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Added Cherehola Skyway VIDEO
HERE
Many of you have been following the Texasmac thread to the tune of 6000 clicks, here is my take on that fantastic Memorial Ride.
DAY ONE [image: user posted image]
flag_colorado.gif State One CO
My home state was cold and dank, and since I took off at daybreak it was cold too, I decided to stay off the interstates cause I don't like playing with 18 wheelers and slow traffic in the right lane fast traffic in the left. It always seems you cant just ride at your own pace on the interstate unless its empty! I stopped in Rocky Ford for a muffin and a drink and was stared at by the locals cause of my riding suit - not too friendly either. I guess living out on the boring plains so close to the mountains makes them distrustful of strangers? Rocky Ford is known mostly for its watermelons and cantaloupe, the rest of the year it just a pit out on the plains!! I like to tease my coworker cause he is from there "hey Jeff you got a watermelon seed stuck in your teeth"!!
It was cold and grey all the way through but there was one little break in the clouds that had streamers of light pouring out of it way off in the distance it was like something to shoot for - you know the old Peter Pan saying "first star on the left and strait on till morning" I got that sense of hope seeing the rays of sunshine peering through the clouds.
flag_kansas.gif State 2 KA
Well the state line was a blur and the grain elevators come and go every 20 miles or so, the clouds actually get thicker and the temperature dropped about ten more degrees. I had my heated vest on but its not working, so my homemade heated seat is on and toasting me from the bottom up, thank goodness for heated grips and a heated seat! It was right about Garden City when the feed lots start to crop up along side the road. If you never have ridden past a feed lot count yourself lucky the smell is horrendous, a mixture of diesel fumes and cow manure, mixed in with a cold damp air It was more than I could take, especially after riding past the biggest daddy packing plant of them all the Tyson plant west of Garden City, I had to jump off the bike and blow chunks shortly after that encounter, it was awfully. So far Kansas was torture, cold, bad smells and whatnot. I stopped in Dodge City for a bite to eat an hour later. I felt a lot better after my body expelled my breakfast, I always feel better after throwing up.
Things brightened up near Mullinsville, the sky cleared up and the temperature rose to a roasting 80 degrees I had to stop and shed all my layers, this place has the worlds largest hand dug well (so the sign says) I did not investigate, and it had a strange roadside art collection, mainly political satire of a conservative bent, but he seems to pick fun at any politician not matter what party!!
[image: user posted image] Mullinville Kansas not much to do there but make weird road side attractions
Kansas really greens up after riding past the Ninneshca River, it is there the trees pop up and the air starts to get more humid. Eastern Kansas is sort of nice actually, but the food?? Wichita was a blur I ended up somehow on the wrong side of town in the run down section, but I found a walmart to stock up on drinks and video tape. I was soon off east where I looked like the sky was about to fall. It did, not even a minute past the city line I was involved in a downpour that would last the rest of the night, It even started to hail and boy thats painful on the chest at 70mph, I saw a rest stop with covered picnic tables so I rode up on the sidewalk and waited out the hail under the roof. It was sort of peaceful listening to the rain out there on the plains, I stripped off my wet clothes and put on dry ones and then headed east again till I felt like dropping.
I finally succumbed to sleep around Parsons Kansas on hwy 160 near the Missouri Border, disappointed with the lodging and the price I settled for a dump called the Canterbury inn, what a pit and an attached chinese buffet that was dirty the food was dried up hours old Chinese fair, if you can call it that, I have had much better. Moral stay somewhere else than Parsons!!
Whew an hour more and I was out of Kansas, but that part wasn't so bad, I had had just about enough of the bad smells and the stop abortion billboards everywhere? OK I get the message, I wont have an abortion!! Like a billboard is the solution? OK nuff said about that. I was so happy to be out of Kansas I had to stop and take a picture of the sign [image: user posted image] Thank you lord! Finally out of wet Kansas
flag_missouri.gif State 3 MO
Missouri started out wet too, and then the billboards converted over to biblical signs, there would be a ten commandments saying then a minute later you would ride past an adult video shop, then another abortion sign?? I could see fight going on for your soul on the billboards here, surprisingly there were at least 5 of these adult video stops on the way to Springfield so I guess sin is still alive in Missouri??
I saw a sign for civil war battle field up ahead and then rode on by it and sort of regretted that I did not stop and take a look. I resolved that if I had the chance again I would stop on the way back.
It was here that I was in the right lane and was passed by a woman in a Caddy Escalade who stopped short of passing me and sort of drove right next to me in her blind spot, this made me uneasy so I rolled off just in time for her to notice her turnoff was right there and so she literally jerked the wheel and whipped past me in my lane and onto the turnoff as If I did not deserve the share the same road as her. She was literally inches away from clipping me as I rolled off so I had to get hard on the brakes and this must made me snap in anger!!! - I am glad my spider sense was working there!!!
I followed her up the ramp and stopped alongside her and knocked on the window, then when she looked I gave her the finger and just started yelling incoherently I was spitting venom at her from under my helmet which seemed to have scared the living shit out of her cause she put her arms up to cover her face - I guess I over reacted there just some crazy motorcyclist banging on her window yelling obscenities at her. I was so angry I just peeled out and headed back onto the on ramp, leaving her stunned and motionless at the ramp exit. I said something like "get off the freaking phone lady before you kill somebody" but with a lot more exuberance and perhaps some worse language!! I am sure she had no idea why I would be doing that cause she obviously did not notice me till I knocked on her window!!
I had to go someplace and calm down and to hide from the police for accosting a window so I chose the village in in Springfield and was seated by the prettiest girl - in all of Missouri for all I know way too young for me but she was really good looking. If I were much younger I would be all over that one!!!
I headed south a bit to Ozark a small town that is the gateway to the Mark Twain National Forest, and the Missouri side of the Ozarks. It was there that I found some really interesting riding, the first twisty roads in 1000 miles!!
[image: user posted image] Mark Twain National Forest Southern Missouri hwy 125 Ozark County
This place is great I found it on a website basically head south from Ozark on hwy 125 till you run into hwy 160 or any of the smaller roads they all seem to be about as twisty. It was pretty and I almost ran over a wild turkey crossing the road. The road meanders for a bit then it starts undulating up and down like a roller coaster with banked turns, you have to take it easy cause you never know which way the road is going to dive off after cresting a hill.
I was riding behind a jeep for a while till I got tired of waiting and passed him on a fairly clear section - he seemed to not like that cause it was double yellow but as far as I could tell there was not passing lane for miles and miles!! He tried t stay with me but alas did not have the skill or the motivation. I was gone in short order.
[image: user posted image] Missouri Farm
If ever you make it down to Missouri this is the place to be for riding!!
[image: user posted image] Bull Shoals Lake
It is definitely redneck country there but the folks are awfully friendly and willing to stop and help. I was taking a break somewhere on the side of the road and some guy in a pickup asked me if I was lost? I told him I was just taking it easy a bit and so he asked me what direction I was heading, I pointed east and he said "That way is curvy watch out" I put up my thumb and said "Just the way I like it"!! and he was right it was almost a hundered miles of curves, sweepers and tight banked turns in some of the prettiest pastoral scenes in the USA. Missouri is a treat to ride let me tell ya its pretty country. I ended up staying in Poplar Bluff where I got a burger at the Wendy's and sat at the park adjacent to the parking lot and watched a high school baseball game in progress. What a great day of riding.. The super 8 in Popular Bluff is really a nice place to stay too btw clean with very friendly staff 20 dollars cheaper than that dive in Parsons!
Still In Popular Bluff the weather that started out in Colorado has caught up to me overnight and was back in action in the morning so I had to amend my plans to go south a bit and just headed due east. This would take me across the Great Mississippi River and into Kentucky I had no plans to ride into Kentucky and did not have any maps loaded into my GPS for that, but thankfully it has base maps of major highways and smaller roads but no detailed maps.
I headed toward Ciaro Illinois yes Illinois it was wet and strait all the way across the river basin and lots of trucks to make the ride a buffeted cold fun affair till I could get off the main highway. This time though my heated vest was working!!
[image: user posted image] Crossing the Mississippi River I was in Illinois for 2 minutes then headed over the Ohio River to Kentucky
flag_illinois.gif State 4 IL
I was only in Illinois for a minute or two long enough get off the Mississippi river bridge and turn right to head over the Ohio River, the Ohio is actually bigger at this point and was full of barges and I could see a tug boat under the bridge heading north, it was cool - now these are real rivers, these creeks here in Colorado just don't compare. We have mountains and the south has Rivers!!!
flag_kentucky.gif State 5 KY
I got off the Bridge and ended up in a little town called Wickliff where I looked on my gps for a lonely road and soon was heading east on 286 to Paduka, wow the road was strait but the scenes are fascinating, everything was so green with bluegrass and farm houses, nice place with big huge spreads to live on, I wouldn't mind a place out there myself!!
[image: user posted image] fields of yellow flowers KY hwy 286
I happened on this farm that had an old barn and it was full of yellow flowers in the fields so I stopped to take a picture or two
[image: user posted image] Kentucky Farm hwy 121 out of Wickliff
I wanted to make it to Nashville by afternoon and found this cool looking road called the Trace, on a peninsula called the Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area. I wonder if its is part of the Natches Trace road, its called "The Trace" on the map. I decided to stop and ask for directions and happened on this little BBQ stand, the folks were friendly and funny, lots of funny little signs on the wall
[image: user posted image] Knoths BBQ Lake City Kentucky on hwy 62 friendly folks and good conversation
[image: user posted image] That photo looks familiar? possibly the ugliest woman who ever lived, wasn't that KPerhams avatar?
The fella sitting next to me at the counter talked with me for a half an hour and gave me the strait story on the trace, he told me that a twister had come through there a year ago and tore up some trees like they were just weeds or something? I never found the spot he was talking about but I was looking, the two ladies who were serving were both interested in my story and we ended up swapping all sorts of stories, I told them about the civil war battlefield I missed and so they told me about another one right at the end of the trace - that I should stop there!!
[image: user posted image] Grand Lake Marina Kentucky
[image: user posted image] Land Between The Lakes National Recreational Area OH what wonderful sweepers you have!!!
[image: user posted image] Land Between The Lakes National Recreational Area Mostly sweepers like this and lots and lots of trees, a bison refuge, and an old stone forge.
flag_tennessee.gif State 6 TN
I found the place they were talking about Fort Donnelson National Battlefield in Tennessee and stopped for a picture opportunity, its along the lakes and the Cumberland River
[image: user posted image] Fort Donelson National Battlefield Artillery overlooking the Cumberland River
[image: user posted image] Two US military Vets They appreciate a good bike when they see one, the fellow on the left was stationed at Fort Carson near my home in Colorado Springs, the guy on the right was asking all sorts of questions about the VFR.
All in all so far it was good riding this day too, I made for Nashville and found Kevin's House where I would be staying till we both headed out to Robbinsville in the morning, Kevin took me downtown in Nashville where we toured a bit and had dinner at restaurant downtown, Kevin found a well endowed woman and so he had to go take a bath room break to get a better view of her - funny guy he is. We had a good time.
Still In Tennesse Kevin pulled out the trailor and so we loaded up both bikes and took off in his jeep - yea I cheated for a few miles but did not count them for the 3300 miles of riding I actually did do. Kevin is not the touring type so he loaded up his trailer and headed east on hwy 40. I thought naw I am not going to follow a trailer and nor am I going to slab it another 300 miles. We stopped for breakfast at some Cracker Barrel, which I have seen before but never eaten at. Interesting to have crunchy pancakes, it was like they fried them in deep fat or somthing? Little bottles of maple surup silly little bottles. You cant drive past a Cracker Barrel anywhere that isn't just jammed packed with cars.
Anyhow we notice that the outrigger on the trailer is bending and quickly rigg up some tiedowns to stableize it, Kevin says we should unload my bike at Tellico Plains so he doesn't have to worry about it over the Cherehola Skyway so we did.
flag_northcarolina.gif State 7 NC
Just as I am about to take off solo over the Cherehola in pulls Jeremy (Jermemy 556) and Brad - (VFRMonkey - or Nonkey depending on how he spells it today) So I settle in behind the two of them on the 57 mile trip over the Cherehola. Wow is all I can say WOW, thats just like the Black Canyon but only Longer!! Black Canyon is a bit tighter in places but wow its great!! Me Likey. I really felt comfortable riding with those two and decided Brad set a nice pace I was more than comfortable with, especially since we encountered some rare gravel and odds and ends on the road which I certainly might have missed on my own. Just as you enter NC at the top of the Cherehola Skyway you notice what looks like dirt or dried up oil on the road, I guess its rust or somthing, Kevin said it has been there for years, I slowed a bit for it at first then realized it was not a hazard.
We checked in at the Hotel and took off for the Gap!! Meeting several guys already there!!
[image: user posted image] map4.jpg
[image: user posted image] The overlook at Deals Gap Yea thats mine in the forground
Video One you may have already seen this one I posted it last week
[image: user posted image] video preview
Thursdays Deals Gap run
Here is the first of several videos to be presented in the coming weeks. This is from the first day, we had just gone over the Cherhola and were heading through Deals Gap here. It was me, VFRMonkey, DB105, and Baileyrock in front of me. I have no idea who was behind me? We got held up by a Warrior toward the end blasting the straits and slowing up in the turns.
media.gif THE VIDEO
Deals Gap Run Thursday
The video is sort of choppy in the shady parts its my computer I guess it can't handle the light dark transitions too well, music by the Cure, U2, and New Order VFR music as well. 82mb 712kb/sec wmv format 16 minutes runtime.
We all headed out to Breakfast at the Sweetwater BBQ it was good eats on that day and easy enough on the waitress (who later becomes a VFRD legend in the days to come) Shoot it was a buffet cant mess that up too bad!
[image: user posted image] Sweetwater BBQ Breakfast Sat Morning in Robinsonville before our big Sat Ride
[image: user posted image] Sweetwater BBQ hand in there to shield the sun out
The ride was awesome and I had to stop to get a bit of video, missed the good part entering Georgia.
flag_georgia.gif State 8 GA
Riding with all they guys down to Georgia was fantastic, I haven't a clue where I was at other than what the GPS recorded - it was basically the route that was posted in the Texas Mac Thread.
[image: user posted image] map5.jpg
[image: user posted image] NC hwy 28 Entering Higdonville
[image: user posted image] Jeremy goes ballistic here after 3 consecutive pull outs Jeremy finally passes these cages and wags his finger at them for not pulling off to let the train by, which is why I have nicknamed him the Church Lady
A funny story here we see DBS05 (brian) riding his VTEC the other way with his hand in the air then rounded a corner slowly to find an LEO hidden behind a rock. Thanks for the warning but the LEO pulls over our sweeper Cozey (eric) anyway - Eric says he was dumbfounded cause he was only going thirty mph? He pulls over Eric and asks him whats going on cause he rides a VFR too and has NEVER seen so many VFR's in one place at one time like that and he just had to know what the deal was. Eric told him about the TexasMac ride and invited him to come along if he was free the next day. We pulled off at the nearby town and waited for him thinking he was ticketed or somthing? Turns out hes just and avid VFR owner! I guess he pulled over a couple of us that day wanting to know more about us??
[image: user posted image] Warwoman Road Turnoff we get accosted by gnats, I break my visor latch too
We would regroup at gas stops, there were basically four groups Fast which consisted of Kevin and Mike, Intermediate with Bill In the Lead, Medium with Bob leading, and Mike covered the Relaxed group - we had a group for every pace and it worked out beautifully. We rode over Wolf Pen Gap and that was awesome save the traffic we encountered here and down to Turners Corner for lunch.
[image: user posted image] Turners Corner Caf� Suches GA good eats
We spent the night back at the hotel drinking beer signing the flaf and BS'ing most the night.
[image: user posted image] Flaf Back
[image: user posted image] flaf front
[image: user posted image] Another mistake of Flaf Proportions What is a Nonkey anyway? Brad says Pimping ain't easy
THE VIDEO
[image: user posted image] Warwoman video preview
The video is about 6 minutes long and is shot on Warwoman Road in Georgia that morning I was following Kevin on the "Redneck Express" with his tuba exauhst, you really have to hear it to appreciate just how loud it is. You can hear every downshift, every roll on, everything basically he is doing on that bike, its just a gutted stocker, and I mean gutted!!
66mb size 6min runtime wmv format 1.7mb/sec sample rate, and music by DMB.
media.gif Warwoman Road Video
Attached is the GPS file of the track we took all three days.
Back in Robbinsville for Breakfast at the Sweetwater BBQ, this time though no Buffet so we had to rely on a very drunk woman to serve us, poor Joe - all he ordered was toast eggs and bacon, literally everybody ate before he got his breakfast - he said "what are they doing raising a piglet for my bacon"? LOL Jane just about got up out of her seat to go back into the Kitchen and make is breakfast herself when low and behold it arrived. The best part was our waitress would ask is anybody needed coffee - nope, 5 seconds later having forgot she asked again "Coffee" No but some bacon eggs and toast for Joe would be nice!! Poor guy just about had to go kill the pig himself to get some bacon. Next time buffet and no hung over waitresses!!
Two days in a row our self confessed saftey Nazi Baileyrock gave a detailed description of the days route, I had to tease him a little and asked if he would repete that all cause I missed it. This day we would all parade together to the Texasmac Cross site for our memorial vfr ride.
[image: user posted image] VFR's as far as the eye can see riding to the cross
[image: user posted image] Cross ride
[image: user posted image] Cross ride
[image: user posted image] Regrouping
On arriving at the Cross site the place was as serene as you could get just the song of birds in the trees and the wind rustling the leaves, and the occational motorcycle rolling up hwy 28, it was like an outdoor cathedral where the cross is.
[image: user posted image] The Site Of The Cross GPS N35 26.150 W83 48.805
[image: user posted image] Hotrodder leads us in a prayer very comforting words from the man who was there and saw the whole accident.
[image: user posted image] No Church but a Cathedral
I am not sure but I think VFRMonkey is chewing tobbacco, which is sort of a southern thing eh? Popping open a beer in church, chewing tobbacco spitting out the window? Its like that old joke - how can you tell a redneck is married? there is dried up chewing tobbacco on both sides of the pickup truck.
We all bowed our heads and listened to Hotrodder lead us in a short prayer and thanked the lord for bringing us together for this day, it was so comforting to hear those words, I said a word or two about Burmawolf passing and then we all got back on our bikes and headed for Deals Gap.
[image: user posted image] Heading up to Deals Gap
[image: user posted image] Hwy 28 Cheoa Lake to the left - Killboy was at the end taking pictures of us as we went by
A few riders did the Deals Gap run and then headed home, the Ohio Boys, Sagacious Dupe and his family (Brother, Dad, and Buddy) Daddy Dupe was riding the Beer Truck - a fully dressed Valkerie that served as our beer truck the night before, I was supposed to carry the beer in my topcase but that Valk has bungee spots all over for beer haulin!! He unfortunatly had a little off road incident on the Gap and cleared out some logs off the side of the road, no damage to speak of except his ego a bit. Brother Dupe also decided to go off road on the Gap and went down the embankement at low speed then just rode it on out like nothing happened.
Those of us that stayed on headed down south for another loop of Tennesse and enjoyed a smaller ride.
[image: user posted image] Town Square Cafe Tellico Plains
[image: user posted image] Sitting back relaxing
[image: user posted image] Bald River Falls spur of the moment change of plans Baileyrock on his viffer
[image: user posted image] stolling along the bald river falls bridge
I took no photos or video of our last day in Robbinsville, I rode over the Cherehola with Jermemy, Oyama, DB105, and somebody else I cant remember. I lead and counted heads in the mirror after each tight section. I was happy to lead as I am used to leading all my home rides.
We racked up the trailer on Baileyrocks jeep and headed for Nashville in the rain, I put on my own wheels at his place and headed off - BTW those of you who chipped in for that set of Pilot Powers thank you so much it made my trip worry free know I wasn't riding those great roads on spanked touring tires. Baileyrock has them mounted on his other set of wheels and will finish them off on one of his favorite loops in the near future.
I stayed and watched the Motogp for a while at Kevin's place in Nashville but wanted to get as far west as I could so I could do the Ozarks the next day, I made to west Memphis at a truck stop, some dive of a super8 motel I regretted staying at as soon as I payed the bill. They had a washer dryer so it wasn't a complete bust, spent the night in a dingy motel! Was I surprised to see not 5 miles down the road a motel6 that looked a 100% cleaner and ten bucks cheaper too?!?!? I just said to myself "crap just five more miles Miguel"??
Originally I had the gps set to find the Motel6 in Memphis but after arriving there it was ghetto, pure rundown nasty looking ghetto, which made me worry a bit but it was the homeless guy on the street corner with no shoes on standing in his socks drinking a 40 oz crazy and pretending to direct traffic or talking to aliens - whatever that was the last straw - move on bud keep riding!! Just five more lousy miles man that sucks!!
There was one thing about Memphis I will never forget - seeing the sun set on the Mississippi river while riding over the bridge, I wish I had my camera out!! It was memorable!
On hwy 40 about 50 miles east of Memphis I was tooling along in the right hand lane when 3 full dress road kings roll by about 2 miles an hour faster than I and then just sit next to this car in front of me side by side for about ten minutes - I did not mind but the woman in the car sort of got miffed listening to those open exausts for ten minutes in her left ear so she punched it - the lead asshole does too and stays right with her. I mean he could have gotten by her no problem why block the whole fast lane - there was a line of cars behind them too. Idiot played this game for another five min till I got sick of watching it, saw an opening and kicked it down a few gears then just passed the whole mess in one fell swoop, right between them cause they had it comming - they of course tried to hang with me but after a minute at 130 mph the sheer rumble and vibration of the big harleys must have been more then the lead asshole could take, and they dropped back. I settled in for a 100mph for another ten minutes till I was sure that I was far enough ahead. Right as I break the city limits in Memphis lead asshole finally catches up to me an hour later after I slowed down for a cop. He just blasts by me pulls in my lane and freaks out at the sight of the cop and jamms on his brakes LOL idiot YEA DUH notice the bubble gum lights on top now eh?? The cop turns off and so Lead idiot revs it up but by then I was already gone again never to be seen or heard from again!!
After leaving West Memphis pit-stye of a Super 8 I just got back on Interstate 40 and headed for Little Rock AR. It wasn't long though before I was bored to tears after a hundred miles I had to get the hell off the interstate, umpteen hundred truckers and slow drivers I had had enough, I pulled off at the next overpass and headed north Forget Little Rock I was headed to the Ozarks anyway. I have no idea where I was going and so put my trust in my gps to reroute me - which it did with style and it had me headed toward Clinton AR on some pretty back roads. They were strait but interesting. Somewhere near Beebe the rains had turned some farmland into a swamp and it was all the way up to the road, I was riding on a levee or something in a flood. It was only a couple of miles but I could see houses in the flood zone and wondered how do you get through that thick brush to the people trapped there? - floods are scary!
I was soon on another 4 lane boring road to Clinton and about this time I was getting antsy to ride some twisties and so I turned on what I thought was the right road and headed due west - it was fun and clean, but the wrong road. Soon I was turned south and heading in the wrong direction, oops my gps was showing me a turn around loop in some blink of a place called Scotland, what good is a gps if you don't look at it now and then after looking at it it was clear I had made the mistake not the tool, the road I wanted was 10 miles back in Clinton!
It was only a half mile-away from where I had turned on to this road just plumb turned on the wrong road. I looked for a short cut and the gps showed me 3 of them but each was a dirt road - after the heavy night rains, nope I was staying on the pavement. I got passed by some spiky haired kid and his girlfriend in a jeep wrangler cause I was riding slow checking for a short cut to the road I really wanted to be on. Once I realized there was none I was soon passing him back and leaving him in the dust after the next hard turns rolled up, no he wasn't gonna keep up in the good stuff!! The road to Scotland is fun btw but the wrong direction. Back in Clinton I turned on AR 27 and headed to Crabtree destined to get to area around Whitt Springs and down to Ben Hur.
[image: user posted image] Ozarks Arkansas somewhere near Beh Hur a fantastic road!!
I was starting to really like this road AR-27 especially the loop around Ben Hur, deep 180 degree turns leaned all the way over. I finished off what little strips I had left on the tires all the way to the edge here. I was hollering to myself whooping and having a ball of a time, till I realized I had not gassed up since Beebe 150 miles ago - and I was smack dab in the middle of the Ozarks with two lines showing of fuel OH SHIT!!! What was I gonna do?? I turned off on a more traveled straiter road SR-16 and found a small country store that had old style pumps, sure enough they had gas thank the Lord.
I filled up and asked the attendant where the good roads where and He said something in a gomer pyle sort of voice;
"guuw on down thar road to mount judy - its a swingin sort of road like ya-ll want that a way"
Ya-ll? Its just me on the bike but "Ya-ll" it is! Never heard of a road being described as swingin either I like it!!
Thank you sir - thanks for the gas, saving my ass, and all that!! So I found the Mount Judea turn off and headed down another fantastic road AR-127. Wow this one started off just as good as the Ben Hur road and then got even tighter - tighter than Deals Gap was even, I mean 10mph switchbacks!!
[image: user posted image] Mt Judea This road is tighter than Deals Gap
[image: user posted image] AR hwy 123 It starts out tight and only gets tighter from here
[image: user posted image] 10 mph curve down mt judea
[image: user posted image] AR hwy 123 opens up a little
There is a small village at the base of Mt Judea that had a caf� at the end of town just past the school, it was a pleasant place to be, and the folks at the caf� were nice - I ordered a bacon cheese burger and was given what I can only describe as a masterpiece of bovine delight!! It simply was the best hamburger ever! I mean it was juicy, sweet, crunchy, delicious and satisfying, I cant remember enjoying a burger so much as that one. I made sure to tell the cook what I though cause it really was a delight. If ever you ride to the Ozarks the Mt Judea Caf� has the best Burgers in Arkansas!! back on the road I just let the wind take me - I like that road lets go that way then
[image: user posted image] Hasty Arkansas
The roads were not as good as Ben Hur but scenic as any anywhere in the US
[image: user posted image] Jasper Arkansas Nice little ascent up the mountain
[image: user posted image] Ozarks overview Jasper
[image: user posted image] overview Looking North I think
I only spent one afternoon in the Ozarks and want to return, I loved it there, lots of great roads to explore and the folks are a really good sort! I wouldn't mind doing a rally down there!! The place is huge and you can go for days without seeing it all. I ended up riding all day again all the way across Arkansas and most of Oklahoma in one day 584 miles
flag_oklahoma.gif State 10 OK
It was mostly slab but pretty slab and somehow I ended up in the Cherokee nation on some toll road I couldn't get off of near Tulsa, thats a nice town too, lots of trees and cool, big rivers and lakes all around, its not the cow town I was expecting! much nicer than Wichita - which is what I thought it was like. Sophisticated high rises rise up over the trees in the down town area, is the home of OSU, I was soon past that too and riding till the sun went down, I thought of iron butting it all the way home but once the sun went down I was getting pelted by huge bugs and I could not see too well so I stopped in Perry, which has the Ditch Witch plant where they make the ditch digging machines my dad used to own in his land scraping business. Perry is nice to stay at Super8 is nice - big rooms and well managed by a nice Pakistani family. I ended up talking with owner for a good long while about riding motorcycles, he owns an Royal Enfield manufactured in India and rode it all around Pakistan and Kashmir it was fascinating listening to his motorcycle stories. I was curious how does one go from Pakistan to Perry Oklahoma anyway? I did not get to that part before I was nodding off and said goodnight.
[image: user posted image] Goodnight from Tulsa Oklahoma
Kansas again slab slab slab all the way home, live stock trucks blasting you off the bike - no doubt about it - it sucks to ride in Kansas!! I stopped for lunch at Montana Mikes steakhouse - you would think that in kansas you should get a good steak I mean with all the cows I rode by in that state? I have had better trust me, come on VFRNonkey these Kansasas need to learn how to cook a steak that thing was just tough!! How about a francise there in Dodge City? My waitress was a good server though she was all over it she made up for the food.
[image: user posted image] Back in Colorado Thank Goodness 10 states and 3309 miles 66 hours 14 minutes in the saddle averaged 54 miles per hour 40 mpg max speed 135 mph somwhere on the Cherehala Skyway on a long strait passing a long row of Goldwings.
Thats the video studio man - thats equipment not clothes!!! Biotch!! go ride your superhawk leave me alone now dry.gif
Muskabeer video two is uploaded post 5 go for it. It takes a long time to digitize upload and edit these videos, but I got it down pretty efficently, I just wish wmv would do a better job in the trees it gets choppy, this time I digitized it in dixx first then edited it in wmv, but its still choppy in the trees. there must be a better way to stream it other than windows media apple - I dont like quicktime. I will never use that spammy real video codec either, hate real video it sucks.
I'm from North Carolina, but live in New Mexico now. Reading about this great ride brings back a lot of good memories. Those roads are my motorcycle learning grounds. War Woman Road is one of my top 100 roads in that area! Glad you guys had a blast. Excellent reading!
HispanicSlammer, May 8 2006, 03:16 AM Thats the video studio man - thats equipment not clothes!!! Biotch!! go ride your superhawk leave me alone now dry.gif
Muskabeer video two is uploaded post 5 go for it. It takes a long time to digitize upload and edit these videos, but I got it down pretty efficently, I just wish wmv would do a better job in the trees it gets choppy, this time I digitized it in dixx first then edited it in wmv, but its still choppy in the trees. there must be a better way to stream it other than windows media apple - I dont like quicktime. I will never use that spammy real video codec either, hate real video it sucks.
HS, I've done a lot of video encoding at work (mostly to DVD but its all mostly the same) if you wouldn't mine exporting your compression settings from Windows Media Encoder (or whatever app your using) and PM or email it to me I'd love to see if we can get things a bit smoother. Looks like a great ride, wish i could have made it!
I always post the settings it was at 768kb/sec sample rate, I reencoded it at a higher setting so basically now its at twice the file size but its smoother and not so blurry. some users with slow computers will not be able to stream it at all just right click the link and then click "save as" that downloads it onto your hd first then you can play it.
Now we have the answer to the "Nonkey" writing on the flaf Its in "Engrish". Brad writes in Engrish now.
jeremy556, May 8 2006, 12:54 PMHow about using a very high bit rate and putting the videos out on bit torrents to avoid killing your bandwidth?
bit torrents - that requires users to KNOW what it is, I do, some of these guys cant even post a picture. who wants to download another program anyway?
HispanicSlammer, May 7 2006, 08:08 PM[image: user posted image] Jeremy goes ballistic here after 3 consecutive pull outs Jeremy finally passes these cages and wags his finger at them for not pulling off to let the train by, which is why I have nicknamed him the Church Lady
Someone had to do something. The old people in the van in front didn't know to use the pull outs, and were cruising along at about 20mph and down to about 5mph in the turns. I don't think we would be on Warwoman Road yet. I don't think they passed us even after stopping for 30 minutes during the Cozye pull over like 5 miles up the road. comp13.gif
My first ride report for VFRD was up through Land Between the Lakes. I guess the great VFRD crash got it, because I don't see it listed anymore. I had pics of the Bison, a couple of the iron forges, the same boat dock, and more. I'm glad you liked it over in my neck of the woods. smile.gif BTW, if you liked the trace road, you would have loved hwy 232. You only missed it by a few miles. The tornado the guy told you about is where Hurricane249's parents have a house....or had a house. I think it got hammered.
I might take a trip out to Missouri after reading about that area. Sounds like my kind of place. fing02.gif
Im kicking myself for having to be at school and missing this get together. Great write up and pics slammer. I will be there next year unless I'm in Iraq.
This video shot shortly after the cross stop near Fontana Village, we head up hwy 28 along Cheoa Lake up to Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort, all in a pretty little row of VFR's, where we find Killboy waiting to take our picture.
media.gif Hwy 28 To Deals Gap Video
35mb, 5min runtime, 1mb/sec sample music is "Pug" by the SPumkins, Bob cuts a nice line in the video he looks so graceful on the bike.