North Route (Missouri)- 333 miles
-Northwest out of Eureka Springs on US 62 to Gateway.
-North on AR 37 to MO 37 up to Washburn.
-West on MO 90 to Noel, first stop. Have to go through town to MO 59 and hang a right, go a few hundred yards and hang another right to stay on MO 59, there will be a decent gas station up on the right. The only other places are small with one or two pumps with no pay at the pump... SLOW.
-Backtrack MO 90 to Washburn and head South on 37 to Seligman
-MO 112 over to MO CR F, then East to MO 86
-North on MO 86 up to MO 76, 76 doglegs on MO 39 and keeps going East to Cape Fair, stop for lunch on left at stop sign. If they are not open, hang a right at the stop and follow 76 aroudn the corner and there is another cafe on the left that is good.
-Stay East on 76 to Reed Springs and start looking for gas, I think when you get on US 160 and reach US 65 there is a nice station on the Southbound feeder with lots of pay at the pumps.
-Stay 160 East to MO CR H and head North to MO 125
-Run MO 125 South to the ferry and continue AR 125 to AR 14
-West on AR 14 to Omaha at Old 65, hang a right and head to US 65 North - start looking for gas, I can't remember a specific one, but there should be something
I think there is a Conoco just North of the state line?
-Continue West on MO 86 to MO CR P at Emerald Beach
-South on CR p to AR 23 back into Eureka Springs
Pretty much every bit of that route is fantastic riding. There will be a bit of traffic around Branson, but that is about it. When people get back to the hotel after this route, they will be satisfied and tired
South Route - 334 miles
Okay follow me here...
-East on US 62 to Berryville and hit AR 21 South
-AR 21 South all the way to Clarksville, watch for descreasing radius curves. This is the road where {person} totalled {his bike}
-Gas in Clarksville. You need to hang a right on US 64 (21 dead ends here), follow this a few blocks to AR 103 South and then follow that a bit further to the freeway (I-40), there are several big name gas stations with pay at the pump.
-Backtrack up to 21 and head North out of town to AR 292 and go East, this hits AR 123.
-Run AR 23 Northeast to Hwy 7. Stop at Hanks General Store at Hwy 7/123 intersection.
-North on AR 7 a few miles and then right onto AR 123, right again shortly after that or you wind up back on AR 7 around the corner.
-Again, watch for decreasing radius corners! There are two 25mph corners back to back. The first slopes down and to the right after a fairly long straight, then goes down into a decreasing left hander. This is where {person} chucked {her bike}
After that, it is pure heaven, and then some 5 mph switchbacks. This is a great road for getting action shots. People might want to make a run back and up before stopping for lunch
Round trip from Mt Judea to AR 7 is about 30 miles so count on another 45 minutes to an hour for that.
-Hang a left at the stop sign where 123 and 74 meet and run into Mt Judea.
-Follow 123 North to AR 374 and go West to AR 7
-Left at AR 7 a few miles until you see the Cliff House Restaurant on the left. Biker friendly, good food. You should reach here around 1-2pm, they close at 3:00pm.
-After lunch, North on AR 7 into Jasper for gas at the Conoco on the North side of town
-AR 74 West out of town (awesome as you get closer to AR 43)
-AR 43 West (left) to Boxley and get back on AR 21 South to Hwy 16
-Run AR 16 West to AR 23, people can bug out here and head straight up 23 to Eureka if they are getting tired or it is getting late in the day, otherwise, head South on 23 to Ozark through the Pig Trail
-At Ozark, hop on I-40 and go East one exit to find gas stations with pay at the pump
-Get back on 23 and run North to Eureka Springs
-Total miles is 334 without anyone backtracking on 123 South of Mt Judea. So that should give you time to play there.
-Again, pretty much the entire route is great so folks should be whooped by the time they get back to the hotel
(THANKS TOURMEISTER!!)
These are the official final routes. If I lead, these are the routes I'm gonna use. If I don't, I'm going with whatever group is using these routes.
While the mileages look reasonable, we are still talking about pretty long days, as TM and FJRMike described. I would urge all groups to have a plan for kickstands up no later than 8:30 in order to make it home in time for dinner.
Thanks to everyone for helping with the routes. I know there are a couple favorites that are missed, but with so many great roads, we hafta miss some. 8 Days to go!! Bikes ready, I'm ready, gonna get some riding pants today (hey, its only been 12 years....) WOO HOO!!!!