Arkansas Road Trip !!

 

     Can’t wait for this weekend ! Getting on my bike and going down to NW Arkansas for a weekend of great motorcycle riding. This part of Arkansas boasts some of the best roads for motorcycles in the US. The Pig Trail and the Arkansas Dragon, just to name a few.

For more info please see Great Rides Arkansas

     Will be spending a couple of days there and will be posting more in the next few days !

See You Then !!

Roadgliding

Day 1 : A Cool Trip Down !

Well, I had planned for a nice trip down to Arkansas from KC. Drive by Lake of the Ozarks and Table Rock Lake. However, mother nature had other plans !!.

   It was supposed to be a partly cloudy day in the mid 70’s. Unfortunatly, it turned out to be cloudy and and in the mid 60’s. Although the day took a turn for the worse I was determined to enjoy the ride no matter the weather.

   So after a detour and turning up the tunes, the day soon turned. After I passed Branson, the Sun finally returned. Just in time to have a great ride by Table Lake and over the “Little Golden Gate Bridge of Arkansas” before arriving  in Eureka Springs.

The weather looks great for tommorow and I can’t wait to hit the road.

More later,

Roadgliding

Day 2 : Great Day on the Trail of Pigs

        It’s morning and after a pretty good breakfast, (for motel food) I was off for a full day of twists and curves!!

        First I had to stop at the local Harley store, no bikes just tee shirts. I wanted to stop at Pig trail Harley in Rogers but they closed at 6:00 on Friday and I didn’t get in till 7:00!

      I am curious why a Harley shop that is located in one of the hot spots for bikers would close so early on a weekend !! Also, I found out that they close even earlier on Saturday !!

    I feel that Harley dealerships should be destinations for bikers ! So why would they not be open later on a weekend ! The laws in Arkansas would not allow them to open on Sunday so why not stay open later on Saturday !!!

     Well enough of my bitching, lets get riding !!

    I left Gatilnburg going south on 23 , towards the Pig trail. This is a really nice ride through some pretty country !

There seems to be alot of chicken farms that have sprung up which is Ok but they do not smell all that great.

    After a great ride down 23, I finally got to the official Pig Trail. Lots of twists and curves with some great stop offs for some beautiful pictures.

     There was not a whole lot of traffic for a Saturday, but that was just fine for me. It really sucks to get stuck behind a slow car that refuses to pull over and let enjoy these roads like they were supposed to be. Fast curves with the wind and a big smile on your face !!

      After Pig Trail I went east on I-44 and hit 21 n at Clarksville. 21 is a cool ride on it’s own. So drove north to 16. Went east on 16 which connects to 23 so I decided, why not ride the Pig Trail again !!!

   After another ride on the trail, I went west on I-44 and rode north on 71. This road rises to the top of a ridge overlooking Lake Fort Smith State Park. I paused for a picture at Artist Point before going east on 74 to Devil’s Den State park !  The ride into the park is full of tight turns and switchbacks. I really like switchbacks better when I am going downhill, luckily, this time it was down hill all the way. A pretty sweet ride !!!

     After leaving the park I took 265 n to I-49 where I fiiled my tanks and belly and made plans for the final leg of my ride.

    It was getting late so I jumped on I-49 n and rode to 65e in Rogers. Went past the CLOSED Harley store and jumped on 12 e. for a really great ride over Beaver Lake and through Hobbs State Park. I really like this stretch of road because of the medium level curves and rolling hills. And as an extra bonus the was very little traffic, so I was able to take this last leg at full speed. It was truly a great end to a great day of Arkansas Riding !!!!!!

     Crossed back over to 23 N and headed back to Eureka just as the sun was setting !! Perfect Timing !! I returned to my room stayed in and ordered a pizza and drank some Rye Whiskey, while mapping the route back home.

    I was tired from my ride and fell asleep early, but this is a good type of tired . The kind that comes from a full day of enjoying the hell out life !!!

Back Later with Day 3 ,

Roadgliding

Day 3 :  A Rain Dodging Return!!

             All good things must come to an end, but let’s try to make it as fun as possible !!  For my return home I plotted a route that I hoped would give me a great last day of riding. And for the most part I got my wish.

            I left Eureka a little late, around 11:00, no real rush to get home, and the weather looked pretty good. I took 23 N, a fun ride on it’s own and crossed the state line, where I hit 86 E to 39 N and then went east on 76.

I Planned this trip for max fun and it did not disappoint !!! The first part was really cool but when I turned on to 86 the ride jumped up to a new level. Riding through excellent country side with some cool bridges I hit 39 and went north to 76.

   Along this route there are many water crossings that are part of Table Rock Lake. Nice lake homes line the shores of this really long beautiful waterway. After a few crossings I hit 76 and went east.

   This is where it really gets cool !! Great hills with twists and turns that test you, but do not fail to excite ! This is looking to be a really fun stretch. However, a sunday driver has a way to turn a fast track to a slow roll !!

   Well, guess what ! Right after I turned into 76E, one of our slow rollers pulled out. With a twisty road and a double yellow line, passing was not an option ! I was determined to get this last good stretch in, so what to do ??

    I decided at every straightaway I would hold back to a crawl and let Fast Eddie get as far ahead as possible. Then I could take the fun parts at full speed !!  It worked out great and after a while my friend decided to turn off and I was able to get in some good riding until the rain clouds started to form !!!

I was now south of Springfield Mo when I saw some big black clouds ahead. I stopped to check the weather and found out that my planned route was getting very wet. Sooo ! I spent the rest of my trip dodging raindrops but there was a silver lining to those black clouds. I backtracked on 160 and went east on MO-O to MO-A.

     I had never rode these before and was just trying to beat the rain. However, this silver lining was riding gold ! Great ride ( although I had to stop twice to get directions) through rolling hills and cool curves. I rode through Hurley and made my way to 39. I was going to take 39 up almost all the way home but mother nature had other plans.

    When I got to I-44, rain was again in my path north. So I jumped on 44 and went east to 97 and north to 160 where I headed east to I-49. I didn’t want to stay on the freeway the rest of the way home, so mom nature did me a favor and put a big storm right in my path. Cool !!  So I jumped on 54E to 69N to complete my trip home.

    A few miles to my cutoff and I was patting myself on the back for dodging all the rain, when the rain gods spit a couple of drops just to let me know who won !!!

    So ends my Arkanas Roadtrip !! It was a real good attitude adjustment to get on the road for a few days with only great riding to ponder !!

    So now we have about 3 weeks before we go to Colorado and Oregon for a couple of months. We will be staying for a while so we will be trailering our bikes. So please be on the lookout for updates on our trip at Roadgliding.com !!

See you Down the Road,

Roadgliding