties... on white pavement again

For me, the white pavement thing is not really an issue. The GS just plows right through it without missing a beat. Rebecca and Danny are not so wild about it. Fortunately, there is not too much loose stuff on this road. It winds up and down with lots of fast elevation changes. There really aren't any side roads to speak of, just the occasional driveway. Woods line both sides of the road for miles and miles. Before long, we reach Hwy 125.

Hwy 125 is one of those special roads. It doesn't really go anywhere important or start near anything important so there isn't really much in the way of traffic. It is however, one of the best twisty roads around. It has tons of tight technical corners strung together in and endless ribbon of perfect pavement. Many of the curves are banked like the rim of a bowl. It requires flipping the bike from side to side constantly and is a great workout. I let Rebecca take point for a while so she can read the curves for herself without anyone in front of her and distracting her. When we reach Bradleyville, we pull over to gas up and take a break.

While we are hanging out, Johnathon comes around the corner. He looks like a man on a mission... A mission to find the bathroom We get out of his way. The rest of the group is aroud the corner, apparently oblivious to our presence. Johnathon comes back out and disappears around the corner and moments later the group pulls away, never even seeing us. Now I realize that this is probably the last time we will see them until we get back to the hotel. Hopefully, we can catch up to them when they stop to wait on the ferry at Bull Shoals Lake. So off we go in hot... well luke warm pursuit!

We cross back into Northern Arkansas, the road goes to crap, and soon arrive at the ferry dock... just in time to see the main group unloading on the far side of the lake, doh! Then the ferry sits, and sits... The sound of all this water lapping up on the rocks is more than we can stand, so off into the woods we go, hi ho the derry O! Rebecca whines about how unfair it is that we can go off into the woods, sheesh! Like we should suffer for her having been born a woman? With a little heckling, she is soon huffing off into the woods herself, my warning of poison ivy trailing her into the thicket.

Scenes like this always make me want to go swimming

Suitably relieved, Rebecca rejoins us

and now she feels like she has really lived an adventure... city folk

Danny checking out the clear water, his Night Train perilously close to the edge of the dock!

How much longer is the ferry going to be??

Well, after a good twenty minutes or so, we hear the ferry rev up its' engines to head back to our side of the lake... EMPTY!! Man, I hope they don't make us wait another twenty minutes before they take us across!? We'll be hopelessly behind the main group and they'll start getting worried when they get to the hotel and we are no where to be found. Fortunately, the operators are feeling nice. They load us up, cast off and off we go. The ride across is a nice relaxing cruise that only takes about 8-10 minutes. The weather is absolutely perfect, cool and dry with mostly sunny skies. I really don't think I could have custom ordered it any better

We reach the far side, unload and head South on Hwy 125 to Hwy 14. We run Hwy 14 West to Hwy 7, and then 7 down to Harrison. After a quick u-turn because of a missed turn, we are on our way to US 62 and the final run back to the hotel. Traffic is not too bad and we are making good time. The road is wide and sweeps over long low hills. Somewhere along the line in Berryville, we lost Danny?!

Just out of town we pull over to wait, he doesn't show :scratch I tell Rebecca to stay here in case he comes by and then I head back into town. I reach the last place where I know I saw him and then turn around to head back to Rebecca. No sign of him. Well, I figure he must be up to something, we are close to Eureka Springs and he knows the rest of the route, so I hook up with Rebecca to make the last 20 miles to the hotel. As I come up on her, she tells me in the communicator that a cruiser just went by but she could not tell if it was Danny. So we take off after it and sure enough it is him. I must have missed him in town. We follow him back to the hotel where we find the rest of the group already relaxing and asking about dinner plans. Danny stopped at the Wal-Mart for something and we did not see him trying to signal us from behind before he pulled off the road.

Today's stats:

I think the main group did a whopping ten more miles than us Rebecca did great and already I can see an improvement in her cornering.

We decide to head for the Bavarian Inn on the outskirts of town. We pile most everyone into Larry and Shelly's truck and head out. Rebecca and the Mt. Vernon crew ride their bikes. The restaurant gets us setup minutes after we walk in and get to taking care of us immediately. When the fighting over the wine/beer list settles down, they start taking our orders. The food is fantastic but a little pricey. I had a Trout dinner with a bowl of their Potato soup and two tiny scoops of ice cream and my tab came to $30, with no alcohol. Eh... I'll only live once and I don't do this all the time

[If I have the motivation, I'll try to finish tomorrow ]

 

[buck000]

Ggrrr... I can't stand having to join just to view images Guess I need to look into setting up a hosting service for TWT members.

Adios,

for Thermalser's imagestation link, try logging in as 'aprilia', password 'futura'...

smugmug.com seems to be a really reasonably priced, full-featured image hoster...

Oh, and as regards the trip reports and pics: nice! However, I'm really bummed I don't have/make the time to go on some of these...

 

[Thermalser]

Thanks Buck! I knew there was a way to do that!

 

[Squeaky]

YAY!!! A trip report!!!
I'll have to settle for day one and two so far, but you're already bringing back some great memories!

 

[Tourmeister]

Howdy,

Okay, Saturday morning arrives a wee bit too early. Bill opens the hotel room door and I have one of those near death experiences where I feel like I am standing in front of the bright light. Fortunately, I have the blankets of darkness to pull over my head... He heads out to meet some of the other folks for breakfast and I sleep in a little longer.

A few minutes before 9:00am, I roll around to the front of the hotel to find everyone waiting. Today we are just going to run as one group since we are doing a route of only about 350 miles. It is cool and clear. As we ride out of town I am kind of wishing I had a liner in my mesh jacket. However, the road is fun and I soon forget the edgy chill on my arms. Heated handgrips help in that regard

We head East out of town on US 62 toward Berryville. I have decided to run the route backwards so we can hit Hwy 123 earlier in the day. Hwy 123 is the highlight of the route and I want everyone to be fresh for it. The run over to Berryville is relaxing and a good warmup for everyone. The fun starts though when we head South on Hwy 21 into the mountains. We run 21 all the way down to the small town of Kingston. This is where some of us took shelter from the hail when we were here back in May for the TWT rally. Today, we pull into town, which is nothing more than the town square, to wait for the tail end of the group to rejoin with us. There are several other riders relaxing in the little gazebo in the center of the square. No sooner than we stop and people start pulling their helmets off. I go into drill sargent mode and remind them this is not a rest stop! Pansies

The tail end of the group shows up moments later and we are off and running again. If we are to have a chance of doing the whole route, I've got to keep the stops to a minimum and keep the group moving. When we reach Boxley, we turn on to Hwy 74 and head East. I float from the front of the group to the back making sure everyone makes the turn off and stays with the group. Hwy 74 follows the ridge of the Buffalo River Valley. Parts of the route are reminiscient of Deal's Gap. The woods line the edge of the road, the hill side dropping away quickly on the left into the valley below. The GS goes into tractor mode, lugging down to low RPMs and then pulling hard through the corners, shift gears? Nah...

I am settling into a nice groove when I come around a corner and see what looks like a huge bag of dog food in the road I motion to everyone else to watch for it. As I round the next corner, a car is coming from the other direction... Man I hope he doesn't have to swerve right when a bike is in the way I slow down for a bit and watch for the other bikes behind me. When I see them we pick the pace back up a little. Well, until a few corners later when we get stuck behind an SUV putting along. With nowhere safe to pass, I just settle in and inhale the fumes from his cooking brakes. Soon we are coming down off the ridge into Jasper where we stop for another break.

Randy "r1150gsrider" Blaschke and his new R1150GS

Randy's home made highway pegs, curtesy of his Dad I think...

While we are hanging out at the gas station, the riders we saw earlier in Kingston arrive to gas up. Never one to miss an opportunity, I head over to talk with them. It turns out that we've run into one of our own members, Hood Ornament and some of his TSBA riding buddies. When I walk up, he knows my name before I say a word... creepy hehe. Like us, they are having a blast and enjoying the incredible weather and roads. Gased up, they rumble off through town heading South, the same way we will be headed in a few minutes.

Once I get everyone back on the bikes, we head South out of town on Hwy 7. The road immmediately starts a steep climb up out of the valley through a series of 25mph curves. There are skid marks all over the place Apparently some people have been underestimating the sharpness of the curves or the handling abilities of their vehicles! There are warning signs all over the place, especially for eighteen wheelers, including a run away truck ramp for those coming down the hill. Within a few miles we reach the top of the ridge and our next turn, Hwy 374. I stop for a few pics again and drop to the back of the pack. They know now to just wait for me at the next stop sign or intersection.

It's steeper than it looks...

And another...

That tree to the left is about the extent of the fall colors so far.

The fun thing about dropping to the back of the group is that I get to catch up to them Hwy 374 is a fun road for doing just that. There are a lot of quick elevation changes and tight technical corners. It starts at the top of the ridge and drops down into a long beautiful valley before ending on Hwy 74/123 in Vendor. The group is waiting patiently for me when I arrive. I move up to the front, making sure everyone is there and ready to continue before I head South toward Mt. Judea. Now we are heading to one of the best roads in the state, Hwy 123 South of Mt. Judea down to Hwy 7.

There is the obligatory warning sign about steep grades and tight curves just outside of town when 123 splits off from Hwy 74. A few people shoot a picture of the sign. Then we are off and running, the curves are marked 25mph and some have loose gravel scattered about on the pavement. We are not running hot and heavy so evading the gravel is not really a problem. A minute or two later and we reach the base of the mountain, Rebecca and I are bringing up the rear, Leadwolf doing the Leadwolf thing, going fast at the front of the pack, hehe.

And so, here we are at the base of the mountain, looking at a long series of 5-10mph steep switchbacks. I've hung back with Rebecca because I know this is going to set off her panic reactions. Watching her in the mirror, I can see her making the effort to control those reactions and to look up and through the corners. It doesn't help that there is quite a bit of gravel on the road here as well. I'm sure she thinks she's doing terrible, I remember feeling that way too, but she negotiates all of the corners fine and soon we are on top of the ridge. We catch up with Debbie and Will, the rest of the pack already gone.

Once we are up on the ridge Hwy 123 turns into one of the smoothest best laid out roads for motorcycle riding you are likely to find. The road is only a few years old. It goes nowhere so the only traffic is the locals and there are few of them, usually running their ATV's up and down the road with the whole family on board. The corners are nicely banked with wide shoulders, few of which are decreasing radius corners. Debbie and Rebecca set into a nice pace and I just follow along. Will has taken off for a more spirited run. As we near the last few miles, I tell Rebecaa to have the others loop back for pics and video. With that, I make a fast u-turn and head back to where I want to set up for the pics.

Larry shows up first. I'm hiding in the woods and he doesn't see me until I yell out to him hehe. Soon I hear the rest of the gang rumbling through to the woods getting closer. I start the camera and they all go right by me without even realizing I am sitting right there on the side of the road. [I'll upload the vid later, it's about 16 MB]. Everyone goes by and then we start wondering if they are coming back, or are they going all the way to the end of the road... uh oh...

So we stand around and wait. While waiting, I use Larry's video camera to get some footage of him grinding off what is left of his peg feelers. Let's just say that Larry really trusts his tires Still no sign of the others, so he does a few more runs. Eventually, Matt shows up and then a few others. It seems that Bill "Wasabi" Joye is having mechnical difficulties further up the road. Before long, most everyone has returned and we get pictures and video of them coming through the curves.

Everyone else has the good pics from this stop, sorry...

I set off to find Bill and he passes me going the other way. I guess he got things taken care of and is good to go. Now we are spread out all up and down the road. We finally get everyone regrouped and then head back North to Mt. Judea. It's time for lunch! When we take off, Larry is leading with me giving chase. Watching him slam the VFR through the corners is a hoot! Right before we reach the really tight stuff to get down off the mountain, he pulls over at a small overlook on the side of the road.

I can't help it, it is just so photogenic

Johnathon on his R100Gs/Dakar with its' massive 9 gallon tank

John "Dyna Sport" MacQueen on his shake-n-baker! Rides it like he stole it!

Stuart "Thermalser" Robles and his FZ1

Randy again? Hard to tell... he and Chris are the Day-Glo twins. Hmm...? Wonder Twin Powers anyone?

Squint hard and you can see the road running along the side of the ridge just below the peaks

Matt "Vio" Lanier and his SV650S, see he can smile He was just practicing to be a Jar Head yesterday, hehe

He leaves for Marine bootcamp tomorrow at 4:00pm

On the way back, Larry and I swap bikes. It feels funny to be back on a VFR, but probably not as funny as he feels on the GS! For me, the tight switchbacks are effortless on the GS, even when going down them, on the VFR I am really having to think about brakes, clutch, RPM's, being smooth, etc,... Then there's the gravel in the road I would normally drive right through, can't get away with that on the VFR! But it is fun to play with the zoom factor on the VFR, listening to it scream through the RPMs, past the engagement of the Vtec hooplah right up to a goose bumply wail. Man I miss my VFR...

We head back over to Hwy 7 via 374. Now I am back in the lead and just having fun with the VFR, slipping into the corners smoothly and ripping out of them at WFO throttle. Eh..? Larry's back tire seems a little slick Guess I'll have to be a little more careful. All to soon I have climbed up out of the valley and back up on to the ridge where I stop to wait for the group to reform.

While we are sitting at the stopsign, I look over and see the front end of John's Harley shaking all over the place. The fender is moving, the forks are flexing, the tire is shaking around, hehe. I point it out and the others kind of giggle. John starts looking around with a perplexed expression wondering if something is wrong with his bike before he realizes what we are laughing at I swear you could strap a can of paint to his forks and it would be well mixed in just moments

We turn South on Hwy 7 and go a few miles before reaching our lunch destination, the Cliff House Restaurant. We tried eating here on one of our previous trips but got here right at 3:05pm. They closed at 3:00pm This time we are here in plenty of time and pile into the small dining area. The owner takes all of our gear and puts it behind his counter out of the way.

I was all set up for this great shot... Then the kitchen door swung open...

Which would by why everyone is laughing at me

Here's the sweet and organized lady that took care of us. She doesn't like having her picture taken, hehe.

Here's the view from the back deck off the dining area

And the deck...

After a great lunch, we get back on the bikes and head North on Hwy 7 back into Jasper for gas. After gassing up, we head right back South on Hwy 7. I'm sure everyone is wondering if I am lost, but I always have a plan Rebecca did not really enjoy the run on Hwy 123, so instead of bactracking on it, we are just parallelling it, very roughly, to get down to the South end of that same stretch of road. We're going to run the rest of 123 on the West side of Hwy 7. there are no switchbacks, just great curves and beautiful scenery. We stop to regroup at the intersection of Hwy 16 and 7. While waiting we goof off and get some pics. Randy has one of us kneeling in front of the road sign warning of steep and crooked roads ahead Regrouped we run the rest of the way down to Sand Gap at the intersection of Hwy 123, 16 and 7. The old general store is closed but there are other riders hanging out in front taking a break.

Don't see many VFR 800's like this one...

After everyone arrives, I take off on 123 heading Southwest, leading the pack. I've not had too much chance to really enjoy a brisk pace so far this weekend and decide to open up the GS a little and stretch it's legs. This road is perfect for the task! It runs down in little valleys along winding creeks and climbs up the side of the valleys and follows the sides of the many little mountains. There are a few patches in the pavement that are a bit rough, but the suspension on th GS just soaks it up without so much as a hiccup. I find myself running a pace where I am very relaxed, not fighting the bike, small surprises in the road don't even cause a minor flinch... motorcycling nerdvana Any faster and things could get unexpectedly ugly, any slower and the 1150RT behind me will be running me over

Like many of the great moments on the bike, it ends all too soon as well reach Hagarville on Hwy 164. I pull over under a large oak tree next to a church and we wait for the rest of the group. A perfect chance to get some pics of the group with the bikes.

Cramming under the shade like cows in a pasture

Then it occurs to me that I might have time to run back up to the last corner to get some shots of the last few bikes coming along.

Here's Debbie "Snoopster" McMullen on her GS 500, no she's not waving. That is a fence post behind her, hehe.

You can see she's no longer afraid to lean the bike!

Here's Rebecca "Squeaky" Nelson showing fine form!

Last, but not least, Chris "Mrr1150GS" Blaschke

After a nice break, we decide to just run right back up 123 to 7 instead of heading East on 164 to 7 and then heading North. It will save us a good bit of time and we get to do an awesome road again! While we are waiting, a few other riders pull up, one on some kind of Aprilia and the othe on a Duc 750SS. The Duc seems to have a serious leak in the right fork and oil is everywhere! They decide to ride with the group. As people are streaming back out on to the road, I notice Bill "Wasabi" Joye's engine bash plate flopping around under his bike. Before I can get his attention, he is zooming away after the others. Debbie and Rebecca come out last then I bring up the rear.

Rebecca had told me that she really enjoyed the run down 123 and she felt more relaxed than she previously has. So I settle in behind her to watch for a while. Indded, she does look much more relaxed going into the corners, holding her line through the corner, and rolling out of the corners. It would seem that sometime after lunch, something clicked for her and everything seems to be coming together for her. We continue running a nice relaxed pace. We stop for some pictures at a neat old bridge along the way.

I think this is where Will "Dower" Howard was seen swimming in other pics

It's only a one lane bridge, and a narrow lane at that!

While stopped at the bridge, we decide to check the oil in Deb's GS. It hasbeen consuming more than usual this weekend. We send Rebecca on her way telling her we will catch up to the group at the next intersection. The oil filler cap on Deb's bike is so hot she can hardly get it off so we can check the oil. It doesn't even register on the dipstick Fortunately, she is carrying extra oil so we can top it off. I put the filler cap back on and even with my leather gloves, it is hot to the touch. I have a bad feeling about this motor...

Deb and I get back on the road with her leading the way. Since our trip to Colorado in June, I really have not had much opportunity to ride behind her and watch her riding. All weekend people have been commenting to me that they are impressed with how smoothly she rides. I have to say, that makes me proud *sniffle*. Sure enough, as she hits the corners, she is very smooth in and out of them, hitting the delayed apexes and holding her lines, rolling on the gas coming out of the corners. She looks very relaxed and confident. What a dramatic change from just four or five months ago!

We reach the old general store on Hwy 7 to find the rest of the group waiting. When I go to tell Bill about his engine guard, I see that he already has it off the bike and strapped to his back seat. I guess someone else saw it as well. Oil is dripping from the crankcase in front of the front sprocket This could be bad...We decide to head for home. Most of the group is getting a little tired and wants a fairly direct route back to the hotel. Earlier in Jasper, Johnathon and Danny headed back to the hotel, now we are going to be losing Kevin and Kevin and a few others. After making sure everyone knows how to get back, we head North on Hwy 7 to pick up Hwy 16 West.

While we are certainly still having fun, most folks have made the mental shift into "get home" mode. Stops become less frequent and people just wanna knock down the miles. I hang to the back of the pack and follow Larry for a while, Rebecca being just ahead of him. Fatigue is setting in and I can see that everyone's lines are starting to wander through the corners. We run Hwy 16 all the way West to Hwy 23. We had originally planned to make a run down the Pig Trail on 23, but instead decide to just head North back to the hotel and call it a day. A few miles before 23, I stop for a few last roadside pictures.

Imagine doing this all day long... It was brutal!

We hit 23 and head North. Gas is becoming in issue for a few people. Will's R1 is hard pressed to go 150 miles on a tank. He is leading the pack right now and running a VERY tame pace. I slide up behind him and several times I think he has run out of gas but he continues going. We finally reach Huntsville and stop at the Shell station in the middle of town. This turns into a fairly long rest stop. When we finally head out, Will is on my GS and I am on his R1. We never even make it out of the parking lot...

While I am backing up the R1, people start yelling at me When I stop and look up, I see Will standing next to the GS, which is rubber side up on the concrete parking lot The parking lot has a nasty slope to one side and apparently, with the full tank of gas, the bike tipped over and Will just could not stop it. After making sure he is okay, it takes three of us to lift the bike uphill. Then smoke starts coming off the right side!! When the handle bar hit the ground, the handguard rotated and hit the banjo bolt on the brake master cyclinder, popping it loose and letting brake fluid get all over everything! We wiped everything down with wet paper towels, tightened up the loose bits, and did a quick inspection. Other than some scratches on the engine guard, hand guards, and mirror, everything is fine. While Will and I get everything in order, the rest of the gang goes ahead and takes off for the hotel. This leaves me, Will and Rebecca to do the last few miles together. I cannot believe no one got any pics of this!?

We head North out of town on Hwy 23. It is only about 30 miles to Eureka Springs from here, and it is a very nice ride. Just outside of town 23 starts getting nice and twisty. The road is very smooth and the curves are all perfect. The R1 is a scary fast bike. Scary because it goes so fast without even trying! It leans into a corner effortlessly and when I gently roll on the throttle coming out of the corners, it is hard to keep the bike under 80mph! Putting along in sixth gear at 3000 RPM (out of 14K available), I can whack the throttle open and the bike accelerates like a missle. I could never own this bike. I would have a hard time staying out of trouble with it. The acceleration is simply addictive. The only real down side is the heat from the underseat pipes and the buzziness of the inline four. Otherwise it is remarkably comfortable and the handling is spectacular.

Rebecca has been wanting to stop and get a picture of her bike with the sunset. As we continue up 23, I am looking for a good place to pull over that has some decent scenery and we won't get run over.

Anyone up for a swim...

Post parking lot drop, bet you can't tell where the scrapes are

We arrive at the hotel to find everyone getting ready for dinner and wanting to know what the plan is for dinner. Our mileage for the day is:

Even though we did not do the entire route, we still did about the same miles, just on better roads with a bit of backtracking on the good stuff. We decide to have everyone make their way over to Sparky's Grill for dinner. It is a short walk up the road from the hotel and has good food. They're not ready for a huge group and we have to split up among several tables.

Matt's parents have come up from Texarkana to have dinner with him. Like most twenty year olds, he is embarassed by his parents, hehe. They are nice folks though. They just want to spend a little time with him before he takes off for boot camp and comes back a totally different person.

After dinner we waddle back to the hotel where we hang out for the evening before heading to bed. It has been a great few days of riding. Everyone that showed up got along great with the group and we had a blast. Tomorrow we all go our separate ways and back to the grind. Well... some of them anyway, the rest of us still have to ride home.

After much haggling last night, it was finally decided that our group would attempt to leave the hotel parking lot by 7:00am. Some wanted to leaver earlier to make better time, but I convinced them that in the long run they would lose time waiting in the emergency room for me after I go off some cliff because I am sound asleep on the bike Well, we don't quite get away at 7:00, actually more like 7:30am, but it is not my fault! I have been ready to roll since bright and early, hehe. It is very cool and slightly damp. Already I can tell it is going to be another incredibly beautiful day. How did we get so lucky with the weather this weekend :scratch

Most but not all of the bikes in attendance this weekend

Snoopster and Mrr1150GS getting set to leave

When everyone is finally ready to roll, we head South on Hwy 23: Matt, John, Randy, Chris, Will, Debbie, Rebecca and myself. No sooner than we are doing about 40 mph I realize that it is COLD! I cannot even tell my heated grips are set on high! Occasionally, we crest a hill and break out of the trees into the faintly warm light of the slowly rising morning sun. Surely I can set my mind to ignore the cold long enough for the sun to heat things up a wee bit... a few more miles, dropping down into little valleys and feeling like I'm in a deep freeze... surely not!

I pull over to the side of the road at a Shell station where Hwy 127 peels off to the West. I wave everyone on by as I dig out my rainsuit jacket. It makes an excellent wind breaker which is really all I need. The bulk of the group goes by and then as I am about to finish suiting up, Rebecca comes buzzing by, patiently doing her thing at the back of the pack. I wonder if the main group will have the patience to wait for her all day? Hmm...? Well, I get back on the road and set off to catch up to everyone.

When I reach Huntsville a few miles down the road, I find just about everyone pulled over getting out warmer clothing It seems I am not the only one cold, just the biggest wuss for not being able to make it this far before stopping With the group reformed and everybody cozy, We set out again, continuing down Hwy 23. It's quiet except for the rumble of the bike, no traffic and very still. The road is hypnotic. None of the curves are real technical or challenging, but there are few if any straights which means I still have to pay attention, just not the razor sharp attention required for the fast tight stuff. It's very relaxing. Somehow I wind up at the back of the pack again, which is cool.

Looking South on Hwy 23 near Hwy 127

I love the long shadows and soft lighting, almost makes it worth getting up so freaking early

And the Panorama shot... Here

I'm cruising along, lost in my thoughts and admiring the colors of the countryside in the morning glow when I come over a hill and see Debbie stopped in the road ahead?? This cannot be good. Her bike has been cause for concern all weekend and this may be the final straw. There is a short paved pull out on the far side of the road so I park the GS and go to help her get the bike out of the road. Will has turned around to find out what happened to her. Rebecca is here with us as well. No sign of the rest of the group.

Debbie starts telling us that she was just cruising along and the engine quit as if someone just hit the kill switch, no noises or clunks, no sputtering, nothing, just dead. She coasted to a stop and tried to restart the bike, no dice. When we thumb the starter, we can hear it spinning, but the motor is definitely not turning over. We decide to attempt a bump start. Will gets on the bike, pops into second gear, Deb and I start pushing. He dumps the clutch and nothing... not even a whimper. We back it up and this time I get on the bike and put it in third gear for another attempt. When I get up to a good 10mph or so, I dump the clutch and the rear wheel starts skidding... It would seem that Debbie's bike has carved its' last corner for a while, the engine must be seized.

So we are sitting out in the middle of nowhere wondering what we are going to do. I can't recall who thought of it, but someone suggested we call the hotel and see if Stuart "Thermalser" Robles has left yet. He has a trailer than can hold two bikes and is only carrying his FZ1. A few calls and we strike gold! He's still there and agrees to come to our rescue. Now we sit and wait...

Deb is being a trooper considering her bike just self destructed

I wonder where this trail leads... *sigh* If only I had some knobbies on the GS

I entertain myself looking for things to take pictures of while waiting. Rebbeca entertains herself by taking a joy ride on the GS. Will heads off to see if he can find the front of the group waiting somewhere up ahead. Deb hangs out patiently, brooding because she had planned to sell this bike soon so she could get a new SV650S. Now those plans have been temporarily dashed, frustrating for sure!

Morning dew still glistens on the leaves

Before Rebecca left, I made sure to tell her to find a good flat spot to turn the bike around before coming back. If she were to drop it, she would be alone trying to get it back up again. Will returns after a while with drinks, very cool. Rebecca is no where to be found. I'm starting to think she has run off with the GS. She has been commenting abot how much she enjoys riding the bike lately... After about fortyfive minutes we hear a distant throbbing eachoing up the valley, slowly but surely getting louder. Then Rebecca pops over the hill, the GS revving like a top, and she pulls up with a big grin on her face, "You said don't stop until I could find a flat spot to turn around..." Ohh... making me eat my own words

It is not long after Rebecca's return that Stuart arrives. He finds a spot just up the road where he can get his jeep and trailer off the road and we'll still have room to load the bike. It's about 100 yards from where we are, so...

He's right where the road vanishes

I hang back to take pics and flag down traffic so they don't get run over

With Rebecca supervising, Stuart relocates the wheel chocks to accomodate two bikes

While I take care of getting more of the all important pictures

Yeah... more purple flowers...

And now for something totally different

Where's Waldo the Bug?

Hmm... we are probably going to be here a good 30-40 minutes... I could just run up a bit to see what's there...? I'll be right back, honest!

Here's proof that Rebecaa can be handy

While looking for a restroom, Will finds this dry creek bed a few yards off into the woods from the side of the road

No we did not go to the bathroom together He told me about it after he came out of the woods.

Found these cool looking plants on the far side of the creek

Deep in the heart of chiggerland (which I found out later that evening )

Not grapes but I wonder if they are edible? Anyone...? Anyone...?

While we are finishing up loading Deb's bike, Rebecca hears my cell phone ringing in my tankbag. That's odd because I seldom, if ever, leave my cell phone turned on. I miss the call but check for messages. It's Randy and the rest of the group. They are in Booneville, about an hour and a half from here, and they are wondering where we are!? I tell them what happened and suggest they just keep going. No point in them trying to wait for us now. Also, Matt has to be back before 4:00pm so he can ship off to Marine Boot Camp... I can't wait until the next time we hear from him, hehe.

Strapped down and ready to roll...

Rebbeca convinces Debbie that she is not feeling up to the long ride back home and would prefer to ride back with Stuart and his daughter if Debbie would not mind riding the SV650S back for her. It is a mighty struggle, but Debbie finally caves in and agrees to ride back on a bike she loves... I wonder if Debbie realizes how lucky she is? Had her rear tire locked up when the engine gave out, it could have been really ugly!! After Stuart and Rebecca leave, we head down the road just a few miles and find this:

Not a good place to have an engine let go on you! But a great place to flog a borrowed Sv650S

[img[http://twtex.com/linkfiles/091604TWTArkRally/DSC02562.JPG[/img]

We take off into the infamous Pig Trail Scenic Byway, the section of Hwy 23 North of Ozark. Think lots of tight 10-20 mph corners and switchbacks, up and down through dense woods, with zero run off if you blow a corner and you will have a good idea of this road. Deb's gone. I come through a steep 15mph and spot a black/grey bike with undertail exhaust sitting outside the apex of the corner on the shoulder and think to myself that Will must be off peeing in the woods... again... A few corners later I realize that I am at the perfect spot to stop a get a video of Will coming through this corner in "catch up mode".

Same pic, different exposure settings, can't help myself

So I get all setup to shoot some video and I wait... and I wait... and I wait... Could he possibly have packed toilet paper? What is taking him so long? After a bunch of traffic comes through heading the other way, I give up and decide to go find out why he has not come through yet. I zoom back through the corners and pull over next to the parked bike. Uh oh... It is a really nice new CBR1000!! I wonder how far they have gone and if they are starting to wonder what has happened to me...

Let me just say that the run through the Pig Trail by myself was loads of fun. Near the end, I come around a corner on the gas and see a State Trooper coming at me with his lights ablaze Waitaminnit!!?? Those lights were going before he even saw me and I'm not going fast enough to get in trouble... Sure enough, he zooms by me and around the corner out of sight. Hopefully, there isn't a wreck back up the road As the road starts to straighten out as I near I-40, I see the SVS coming at me from the other direction. Will has come looking for me, hehe. I find Deb parked on the side of the road with his R1 waiting. I explain my confusion and they get a kick out of it, hehe.

We cruise through Ozark and head for Booneville where we plan to stop for gas. The ride is relatively flat and unremarkable. When we get to Booneville, we fill up and then start thinking about food. It is already 1:00pm and we're only about 90 miles into a 500+ mile day It's gonna be late when we get home. I ask the cashier if there are any good local places to grab lunch and she points us down the road to a nearby cafe.

The cafe does not look like much, but from the number of vehicles in the parking lot, it is either really good or the locals have no sense of taste. After sitting down, we ask for a pitcher of water. When the waitress comes back a few minutes later, we ask for another, then another. Now she is starting to look at us kind of funny. What she missed was us topping off our Camel Baks, hehe. The place is crowded with the after church crowd hitting the big greasy buffet. It looks good but if I eat that stuff I will go comatose on the bike shortly after we pull out of the parking lot. So I go for my standby meal, a grilled cheese Still high from the great weekend, I decide to live on the edge and get a Grilled Ham & Cheese It is actually pretty good! The walls of the restaurant are covered iwth big framed pictures containing all the highschool senior pictures all the way back to sometime in the mid 30's! The most recent class is barely over 100 people though, hehe. Small town.

Gassed and full, we mentally make the switch to get home mode. Forget fun, forget pleasure, forget pain. We have some major miles to crank out and despite our best efforts, it just doesn't seem like we have been making much progress. Back on to Hwy 23 we go until we reach US 71 where we head South for Mena. Traffic sucks. We're not making good time. It is nearly 4:00pm by the time we get to Mena and stop for gas.

We are stopped right were Hwy 88 and 71 cross. While we are taking a break, a couple pulls in on their vintage bikes. His is some kind of mid eighties turbo Kawasaki and hers is come kind of mid eighties Honda CB something. We chat with them and find out they are locals. I ask if they are headed to the Talimena Scenic byway and they say no. While we are hanging out, for some crazy reason I convince Deb and Will that we are already so far behind schedule, we might as well go all the way and ride the byway. We're here after all and who know's when we'll be back and get a chance to ride it again Oddly enough, they agree!

We head out of town to the start of the byway. There is quite a bit of loose gravel in the corners. It looks like they have recently done their version of the tar/gravel chipseal treatment and neglected to give the road a good sweeping afterwards. Annoying but no biggie. Outside the edge of town we reach the start of the byway.

Deb enjoying Rebecca's SV650S

Click back and forth through those three shots and she looks like she is really moving out!

I ride behind Deb for a while and notice that she looks very relaxed and comfortable on the SV. This is the bike she lusted after for her first bike before I convinced her to buy the GS instead. Hmm... Hopefully she does not regret that now I'd like to think she is doing so well on the SV now because she spent so much time getting things right on the smaller bike first. All weekend people have been commenting about how smoothly she rides, not how fast, just smooth. Riding behind her now, I can see it. Cool.

We stop at the Queen Wilhimena Lodge and check out the old steam engine. I've no idea what the story on this thing is, but who cares?! It's a big huge ground pounding monster machine! What else do I need to know??

Birds of a feather... hehe

He kind of looks like an astronaut, no?

After our quick stop, we get moving again. No time to waste and all that jazz. We pass a Ranger on the side of the road. He has a little truck pulled over and there are little platic baggies full of stuff piled up on the side of the road. Doesn't look like illicit stuff but who knows? We cruise on by and keep moving. I get a good ways ahead of Deb and Will and decide to pull over for another photo op.

Typical view from any of the numerous pull outs

[I have some good videos of Deb and Will but have not uploaded them yet, will soon though.]

A van I had passed earlier pulls into the same lookout as me. Right behind her is the guy we saw earlier at the gas station with his wife. I guess they changed their minds about riding the byway today. He zooms on by and she goes to pull back out. When she sees me about to pull out as well, she waits so I can get ahead of her. Very nice and I give her a friendly wave. As I leave, the road starts a long winding descent, then back up and then back down. On the second down, I get a surprise at the bottom.

At the end of a long series of slow sweepers that wind their way down the mountain is a fairly fast left hander. So I'm just crusing along, not hotdogging or anything, just taking in the scenery and pretty weather. When I round the corner, I see the Ranger with someone pulled over up ahead. Fixated on the ranger, I fail to notice the local Sheriff hiding to the inside of the corner back up in the woods until the lights on the grill start flashing. DOH!! I look down and realize that I am speeding. It's all 55 through here and I wasn't paying attention as I picked up speed comind down the hillside. As I get closer to the Ranger I realize it is Will that has been busted so I pull up next to him. The Ranger kind of looks at me funny for a few seconds until he notices the Sheriff pulling up behind me.

The Ranger is a nice fellow, gives us the friendly lecture, "Just doing my job, gotta keep you guys safe, just want you to slow down a little, etc,..." They have a good thing going with this little location and even brag about it, telling us they busted a group of riders earlier today. Hmm... Randy, Chris and John were going to be coming this way... that would be to funny, hehe. The nice lady in the van goes cruising by and we give her another friendly wave. She just smiles and waves back. While we are standing around, the wife of the couple we saw earlier comes riding up. The Sheriff steps right into the road in front of her and holds his hands up for her to stop! She does and gets a lecture for no reason other than she is on a bike even though she clearly was not speeding and is not with us. Oh well. Off she goes and we get back to business:

I wonder if Randy, Chris and John recognize this guy?

While we are standing around, I ask the Ranger about the fellow in the truck he had pulled over a while back. Aparently all of those little baggies were full of Ginseng that the guy had dug up along the road. It seems it grows all over the place around here and people harvest it illegally to sell on the black market. Since the whole area is a protected nature reserve, this is a big no-no. But I guess it is not to big of a no-no because they guy was not arrested, just got a fine, smaller than ours, and was let go. Presumably he didn't get to take the goods with him...?

65 in a 55 for me and a $80 fine. 70 in a 55 for Will and a $100 fine. Whaddaya gonna do? As we are finishing up, Deb comes rolling back up the road and pulls over with us I guess we forgot to tell her to always wait somewhere down the road. She had seen Will get busted but not me. LEO seldom like to have other people start joining the party on the side of the road unannounced and I don't like to stress them any more than is necessary. They are stressed enough as it is. As we pull out to leave, the Sheriff hurry's to get in front of us so he can go a mind numbing 40mph in a 55 We follow him for a few miles, absorbing the belching fumes from his dilapidated old cruiser, until he finds another little spot on the left side of the road just behind some trees at the bottom of another long hill... Good to see the tax dollars working so hard.

Spanked for the day, we run a nice docile pace all the way to the end of the road where it drops out onto US 271 a few miles North of the sprawling metropolis of Talihina, Oklahoma. It has been getting hot and we are starting to get tired. It is almost 6:00pm and we are still a LONG way from being home. We spend a short while at the local grocery store stocking up on cold water and using the restroom. The local gas station had everything but water for sale. Go figure. Will calls his wife, Lauren, to find out that she has passed her MSF course this weekend. Cool Also, he wants to let her know our status, "YOU ARE WHERE!? WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING OVER THERE!?" Well, wer're on our way home, hehe. She'll understand after she has some more experience riding

Looking at the sun getting low in the sky, I realize as we pull back onto the road that the next few hundred miles are going to be an exercise in mind over discomfort. Most of the remaining route is just flat, straight, boring highways and we have to really make up for al our goofing off all day. We pass through Noel, cross the Red River, go through Paris and keep heading South on Hwy 19 to Sulphur Springs. Somewhere along there we pass a gas station with a few other bikes: an ST 1300, some kind of new Guzzi and an old airhead Beemer. We wave and keep going. Just North of Sulphur Springs, I pull over so we can get our last sunset picture of the trip. Moments later those same bikes pull over to join us and we spend a while chatting on the side of the road. They've been in Arkansas all weekend as well and are headed home. Lucky for them, they live in Sulphur Springs... We still have 3-4 hours left even at a break neck pace.

Got so busy visiting, this was all I managed

And this of course

We decide to stop for dinner in Sulphur Springs. It is around 8:00pm and dark. Now that the sun is fading, it is starting to cool off again. The place our new friends recommended is obviously a local favorite. It's packed, seriously packed. So we head back up the road a block or two following the incredible smell of BBQ being smoked to find a nice little mom & pop place. They have only been open about a month or so according to the nice waitress. The food and service is great and the prices are exceptionally reasonable! 9:00pm and we are done with dinner and heading back out into the night. I call Beth and let her know where we are and what's going on. I give her Rebecca's phone number because her and Stuart are likely to reach the house long before we get there. Then off we go...

With no moon, there is nothing to see. Actually, along Hwy 19 through this area, even with a noonday sun there is nothing to see. Curves are a figment of our memories of this weekend. Now the road just runs straight across the countryside. At one point, I spot a DPS cruiser sitting off in the high weeds on the shoulder, all lights off. He watches us ride by and stays put. We're not speeding. It's too dark, we're getting fatigued, and the risk of deer strike is pretty high. A glance at the GPS, still over 180 miles to go as the crow flies... It's cold enough now that we stop to layer up to stay warm. I guess Will is enjoying the heat off his underseat exhausts pipes now, hehe. 150 miles to go...

We stop in Palestine. The look on Deb's face says it all. We are still about 120 miles out and have already done close to 500 miles. We started this morning, nearly 15 hours ago. All of us are getting stiff. Walking around we look like little old people, hunched over and moving slowly. I grab a Fudge Bomb to rejuvenate myself, oh yeah! After a little pow wow, we opt for a change in route. We're going to just head down US 79 and pick up I-45 in Buffalo. It is a tad longer mileage wise, but it is straight and we can make better time. Also, once on the freeway, the chances of a deer strike drop off tremendously. So we go back into the zone, make the run to I45 and head South. The traffic is surprisingly heavy at this time of night on a Sunday.

90 miles... 60 miles... We pass Leona... 45 miles... Madisonville... 20, 10, and we finally see the exit for Hwy 30 in Huntsville. It is shortly after midnight. We roll into the open garage doors. Home has never looked so good. Out the door pops Rebecca, camera in hand flashing away. There sits Deb's poor worn out little GS. I can hardly get off the bike. 606 miles and 17 hours. When's the next trip?

Adios,

 

[r1150gsrider]

Nice pictures Scott and a nice trip report. This was an awesome trip! I wish I could have joined the tour on the first day.

Regarding the Day-Glo suits, they are just ugly enough that someone might see me and not pull out in front of me.

I can't wait for the part about going through the Talamena Trail. Did you send in your National Park entertainment fee yet? :angryfir:

 

[Squeaky]

Ok, I finally uploaded my pics from the trip:

Linky

 

[Tourmeister]

Geez, can the images be sorted by name instead of the current random order? :scratch I did not see any option where I could change that.

 

[Tx Rider]

Looks like they display in the order uploaded, so they should sort by that numerical filename the camera makes before uploading.

Nice pics of the SV with the low sun behind. Those are always some my favorite shots.

 

[Squeaky]

I uploaded them in numerical order, but can't figure out how to fix the sorting on the site. I'll keep looking...

 

[dower]

GREAT PICTURES!!

It looks like Deb and I fell asleep on our bikes when we pulled in the garage.

 

[Squeaky]

It looks like Deb and I fell asleep on our bikes when we pulled in the garage.

Yeah, to me it's the "I can't hold my head up any longer" shot. I wanted to get both of your exhausted faces but it just happened to turn out that way...

 

[Tourmeister]

As straight as Hwy 19 was, you were probably sleeping on the bike Man that was boring!

Adios,