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RedPill
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- Joined
- Aug 1, 2007
- Messages
- 10,227
- Reaction score
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- Location
- Fort Worth
- First Name
- Dan
- Last Name
- Gill
I report for my new job at Bell Helicopter on April 30, and I really wanted to make a short motorcycle trip this week, as next week I'll be on Baby Duty. I originally planned to ride to Mena via the Talimena trail yesterday, spend the night, and ride back today. But the weather looked nasty for today, and those roads just wouldn't be fun in the rain. So I made it partway and back in one day.
Here's the route, except I took a short jaunt around Beaver's Bend Park:
http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=H...cWBlhKhjFJ89MvZgm5yQ&mra=ls&via=2,5,7&t=m&z=8
Getting out of Dodge was tough. I left about 6:00 AM. Should have done it a little earlier. But things were easy once I got onto 121. I looked for a nice little cafe for breakfast, but ended up at a Braum's in Bonham. Eminently forgettable. It got a lot cooler as I got close to Bonham, but the weather overall was great.
I didn't take a lot of pics, as there never seems to be a good place to stop without getting run over. I did stop at a "park" outside Paris. This marker was there. The park was about the size of a driveway turnaround.
This was on FM 195, I think. That was a great little road, highly recommended. It's not really twisty, but curves enough to make it interesting, and was lined with flowering dogwood and honeysuckle. The smell of dogwood was everywhere on this trip.
Beaver's Bend is a gorgeous park on a beautiful little lake. Really made me wish I had brought my fly rod.
The spillway:
River running out of the spillway:
The lake and some islands:
I loved the rock formation on the shore here:
289 north from Broken Bow was really a great road. Scenic, good surface, enough curves to make it fun, lots of hills.
I turned west on the Talimena Byway and very quickly ran into vistas like this:
I really couldn't take many shots of the road itself, as I have not mastered the art of snapping pics while riding. here's one from a turnout:
And here's a sign on the Shawnee Ridge Overlook:
271 coming back south was nice, too, and I probably should have stayed on it south of Talihina instead of peeling off at Clayton. But the road I took (OK 2) was also nice.
Coming home was mainly a repeat of heading out. The winds were now out of the south, and I got battered pretty good by the time I parked the bike. I timed it just right to hit rush hour in the MetroMess, too. One piece of advice: If you need gas on the 121 tollway, don't get off on Spring Valley. I had to ride 6 or 7 miles down Spring Valley to find a station. Then when I got back on 121 there was a station at the next exit.
Finally, a graphic illustration of why I have a windscreen:
Here's the route, except I took a short jaunt around Beaver's Bend Park:
http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=H...cWBlhKhjFJ89MvZgm5yQ&mra=ls&via=2,5,7&t=m&z=8
Getting out of Dodge was tough. I left about 6:00 AM. Should have done it a little earlier. But things were easy once I got onto 121. I looked for a nice little cafe for breakfast, but ended up at a Braum's in Bonham. Eminently forgettable. It got a lot cooler as I got close to Bonham, but the weather overall was great.
I didn't take a lot of pics, as there never seems to be a good place to stop without getting run over. I did stop at a "park" outside Paris. This marker was there. The park was about the size of a driveway turnaround.
This was on FM 195, I think. That was a great little road, highly recommended. It's not really twisty, but curves enough to make it interesting, and was lined with flowering dogwood and honeysuckle. The smell of dogwood was everywhere on this trip.
Beaver's Bend is a gorgeous park on a beautiful little lake. Really made me wish I had brought my fly rod.
The spillway:
River running out of the spillway:
The lake and some islands:
I loved the rock formation on the shore here:
289 north from Broken Bow was really a great road. Scenic, good surface, enough curves to make it fun, lots of hills.
I turned west on the Talimena Byway and very quickly ran into vistas like this:
I really couldn't take many shots of the road itself, as I have not mastered the art of snapping pics while riding. here's one from a turnout:
And here's a sign on the Shawnee Ridge Overlook:
271 coming back south was nice, too, and I probably should have stayed on it south of Talihina instead of peeling off at Clayton. But the road I took (OK 2) was also nice.
Coming home was mainly a repeat of heading out. The winds were now out of the south, and I got battered pretty good by the time I parked the bike. I timed it just right to hit rush hour in the MetroMess, too. One piece of advice: If you need gas on the 121 tollway, don't get off on Spring Valley. I had to ride 6 or 7 miles down Spring Valley to find a station. Then when I got back on 121 there was a station at the next exit.
Finally, a graphic illustration of why I have a windscreen:
for doing it all in one day!
