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Adventure Quest - NW Arkansas May 09

Joined
Jan 21, 2007
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Location
Austin, Tx
As usual I had a wonderful time. Got to hang with several folks I'd ridden with in the past and met a few new ones as well. Everything went smoothly and I learned something invaluable and that is Arkansas Rocks when it comes to dual sport riding!!

Not much time to write a full report but here's some picts from Saturdays ride in the Ozark National Forest.
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Man that looks like a lot of fun, hope to make it out there someday.
Keep the pics coming!
 
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hmm Arkansas what is there to say- great roads every where, some roads not so great :doh:

you could be on a well graded gravel road one minute and running up a rocky hill like a billygoat, then the path would disappear into the forest, then on pristine pavement running twistys

oh heck it was all good, thanks to Calvin (multisurface) for the ride out, Scott and Richard as usual, also thanks to the bungy cord that kept my sidestand up after the spring decided it wanted to stay in Arkansas

thumb.asp
 
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I really didn't notice this guy taking a leak when I was snapping the pics. Apologies to whomever it was. =P

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No doubt; Arkansas is a great place to ride. Looks like you guys had a great trip. Does anyone have GPS routes to share?
 
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Glad y'all got to go have fun while I worked all weekend...no...really. :thpt:





;-)
 
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Okay, time for my part of the ride report. The drive up on Friday and the drive home on Sunday (a day early) were inconsequential, so I'll go straight to the good stuff.

Based out of the Days Inn in Clarksville, AR our plan was to explore the Ozark National Forest. Specifically, I had plotted out 6 different routes on my national forest map and I asked riders to break into groups and go ride those routes and report back. Were the roads there? Did they go through? Were they passable? Fun? Wet? Tough?

30+ riders signed up to attend and on Saturday morning we met up in the parking lot at 8 a.m. for the day's ride. The weatherman predicted scattered thunderstorms during the afternoon - we expected to get wet but figured it wouldn't rain enough to stop us.

The Days Inn rolled out the red carpet for us.
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The Days Inn proved to be a perfect HQ. They have 2 large parking lots so there was plenty of parking for those who trailered up. There is a restaurant next door and a sports bar/restaurant a very short walk away. There is a gas station just up the road. The owner of the Days Inn was quite accommodating to our group and was obviously happy to have us there, bikes and all. I recommend the Days Inn to you the next time you ride this area.

I had 11x17 maps of the Ozark National Forest made up for this event and marked my set with the 6 different routes. The first order of the day was for riders to mark their maps with the routes they expected to ride.

Plotting out the route on the map
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Once all the maps were marked and the riders meeting was done, it was time for final prep.

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Time to ride.
 
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I wanted to ride route 6, the eastern most route. Stuntman Jeff and Hugo decided to join me, so the three of us set off in search of dirt and adventure.

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To get to the dirt we first had to ride Hwy 123. For those who aren't familiar with Hwy 123 it is a FANTASTIC twisty road. It is destination-worthy all by itself. And, after all, we are dual sport riders so it is perfectly acceptable to ride some great pavement.

It took about 1.5 hours to ride the 42 miles from Clarksville to Sand Gap, at the intersection of Hwy 123 and Hwy 7. This was Stuntmans first visit to Arkansas and he was completely in awe of 123. He remarked that it was the best road he had ever ridden. Really, it's that good.

A new store - Hankins Country Store - has just opened in Sand Gap. They have food and drink, and though they have 2 old gas pumps out front there is no gas and no plans to add it later. The owner said the EPA requirements are so expensive that it would cost them $100,000 to start selling gas and that just wasn't going to happen.

Hankins Country Store
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The closest gas is 6 miles north on Hwy 7, at Who-Da-Thought-It-Arkansas.
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After topping off with gas we rode east to the start of the dirt (the blue highlighted line on the map). The map showed an enticing class 3 dirt road, labeled FS road 1312C, running north/south and that's what we were in search of.
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They say that adventure begins when the plan stops working and it was at this point that the plan stopped working for us. We looked and looked but couldn't find the northern end of 1312C. I finally decided that the northern end of 1312C no longer joined with Hwy 16. So, plan B was hatched.

Where are we, Jeff?
Dang if I know, Hugo.

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We decided to ride Hwy 27 south and attempt to reach 1312C from the east. The map showed several roads running east/west between Hwy 27 and 1312c, so we figured one of those would get us back on track. The first two attempts met with failure - the roads weren't there.

Then we hit pay dirt with the third road - Forest Service Road 1349.
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1349 started off as County Road 460 and then turned into 1349 when we entered the national forest. 460 was a fun class 2 road all the way to Old Smyrna Cemetery.

Old Smyrna Cemetery
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Born 1875, died 1903
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West of Old Smyrna Cem 1349 just kept getting better and better. I was really glad to be riding this road.
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Jeff was liking 1349 too.
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A short distance later we finally reached 1312C and it was just what I expected it to be - a fun class 3. Having a great time, I led the three of us south, hoping the road went through.

Then the first real challenge of the day popped up - a rocky creek crossing. The middle section of the creek crossing was easy enough, but getting into the creek was the real challenge. It was very rocky, making progress difficult.

Hugo was so happy to be in the middle of the creek he decided to park there for a while.

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Jeff christened his Husky on the approach to the creek, dropping it in the rocks and busting one of his blinkers. I didn't get a photo so the only proof of what happened was that busted blinker. Once he arrived at the creek, he had the same difficulty with the rocks that Hugo and I had previously.

The approach
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The entry
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The rooster tail
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The crossing
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The road got even better on the other side of the creek.
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A short distance later, the fun ended. There was a really big ice storm in this part of Arkansas this past March and it knocked a lot of trees down. The forest service folks have been clearing trees, but most of the class 3 roads still have downed trees on them. Sometimes you can bypass the trees, sometimes you can't. This was one of those can't bypass" cases. It wasn't just 1 downed tree, it was a bunch of downed trees. We looked but just couldn't find a reasonable way around so we reluctantly made a u-turn and headed back the way we came.

Maybe we could jump back on Hwy 27, head south, and then get back on 1312C again. Alas, it was not to be. For the next few hours we tried but were unable to find a way through.

To add insult to injury it rained on us the whole time. The morning had been sunshine and warmth. The afternoon was cool and very wet. Our clothes were totally soaked and our bikes were steadily getting caked in mud.
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Along about 3:30 p.m., right after I crashed trying to navigate a muddy logging road, we called "no mas". Wet, muddy, and tired, it had stopped being fun. So we decided to head home via pavement, arriving back in Clarksville almost an hour later.

So, route 6 looks good on the map, but until the forest service clears 1312C I don't believe it to be a passable route. It was a fun day of exploration and Hwy 123 was fantastic, too bad about 1312C though.

Back at the Days Inn we began preparations for Phase 2.
 
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Phase 2 consisted of heading over to the sports bar/restaurant and watching UFC 98. Stuntman really likes UFC and tonights fight had a co-main event: Hughes vs Serra and Machida vs Evans. I spoke with the folks that own the place and they agreed to get the fight. Sweet.

A fair number of riders passed the evening hanging out at the sports bar/restaurant. The food is good, the beer is cold, and it's a good place to spend an evening telling war stories.

Alec runs the bar and kept us lubricated all evening.
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Baja Boo and his team mates.
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Ken wasn't asleep. I just caught him blinking.
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Right before the start of the fights.
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I sneaked these two shots during the fights. Most riders had gone back to the hotel by this point - the fatigue of the day had caught to most, but a few of us stayed till the last punch of the last fight (and it was a heck of a punch, if you didn't see it).
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The end.

Well, it's the end of this year's event.

In summary, I think the dual sport riding in the Ozarks is good stuff as long as downed trees don't put a damper on things. They really limited the best riding. Hopefully the forest service will get most of the trees cleared before we do it all again next year.

See you there.

Here's some final random photos.

Rick M contemplating the meaning of dual sport life
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Andy loving the dual sport life
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Peace to you too
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This was my first TWT trip, and while the rain put a damper on some of the fun, I had a blast. I rode route 2 with Rick M and Scott (Stingray) who were kind enough to lead the way so all I had to do was ride. I also had a great time getting to know other gear heads like me that love to ride dirt bikes (I didn't realize so many other people like me existed). The Arkansas forest was and amazing place to ride, and I greatly enjoyed the difficult sections of trail we encountered.

Since I was busy riding, I am a little short of pictures, but I did want to post a few sights from the trip. The pig was giant, and it was just roaming behind our lunch stop...I am wondering if this pig was related to the pulled pork sandwich special some of us had for lunch. The pics of the jeep's rock climbing doesn't do justice to what they were trying to climb. I have also tried attaching a gpx file of our ride...hope it works as I am just learning the exquisite art of GPS.

Thanks for letting me tag along...The trip exceeded my expectations, and I am looking forward to participating on future trips.
 

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Good photos all. I enjoyed all of the reports. :thumb:
 
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How far was it between gas stops? Would a small OEM tank be sufficient? If so, I'm buying a DS light kit!
 
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VERY nice! The roads look fabulous! Thanks for the pictures!
 
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Hi, All,

This ride was new experience for me. I learned my limit with DR650.

After TAR 2009 ride;
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After AR 2009 ride;
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Thank you Richard for planning, and my route 2 riding buddies for helping me out so many times!

Some other random photos;

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Thanks!
Ken
 
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Keeping up with the spirit of this thread, here are my photos... :pirate:

Arkansas 2009

Can't wait for another weekend in Arkansas, maybe even one without Rain!
 
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Wow, what great riding! :clap: I'm ready to go back. :rider:

Thanks to Richard for getting the ride going, maps and all the help he gave everyone. James (Jbay) for spliting fuel and room cost and Scott (Tourmeister) for leading a great ride on Saturday along with all the other riders. Albie, Shawn, Gary, Kenny, James, AttoirRE and his buddy on XR650L (sorry I forgot your name, pm me and I will put you name in). 192 Miles

I had a great ride on Friday with James and Mike (MFF). We rode about 50% of routes #1 & #2. We had detours or wrong turns, either way it was great riding. 173 miles

On Thursday James and I had a good little ride, we got back after dark. 60 miles

Had a great time, had great riding buddies on both days and great to meet all the other people at the motel. Looking forward to riding with you again and riding with those I did not ride with. Thanks to all of you.

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I had a great ride on Friday as well. What might not be obvious to those who were not in attendance is the fact that the paved roads in the Clarksville, Arkansas area are the best I've ever ridden. The twisties were absolutley NON STOP. Even if you have only a street bike, you need to ride in NW Arkansas. What a rush!

Jeff
 
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How far was it between gas stops? Would a small OEM tank be sufficient? If so, I'm buying a DS light kit!

I planned out 6 routes, all hovering around 100-120 miles in length (except route 6 which was 150 miles). And, while there aren't a lot of them, there are some gas stations in the area. Between these 2 things, I think you could manage with an OEM tank if 1) your range was 75-100 miles on that tank and 2) if you planned your gas stops (I didn't route every route by one of the known gas stations but most routes pass close enough to one of the known gas stations that it wouldn't be a big deal to zip over and get gas).

The gas stations I know of are:
Turner's Bend
Oark
Ozone (I think)
Who Da Thought It (6 miles north of the intersection of Hwy 123 & Hwy 7)
 
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I'm pretty sure there isn't a gas station in Ozone.
 
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