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TWT Arkansas/Missouri Fall Rally 9/22 - 9/25

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We are riding out on Thrusday morning. Come along and ride with us. It will give you an extra day of riding.
 
DFW_Warrior said:
We are riding out on Thrusday morning. Come along and ride with us. It will give you an extra day of riding.

When and where? Just let me know and I'll be there.
 
pacman1 said:
When and where? Just let me know and I'll be there.

Duh:doh: I just noticed you said THURSDAY morning. No can do.:-| Oh well, who else is headed up on Friday morning??
 
I have the routes in .gdb and .mps files (Thanks DFW_Warrior!!). What I lack is a program to open them. Somebody that has the technology to post/ host these files send me a PM with your e-mail address.

I'm working on a plan to have the different groups meet 1/2 way through the each days rides. Does anybody that's scoped out the routes know of a good place along the way?
 
Matt, are you planning on having the groups ride different rides each day? For example Group A will ride the AR route on Saturday and Group B will ride the MO route, then switch the following day? Or will we all be riding the same route on the same day (my favorite choice:trust: )? Knowing that info, we might be able to pick a better meeting spot.
 
DFW_Warrior said:
Matt, are you planning on having the groups ride different rides each day? For example Group A will ride the AR route on Saturday and Group B will ride the MO route, then switch the following day? Or will we all be riding the same route on the same day (my favorite choice:trust: )? Knowing that info, we might be able to pick a better meeting spot.

I'd considered both, but I'm thinking I like the same roads, same day plan better. We could pick a spot, or a time, say wherever the first group finds at close to noon, park somewhere the following groups will see you from the road, and that's the spot. -

FWIW - nobody is locked into riding any prescribed route any day. Anybody can run shorter, longer, or entirely different routes if they want. I'm working on incorporating some suggestions into the existing routes (and/or new routes) without coming up with 500 mile or more days, but if there is something anybody is dying to do that is not on the routes, go for it.
 
Have you folks already figured out lunch stops? We were up there and our pre-determined lunch restaurant was closed that day. Might want to call ahead and verify hours.
 
Just got back from there - Shoneys in Harrison has a great breakfust buffet. We just loaded up there and skipped lunch. Pack a powerbar if needed.

Other than the Shoneys, 62 is a road to avoid. Not much interesting, and a lot of traffic. On the AR route I saw posted, I'll just say that AR123 south off of 65 is more challenging (IMO) than the same route in the opposite direction. I thought it would be the opposite (did north the first day), but found the uphill switchbacks harder to look ahead into, since you have to really look *up*. I'll post some maps of the routes we took a bit later, after cleaning the tent (woke up to exciting thunderstorms yesterday about 4:30 AM).

(Can't seem to come up with a map format in PDF, PNG, or JPG that fits this board's size restrictions, and still have a legible map. PM if you want me to send it, or read the ride report on st-owners.com.)
 
I checked the Vulcan Rider's site. They have over 100 coming, but I doubt they will be in our way outside the city limits. They have a poker run 9-12 Saturday in and around ES and another ride leaving at noon. We'll be long gone.
 
I have started a couple of "sister" threads in the Upcoming Rides section about "Riding up to Arkansas from Houston" and also "Must Ride Roads near Eureka Springs" so please post up there.
Mike
 
STrider said:
Dinner at the Bavarian Inn on Saturday Night.

I've made reservations for 20 ish folks at 7:00 PM for Saturday night, 9-23. Its a German-Czech restaurant, dinners range around $15. I'll need a more solid head count by the 21st of this month.

We had terrible service last time we were up there as a group. Maybe we'll have better luck this time.:shrug:
 
Hey DFW guys, looks like I will be leaving Burleson around 7 or 8am Friday morning with shaft drive six. We may try to meet up with st1100 in Dallas. Where's a good place to meet you, st1100? Anyone else in the area want to join in?
 
Possible Revised MO Route

Tourmeister even found a lunch spot for us. Can somebody plug this into their mapping/ routing program? If its a real long day, we'll make this the Sunday ride, with Saturday shorter, to make sure we're back in time for dinner.

My head is swimming with the logistics of this trip. Thanks all for your continued patience.
 
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Matt, I'll try to plug it in tonight if I have time. I'll post of a large map of it and the estimated distance of the route as well. I hope.....
 
IF you manage to get people at the Bavarian by 7:00pm, you will be doing better than I ever have ;-) We do good to make it back to the hotel by 7:00pm. Part of the reason for the not so great service last time was that we got there real close to closing time with a large party ;-)
 
:tab Shirts should be shipping in the next day or so. Hopefully, this means they will arrive in time for you to have them for the trip.

:tab Regarding all the route suggestions, I would endeavor to keep the total route distance right around 350 miles. I know that to some people, this seems ridiculously short, and were I riding with a handful of other people, I would agree :trust: However, my experience from running tours, rallies, and other group rides is that once you start getting up around 8-10 riders in a pack, it is hard to do much more than that in a day and still get back to the hotel in time for dinner. For example, on the Colorado rides I do, each day's route is around 300-350 miles, and much of that is fairly high speed stuff. We would leave at 9:00am and be back at the hotel by 6-7:00pm. My experience in twisty stuff like Northern Arkansas, you can expect a total average speed for the day, including stops, to be right around 40-45mph. So figure 350 miles and you are looking at 7+ hours minimum. If lunch takes very long, which it usually does with a bigger group, and with gas stops taking longer, you can add another hour or so to that. If you try to plan for much more than 350 miles, you will really have to push to get the group through it. Towards the end of the day, fatigue will really become an issue as most of the riders will not be used to long distance and high concentration riding. Also, it just does not leave much time for the unexpected should that need arise :wary:

:tab Of course, that is all for routes with a big group. If there are folks that want to get up at the freaking crack of dawn and ride till dark, no doubt they could crank out 450+ miles ;-) As this is a rally, that is always an option for anyone willing to do it.

:tab For myself, I make no promises to stay on paved surfaces... :mrgreen: Of course, hopefully I won't be leaving said surfaces unintentionally :wary:
 
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