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How I Spent My Fall Vacation
Last week I rode up to the BMW Sport Touring UN-Rally in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I had a blast. The rally was held at the Iron Horse Stables. This is an old-west themed campground specifically designed for motorcyclists. See: http://ironhorsestables.com
Saturday & Sunday: I rode up to Dallas and hung around shopping and visiting people.
Monday: I rode up to Eureka Springs via Broken Bow Oklahoma and Fort Smith, Arkansas. I almost wadded it into the concrete wall on the 180 degree curve on 259 just north of the Three Sticks monument. (What must the the world's most awful monument. See: http://www.shareyourstate.com/OK/3sticks.htm ) I didn't take the warning signs seriously enough and came in waaaaay too hot.
I decided I would have more fun finishing the trip than scaring myself riding like a squid just because awesome curves were available, so I took it easy for the rest of the trip and just did spirited cruising.
Rolling into Eureka on Hwy 62 that afternoon was awesome. I had never been down that road other than in a car. The endless switchbacks and blasting past Senior Yachtsmen in the no-passing zones was invigorating.
I got to the rally just as the sun was going down. I set up my camp and drank Shiner Bock around the campfire till midnight.
Tuesday: I toured around Bentonville, Arkansas. Went to the Wal-Mart World Headquarters and the Sam Walton Museum downtown. I chatted with the BMW dealer in Bentonville. His riding advice was "Trust your tires and keep leaning. Lean till something scrapes and keep it there. Unlike Texas, there is no soft ditch past the white line, only air space followed by rocks".
I came back to the rally site and did some spirited group riding that afternoon. Then I drank Shiner Bock around the campfire till midnight.
Wednesday: I attended a “Tech Daze” at the rally site. This is where a BMW mechanic demonstrates various maintenance and repair procedures. I learned a lot. We did more group riding up into Missouri that afternoon. Then I drank Shiner Bock around the campfire till midnight.
Thursday: Rain hitting my tent woke me up at 4:00am. My earplugs had come out during the night. From 5 to 7am the intensity of the rain increased. At 8:00am I decided to head for home when the weatherman said the rain would last all day. I packed up my camping gear in a steady downpour.
I left Eureka Springs at 9:00am. Riding through mountain passes on a heavily laden bike in cold pouring rain and soupy fog is an experience I will never forget.
I ran the interstate from Rogers to Fort Smith in pouring rain at 85mph. I wanted OUT of it. The BMW-RT is an autobahn miracle machine. Lord I love that bike.
The sun came out when I hit Ft. Smith.so I goofed around there for 2 hours looking at airplanes and eating and repacking. I got rid of about 10 pounds of water by doing so.
I took Hwy 71 though southwest Arkansas. That sucked. The Talamena Drive from Mena up the mountain to the Queen Willamena state park was a disappointment compared to the roads around Eureka Springs.
Hwy 71 though southwest Arkansas hosts a crappy little town every 5 miles all the way to Texarkana. None of the gas stations have pay-at-the-pump. Speed limits, at best, sometimes, get up to 55mph. They have the worst drivers I've ever seen. Never ride through there if you can avoid it. Take 259 through Oklahoma instead.
It was getting dark as I hit Texarkana. It started raining off and on at Mt. Enterprise and continued sporadically all the way to Lufkin. That didn't bother me because I was in "The Zone" and enjoying the serenity of the occasional full-moon and great rally memories.
I pulled into my garage at 11:30pm after ~14 hours in the saddle. Every part of me was sore. My first night sleeping in a bed felt GOOD!
In summary, I had a blast and can't wait until next year's Un-Rally in Gunnison, Colorado.
Total miles for the week was 1678 and I burned 40.2 gallons of fuel.
John Bennett
Last week I rode up to the BMW Sport Touring UN-Rally in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. I had a blast. The rally was held at the Iron Horse Stables. This is an old-west themed campground specifically designed for motorcyclists. See: http://ironhorsestables.com
Saturday & Sunday: I rode up to Dallas and hung around shopping and visiting people.
Monday: I rode up to Eureka Springs via Broken Bow Oklahoma and Fort Smith, Arkansas. I almost wadded it into the concrete wall on the 180 degree curve on 259 just north of the Three Sticks monument. (What must the the world's most awful monument. See: http://www.shareyourstate.com/OK/3sticks.htm ) I didn't take the warning signs seriously enough and came in waaaaay too hot.
I decided I would have more fun finishing the trip than scaring myself riding like a squid just because awesome curves were available, so I took it easy for the rest of the trip and just did spirited cruising.
Rolling into Eureka on Hwy 62 that afternoon was awesome. I had never been down that road other than in a car. The endless switchbacks and blasting past Senior Yachtsmen in the no-passing zones was invigorating.
I got to the rally just as the sun was going down. I set up my camp and drank Shiner Bock around the campfire till midnight.
Tuesday: I toured around Bentonville, Arkansas. Went to the Wal-Mart World Headquarters and the Sam Walton Museum downtown. I chatted with the BMW dealer in Bentonville. His riding advice was "Trust your tires and keep leaning. Lean till something scrapes and keep it there. Unlike Texas, there is no soft ditch past the white line, only air space followed by rocks".
I came back to the rally site and did some spirited group riding that afternoon. Then I drank Shiner Bock around the campfire till midnight.
Wednesday: I attended a “Tech Daze” at the rally site. This is where a BMW mechanic demonstrates various maintenance and repair procedures. I learned a lot. We did more group riding up into Missouri that afternoon. Then I drank Shiner Bock around the campfire till midnight.
Thursday: Rain hitting my tent woke me up at 4:00am. My earplugs had come out during the night. From 5 to 7am the intensity of the rain increased. At 8:00am I decided to head for home when the weatherman said the rain would last all day. I packed up my camping gear in a steady downpour.
I left Eureka Springs at 9:00am. Riding through mountain passes on a heavily laden bike in cold pouring rain and soupy fog is an experience I will never forget.
I ran the interstate from Rogers to Fort Smith in pouring rain at 85mph. I wanted OUT of it. The BMW-RT is an autobahn miracle machine. Lord I love that bike.
The sun came out when I hit Ft. Smith.so I goofed around there for 2 hours looking at airplanes and eating and repacking. I got rid of about 10 pounds of water by doing so.
I took Hwy 71 though southwest Arkansas. That sucked. The Talamena Drive from Mena up the mountain to the Queen Willamena state park was a disappointment compared to the roads around Eureka Springs.
Hwy 71 though southwest Arkansas hosts a crappy little town every 5 miles all the way to Texarkana. None of the gas stations have pay-at-the-pump. Speed limits, at best, sometimes, get up to 55mph. They have the worst drivers I've ever seen. Never ride through there if you can avoid it. Take 259 through Oklahoma instead.
It was getting dark as I hit Texarkana. It started raining off and on at Mt. Enterprise and continued sporadically all the way to Lufkin. That didn't bother me because I was in "The Zone" and enjoying the serenity of the occasional full-moon and great rally memories.
I pulled into my garage at 11:30pm after ~14 hours in the saddle. Every part of me was sore. My first night sleeping in a bed felt GOOD!
In summary, I had a blast and can't wait until next year's Un-Rally in Gunnison, Colorado.
Total miles for the week was 1678 and I burned 40.2 gallons of fuel.
John Bennett
I think I see a pattern forming here... One that makes everything seem like it is moving when it's not 
The Talimena is not a road for the hardcore twisty nuts, it is for smooth cruising on fast sweepers with scenic vistas. Lots of pull outs for photo ops :wink: 
Still got one slot open on our trailer.
So much to write and so little time 
The ride I just returned from was a definite highlight of this year's riding for me!