Labor Day Weekend Ride
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From: Ft. Worth, TX
Labor Day Weekend Ride
In spite of the triple digit temps I headed out early Saturday morning from Ft. Worth with my saddlebags packed with only one destination, Magazine Mountain, AR. No map, no GPS, no USB port on the bike. Only a battery charger pigtail running into the right saddlebag to charge the phone.
Left the house at 0630, was nearly ran off the road by an inattentive driver passing through Dallas and surprisingly that was the only encounter with a cager for the rest of the weekend and 1180 miles. I rode out through Greenville, TX then turned north up through Paris and on to Hugo, OK. Mile after mile clicked by and I stopped for lunch once I hit the Arkansas line in a little town with a home grown diner. The iced tea was cold and I had a decent chicken fried steak but really enjoyed the air conditioning while I was in there. The temps had climbed well past the triple digit mark by this time and I appreciated the shade of the tree I parked my bike in.
A few more hours passed and I made my goal for the day by getting to Mena, AR. I stopped in a local shop there, enjoyed their air conditioning, cold water and was distressed to find out that I was in a dry county! So much for a cold beer. I talked with one of the guys there and he recommended the Talimena Byway Drive that goes over to Oklahoma. I said OK and headed out to try the drive since it was still pretty early.
The ride was very nice! Great mountains, nice twisties, roads in great shape as it went on for miles. Outstanding views from either side of the road.
After riding the byway, I found the only bar in Talihena, OK. Beer was cold and mighty tasty but I couldn't stay long as I still had to find a place to rack out for the night. The local hotel was full so I had to make my way back down to Broken Bow to find one of the last two rooms available at a local hole in the wall hotel. That's cool, a shower and a bed is all I need. I managed to find the one rain shower to drive through on my way to Broken Bow but it didn't last too long.
Next morning I headed back up to the Talimena Skyway on highway 259. I seemed to be the only one out there and I had the whole road to myself. Great ride through the mountains, lots of trees cool temperatures and great road surface. many, many twisties and elevation changes.
Back up to the Skyway and had some breakfast at the Queen Wilhemenia State Park. Headed east from the state park and went back down through Mena before heading north for Magazine Mountain.
Headed up the highway but I peeled off on some of the backroads just to cruise through the backroads which I enjoy more. I will tell you that you can certainly smell all the chicken farms as you pass. it must smell like money to the farmer but wow, smells like **** to the rest of us!
The road up Magazine Mountain, while full of twists and turns was one of the rougher ones on the trip. They have a nice visitor center at the top and some nice places to sit a relax. After looking over the edge, having a cold drink I took off for Ft. Smith, AR to spend the night. Found a great hotel across the street from Buffalo Wild Wings so I would be well fed and watered. Slept good.
Up semi-early and loaded the bike with the intention of meandering back home. While I would have liked to ride through the mountains again, I needed to take a more direct route and traveled through less attractive areas of eastern OK. Nice roads though, met some good folks.
I have discovered that my stock seat sucks and I will be sending that out for a rework this winter. All in all I averaged about 40-42 mpg, running 93 octane with ethanol. Seemed like every time I passed a station that advertised no ethanol I had a full or nearly full tank.
Three days, 1180 miles. It was fun and I think I am going to head back up there this fall when it is a bit cooler.
Left the house at 0630, was nearly ran off the road by an inattentive driver passing through Dallas and surprisingly that was the only encounter with a cager for the rest of the weekend and 1180 miles. I rode out through Greenville, TX then turned north up through Paris and on to Hugo, OK. Mile after mile clicked by and I stopped for lunch once I hit the Arkansas line in a little town with a home grown diner. The iced tea was cold and I had a decent chicken fried steak but really enjoyed the air conditioning while I was in there. The temps had climbed well past the triple digit mark by this time and I appreciated the shade of the tree I parked my bike in.
A few more hours passed and I made my goal for the day by getting to Mena, AR. I stopped in a local shop there, enjoyed their air conditioning, cold water and was distressed to find out that I was in a dry county! So much for a cold beer. I talked with one of the guys there and he recommended the Talimena Byway Drive that goes over to Oklahoma. I said OK and headed out to try the drive since it was still pretty early.
The ride was very nice! Great mountains, nice twisties, roads in great shape as it went on for miles. Outstanding views from either side of the road.
After riding the byway, I found the only bar in Talihena, OK. Beer was cold and mighty tasty but I couldn't stay long as I still had to find a place to rack out for the night. The local hotel was full so I had to make my way back down to Broken Bow to find one of the last two rooms available at a local hole in the wall hotel. That's cool, a shower and a bed is all I need. I managed to find the one rain shower to drive through on my way to Broken Bow but it didn't last too long.
Next morning I headed back up to the Talimena Skyway on highway 259. I seemed to be the only one out there and I had the whole road to myself. Great ride through the mountains, lots of trees cool temperatures and great road surface. many, many twisties and elevation changes.
Back up to the Skyway and had some breakfast at the Queen Wilhemenia State Park. Headed east from the state park and went back down through Mena before heading north for Magazine Mountain.
Headed up the highway but I peeled off on some of the backroads just to cruise through the backroads which I enjoy more. I will tell you that you can certainly smell all the chicken farms as you pass. it must smell like money to the farmer but wow, smells like **** to the rest of us!
The road up Magazine Mountain, while full of twists and turns was one of the rougher ones on the trip. They have a nice visitor center at the top and some nice places to sit a relax. After looking over the edge, having a cold drink I took off for Ft. Smith, AR to spend the night. Found a great hotel across the street from Buffalo Wild Wings so I would be well fed and watered. Slept good.
Up semi-early and loaded the bike with the intention of meandering back home. While I would have liked to ride through the mountains again, I needed to take a more direct route and traveled through less attractive areas of eastern OK. Nice roads though, met some good folks.
I have discovered that my stock seat sucks and I will be sending that out for a rework this winter. All in all I averaged about 40-42 mpg, running 93 octane with ethanol. Seemed like every time I passed a station that advertised no ethanol I had a full or nearly full tank.
Three days, 1180 miles. It was fun and I think I am going to head back up there this fall when it is a bit cooler.
Last edited by Juan L; Sep 2, 2013 at 10:25 PM.
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