Arkansas in the rain - Spyder made my day!

[Bartender]

Left Kansas Saturday morning for Eureka Springs, Arkansas on our annual Spring ride and a week in Arkansas. Almost 100 degrees by the time we arrived Saturday evening and we were all tired and hot. Got up Sunday and headed ride Ark. 7 to Russelville and on to Mt. Nebo which we haven ridden for over 10 years. Never made it. Got as far as a highway rest area about ten miles North of Ruesselville and stopped to take shelter as the weather was starting to look really threatening. Pulled all of our bikes under shelter there and waited for the radar to look like it was clearing then headed on South. Didn't quite make it to town before it became apparent that radar was wrong and pulled under the canopy at an abandoned filling station where we waited out a real toad strangler of a rain. When that passed we decided we had had enough and headed west on interstate to take Ark 21 back North to our motel in Eureka Springs. Road was covered with tree debris almost all the way back to within 20 miles of Eureka Springs. Slippery slime of green and water. Day one was a wash out so to speak. Good news is that we missed the hail storm that created the road mess, just dumb luck there. On the positive side, this is my first year on the Spyder after nearly an year of three wheel following over 50 years on two wheels and I was pleasantly surprised the my two wheeled companions could not stay with the Spyder in the corners. Made my day even if at the end it was a wet day. Hopefully, today will be dry.

Love my Spyder, hate the stormy weather.

[KSCRZR]

Always like riding down there compared to our miles of straight roads here in Kansas.

Do you know how long you are staying down there? I am heading that way this Saturday, ultimately ending up in Harrison for the Crawdad Days Festival.

[rjinaz86323]

We did an Arkansas trip 2 years ago and had great weather until the trip home (west of Tulsa the worst weather I have ever ridden in, heavy rain and strong winds). This year 2 days out of 5 got rained out, a brutal winds all the way back to AZ.

[ARtraveler]

Sorry about the bad weather. This week is supposed to be better. :yes:

[Bartender]

We are leaving for Kansas on Wednesday morning. For the last 10 years or so we have stayed at the Edelweiss Inn in Eureka Springs for the entire time in Arkansas. Prior to that we just stayed wherever we landed, but the Innkeeper is so accommodating at Edelweiss that we just come here and stay. He has rooms on the back side of the motel with a large deck and seating so we can sit around and talk if we wish at the end of the day. Most years we have the entire backside to the motel to ourselves because we usually have 8 to 10 riders but this year for a myriad of different reasons there are only 4 of us. Great weather today and great riding. Had a great time. Love that Spyder.

[Bartender]

Tuesday I planned to go North and East toward Mountain Home and ride 341 as usual but at the last minute decided we would get wet going North so went South again going out of Harrison on 43 and 74 down to Jasper. Looked like we would get wet if we continued South so took 74 up junction with 123 and 123 back to AR 7 then 164 back West and 123 back to 7. Managed to stay dry and 123 back down to 7 on both sides was interesting and challenging. Did not get to ride Mt. Nebo or Mt. Magazine or 341 but this was the first time in years that rain caused this much change in plans. We did locate Race Track Road and took it to Eureka Springs. Amazing! There is always next year and we still had some amazing roads to ride as always and saw more Spyders than ever before. I would guess that I saw a total of 20 to 25 Spyders this year. Repeating myself but Spyder performed flawlessly and never a hic up. Oh, yeah, today was supposed to be dry but I woke to thunder and a downpour at 5:00 a.m. today but it blew out and was dry and hot by the time we left the motel at 8:00 a.m.

I had intended to attempt to hook up briefly with ARtraveler but did not get to do that. As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, so maybe we can do that next year also.

Love my Spyder.

[ARtraveler]

Tuesday I planned to go North and East toward Mountain Home and ride 341 as usual but at the last minute decided we would get wet going North so went South again going out of Harrison on 43 and 74 down to Jasper. Looked like we would get wet if we continued South so took 74 up junction with 123 and 123 back to AR 7 then 164 back West and 123 back to 7. Managed to stay dry and 123 back down to 7 on both sides was interesting and challenging. Did not get to ride Mt. Nebo or Mt. Magazine or 341 but this was the first time in years that rain caused this much change in plans. We did locate Race Track Road and took it to Eureka Springs. Amazing! There is always next year and we still had some amazing roads to ride as always and saw more Spyders than ever before. I would guess that I saw a total of 20 to 25 Spyders this year. Repeating myself but Spyder performed flawlessly and never a hic up. Oh, yeah, today was supposed to be dry but I woke to thunder and a downpour at 5:00 a.m. today but it blew out and was dry and hot by the time we left the motel at 8:00 a.m.

I had intended to attempt to hook up briefly with ARtraveler but did not get to do that. As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, so maybe we can do that next year also.

Love my Spyder.

Did you climb MT. Judea (Judy) when you were on 123 ? That is one of our favorite rides. Go into the town and take a right going up the hill....where it is posted no trucks. You get some of the best twisties in the area. Those 10 mph curves mean what they say and they come complete with nosebleed views. :yes:

[Scotts8826]

Arkansas has some great roads to travel. Sorry to hear the weather didn't cooperate early. Handling rain is much easier on a Spyder than a 2 wheeler. You can keep going with caution when others have to stop.

[Bartender]

I did climb Mt. Judea on 74 East bound out of Jasper and took 123 down to AR 7. About the 10 time I have ridden that route and always enjoy it. It was entertaining to see my 2 wheeled riding companions handling those 10 mph switch backs on the way down because I remember taking those corners on two wheels. Much less stressful on the RT. Incidentally, the restaurant at Judea is really good economical eating. Didn't lunch there this year but have in the past. I believe there is no such thing as a bad road for motorcycle riding in Arkansas. My favorite place to ride. I have traveled to the Tail of the Dragon once and swore never to return because there are more enjoyable and challenging roads in Arkansas and not 12 hours away from home. Love my Spyder and glad to see so many more of them on the road this year.

[Jesster72]

We did a tour of Arkansas in 2019 (on our Victory CCT). Had a wonderful time, awesome people, beautiful roads, chased a bunch of waterfalls, crashed Hot Springs. We really enjoyed it and plan to come back through on the Spyder on our way back from our next "out west" trip. Which I hope is sooner rather than later.

Enjoy your rides out there and be safe!

[ARtraveler]

I did climb Mt. Judea on 74 East bound out of Jasper and took 123 down to AR 7. About the 10 time I have ridden that route and always enjoy it. It was entertaining to see my 2 wheeled riding companions handling those 10 mph switch backs on the way down because I remember taking those corners on two wheels. Much less stressful on the RT. Incidentally, the restaurant at Judea is really good economical eating. Didn't lunch there this year but have in the past. I believe there is no such thing as a bad road for motorcycle riding in Arkansas. My favorite place to ride. I have traveled to the Tail of the Dragon once and swore never to return because there are more enjoyable and challenging roads in Arkansas and not 12 hours away from home. Love my Spyder and glad to see so many more of them on the road this year.

Well said. Have not tried the restaurant there yet. Was closed the last two years. Saw it open the last time we drove by. It is definitely worth a stop. Those are the kind of restaurants we like. :yes: