[ST] Ride report, April 23

[Jack Hays <rude@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sunday, April 23.
      This morning we were again up around 6:00 Am and getting ready to go.
      The owner had left us pie for breakfast but we had decided to ride
over to the Cliff House for breakfast and save the pie for later as the
cafà is closed on Sundayâs.
      Bird Dawg lead us out of town to the east on another great road that
I love.
      Highway 21 goes out of town to the east and you immediately climb on
top of a ridge with nice consistent sweepers through fertile farm and
cattle land. The road then descends and tightens up as it crosses the
Buffalo River bottom area.
      As we enter the Lost Valley at Boxley we stop at the intersection, I
take the lead, and we turn north and run along the sweeping Highway 74.
Highway 74 has tall bluffs and mountains to the left as it is covered with
marked 45 mph curves and an open valley on the right with the Buffalo on
the far side of the valley and then another set of mountains rising up and
covered with dark green trees. A wonderful and peaceful area that is almost
always free and deserted of tourist traffic.
      As we intersect Highway 43 we turn right on Highway 74, cross the
Buffalo, and start a tight climbing run. The road is full of 15 mph
switchbacks here and steep. Merlin is running in second gear and just
pulling like a freight train as we climb and then drop only to start
climbing again. After about three miles the road opens up and I catch and
pass two cars very quickly and blast on toward Jasper.
      At Jasper I pull over and wait a few minutes until Ian and Bird Dawg
pull up and Bird Dawg takes the lead as we go through jasper, climb up
Highway 7, and head south to the Cliff House.
      We pull into the Cliff House and itâs as impressive as ever. The
restaurant sits on the west side of what is called âThe Grand canyon of the
Ozarksâ and has a glass side overlooking the canyon. This canyon is covered
like the rest of northern Arkansas with lush vegetation and varying species
of trees and flowers.
      We walk in and as always the owner says âWelcome boys, want me to
take your helmets and jacketsâ. We hand them over and he stores them while
saying they will be right here when youâre ready to leave.
      We sit down and a very friendly and funny waitress takes our order of
pancakes, eggs, crispy bacon, biscuits, and gravy while supplying me with
more sweet tea,
      David and I start talking about the owner and both comment itâs not
the same guy bet he acted the same.
      After I finish eating I pay and start taking to the owner and find
out that his name is Mike and indeed he has bought the place from Neal, the
original owner. He and his wife were on vacation and stopped in, started
talking, and found they were both from Monroe, Louisiana. Nealâs wife had
arthritis and was in worry about making another season. Mike was a minister
who was looking for something else for a while and they bought the Cliff
House while Neal and his wife moved back home. Funny, but they both had the
same greeting and action when we came in. mike and I exchanged e-mails and
promised to share some of our prayer request in the future.
      Bird Dawg lead us south on Highway and left on Highway 374 to 123 and
we dove and rose again as we re-crossed the Buffalo once more. Great stuff
again and the time just flew by.
      At Pendall we got on Highway 235 through Bruno and into Yellville
where we stopped at the same station we always do when around this area. I
put almost $15.00 into Merlin and talked to the young girl at the pump by
me as she put $79.76 of diesel in her truck!
      Bird Dawg lead us through Yellville north on Highway 14 and as we
left town I took the lead as we swept along the Highway with a nice view of
lake Bull Shoals off to our right and think forest lining the road.
      At Lakeway I turned us right and kept running north on Highway 125 to
the Arkansas Navy and the ferry to cross the lake into Missouri.
      I passed a Harley along this section and when we stopped to wait for
the ferry they pulled up and the driver apologized for not seeing us coming
up. I told him there was no problem as his seven year old daughter got off
and showed me her helmet.
      We waited about fifteen minutes for the ferry and they put us up
front on the left as we loaded. I finally got to use the alarm âFerry Modeâ
for what it was intended to do!
      Then, about eight cruisers pulled onto the ferry beside us and after
introduction we found that they were also for the Dallas - Fort Worth area.
It was nice change of pace to ride the ferry as we have started looking for
things to do to give our rides another element of adventure and relaxation.
      Once on the Missouri side we fired up and rode north on Highway 125
to Highway 160 where we turned west.
      It was very quickly noticed how much better the roads were in
Arkansas. Not that this was bad road because it was fun. But the road
surface was not as smooth and the curve signs had no suggested speed. Not
that we obeyed them anyway but once on a road you had a feeling of your
best speed after a few turns.
      Highway 160 was a twisting roller coaster itself and great fun
although the traffic increased and you had to watch for cars pulling out
more often. Here we had another young girls bending her car way too fast
just to keep in front of us until we had an opportunity to use the
afterburners.
      We ran across 160 and took a few other roads as we worked our way
around Branson as best as possible.
      We were hungry again so we stopped at a Burger Kind for a fast and
cheap lunch.
      Then the lightening started and some rain as we headed south to get
out from under it as soon as possible.
      We took Highway 74 back to Kingston and pulled onto the square to
find a pick-up with a trailer holding two mangled sport bikes.
      I talked to them and it seems the leader lost track of his pack and
while turning around a rider was trying to catch him and nailed the leader
at the rear passenger peg area at full tilt.
      Dumb! First, keep track of each other, never turn around in the road
on the other side of a hill or at the bottom, use your mirrors, and then
look. The rider who hit him had multiple compound fractures and internal
injuries that required a Care Flight.
      We ate our pie and then started talking and decided that since heavy
rain was predicted we would load up and head south this afternoon.
      I was packed and ready to go in ten minutes and the others were right
behind me.
      I lead us east again out of Kingston to the Lost Valley and this time
right on Highway 21 going south. This part of highway 21 is so cool as it
is evenly spaced turns all at the same speed and you just flow down it.
      At Swain I kicked us back south west for nine miles and another great
flowing road to the intersection of Highway 16 at Fallsville.
      Highway 16 is another of the Ozarks treats as it varies, climbs, and
falls about twenty five miles to the intersection of the Pig Trail. I was
having a blast along here and slowed several times to let us re-group and
then was off again grinning like a possum.
      At Highway 23 I turned us back south on the Pig Trail and took off.
      Actually I didnât realize I took off but Ian light quickly
disappeared so I slowed several more times and then got back in the zone as
I swept through the old Pig Trail. It just canât get any better then this
folks. You need to explore Arkansas on back roads.
      I pulled into the Oxford Inn once in Ozark with Bird Dawg and Ian
right with me.
      We almost always stay at the Oxford Inn as its right in the middle of
prime roads, clean, and cheap.
      Now it was time for the real Guzzi curse as Bird Dawg said he kept
hearing a clunking sound and some vibration. I immediately thought a
chunked tire and David pushed the bike around while Ian watched the front
tire and I watched the back one. No chunks missing?
      Then David found it. The rear wheel bearing had started coming apart!
Lucky boy was he.
      He called his dad and Charlie picked up his trailer and would be
there in the morning.
      Nothing we could really do on a Sunday afternoon so we cleaned up and
walked across the street to eat at a new Mexican restaurant where the food
was not half bad.
      Back at the hotel we talked about leaving David there but we either
rod eon or waited half a day and then faced the possibility of rain all the
way home for the next 400 miles. David wanted us to go on and have fun as
Charlie was going to leave around 5:00 AM anyway. So a movie in the room
and off to bed.



Jack Hays
972-952-5065
"I'll see you on the dark side of the Moon"
Que Lastima
4 - 8 - 15 - 16 - 23 - 42
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