To start the riding season off this year, I decided to head back to Arkansas for a repeat of last years trip. I really enjoyed riding in Arkansas last year, and I couldn't think of a better way to start the season off again this year.
For this years trip, I planned to add an extra day and explore a bit more north-west-central Arkansas and also the eastern edge of Oklahoma. I also decided it wasn't worth riding through central Illinois again, so I would slab it to St. Louis, MO, then head south from there towards Arkansas. The trip totaled 2250 miles in 5 days.
Day 1 - April 19, 2000 (Wednesday)
616 miles
As I just mentioned, with nothing worth seeing in central IL, I got an early 6am morning start on the day and made my way west to I39, then south towards Bloomington, IL. With rain in the forecast, I was prepared for some wet riding off and on throughout the day. Sure enough, about the time I got onto I39, the rain started coming down. No problem though. I pulled over and put my newly acquired "water proof" gloves on and away I went. Getting closer to Bloomington, the rain let up a bit, but then the lightning show started. At first I was ok with the lightning, until it started striking the ground what looked to be just off the interstate. Wanting to get through this storm and stop for some much needed coffee, I picked up the pace a bit.
A short time later I stopped for my first gas stop of the trip just before getting onto I55. It turned out to be my lucky day. Not only did they have coffee, but they also had capachino! And what better to complement the capachino - some vanilla zingers. (or so I thought) After a couple bites of the zingers they hit the trash barrel and I finished my capachino then hit the road again. About an hour or so south on I55 the rain basically stopped. I thought I was in luck, until the WIND started. Before long I was wishing it would start raining again so the wind would let up. It was constant about 30mph, with 50mph gusts. (according to the Weather Channel) Not very fun to ride through - that's for sure. Oh well, when in doubt, twist the throttle and put the miles on.
Shortly after 11am I stopped for my second gas stop just outside of St. Louis on I44. This tank of gas got me another hour or so down I44, past Six Flags to route 68 where I said goodbye to the interstate. From there I headed south to Salem where I made my third and final gas stop for the day. The rest of the afternoon was spent taking the long route into Mountain Home, AR. I'm still not overly impressed by the roads in southern MO, and I kind of missed the roller coaster ride in that I took last year on Rt. 19. At any rate, I was checked into the Best Western in Mountain Home around 5pm and was exhausted from the days ride. Not to mention the temperature was now a steamy 92 degree's - 40 degree's warmer than when I left Chicago.
Day 2 - April 20, 2000 (Thursday)
393 miles
This day started out with a few puddles left in the parking lot from a thunderstorm during the night. The cool part was that my bike was perfectly dry thanks to a call from the hotel owner warning me of the upcoming storm and suggesting that I pull the bike under the overhang for the night. I took advantage of the free continental breakfast, filled up for gas, then headed south-east out of Mountain Home toward a section of road I was told not to miss the next time through the area. Sure enough, within about 1/2 hour I was into some extreme twisties and very glad I decided to come back to AR. Then it happened again. During a rather tight set of uphill chicanes my right foot peg scared the crap out of me. Oh ya - there goes my foot peg scraping again. I thought to myself (after a quick "Wooohooo" in my helmet) - ok, this is not the best idea being out here by myself scraping pegs on the first twisty road I hit. I decided to back down the pace a bit, hoping only for an occasional peg now and then. (to keep my blood flowing)
Before long I was heading west again towards some roads I hit last
year that I really enjoyed. Turned out these roads were as nice, if not
nicer than I remembered them. I was really enjoying the
day already and it was barely noon. I then made my way to Deer (where I
desperately needed a gas fill-up last year), grabbed my favorite bike lunch
(combo's and a coke), and continued west. After intersecting 16, I headed
north with plans of coming down 23. This road was great, with excellent
views (see pictures at the top of the page), and then it turned extremely
twisty for a while with some 10mph marked corners (or should I say bus-stops?).
After another gas fill-up I made my way into Oklahoma (a new state for me), and headed for the Talimena Scenic Drive which I'd read about in Rider. (Rt. 1 for those of you keeping score). This road was most EXCELLENT! It reminded me a lot of the Cherohala Scenic Skyway and views like the picture to the right were abundant. After crossing back into Arkansas, Rt. 1 turns into Rt. 8 and tightens up a bit before dumping into the town of Mena. Having an extra day to play with on this trip really helped and I decided to call it a day and stay in Mena for the night. I ended up staying at the Sun Country Inn which was a very nice hotel. I also have to mention for Tad that I had Mexican food for dinner this night. (and it wasn't half bad either) This was a perfect day of riding and I was looking forward to the next 2 days in AR.
Pictures:
Somewhere on Rt. 27 (near Ben Hur)
Heading south on Rt. 23
A river along Rt. 23 next to a neat campground
Not sure where, but a typical AR outlook
Day 3 - April 21, 2000 (Friday)
386 miles
With no place to be, no time schedule to keep, I started the morning with a few biskets and gravy before heading south and crossing back into Oklahoma. I enjoyed the Talimena Scenic Drive so much I wanted to hit it again before leaving the area. Much to my surprise though, just before turning on the Talimena Drive, Rt. 259 got extremely twisty while winding around a mountain. It wasn't long before I was yelling in my helmet again. Wooohoooo! :) The road was continuous 25mph twisties mixed in with a 20% grade that had me grinning from ear to ear. The VFR handled herself perfectly too and the V4 motor was signing a sweet melody to me at high RPMs.
The morning loop back to Mena only took a couple of hours so I still had nothing but time on my hands. From Mena I made my way east and took Rt. 88 over to Rt. 27. While this road wasn't twisty, it was very peaceful just sitting back enjoying the scenery AR had to offer. The tree's were pretty much in full bloom and the cattle was very abundant. From here I went north towards Mt. Magazine. Shortly before Mt. Magazine I stopped for gas and also grabbed a deli sandwich from a local grocery store.
After the fill-up, with my sandwich safely stowed in the Ventura, I entered Mt. Magazine from the south. I found myself remembering some of the sights, then all of a sudden the road got really tight and there wasn't time for sight seeing. I think they were mostly 25's and 30's, with some 20's mixed in. With not a car in sight and the road really clean, I started hammering the corners again. Then I came up to a series of 20's that I found my left, then right peg dragging all over the road again. Damn! Whoever that little guy on my shoulder is telling me to go faster - get out of here. (ok, maybe not for a few more minutes anyway) :)
Once I got through the tighter stuff, I headed up the mountain a bit
until I found a good outlook to have lunch at. I was actually thinking
I might run into my Dad about this time (he was also down in the area
on his first solo trip), but we never did meet up this day. After enjoying
a very peaceful lunch, gazing out at the beautiful Arkansas country
side, I saddled back up and said goodbye to Mt. Magazine. Thank you - please
drive thru.
I next headed north in order to hit Rt. 27 which I had fond memories of from last year. All I remembered from last year was this road had the first "dangerous and twisty" road sign I had ever seen. (wonder why I went back?) Rt. 27 turned out to be better than I had remembered it, and once again, my right peg was chewing up the road. I haven't said "wooohooo" in a while have I? The picture to the right is a one lane bridge along Rt. 27 just before it gets really twisty.
Once through the good part of 27, I went east on 16 and ended up staying at the Hill Top Best Western for the night in Clinton. They even had a Pizza Hut close by and since we all know it isn't a trip without having pizza one night, I filled my quota this night. (just don't ask what kind of pizza I had)
Pictures:
Crossing into Oklahoma (road sign)
Back on the Talimena Scenic Drive in OK
Approaching Mena, AR on Rt. 8
Not sure where this was, but it looks like a good road
Lunch at Mt. Magazine
A river along Rt. 27
Day 4 - April 22, 2000 (Saturday)
410 miles
Ok, what day is it now. Oh ya, I have to get to Carbondale to meet my Dad for dinner. No problem I thought. But before leaving AR I wanted to hit just a few more twisty roads. :) With that said, I did another "loop" which took me back close to Mountain Home, then back down to Rt. 9 which I took to the MO border and the town of Mammoth Spring. I filled up with gas here and grabbed a burger at Sonic. (you know, America's drive-in)
From here the roads got pretty straight rather quickly, however I was still enjoying just being out on the road. The VFR is really just a great bike to do sport-touring on. After a few more backroads (that by the way, MO doesn't know how to take care of), I headed towards Sikeston. Some time later and I crossed the Mississippi, saluted the IL sign, and exited at Cairo. Eventually I found my way to Rt. 51, and from there the force guided me to Makanda where I stopped to enjoy an ice cream cone. It brought back good memories of college to say the least. Then, as I was passing through Giant City park, just as I'm about to make the turn to Carbondale, I saw a black ST that looked very familiar. It was my Dad. Cool. What a great place to meet. (and it wasn't even planned) We exchanged a few stories and I was excited to hear where all he had went and how he enjoyed the road.
After a few more stories we packed it back up and made a fly-by past the place I stayed at in college. (history here, sorry) We then checked into the Holiday Inn and rode through campus before dinner and "some" beers at Tres. I regrettably have to report for a few readers though that Elvis is dead. He has left the building. I enjoyed the company this night and the food was marvelous as always.
Day 5 - April 23, 2000 (Sunday)
445 miles
This morning we enjoyed an excellent continental breakfast at the hotel before checking out and heading for home. We stopped once along Rt. 57 at a rest stop to let some jerk-off pass us who was tailgating my Dad about 20 miles. It was at this point I realized my rear tire was shot. So much for those cheap BT57s. At any rate, I was home about 5 hours later after only one gas stop just north of Champaign. It had also started raining just as I got onto the Tri-State, but thankfully I had money ready to go in the special arm pocket on my 'Stich.
Pictures:
My poor BT57
Summary:
What a great trip! After the conclusion of last years riding season with my little mishap, I was unsure about what trips I would take this year. Seems all it took was one trip like this and I'm hooked again. My Dad and I are heading out to Colorado for a week in June that I'm REALLY looking forward to. Arkansas is still high on my list of great places to ride. I got a little "Jiggy" with it and overall just had a grand time. Now if only I could get a few more vacation days.
Links:
All of my photos on one page
My homepage
My Dad's report
