Salad, Steaks and BBQ

What's the quickest way to enjoy feasts in multiple locations, all within 36 hours? Well, either you have to have your own Lear jet or you have to be an Iron Butt guy (or gal) of course! So, on Friday the 13th, Pegsparks and I set out on an ambitious run to capture my first documented Bun Burner Certificate and my second Saddle Sore Certificate and this would be Pegsparks first Saddle Sore ride. Earthrooster had dreamed this trip up, but when the time came to launch the weather Gods were forecasting heavy rains throughout the Southeast and he decided to postpone to a later date. However, he will be remembered (and reminded) throughout the route that he missed a great ride!

On with the show.... So the day before departure when the Rooster decided he would postpone I informed Pegsparks that I needed to ride, whether solo or not. We've had one of those "when it rains it pours" few weeks so I needed some road time to get my mind off life's little problems. Pegsparks said he was in and we decided we would make it an overnight trip. I threw together a plan to go to Memphis, Eureka Springs, AR, Kansas City, and end our Saddle Sore in St. Louis, spend the night there, visit the Gateway Arch the next morning and then head for home via Memphis to complete the Bun Burner. With the bike loaded and prepped for a 5 am departure from our meeting point I hit the starter button around 4:45 am and snapped this picture....



Pegsparks pulled in at the designated time



We fueled up, got our first receipt and off we went.









It wasn't long and my mind was on the task at hand and the problems at home were, well, back at home.



Before we knew it we were crossing our first of eight state lines over the next 36 hours.



I'm not sure where this convoy was headed, or coming from, but wow, there was a serious power outage somewhere. My guess is they were returning home from helping out with restoring power to the Northeast.



Passing through Little Rock in deep thought...



They are in the midst of a deep drought in parts of Arkansas.



Pegsparks is hanging in there...



There's some beautiful country in Arkansas and I was Jonesing as we ran up US 65, knowing we were passing some awesome riding nearby...









The little town of Alpena, AR has seen some better days.



Just in case you wondered, we ARE in the South!



Then we came into Berryville, AR where we were reminded of our missing compadre.





while we would have loved to have stopped and had lunch, we had to keep moving on. We ended up here... home to three previous SFO's.











We stopped in for a little break and a bite to eat...







We both had an AWESOME grilled ROOSTER salad....



We were 550 miles into our 1000 for the day and we were about 9 hours in. So it was time to suit up and roll...







We crossed into Missouri...









Somebody just bought a gorgeous new strom!



Somebody please tell this to those clowns in Washington!



We were headed to KC as our furthest most corner point and to have a KC Steak - boy were we surprised when we found this...



How could we pass up a steak in KC at the Rooster's place and like he said, we can't!



I'm sure glad we didn't.



At this point we were almost 750 miles and 15 hours in. We had about four hours left for our Saddle Sore. Taking a little break before we strike out for St. Louis.









Along the way the old Grey Ghost passed a mini-milestone.



And then we hit a BIG milestone!



We finally got into St. Louis and found a hotel around midnight. We were officially 1023 miles 19 hours in. Saddle Sore in the bag. We planned to get a few hours sleep at where else but, the Sleep Inn. Had a great few hours sleep and we were back up at 6 am.

Time to hit the road again and get another 500 miles behind us today by 5 pm. Headed back to Birmingham to complete the Bun Burner. Pegsparks saying hello to the wife before departure.









When we chose St. Louis as a corner point for our ride Pegsparks said he had never seen the Gateway Arch so you know what is next....







and then passing thru St. Louis on our way towards Memphis ...



The home of the reigning World Champs.



For those that know me, you know why I have to put this bullshit in here... <_<



Man, I would have loved to have stopped here!!!!! As Arnold once said, "I'll be back".



Down the US 61 - the "River Road" that traces the path of the Mighty Mississip... man this was gorgeous! I think we even saw Tom Sawyer along the way.







We gas up and strike out towards Mason, TN. On the recommendation of fellow forum member Gixxerjason we have an appointment with a clown there



We cross that BIG river again for the fourth and last time on this trip...







Next thing you know we arrive at the famous clown's place.



They don't clown around here. I think it's been in business since 1923. They've kinda figured it out along the way... FYI - don't miss the beans or a piece of pie!



It was now 12:30 and we had approximately 250 more miles left to complete the Bun Burner and we were a little over 275 from home. Up until now, the ride that was almost cancelled due to bad weather had provided a few drops of rain here and there. But we were due for some real rain and boy did we get it over the next hour. :dribble: These clouds deceived us into thinking what was showing on the radar probably wasn't that bad. We hit heavy rain on final push homeward. Oh well, that's why they make Frogg Toggs...





It finally cleared up and I decided I wanted to keep riding. We had 100 miles left to complete in three hours for the Bun Burner. Pegsparks waved goodbye and struck out towards home and I planned to head to Tunica.



Somehow I found more storm clouds and got so soaked that even my Scala went haywire. My Escort quit working (it was covered by a Ziploc and my waterproof Motorola Razor, well, let's just say it ain't so waterproof after all.



Somehow I managed to survive it all. At 4:45 pm with 15 minutes left to consummate the Bun Burner I pulled in a Shell station in Starkville, MS to get my official receipt and find a witness to sign my IBA paperwork.



At this point since I was in Starkville, MS I decided to haul it on to the house only a couple hours away.



Pulled into my garage at 7:30 pm.



And I have to say, my buns were a little sore, but I actually considered getting back on the bike and running to the coast to complete a SS2000. But I came to my senses, went into the house to get a cold beer beacuse I was cooked.



I managed to muster the energy to call Pegsparks and confirmed he was home safe. We recapped the ride and agreed we would get together later this week to put together our ride documentation.

Pegsparks is a great riding companion and we had a lot of fun on our little jaunt to America's breadbasket and back.

If you care to see the full cadre of photos from the ride, click here

Till next time... I bid you farewell and Ride Safe!

I've been waiting for this RR and I'm glad you guys made a great run of it. We'll do some other IBA run together, I'm sure. Congrats to you both! :thumbsup:

Congrats on a successful ride and some good times. :yahoo:

HOLY CRAP!!! You got to PM me when you take my recommendations! I almost missed this thread!

Glad you enjoyed that. Now you know why between my two pics the beans disappeared. Kind of odd that beans would be included in the highlights but they really are THAT good! I see you got the pulled pork plate. I see your wimpy sandwich assembled using only 10% of the pork provided.

Did you mention to them about being on the Iron Butt ride at all? I'm sure they'd have wigged out if you had.

Looks like some good time spent in the saddle, thanks for sharing!

FJRBandit said:

And I have to say, my buns were a little sore, but I actually considered getting back on the bike and running to the coast to complete a SS2000.

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:blink:

FJRBandit said:

But I came to my senses, went into the house to get a cold beer beacuse I was cooked.

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:lol:

Glad you got to do a long ride and clear your head!

gixxerjasen said:

I see your wimpy sandwich assembled using only 10% of the pork provided.
Did you mention to them about being on the Iron Butt ride at all? I'm sure they'd have wigged out if you had.

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Actually, this was my second visit to Bozo's. I made it by there on the way to SFO. I mentioned you to them at that time and they remembered your visit. We got there about noon and they had just seated a group of about 30 Victory riders so they were scrambling around trying to accommodate them. They didn't seem to be in any mood to chit chat. We were fortunate enough to grab a couple of stools at the counter and got in and out pretty quick, which obviously helped considering we were on a tight time schedule.

As for the wimpy sandwich, you can't tell from the picture but it is actually fairly loaded. There was just A LOT more meat on my plate. Trust me FJRBandit is a professional BBQ connoisseur. Last time I got the vinegar based slaw. This time I got the mayo based slaw and loaded it up on the sandwich... excellente'!

I was joking on the wimpy sandwich. That plate, they give you so much that it doesn't matter how loaded you make the sandwich, it will still pale by comparison the the pile of meat left over. You certainly get a healthy portion there.

No offense taken gixx - you are right, they pile it on the plate at Bozos. But damn dude, I am in awe of the spread you were at Saturday. That was some kind of back yard BBQ - Tejas style fo sho. Definitely have that date saved for next year! Even without an invite, we may have to crash that party... h34r: :lol:

BTW - I wasn't going to share this pic of Pegsparks, but since it's already hit the net might as well add it to the proper ride report.

Indeed it was a good spread. Your ride you did here though is one that's had me thinking. Pick a restaurant in each of Memphis, Texas and KC, and do the BBQ triangle.

I like it! We could meet up in Memphis, do the triangle back to Tejas, via KC .... maybe cap it off at the Big Texan in Amarillo. I feel a big ride in the works.... Mfletch, Fish and Pants might have to roll up for this one.

Excellent Ride Report.

I thihk earthrooster should for all time forward be now known as earthchicken.

Great ride report, thanks for that!

SkooterG said:

Excellent Ride Report.

I thihk earthrooster should for all time forward be now known as earthchicken.

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Uh huh. That's a'ight. I can take it. But, see, I don't need no handholdin' for a long ride. I'm a TOUGH chicken, dammit.

Cluck cluck, mfer :thumbsup:

:lol:

earthrooster said:

SkooterG said:

Excellent Ride Report.

I thihk earthrooster should for all time forward be now known as earthchicken.

Click to expand...

Uh huh. That's a'ight. I can take it. But, see, I don't need no handholdin' for a long ride. I'm a TOUGH chicken, dammit.

Cluck cluck, mfer :thumbsup:

:lol:

Click to expand...

:lol: :lol: :lol:

SkooterG said:

earthrooster said:

SkooterG said:

Excellent Ride Report.

I thihk earthrooster should for all time forward be now known as earthchicken.

Click to expand...

Uh huh. That's a'ight. I can take it. But, see, I don't need no handholdin' for a long ride. I'm a TOUGH chicken, dammit.

Cluck cluck, mfer :thumbsup:

:lol:

Click to expand...

:lol: :lol: :lol:

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I really enjoyed this whole report. The only thing that would have improved it would have been if earthrooster could have made it too. I can assure you that the BBQ outside San Antonio that Gixxerjasen treated me to was worth doing an SS1K to get. IF Gixxerjasen will allow me back next year I will try to get it on my calendar. Since I did join the Two Wheeled Texans forum, I might even see if Dad could make the ride with me next time. That was a fantastic group of people and a fantastic group of motorcycles. I would love to take a ride with you guys somewhere and I have not ruled out a fishing trip either. If only there were more time...

Thanks for all the nice comments guys! BTW - the ride worked well for clearing my head. When I got home the new AC was installed and is keeping things cool, the toilet had not sprung another leak, the AC in the wife's car was still working... you know, sometimes life has a way of tasting like a shit sandwich, that is 'till you get on the bike and just ride! :yahoo:

As for the earthchicken, he is a tough chicken, I'll second that.

Fish, we'd love to have you join us for a ride sometime. We have a couple of rides in the works. Drop me a PM sometime for details and see if you can't make it up this way to join us. BTW - I'm thinking about doing a bayou run on my 'strom this fall and camping at Grand Isle. Maybe you and Pants can join me down there and show me around the area south of 90.

Dude, the A/C went out at our house two days ago. AND we have unexpected, not-exactly-courteous guests staying for a few days (a cousin and her 20yo son). Casa de Rooster is not peaceful at the moment. Mrs earthrooster is perturbed. I'll get home Saturday afternoon and may have to open a can of whoop a$$.