Bob Jones Memorial Ride (photo intensive)

[Wildkat]

972 miles in 2 days....

John and I headed out Friday morning to Texarkana where we were to meet the South Texas gang... some minor traffic in Dallas slowed us down a bit, but I was able to get 45 mpg on that tank, so I'm not complaining...

We made it to Texarkana, pretty much avoiding the scattered showers that continued to threaten us for the first half of our trip... We did get caught by a short spit... but no soakings...

After meeting up with the South Texas bunch... we stopped for some lunch and the first of our pictures for the weekend...


Something Special, Twilite Special, Kermie the peace frog and unseen in this pic, Busa Dave's neglected 78 as seen here...



Due to the possibility of rain, we decided against taking 7 up to Harrison... so we rode the extra few miles into Little Rock. We rode 430 from 40 and coming over the foothills toward the Arkansas River, we were greeted with a spectacular view that I'm HOPING someone was able to get a picture of... Absolutely breathtaking... one of the first of many incredible views we would experience over the next 24 hours...

65 into Harrison was a winding piece of good pavement that had some really nice views... It had a fast pace to it and even though it wasn't part of our original route... it was a lot of fun to ride...

We got into Harrison, IIRC, somewhere around 10:00 and as we turned into the parking lot of the hotel... saw several group members in the parking lot... We greeted and gabbed, checked into the hotel and spent some time in the parking lot until finally turning in around 1:00...

We decided on a 8:00 - 8:30 start the next day at a local Shoney's before heading over to meet Karla and the rest of the gang...


Other than Kermie and a 1200 Sportster, they're all 11s...


We headed over to Hardees to meet up for the ride... a few of Bob's bikes were there... here's his Long Miles bike...


and his Navy Bike...



We also saw these...



Pretty cool retro design...
Here's their site is you're interested...

Whizzer

We headed South on 7 from Harrison at a pretty good pace until we found ourselves behind a couple of cars we couldn't pass... only to find out they were behind a couple of harleys that they couldn't pass... finally reaching our destination for the Memorial, here...



When we arrived, there were a number of bikes at the overlook... and a couple of them were owned by 2 women... We struck up a conversation and one of them said, "I met a father and son last year in Colorado who fix these things up and ride them. I think they were from Austin."
This rung more than a few bells with me... so after some questioning.. we deduced that they had run into HobbyMan and Phil the Flyer (who, for those of you who don't know... live less than 10 miles from John and I) Talk about a small world!

Oh yes! and here are the bikes...



Karla and friends put together a VERY nice Memorial with some of Bob's belongings...



The monkey is called Speed and was put together by the man himself, Bob Jones... when you press Speed's paw.. he says "Harleys Suck, XS11 rules"(or was it XS11s rule?) then laughs...


After a very touching memorial, it was decided to head back to a restaurant that Bob enjoyed eating at just a bit back up 7... It was located here...



the valley...



Here's what the view looks like from inside...



With hummingbirds ALL over...



Some of the riders said goodbye here but most of us continued south to 16, taking 16 east...

WHAT a ride! Lots of curves and some AWESOME pavement! Easily taken in the 80s (and for some... mid to upper 90s)... you know.. not that any of us would have done that... especially trbig and MAXIMAN... ahem...



At the junction of 16 and 23... some split and went north toward Branson and the rest of us continued south on 23 along the famous Pig Trail... GORGEOUS views... but a little on the stinky side in places... It didn't help that it was rather warm and moist, weather wise... REALLY nice curves on this road that could easily be taken at 1.5 to 2 times the posted speed... but a couple of 15 MPH hairpins that got my attention... made even more intersting by a recent shower that had left the road under the trees, wet...

We stopped about halfway down the Pig Trail at a campground/ lake access... it was just south of this bridge and view...





At this point, skippy344 and his lovely Mrs headed north and the rest of us continued south to 40...

Some more great curves (and a menacing hairpin or two) and we landed at 40 where the Houston duo, John and I broke off and headed to Texas and the rest headed north to Branson where many of the group were spending the evening...

We split from Dave and Cindy in Durant where (everyone thought) they would be staying the night (no rooms available until further down the line) and pulled into the driveway around 12:45 this morning... tired puppies... but MAN what a RIDE!!!

Again, a MAJOR thanks to Karla, russ79, Bohn Frazer and all others involved for getting together such a memorable ride...
I'm certain Bob was very pleased...

[Wildkat]

Oops... correction and addendum

Ahem... we went WEST on 16 to 23...

MAJOR thanks to trbig for leading us on one heck of a ride!

[Bigfoot]

Glad to hear that you made it home safely. It was a nice memorial and some good riding. It was nice seeing everyone and meeting those I had not met before. Russ, Bob and I left Branson this morning around 8:30 after a nice buffet breakfast at Dockers Inn. Bob split off from us at Springfield to head north to Iowa. Had a very uneventfull trip home and was in KC by 12:30.

[John]

It was great meeting you Harry, and thanks for the plugs, although I didn't need to use any of them. It seems as we got to lower altitudes, it ran much better. By the time we got to Tx, I was getting my usual 30 mpg, and it was running good again.

[trbig]

I made it home just fine also... took the long way. I went over to Eureka Springs and rode south after that down the Pig Trail once again. Ended up with just over 1130 miles for the weekend.

Quite a few pics... but this one is one of my favorites. It's on the Pig Trail. I set my boots about halfway off the pegs in turns so I rub boot just before I do my pegs. This was a boot rub and I love how it turned out with the blurry forground...



Life is short..... Ride hard!!

[Bob Falter]

I made it home about 4:30 and, for the first time in a long time, had a strong tail wind all the way home. Timing was just right too, it stopped raining here in Iowa about 2:00 pm and started again and 6:00 pm. Maybe my luck is changing, LOL.

Thanks to Karla, Russ, and Bohn for putting it together and thanks to all that showed up for a exceptional time. Todd, the trails were fantastic! It was great meeting all the new people, and there was plenty of them to meet since Cody and Bohn where the only two I’d ever met before. Hope to see you all again, maybe in two weeks.

Thanks again,
Bob

[vincer]

Great Weekend

I just wanted to say to everbody thanks for a great weekend. We had sucha fantastic time and got to visit with a great group of people. We had no problems on the ride home. We got back about 3:30 or so Sunday afternoon. We just missed a rain shower as we were coming back into KC so only a few sprinkles to deal with.
Thanks again and hope to see everybody soon.
Vince

[skippy344]

mouchyn's are home safe and TIRED!

We rolled into Aggieland about 5:30 pm Today. A total of about 1600 miles on the Frog. What a ride!

Thanks to all who made this event so AWESOME!

Will post more soon...

greg and Lynda

[Eaglechaser9999]

I am new to the XSive family, and I do not know who Bob Jones is, but I think it is a wonderfull thing that you all do to remember him. I am glad I found this site and look forward to riding with some of you eventually.




"Don't cry about the mistakes you've made. Just dread the mistakes you will make in the future."

[haas1100]

Post Script to the Bob Jones Memorial Ride

Charlie and Bob were friends for over 30 years and traveled thousands of miles together atop their XS1100s. In an incredible act of generosity, Karla offered Charlie Bob's original 1100 (Ol' Blackie -- the one that adorns the cover of his book) after Bob died, explaining that she could never sell it and Bob would have wanted it that way. Charlie was overwhelmed and honored.

We flew up to KC last Thursday to pick up the bike and join in the Bob Jones Memorial Ride. Karla, with help from Russ and Bohn, did an outstanding and loving tribute to Bob in arranging the ride. It was a memorable day. For those of you unable to attend the ride or unfamiliar with the legendary stories of Bob wiggling his way out of well-deserved tickets, we offer the following post script to the Bob Jones Memorial ride (posted by Barb Haas, Charlie's wife):

*****************************************
After leaving the group on the Bob Jones Memorial Ride, Charlie and I headed south on Hwy 7 on Bob's "Ol' Blackie", eventually connecting to Hwy 27 toward Mena. Blackie was responding perfectly, carving turns and accelerating on demand. Somewhere between Russellville and Mena, we caught up to a line of cars and Charlie began picking them off a couple at a time. Vroom! Pass! Brake! Slip into a slot in respect of oncoming traffic! Vroom! Do it again. You know the drill.

Oops -- flashing lights! We pulled over, I was first off the bike and Officer R (name deleted to protect the innocent!) commented "I imagine he knows why I pulled you over". I responded, "yes, sir, I think he does". At that time the officer's phone rang and he had a fairly lengthy conversation. Meanwhile, Charlie located license and insurance and was ready when the officer completed his call and requested the documents. Officer R glanced at them and then said: "When you passed me, I looked at the speedometer and thought to myself, 'well, the traffic is going kind of slow -- I guess I can ignore it'. But, THEN, you passed the next two cars on a double yellow and I just couldn't ignore that." He handed the documents back to Charlie, smiled, and said "Be careful out there".

I swear Bob had a force field installed around Ol' Blackie that repels traffic tickets! Either that or Bob's angel was sitting on the bike with us and, when we weren't looking, surreptitiously flashed his police badge to Officer R! I lean toward the latter.

********************************

[Bigfoot]

Another pic of the bikes lined up at the memorial service.

[trbig]

One-upmanship.....

Oh yeah!?!? Well I have a pic of Bigfoot TAKING that pic!! lol...

[Russ79]

Hey all!

I'm really glad that everybody had such a good time. No one got hurt, no one broke down, and no one even crashed. In my book that is a great ride. On behalf of Karla, Bohn, and myself I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart, for taking time out of your busy schedules to honor Bob, and to come together to do what he loved to do so much, ride fast in Arkansas. I can't wait until I can go back and ride with you all again, and will be honored to share the road with you all any time, any where. In the mean time, keep the rubber side down, and the shiny side up, and I will see you all real soon!

Russ79

[saddle up]

Wow it sounds like everybody had a great time and will have the memories of a life time.
I wish that I was closer, but don't have the time, money etc.,,had to settle for a local poker run or I would have been there. Thanks all for the pictures, way cool.
On the local poker run which was mostly Harley's, no one gave me any grief, and even had a few positive comments,,,considering some came from young folks.
The point being, I like these old bikes and I am looking forward to riding with some of you folks down the road. Wish I could of been there.
Regards