The_Veg
D'OH!
So right after ChiTown's great write-up of riding in northwestern Arkansas, I was at my local club's monthly meeting and a fellow member asked me if I'd like to join him and another member on a ride to the same area (pure coincidence). I said maybe, and after checking my schedule and budget I agreed to join the ride.
We set out from Dallas at 0600 on Friday and got home at 2030 on Saturday, spending most waking moments in the saddle. We rode the same area as ChiTown, but we kept it on-pavement and therefore saw different places. The snow was gone, but that small jagged limestone gravel that gets spread over ice was still present in some of the turns. The hard rains that ravaged the region a few days earlier had swollen the rivers and flooded lots of areas, but thankfully not the roads.
It was great exploring some of the really insane Ozark twisties, and I only had two wildlife-scares (a BIG but adolescent-looking deer mid-day on Friday, and a pack of turkeys on Saturday). I also took lots of metal-notes for future visits.
I also rode faster and better than ever before, thanks to a great group-dynamic and a ride leader experienced with the region. I even scraped a peg on the GS, which due to the extreme lean-angle and the fact that gravity was pulling me way too hard through a downhill hairpin, was a scary moment.
I didn't take too many pictures of the roads as we just plain didn't stop much, not that very many places would be safe to stop for a picture for the usual rural-twisties reasons.
But here are a few pics from the trip:
Lunch stop at Ozark, at a comfy pub-restaurant
The obligatory food-shot
Navigational discussion
Low-water crossing that despite the temptation, I did NOT attempt. Water was about 6-8" deep and MOVING FAST.
One-lane bridge with hikers
Flooding river
Road-shot that does *NO* justice to many of the roads we travelled
Says it all
Fireside moment with El Chupacabra
We stayed at this B&B run by old hippies
After a couple of glasses of wine, figuring out where to ride tomorrow
Obscure model from the Motor Company, spotted at an inn we passed
The view from Mount magazine, the highest place in Arkansas (although this view is from the park lodge, slightly below the true high-point)
Whatever it was, it was cheap
Stopping to shed layers at Washita
We rode the Talimena Scenic Drive on the way home. This is at the Panoramic Vista, which has a near-360 view of surrounding valleys. The R100S belongs to a good friend of mine who lives just off the drive and joined us for a little while.
Almost home
The entire gallery may be viewed here.
We set out from Dallas at 0600 on Friday and got home at 2030 on Saturday, spending most waking moments in the saddle. We rode the same area as ChiTown, but we kept it on-pavement and therefore saw different places. The snow was gone, but that small jagged limestone gravel that gets spread over ice was still present in some of the turns. The hard rains that ravaged the region a few days earlier had swollen the rivers and flooded lots of areas, but thankfully not the roads.
It was great exploring some of the really insane Ozark twisties, and I only had two wildlife-scares (a BIG but adolescent-looking deer mid-day on Friday, and a pack of turkeys on Saturday). I also took lots of metal-notes for future visits.
I also rode faster and better than ever before, thanks to a great group-dynamic and a ride leader experienced with the region. I even scraped a peg on the GS, which due to the extreme lean-angle and the fact that gravity was pulling me way too hard through a downhill hairpin, was a scary moment.
I didn't take too many pictures of the roads as we just plain didn't stop much, not that very many places would be safe to stop for a picture for the usual rural-twisties reasons.
But here are a few pics from the trip:
Lunch stop at Ozark, at a comfy pub-restaurant
The obligatory food-shot
Navigational discussion
Low-water crossing that despite the temptation, I did NOT attempt. Water was about 6-8" deep and MOVING FAST.
One-lane bridge with hikers
Flooding river
Road-shot that does *NO* justice to many of the roads we travelled
Says it all
Fireside moment with El Chupacabra
We stayed at this B&B run by old hippies
After a couple of glasses of wine, figuring out where to ride tomorrow
Obscure model from the Motor Company, spotted at an inn we passed
The view from Mount magazine, the highest place in Arkansas (although this view is from the park lodge, slightly below the true high-point)
Whatever it was, it was cheap
Stopping to shed layers at Washita
We rode the Talimena Scenic Drive on the way home. This is at the Panoramic Vista, which has a near-360 view of surrounding valleys. The R100S belongs to a good friend of mine who lives just off the drive and joined us for a little while.
Almost home
The entire gallery may be viewed here.
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