Tweet
Not my best ride report, but lots of pics. If anyone sees one they want the full size of instead of these little ones posted, just PM me.
I left out from Oklahoma on the open road Thursday before the rally, and it was POURING. Not a great start, but it only lasted about 30 miles. Of course, it took 150 miles to dry back out. Here you see my gloves drying on my motorcycle clothesline.
I met up with Greg at the eastern edge of Oklahoma for a quick bite...
...then back on the road.
We met up with Harry in western Arkansas
A little ways down the road, we'd just got settled in to do some serious miles, when Greg decided things were going WAY too smoothly. He ran over something and had a blowout on the front.
The tire came loose from the bead, so our little air compressors wouldn't pump enough air to seat it back. No other choice but to get it towed. Thank you AMA and their free roadside assistance! Greg got to ride in the tow truck and get some alone time with the guy. I think Harry got jealous though.
We passed some scenic spots that were nice to ride through and see, but Greg and his trailer queen didn't notice them while he was trying to get the wreckers number. (It's on the door, dummy.)
After a new tire at the Yamaha dealership in Russellville, AR, we rode out in the rain to Little Rock to meet up with John a couple hours later than planned. After we met up with John, we got out on the highway that soon turned into a parking lot for probably an hour. We finally got through that construction mess, and it was dark before we saw this sign.
We stayed the night in Memphis, hoping tomorrow would be better.
The next morning, it was cool, but no rain. I took a shot of everyone behind me, and they all showed me the love (A recurring theme this trip it seemed) by telling me I was #1! A triple flip on motorcycles is pretty impressive!
Finally, we start getting into something other than straight flatlands. I must have caught them all napping since they showed no love.
Once we turned off of I-40 and headed south on 129, we came up on another parking lot in the middle of the road. People were hollering that there'd been a bad accident. I asked John if he wanted to go help, and so we rode up to the crash site. No EMS or cops were there yet. A guy was trapped pretty good in the truck and had gas dripping down on him. We (Mostly John) tried to just keep him calm until the other people got there.
They finally got the scene cleaned up enough for us to slip on through, and we finally got to some decent back country roads after hundreds of miles of interstate.
Out in the middle of nowhere, some guy was just sitting on the guardrail randomly??? lol
A pic of the dam. You can't tell, but the water coming out of the dam was much warmer apparently and was making a foggy scene that reminded me of some Stephen King movie.
A statue dedicated to the Tail of the Dragon at a Harley shop on the highway. I pulled up on my Yamaha, got "The look", then walked over to ask if they had any koozies or such with the TOTD on it. They just turned around and walked away from me. That was fine. I didn't want to give anyone any of my money that had that mentality anyway.
More pics on the road...
No wonder there's so many wrecks on the TOTD! Nobody has a damn clue which way to go??
We finally arrived at the Iron Horse Inn. this is the back side where we camped, and our tent home (Thanks to Brent) for the next few days.
A night shot with the moon and everyone sitting around the camp fire.
To be continued...
I left out from Oklahoma on the open road Thursday before the rally, and it was POURING. Not a great start, but it only lasted about 30 miles. Of course, it took 150 miles to dry back out. Here you see my gloves drying on my motorcycle clothesline.
I met up with Greg at the eastern edge of Oklahoma for a quick bite...
...then back on the road.
We met up with Harry in western Arkansas
A little ways down the road, we'd just got settled in to do some serious miles, when Greg decided things were going WAY too smoothly. He ran over something and had a blowout on the front.
The tire came loose from the bead, so our little air compressors wouldn't pump enough air to seat it back. No other choice but to get it towed. Thank you AMA and their free roadside assistance! Greg got to ride in the tow truck and get some alone time with the guy. I think Harry got jealous though.
We passed some scenic spots that were nice to ride through and see, but Greg and his trailer queen didn't notice them while he was trying to get the wreckers number. (It's on the door, dummy.)
After a new tire at the Yamaha dealership in Russellville, AR, we rode out in the rain to Little Rock to meet up with John a couple hours later than planned. After we met up with John, we got out on the highway that soon turned into a parking lot for probably an hour. We finally got through that construction mess, and it was dark before we saw this sign.
We stayed the night in Memphis, hoping tomorrow would be better.
The next morning, it was cool, but no rain. I took a shot of everyone behind me, and they all showed me the love (A recurring theme this trip it seemed) by telling me I was #1! A triple flip on motorcycles is pretty impressive!
Finally, we start getting into something other than straight flatlands. I must have caught them all napping since they showed no love.
Once we turned off of I-40 and headed south on 129, we came up on another parking lot in the middle of the road. People were hollering that there'd been a bad accident. I asked John if he wanted to go help, and so we rode up to the crash site. No EMS or cops were there yet. A guy was trapped pretty good in the truck and had gas dripping down on him. We (Mostly John) tried to just keep him calm until the other people got there.
They finally got the scene cleaned up enough for us to slip on through, and we finally got to some decent back country roads after hundreds of miles of interstate.
Out in the middle of nowhere, some guy was just sitting on the guardrail randomly??? lol
A pic of the dam. You can't tell, but the water coming out of the dam was much warmer apparently and was making a foggy scene that reminded me of some Stephen King movie.
A statue dedicated to the Tail of the Dragon at a Harley shop on the highway. I pulled up on my Yamaha, got "The look", then walked over to ask if they had any koozies or such with the TOTD on it. They just turned around and walked away from me. That was fine. I didn't want to give anyone any of my money that had that mentality anyway.
More pics on the road...
No wonder there's so many wrecks on the TOTD! Nobody has a damn clue which way to go??
We finally arrived at the Iron Horse Inn. this is the back side where we camped, and our tent home (Thanks to Brent) for the next few days.
A night shot with the moon and everyone sitting around the camp fire.
To be continued...
great pics
Comment