hppants
Well-known member
September 2017
Mike and I have been touring together for many years and thousands upon thousands of miles. He's a good friend and a great rider. Within the last year, I've met Mike's friends Randy and Tom, who are also good riders. We've enjoyed a few day trips together and each time we ride, Mike and I egg them on about how cool it is to go somewhere farther. Late in the summer, we realize they cannot be teased any longer. So I suggest a long Labor Day weekend ride to Arkansas. The Ozarks are a wonderful place to bring a rider for the first time. The roads are fantastic there and the traffic should be manageable this time of year.
We'll do 5 days, which is enough time to take your time and yet feel like you've been somewhere. I suggest camping, but Randy and Tom aren't ready for that, so Mike makes reservations at hotels in Mountain View and Jasper, which will put us smack dab in the middle of the good stuff. We start a group text about 3 weeks out and I can tell those two are really getting excited. Randy is a planner, so the weekend before we leave, he invites us to his house to go over the game plan. Out of respect, Mike and I appease him. I want him and Tom to be comfortable and feel safe with us. But we've ridden Arkansas at least a dozen times. We don't need a map, let alone a plan.
Of course it never fails. As go date gets closer, the weather turns to crapola. Not too cold thankfully, but there's a cool front coming through our region and it's going to be rainy at first. Randy gets nervous and suggest we cancel. But I convince them to keep an open mind. I know the weather forecast changes frequently, often for the better. On Wednesday, the front is approaching, but if we can get through Thursday, the rest of the weekend will be great. Mike and I convince the others to take a chance. Shoot - we all come into this world wet. We'll be just fine.
We leave home in rain gear and riding very conservatively as the wind is strong and the rain steady. We ride most of the day in the wet, but I adjusted our route a bit westerly to put us through the front and by mid afternoon, the roads are drying and getting very curvy.
For the entire weekend, we had an absolute blast. We laughed until we cried. We drank good beer and decent Tequila. We ate what we could find and it was plenty good enough. We stopped and sniffed, and we walked on a few trails to get the blood pumping in our legs.
And we rode Arkansas like it should be ridden.
I made great day loops through all of the best roads. That is not hard to do in northwestern Arkansas. You could hardly make a mistake on those roads. And they were all in terrific shape with very little traffic. Tom's 650 V-Strom was a little underpowered, but I convinced him to not take any chances passing slower traffic and he settled in very well. There were no oopsies, tip overs, mechanical issues, or anything of the slightest inconvenience.
It was well beyond painless. It was quite joyful, to be honest. Seeing those two discover those roads under those conditions was so cool. We would stop on the side of the road and I would see giggling under their helmets before we even turn the ignition keys to off. We would walk to the overlook and I could hardly get a word in edgewise.
"How cool was that section back there?"
"Boy, these roads grip!!"
"Did you see me hanging it out on that one curve?"
"Man, THIS is what riding a motorcycle is supposed to be...."
(Pants) "Hold on guys. We haven't gotten to the good part yet. Wait till you see Hwy xxx!!"
And on and on and on.....
We were 7 year old boys stuck in 50 and 60 something year old bodies. Not a care in the world. No where to go and all day to get there. There was no discussion about work, bills and payments, troubles, or anything of the like. No thank you - there is not room for that this weekend. We've got way too many miles to cover instead.
After a particularly spirited run up Hwy 123, I pulled off at Sam's Throne to let the adrenaline wean down. We walked a quarter mile on the trail to the overlook. Take a long look and burn it into your memory, my friends. Because I'm gonna tell ya, you can take resolve. It doesn't get any better than this. You've reached the pinnacle. I hope you have the courage to realize it.
Stay Thirsty, My Friends....
Mike and I have been touring together for many years and thousands upon thousands of miles. He's a good friend and a great rider. Within the last year, I've met Mike's friends Randy and Tom, who are also good riders. We've enjoyed a few day trips together and each time we ride, Mike and I egg them on about how cool it is to go somewhere farther. Late in the summer, we realize they cannot be teased any longer. So I suggest a long Labor Day weekend ride to Arkansas. The Ozarks are a wonderful place to bring a rider for the first time. The roads are fantastic there and the traffic should be manageable this time of year.
We'll do 5 days, which is enough time to take your time and yet feel like you've been somewhere. I suggest camping, but Randy and Tom aren't ready for that, so Mike makes reservations at hotels in Mountain View and Jasper, which will put us smack dab in the middle of the good stuff. We start a group text about 3 weeks out and I can tell those two are really getting excited. Randy is a planner, so the weekend before we leave, he invites us to his house to go over the game plan. Out of respect, Mike and I appease him. I want him and Tom to be comfortable and feel safe with us. But we've ridden Arkansas at least a dozen times. We don't need a map, let alone a plan.
Of course it never fails. As go date gets closer, the weather turns to crapola. Not too cold thankfully, but there's a cool front coming through our region and it's going to be rainy at first. Randy gets nervous and suggest we cancel. But I convince them to keep an open mind. I know the weather forecast changes frequently, often for the better. On Wednesday, the front is approaching, but if we can get through Thursday, the rest of the weekend will be great. Mike and I convince the others to take a chance. Shoot - we all come into this world wet. We'll be just fine.
We leave home in rain gear and riding very conservatively as the wind is strong and the rain steady. We ride most of the day in the wet, but I adjusted our route a bit westerly to put us through the front and by mid afternoon, the roads are drying and getting very curvy.
For the entire weekend, we had an absolute blast. We laughed until we cried. We drank good beer and decent Tequila. We ate what we could find and it was plenty good enough. We stopped and sniffed, and we walked on a few trails to get the blood pumping in our legs.
And we rode Arkansas like it should be ridden.
I made great day loops through all of the best roads. That is not hard to do in northwestern Arkansas. You could hardly make a mistake on those roads. And they were all in terrific shape with very little traffic. Tom's 650 V-Strom was a little underpowered, but I convinced him to not take any chances passing slower traffic and he settled in very well. There were no oopsies, tip overs, mechanical issues, or anything of the slightest inconvenience.
It was well beyond painless. It was quite joyful, to be honest. Seeing those two discover those roads under those conditions was so cool. We would stop on the side of the road and I would see giggling under their helmets before we even turn the ignition keys to off. We would walk to the overlook and I could hardly get a word in edgewise.
"How cool was that section back there?"
"Boy, these roads grip!!"
"Did you see me hanging it out on that one curve?"
"Man, THIS is what riding a motorcycle is supposed to be...."
(Pants) "Hold on guys. We haven't gotten to the good part yet. Wait till you see Hwy xxx!!"
And on and on and on.....
We were 7 year old boys stuck in 50 and 60 something year old bodies. Not a care in the world. No where to go and all day to get there. There was no discussion about work, bills and payments, troubles, or anything of the like. No thank you - there is not room for that this weekend. We've got way too many miles to cover instead.
After a particularly spirited run up Hwy 123, I pulled off at Sam's Throne to let the adrenaline wean down. We walked a quarter mile on the trail to the overlook. Take a long look and burn it into your memory, my friends. Because I'm gonna tell ya, you can take resolve. It doesn't get any better than this. You've reached the pinnacle. I hope you have the courage to realize it.
Stay Thirsty, My Friends....
