#117 Talimena Trail and Wandering thru Texas

October 8, 2007

368 miles

RT to TX
Day 5
Monday

Today I head off on US270 in the direction of the Talimena Trail near Mena, Arkansas.

My first distraction: "Y" City. It's a bit out of my way, but when I saw the sign, I had to go. Makes me wonder if there isn't a whole alphabet of towns out there. Wasn't much to see, but there was a volunteer fire department to serve as a photo backdrop. Then I stopped to pay my respects when I saw this Scooter Graveyard outside Mena.

Mena has several prime photo opportunity sites. Back from the day when two pumps were for two grades of gasoline... Esso and Esso Extra.There were some old vehicles in the Studebaker Showroom

... I'm assuming they were Studebakers? I found the old Mena Train Depot right downtown where it belongs.The old police patrol car is parked at the old train depot.Leaving Mena to the west on AR88...follow the signs to Queen Wilhelmina State Park. View to the north from the Talimena Trail (AR hwy 88) to the west of Mena.Hwy 88 makes its way deeper into the Quachita National Forest and gains elevation to provide some nice views.
It's just the kind of road meant to entertain two-wheeled travel. Arkansas highway 88 turns to Oklahoma Highway 1 at the state line. The views continue on the Oklahoma side of the Talimena Trail. But today the skies turn threatening. There's not a lot (or any) shelter to be found until Hwy 1 meets US271 and takes you into the small town of Talihina. By the looks of these clouds it is unlikely I will be able to reach Talihina before the rain gets me. I use this scenic pullout to switch from my mesh to my textile jacket and put the rain cover over the luggage on the back seat. Good thing I did... The weather got real interesting less than a mile later as I start down the mountain.

First come the big drops, then strong winds, then a sold wall of water. Oddly, then the rain let up as I rode through a thick fog bank. Visibility was very limited as I made my down the twisty trail leading from the mountain. Fog soon gave way to rain as I learned that the heavy rain a ways back was nothing compared to the bucket fulls being dumped on me as I rode the rest of the way in to Talihina.

In downtown Talihina, I was fortunate enough to find covered drive through bank lanes next to a Subway. Since it was Columbus Day,a banking holiday, I took advantage of the protected area to park. I dismounted, shook the water off, left my gloves, jacket, and helmet dripping as I walked next door for a turkey sub and chips. I spent about 1 1/2 hours in Talihina watching the rain until it slowed up enough for me to take back to the road heading southwest to Texas.

Passing though Antlers, Oklahoma there's a couple of sites worth pulling the camera out for some photos.

Next to the Antlers train depot was this building being guarded over by a couple gargoyles.I don't think the person(s) that named this creek thought too highly of it and apparently couldn't make up their mind if it was more muddy or more boggy...About 15 miles south of Durant, Oklahoma... ...I crossed the Red River......which put me back in my home state of TEXAS!I'm sure everyone knows about the six flags that have flown over Texas...
Spanish, French, Mexican, Republic of Texas, Confederate States, United States

I arrive at my friend Jaqui's house in Lake Kiowa, near Gainesville, and spend the night then ride into Fort Worth the next day.

Now that I have entered into the great state of Texas, my riding style changes dramatically. I spend my time doing more visiting and a lot less riding the miles.

The next few weeks:
Wandering around Texas ... spending nights with family and friends in Lake Kiowa, Fort Worth, Austin, Goliad, Magnolia, Houston, Orange, and New Braunfels.

#116 If only I rode like a great, great grandma...

October 7, 2007

366 miles

RT to TX
Day 4
Sunday

Sunday morning I decided to take my time and maybe even sleep late since there was no rush in move down the road. I want to ride the Talimena Scenic Trail, but I don't want to ride it late in the day while riding into the sun. I decided that would put me staying at the last place of any size on my route...Hot Springs.

So I took my time getting up and ready to leave Metropolis, Illinois. I made my way out to the motel lobby to find the coffee pot and saw I couple of the MTF folks I know having breakfast. I sat down to join them while I drank my coffee. Well, one conversation led to another and three hours worth of story swapping later, we finally were ready to pull out of the parking lot each heading our separate ways.

The two friends that I spent my morning chatting with...

Ardys Kellerman...a legend among long distance motorcycle riders.
She rode over 100,000 miles last year on her BMW R1100RT.
AND...she's a 75 year old great, great grandma from Texas.

...I wish I could ride like a great, great grandma from Texas!

And this is Sheila Winnie from Ohio. She rode over 126,000 miles last year on her Gold Wing. So anyone that thinks I ride all that many miles ... now you see that I have nothing to brag about!
However, I might take more photos when out on my travels!

I left Illinois to the east, took a quick turn through Kentucky, then headed south into Missouri on my way to Arkansas. This is where the Ohio River and the Mississippi River come together at the southern tip of Illinois.

Fort Defiance is located in the very tip of Illinois.

I saw a lot of cotton on the way from the fields to the gins.

Here's a field still full of cotton.

And here's a truck loaded with bales of cotton heading to the gin.This farmer was riding his tractor discing the stubble, but the way he energetically waved at me with both arms as I rode by, I think he might rather be out riding on a motorcycle. Made me think of a particular farmer named Terry up near Moonshine, Illinois.I crossed into Arkansas on US412 near Paragould.I arrived at the Days Inn south of Hot Springs near Hamilton Lake about 7pm, much later than anticipated. But the morning was well spent swapping stories with Ardys and Sheila.
Tomorrow: Talimena Trail

#115 Land of Lincoln - Southern Illinois

October 6, 2007

171 miles

Founders Feast
RT to TX
Day 3
Saturday

Saturday I roamed around the Land of Lincoln's southern Illinois area exploring and taking photos for a photo rally hosted by the MTF. Here's some of what I found...
An old barn about lost to the wild vines swallowing it. This road took me to Temple Hill. It sounded interesting, but I didn't know what I would find... About 3 to 4 miles down the small paved road I got lucky and found this cool old deserted General Store.

There were a number of old farming implements sitting around the place.And the required outhouse sitting out back. After leaving Temple Hill, I got back north bound on IL145 to Harrisburg, Illinois.
Though the photo makes it look like I was southbound, I actually only took the photo then did a U turn heading north to El Dorado. El Dorado found a unique way to welcome visitors.
Made me wonder who the "1 Ol' Sorehead" was...
Or maybe they took turns being The Ol' Sorehead. It could be the town joke ... a designation bestowed upon whoever was the biggest Pain in the A** that year.
Just north of El Dorado is the very small town of Muddy, Illinois.
They are proud of what they claim to be the "smallest post office ever built" that sets across the street from the new post office.
I saw a panel of the old brass combination-lock mailboxes when I peeked inside.
I looped back east to Cave-In-Rock along the Ohio River.
This time I parked and went down along the bank of the river to find the infamous cave.Down the steps and along this path a ways and sure enough there's a big cave in a rock!
Stories of lore hold that this cave was used by pirates to hide the booty they collected from victims up and down the Ohio River. Coming over the hill at Loves Corner, this is what I saw...

Seems a participant in a nearby Harley Rally - HogRock - failed to negotiate the turn into the parking lot ... probably making a beer run. These roads were swarming with Harley riders coming and going from HogRock. Very few that I saw (less than 5%, I'd guess) were wearing helmets and none were wearing any protective gear. T-shirts were common and many preferred to go shirtless. Even the women seemed to barely have any clothes on...shorts and bikini swimsuit tops seemed to be their accepted riding attire of the day. I didn't see the biker that went down (he was on a stretcher in the ambulance on the scene), but I can only guess that he would have a good case of road rash and probably head injuries...even if it was a low speed crash.

Air Evac Lifeteam Rescue coming in for a landing at the crash site. Next stop was the small river side town of Golconda.
Not much happening here on a Saturday afternoon. Trying to get a closer look where the town interacts with the river, I found a small road leading to this old building...
What was left of some sort of operation for a dam that I saw no remaining signs of. It was obvious that it we were in the farming heartland during harvest time. I saw many a combine in the fields, but this one came up close and personal.
Close enough to leave me in the dust it brought with it. I made my way back to the Amerihost Inn for the feeding of MTFers at the evening banquet -- tasty BBQ was served. I left to find my way back to my room across town about 11pm, but I left many still socializing in the parking lot. On my way out of town, I swung by to say good-bye to Superman and thank him for keeping a close eye on the town.He must have had an urgent call and had to "fly" to fight for Truth, Justice, and the American Way for all.
Tomorrow: I visit with a riding legend before riding south to Hot Springs.

#114 Founder's Feast in Metropolis

October 5, 2007

318 miles

Kentucky to Illinois

RT to TX
Day 2
Friday

I pulled out of Lexington, Kentucky hoping to be able to skirt past the rain in the area, but the rain started before I even got out of town. Not heavy, but steady enough to keep the pavement wet and other traffic throwing the road wash my way. Since I saw a blue spot in the sky ahead, I kept going ... hoping to get past the rain.

When the sun did come through, I noticed a shadow along side that I didn't recognize... Oh! It's me on my new ride! Gonna have to get used to looking over and seeing that running along with me.

Making my way across Kentucky, I rode briefly in US41 and saw that Providence is proud to announce their spot on the map. Then I saw an interesting sign. One of these locations...I'd like to visit. Can you guess which one?

Yes, Clay grabbed my interest!

A local resident driving by to use the mail drop, welcomed me to their small town and offered to take my picture.

A bit further down the road...another small town...Sullivan, Kentucky.

At Sullivan, I turned south...away from Sturgis and toward the State run ferry crossing the Ohio River over to Cave-In-Rock, Illinois.

Cave-In-Rock really is an official place, so named...

Looking over the Ohio River and the ferry in the distance heading back over to Kentucky.Leaving Cave-In-Rock, I headed south to Metropolis ... which we all know to be the home of Superman!

And there he is ... keeping a protecting stance over the city.

And of course, the Superman theme is the source of much tourism and marketing.

I checked-in to the Comfort Inn, then headed downtown to report in to Superman. I wanted to make my presence known in his City and declare my peaceful intentions. One should never want to get on the bad side of Superman! After checking in with Superman, I starting looking for the MTF group staying at the Amerihost Inn -- the host hotel of the Annual Founder's Feast.

I rolled into the parking lot to find a group of MTFers standing around kicking tires and telling stories from the road. I joined in and the group continued to grow as another motorcycle pulled into the parking lot every few minutes. Eventually a few of us got hungry enough to make our way to Harrah's Casino across the street for the buffet. After eating, it was back to the parking lot for more tire kicking, story telling, and to see who else had arrived. Myself, I sat on a few different seats...all of which were more comfortable than mine, but few as easy to reach the ground with a flat foot. This is going to be a tough decision, but I will HAVE to get a more comfortable seat before long.

About 10:30pm I was tired enough to head to my motel for the night, but I left a large group in the parking lot showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Tomorrow: More MTFing...

#113 FF-New Horse in Stable

There's a new horse in the stable and it's grey.

The idea has been in my head for awhile...

There's a list of wants/needs that could only be filled with a new ride and the time seemed to be right to do something about it.

Meet the Fleeter2 ... Fleetermeister:

2006 BMW R1200RT, dark graphite

I bought it used from Morton's, the local BMW dealer.
Only 1,200 miles on the clock.
Comes with...
~Locking hard side cases and top case
~Electric adjustable windshield
~Heated grips & seat
~Cruise control
~Onboard computer
~Cylinder guards, barbacks, lowered pegs, etc.

I've already added:
~System RT tankbag
~MotoLights
~Dash shelf & hardwire for GPS

I picked it up from Morton's after returning from Maine.

I took a local ride to start getting a feel for the RT.

Colonial Beach, Virginia

I've only put 200 local miles on the RT and now it's time to go for a real RIDE!

The only way to really bond is to get some road time in together.
The MTF has the Founder's Feast gathering in Metropolis, Illinois Oct 5-6.
From there, it's time to head to Texas.

October 4, 2007

480 miles

FF - TX Trip
Day 1
Thursday

Everything was packed and ready to roll for a 7am pullout onto. The fog was soupy for the first hour on the road, then the sun broke through and it warmed up from 66 degrees to a high of 94 degrees for the day.

A short butt break.

Made it across a couple state lines today.My biggest worry with a sport touring motorcycle was to find one that I can reach the ground while sitting in the saddle. The new designed RT has a lowered seat option and has shed some significant weight. So this is why I decided that the RT is the sport touring machine for me to best find a "fit" with.

The RT actually weighs less than the Vstar, which is important since I can't flat foot both feet at the same time. 600 pounds is still a lot of weight to control with barely one foot on the ground.

A few of my thoughts after the first day on the road with the RT...

Only 2 fuel stops today! Cool! That would have been 4, minimum, with the Vstar Fleeter1 and its 4.7 gallon tank. The RT Fleeter2 has a 7.2 gallon tank which allows up to a 300 mile range per tank. That means I can chose a stop based on restroom convenience rather than fuel pump availability. There are many times I'd be more comfortable stopping at a visitor center for a restroom stop rather than a convenient store. So I either had to make two stops or do an all-in-one-stop at the fuel stop.

The Vstar asks for 5th gear at about 55mph -- that's it, no place to go from there when it would start straining the revs at 70mph. By 70-80mph you can feel it maxing what the engine can do. But the RT only asks for 4th gear at about 50mph. It doesn't even ask for 5th until about 65mph... AND IT STILL HAS A 6th gear just waiting to be called upon! Note: These numbers will depend on how aggressive I am riding. The RT is forgiving and will run a wide range in each gear once you get past first...in my inexperience RT experience.

First time I used 6th gear today was on I64. I had a semi truck come up behind me in the left lane and start crowding me. When we got up to about 80, he's still crowding me and there's still traffic in the right lane. I could have pulled away from him, but wasn't wanting to rev too much. (I don't know why...) Then I remembered that I have another gear... So I slipped into 6th and ever so easily left him behind without the RT even having to catch it's breath. If I had tried that with the Vstar, I would have to apologize at length for asking so much and pushing so hard.

My butt misses the mustang seat! This stock seat does a pressure point number on my lower butt cheeks and I find myself scooting forward and pushing far back trying to relieve the pressure, but this only allows a short lived semi-relief. At a mere 50 miles, I am feeling the pressure enough that I start the squirming. At 100 miles, I have to stop and dismount to get the circulation going again. The good news is...only a 3-5 minute stop with my butt off the seat and my butt is renewed for another 40-50 miles before it starts begging for another stop. This probably means that I will be looking for an after-market seat...soon. Mustang does not make sport-touring seats, so I will need to start from the beginning, looking for a saddle that will treat my butt with the respect and comfort that it needs! The trick is that it can't be adding much height. I have to be careful to keep the ground within reach.

Tomorrow: Where to find Superman?