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OK Folks!! The Talimena rally in eastern Oklahoma is set for the weekend of October 10th. Most of us will be staying in Talihina Oklahoma for the nights of Oct. 9th and 10th. (Friday and Saturday nights) I called the hotel we normally stayed at (Kiamichi Inn (918)567-2243), and found out the nice elderly lady that owned it sold out to someone who.. well.. let's just say is a little tough to understand their English. I called the Lazy R Inn (Which also sold and changed names, but have local owners) and talked to them a bit. They were a bit higher for the rooms, but agreed to match the Kiamichi Inn prices for us.
I drove over to Talihina today to check out the Lazy R Inn, and here's the deal. They have a couple cabins they rent that are single bedroom, but they are about a half mile down the road. That killed those for me, but anyone interested, they were $75 a night. There are two of them Cabin one has a twin and a king in the room, and cabin 2 has two queens (With some nice smelling cedar walls..). This Lazy R inn only has 10 rooms.. 5 single and 5 double. They are more modern than the Kiamichi Inn, and they have a grassy back area in back fenced in. I asked if they would let some of the people tent camp there in back if needed and they said they would check with the boss, but that would probably be OK. The negatives I saw were: Their whole parking lot is soft-ish gravel, as I stated, there's only 10 rooms and not really any room to throw an air mattress down on the floor if you wanted to share with someone extra, and the last real biggie for me was.. they have absolutely no outside furniture. That would put a serious damper on the evening BS sessions in my opinion with nowhere to sit and chat.
So, I headed back over to the Kiamichi Inn. I met with one of the owners and it was a very nice attractive female that was very helpfull. I told her there were 20-30 of us last year and asked if she could cut us a bit of a break on the price. She will check on that, but as it stands so far, the rooms are 50+ tx single and 55+ tx double. I got the big triple room in the back corner reserved, so don't try!
You guys are welcome to choose where you want to stay. The Kiamichi Inn just seemed to me to still be the best place for us. Either place said they'd honor that price if you say you're with the XS11 motorcycle rally. Make sure you tell them that if you're staying at the Kiamichi since she said she'd try to put us all together in the back of the place again. If you think you MAY be going to this, but not sure, you should reserve a room now since they get scarce the closer we get. You can always cancel it. Just let the people on here have a shot at the room first before you do.
The route is going to be the same as last year, which makes a total of about 250 miles for the day. This will take us around the Oklahoma area a bit, then back into Talihina for fuel, then heading up onto the Talimena Trail. We make plenty of fuel stops, so no "Special" people need to worry. At the Queen Wilhemena lodge on the Trail, we will eat lunch. Eat a good breakfast, because with fuel stops and chatting, this has generally put lunch @ 2-2:30. The lodge has a pretty good buffet for $10. For anyone with blood sugar problems, there are stores for snacks at the fuel stops along the way if needed. We will then proceed another 8 miles towards Mena Arkansas to an overlook for a group pic of the bikes. Last year, there was a lot of confusion with members wanting to change the game plan for pictures and it ended up being a mess. If you want to head back to Talihina after lunch instead of going into Mena, you are welcome to do so, but you will miss out on the group pic. We aren't going to change the whole group's plans to accomodate one or two.
After the group pic, we will ride down into Mena Arkansas for fuel at the Walmart. The official rally is over at this point, so if you need something in Wally-World, look around town, whatever, you're free to do so. Just don't plan on getting any beer to take back with you. This is a dry county. After refueling, we'll head back up onto the Talimena Trail and take it the reverse direction back to Talihina. I'll stop at the overlook where we took group pics and hang out for a few while the rest of you head back. The Talimena Trail has a LOT of overlooks with beautiful views. You ride back at your own pace... not the group's, and stop and look all you want. Speed limits are 55 and there have been a lot of cops up there lately. A couple of us got pulled over last year for 65 and had to listen to their speech about how many people were killing themselves up there, but no ticket. We'll all meet back in Talihina at the hotel afterwards.
The ride will start off Saturday morning at 9am. Please be fueled up and ready to go. Most of us meet at a place on main street called Pam's Hateful Hussy Diner for breakfast. Downtown Mainstreet consists of about 10 buildings.. so you won't miss it. It's at the north end on the west side of the road. It gets packed with all of us and orders start taking longer the more people that are there, so I suggest getting there by 7-7:30.
It has been suggested that we ride in two seperate groups this year, but I really hope that won't be necessary. We started getting some big gaps last year. We don't want anyone riding faster than they feel comfortable with. We've seen recently what that can cause with a downed rider. But we also don't want someone riding slower and holding up everyone else behind them that wants to go a bit faster. If you notice a gap opening up between you and the other riders, move over to the right and wave the ones by that would like to pass. Some will be fine with the pace and stay back.. others will go. The sweep rider will follow in the rear, so nobody will get lost, and we will meet up at the next turn or fuel stop. No harm, no hurt feelings, and nobody riding at a pace they hate.. fast or slow. You guys are even welcome to zip past me if you feel the need. Again.. we'll catch you at the next turn or corner.
Anyone that has never been here, here is a link that explains the place a bit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talimena_Drive
I hope to have a great rally this year. Hope to see you all there. Any questions feel free to PM me, or my cell # is 580-421-5782.
Tod
I drove over to Talihina today to check out the Lazy R Inn, and here's the deal. They have a couple cabins they rent that are single bedroom, but they are about a half mile down the road. That killed those for me, but anyone interested, they were $75 a night. There are two of them Cabin one has a twin and a king in the room, and cabin 2 has two queens (With some nice smelling cedar walls..). This Lazy R inn only has 10 rooms.. 5 single and 5 double. They are more modern than the Kiamichi Inn, and they have a grassy back area in back fenced in. I asked if they would let some of the people tent camp there in back if needed and they said they would check with the boss, but that would probably be OK. The negatives I saw were: Their whole parking lot is soft-ish gravel, as I stated, there's only 10 rooms and not really any room to throw an air mattress down on the floor if you wanted to share with someone extra, and the last real biggie for me was.. they have absolutely no outside furniture. That would put a serious damper on the evening BS sessions in my opinion with nowhere to sit and chat.
So, I headed back over to the Kiamichi Inn. I met with one of the owners and it was a very nice attractive female that was very helpfull. I told her there were 20-30 of us last year and asked if she could cut us a bit of a break on the price. She will check on that, but as it stands so far, the rooms are 50+ tx single and 55+ tx double. I got the big triple room in the back corner reserved, so don't try!
You guys are welcome to choose where you want to stay. The Kiamichi Inn just seemed to me to still be the best place for us. Either place said they'd honor that price if you say you're with the XS11 motorcycle rally. Make sure you tell them that if you're staying at the Kiamichi since she said she'd try to put us all together in the back of the place again. If you think you MAY be going to this, but not sure, you should reserve a room now since they get scarce the closer we get. You can always cancel it. Just let the people on here have a shot at the room first before you do.
The route is going to be the same as last year, which makes a total of about 250 miles for the day. This will take us around the Oklahoma area a bit, then back into Talihina for fuel, then heading up onto the Talimena Trail. We make plenty of fuel stops, so no "Special" people need to worry. At the Queen Wilhemena lodge on the Trail, we will eat lunch. Eat a good breakfast, because with fuel stops and chatting, this has generally put lunch @ 2-2:30. The lodge has a pretty good buffet for $10. For anyone with blood sugar problems, there are stores for snacks at the fuel stops along the way if needed. We will then proceed another 8 miles towards Mena Arkansas to an overlook for a group pic of the bikes. Last year, there was a lot of confusion with members wanting to change the game plan for pictures and it ended up being a mess. If you want to head back to Talihina after lunch instead of going into Mena, you are welcome to do so, but you will miss out on the group pic. We aren't going to change the whole group's plans to accomodate one or two.
After the group pic, we will ride down into Mena Arkansas for fuel at the Walmart. The official rally is over at this point, so if you need something in Wally-World, look around town, whatever, you're free to do so. Just don't plan on getting any beer to take back with you. This is a dry county. After refueling, we'll head back up onto the Talimena Trail and take it the reverse direction back to Talihina. I'll stop at the overlook where we took group pics and hang out for a few while the rest of you head back. The Talimena Trail has a LOT of overlooks with beautiful views. You ride back at your own pace... not the group's, and stop and look all you want. Speed limits are 55 and there have been a lot of cops up there lately. A couple of us got pulled over last year for 65 and had to listen to their speech about how many people were killing themselves up there, but no ticket. We'll all meet back in Talihina at the hotel afterwards.
The ride will start off Saturday morning at 9am. Please be fueled up and ready to go. Most of us meet at a place on main street called Pam's Hateful Hussy Diner for breakfast. Downtown Mainstreet consists of about 10 buildings.. so you won't miss it. It's at the north end on the west side of the road. It gets packed with all of us and orders start taking longer the more people that are there, so I suggest getting there by 7-7:30.
It has been suggested that we ride in two seperate groups this year, but I really hope that won't be necessary. We started getting some big gaps last year. We don't want anyone riding faster than they feel comfortable with. We've seen recently what that can cause with a downed rider. But we also don't want someone riding slower and holding up everyone else behind them that wants to go a bit faster. If you notice a gap opening up between you and the other riders, move over to the right and wave the ones by that would like to pass. Some will be fine with the pace and stay back.. others will go. The sweep rider will follow in the rear, so nobody will get lost, and we will meet up at the next turn or fuel stop. No harm, no hurt feelings, and nobody riding at a pace they hate.. fast or slow. You guys are even welcome to zip past me if you feel the need. Again.. we'll catch you at the next turn or corner.
Anyone that has never been here, here is a link that explains the place a bit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talimena_Drive
I hope to have a great rally this year. Hope to see you all there. Any questions feel free to PM me, or my cell # is 580-421-5782.
Tod
- NOW IT'S FOR SALE! $1,800 OBO
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