Now just recently I noticed in the forum someone named Kanbowfish mention that he lives in Bull Shoals and rides a DR650. So naturally I served notice that I live nearby and we should hook up for a ride sometime. Little did I know that this guy would take me at my work almost immediately. Turns out that Kanbowfish is a young man who I already know by the name of Ben. Ben's been out to my house/shop to have some work done on one of his bikes and we've stayed in touch off and on. Sooo.... We went out for some gravel road playtime today. We met at a fuel stop in Mtn Home, gassed up, and headed east on US 62. We were gonna pave road it till we hit some gravel that I found yesterday over in Fulton County. Good times await! We turned off 62 onto Flora Cematery Rd. I had been on part of this yesterday so I was looking to hit the part I missed. We wound along at a good clip till we found our first photo op. Nice lil creek down in the valley below us. I figured this was a good time to grab a pic of Kanbowfish so... Whoops. Hey Ben, pay attention will ya? HEY!!! I'm trying to show folks what a nice looking young man you are, gimme a break will ya? Geesh, that's better. See? Not a bad looking kid is he.:eek1 We took off again. The sun's out and the temp is somewhere close to 60. Great day to be out on two wheels. But it is Sunday so we thought maybe we should go to church. Us being brought up properly and all. mumble, mumble, mumble, Thank You Lord, AMEN. Time to ride. We found ourselves needing a rest stop to process previously consumed liquids. So we pulled up here and made ourselves to home. Now Cousin Earl and his new bride, formally know as his Aunt Gertie, weren't home. But we felt safe in using the place as home. It does have a certain homey charm and that "lived in" look. They must have lots of company cuz there's mattresses everywhere. Cousin Gertie(formerly Aunt Gertie) has done some decorating. Or perhaps they've become Rainbow People. A storm blew down a large tree in the front yard. It missed the house by scant inches, which may or may not be a good thing. They must eat out a lot cuz the kitchen doesn't seem to get much use. In order to keep the insect problem under control, swallows have been allowed to build nests indoors. Nothing like having pest control on demand. Well, much as we hate to leave, there's some roads out there to be traveled upon. Thanks Cousin Earl & Cousin/Aunt Gertie. I'm glad she wasn't standing in the middle of the road when I came around the curve going just a bit too fast. Coming down the hill we saw this water crossing, one of many we hit today. This is about as close as Yellaphant will get to a bath all year. The downstream side of the bridge. We wound our way over several more miles of gravel. Some good, some kinda rugged, all great fun. Ben's a good rider and matched my pace well. I'm having fun. We found ourselves in Bakersfield, MO and had to grab a pic in front of this old building. Cool looking place. We headed out of Bakersfield on MO Hwy O and turned onto Smokey Rd. This eventually finds Lake Norfork and ends up on US 160 at Tecumseh, MO. We crossed over Bridges Creek. It's about 4" deep over the slab. We rode down to the lake for a break and some chat time. This is the headwaters of Lake Norfork. Just behind the bikes is where Bridges Creek empties into the lake. While we sat here and enjoyed the scenery Ben tells me he's headed to Kansas City in a month to take a new job and get married. Congratulations Young Man. We zigzag our way back south. At the AR/MO border we cross Liner Creek. The water's a bit deeper here but still no problem for a coupla seasoned travelers. Just after crossing into AR we found a well kept secret. How we got so lucky is beyond me. I'd heard of this thing but doubted that it really existed. But lo and behold, there it was. Bold as can be on the side of a seldom traveled road. The Large Arkansas Frequency Finder! I thought Ben had stepped behind the LAFF to get an understanding of it workings. He was there for a while. Turns out he was, ummmm. You know, processing more liquids. So much for scientific curiousity. All in all, a great day. Just over 4 hours spent to cover just under 150 miles. Most of it on gravel/dirt roads. I'm ready to go again. We didn't take as many pics as we could have/should have. Too much fun riding. We had a couple of creek crossings at the tail end of the ride that were the most fun. I wish I'd got some pics of Ben riding down the creek bed that was suppose to be the road. Awesome fun. Till next time, y'all be safe.
you bastids! Such a nice day to get out and ride and here I am laid up in bed..BUT I will be on a bike tomorrow..(note to self: TAKE THE CAMERA MORON!) Bummer that Ben is moving up to KC..why cant his bride to be come down here and she can find a job while we take ben ridin!! (awaiting sore ass humor now :huh ) Looks like y'all had fun..and of course you know, I for one is JEALOUS!..I suspect that since it was a nice day, many got to go ride today thus making the forum a bit quiet.
The child bride is still in school. (college ya perverts) lol. Ben's already got a job waiting on him and an engegement ring to hand to the lil lady when he gets there. He finishes school himself on May 4 if I remember correctly. This young man has his head on straight. His folks should be proud, he turned out good. One of his last statements to me today was "Family first, fun second." He'll be back around, he's had a good taste of Ozark back roads and won't be easily turned away.
Looks like ya'll had fun today. I didn't get home til noon cause of the weather. Damn Snow in Ok had things really screwed up. The bright side is I got out my old XT550 and kicked it 3 times and it settled into a nice idle. I got the carb issue I've been fighting licked.
Cool deal on getting the carb sorted out. So, when ya gonna be ready for a ride? Ben's wanting to head over to Oark before he moves just to say he ate at the store. We're gonna ride part of the TAT to get there and then another route to get back home. Doc? Any of y'all wanna meet for lunch over there some Sat?
Jay that was a great write up, it was like I was there, (OH YEA I WAS). I'll be up in KCK for aleast a year, and good lord permitting be back in the Ozarks ASAP. Great Jay, I can't let my girl find this ride report untill I do the deed . I can't waite to ride to Oark, and get me one of those's juicy hambugers. So more the DS'ers the better. I'll be finding some dates and seeing whats best for everyone.
hey guys..there is a VERY good chance that we will be at oark this saturday as a bunch of ADV'rs are commin in for the Eureka Springs run amd I have every intention to lead a few down that way..not sure what time we'd get there but let one of the Jims know you were there just incase we miss ya, and vise versa..see ya there??
The long suffering Mrs O'Jay and I got out for some paved road playtime this afternoon with a friend of ours. I know, I know. It's not really playing unless you're on gravel, but the Missus ain't all that crazy about how I motivate on back roads. So, this day's adventures are all on hard surface, but still a ton o' fun! The steeds waiting for us to get geared up and head out. The Silver Bullet And Yellaphant We headed from Peters house in the cozy hamlet of Cotter and headed to that poorly kept secret of road known as Push Mountain Road. No pics, we were having too much fun riding. Just imagine 26 miles of sinous, undulating, and madly fun piece of real estate. Elevation changes to make the mind swim in ecstacy. Surrounded by mountain scenery on both sides, nearly enough to make you take your focus off the road and gawk. Not recommended, brings very bad results. Push Mtn Road dead ends at AR 14 where we turned left and rode down to Allison for coffee and pie. 14 is another fun piece of road with several 30mph curves to make you grin in the helmet. Just a coupla pics from inside the restaurant. The aforementioned Mr. Pietz. Peter is a retired business man, originally from Austria. A very smooth rider, a genuine nice guy, and a pleasure to be around at any time. I wanna be like him when I grow up. The long-suffering Mrs. O'Jay. This woman is a treat for me. Anyone who will sit on the back of a bike with me is either exceedingly brave, or should be committed. A few views from our table looking out over the White River. But the siren call of the road was filtering its way into our brains. Insinuating itself in that primal center of our psyche. We had to answer, there was no choice. The steeds await. Once again, no pics during the ride. We headed out on AR 14 again, working our way towards Yellville. We picked up a trio of sport bikes as we came through Fifty-Six. They hung with us till we got to Harriet. They turned left on AR 27 while we turned right and continued on Hwy 14. From Harriet to Yellville 14 is a roller coaster of a road. One of my favourite parts is the last section just before the Buffalo River. The last turn is a sharp, downhill, right hander with a short straight leading into a sharp left hander that empties onto the bridge over the river. Just past the bridge is a series of 35mph bends that just make you drool with glee. Before you know it you're in Yellville. It's over way too soon. We made our goodbyes with Peter at this point. He was headed back to Cotter and home, we were headed down AR 178 from Flippin to Bull Shoals. Need I mention that this is a fun road too? Nah, I though not. The view from the top of Bull Mtn. Yellaphant contemplates the road. Pay attention to this road, you'll see it again in a few minutes. Mrs. O'Jay, wondering when we'll get back on the road. A few shot of Bull Shoals Dam from the river side. Probably not a good place to take a dip. Lots and lots of killer watts headed yer way! We left from down at the foot of the dam and headed uphill to a new facility, recently completed. And spring may just really, really be here. From the front of the visitors center looking at Bull Shoals Lake. Jim Gaston is an incessant tinkerer. He's currently into rock crawler Jeeps, and you can find him in Moab, UT running around the trails and canyons with a whole collection of extreme Jeeps. He's another character with a wealth of tales to share. These outboard motors are part of a collection owned by Jim Gaston. Several more can be found in his restaurant just down stream from the dam. A great place to eat. The motors were restored and brought back to running condition by a local machinist by the name of Bob Davis. Bob is also a motor head with and eclectic collection of bikes. He currently owns a 1966 BMW R60, and Indian Papoose, and a Vespa 150. All in showroom condition. A view of the dam from the outside observation deck. A few pics from when the dam was being built. Remember the pic of Yellaphant looking down the hill earlier? This is what the road looked like when the dam was being built. Shame they paved it, this was a dual sporters heaven. A mini replica of the conveyor belt that moved tons of rock from the quarry to the work site. Just a few more pics. We traveled a total of 176 miles today in the course of about 5 hours. A good day of riding. Glad y'all could come along.
Glad to see you following Doctors suggestion, Unk... Let's not get crazy with that growing up idea, ok? Hi Aunt! Uncle, I've chased you around the Ozarks on bikes less capable than the Yelephant and yes, Mrs. O'Jay is a brave pillion and I'm thinking, just like us, a wee bit crazy. Seeing those pic's brings back some memories of hanging around with you two and riding around that area. Too bad you didn't get pics of PMR, I might have called in sick for 2 weeks and gotten my GS up there to see y'all again. Happy Easter! He is risen!!
Well Hi There Nephew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Glad to see ya here. Yep, you've gotta get up here and away from the sand pit. You need another ozark fix. There's some mighty fine folks up here more than willing to help you get a dose of back road twisties, paved or otherwise. And yep, He is risen indeed.
I suppose I shouldn't be envious of your getting out to ride... after all, being shackled by two jobs and a non-running bike is at least partly my fault, right? Sorry I missed you at the Visitor Center, but I don't normally work weekends there. Had I been there, though, I would have been truly green with envy! One day, soon, I hope to be back out there in the wind! Charlie Semi-tame Hillbilly in Bull Shoals, Arkansas </snip>
You will, you will. Though I think you should divest yourself of the road only bike and get and adventure tourer with which you can join me on some gravel/back road travels. There's so much more to be seen off the paved path.
No Sirree! Weather permitting we're headed to either Oark or Catalpa next Saturday. What say the masses on a lunchtime meet & eat. Tcourdin? Zecatfish? Doc? Elvis70? Anyone else who's names I've forgotten cuz I'm fast approaching Olde Phart status?
What day was you planning on this expedition to Oark? The bikes ready as it ever will be. Its a long ride from here to there. I've got to find a good route over there still.
This coming Saturday, the 18th. We're leaving the house early and gravel roading it over there. Eat and a different route back. The weather's suppose to be tolerable.
This weekend is still a mystery. No idea on if I'm available or not. Then I'm not planning on riding all the way up north to come back down on the same day. I had enough of that Saturday. If I wonder towards Oark it will be more of an exploratory mission. Still gotta find a good route that I like to Oark through the valleys. I can get there from the mountain tops. Just have to see what happens.