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Scott_B wrote:Thanks for putting this together Troy. Saturday was fantastic. I learned a lot about the capabilities, or lack thereof, of the 650 Vstrom when travelling on gravel. The highway sections, on the other hand, were a blast. Lunch and dinner were fantastic as well.

Sunday didn't go quite as well. I ended up colliding with a deer just west of Jerico Springs while going around a sharp right turn on MO 97. I'd like to say I did all the right things, but besides slowing down going into the turn (I was maybe doing 35), and wearing full protective gear, the rest of the event were a blur. The Vstrom went down on the left side, and I flipped over the bike, landing hard on my lower back.

I ended up making the rest of the three-hour trip minus both driver footpegs and a bent left side handlebar. Amazingly, the front forks survived the collision without damage, and the bike ran perfectly. Danielle took me to the ER once she saw the bruising on my back, but I came out with a clean bill of health (no fractures or concussion). I probably shouldn't have continued home, but I was in the middle of nowhere, and took it very slowly for the first several miles to make sure the bike was safe to ride.

I'm very relieved and lucky to by typing this update from home rather than from a hospital bed. I'm going to be very sore for a week or so, but I'll take that outcome over the alternatives.

Be safe out there. See you guys at the next TARKC meeting.

OMG, I just read this. I am so sorry! hitting a deer is one of my biggest concerns and we certainly saw a bunch of them this weekend. I almost was taken out by a cow if you can believe that. Your mishap sounds pretty bad and the whole ordeal must really stink, again I am feeling for you! really enjoyed your company and wish you the best with your recovery as well as the Strom's!

carlrf wrote:...



Have to work tomorrow, going to bed!!!!!!!!!!

Did ya'll hike up Dear Leap Trail to the overlook? It's a fairly rugged trail, but the overlook is noce.

My solo ride Sunday wasn't quite as "eventful" as my brothers.

My goal was to ride east to AR-341, then back to Eureka Springs.

Here's a link to the 275-mile route I ended up taking: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/9073277.

From Eureka Springs to Mountain Home, there was a lot more traffic than I would have liked. Beyond that, traffic was much lighter. Hwy 341 was practically deserted. It was a nice hilly, twisty road, but wasn't in very good repair. Lots of patches and loose gravel. The southern end was better than the northern, though.

Had wanted to eat lunch at Jamie's Local Flavor in Harrison, but didn't think I'd make it before they closed at 3:00. As an alternative, was going to shoot for Buffalo Outdoor Center in Ponca for one of their terrific (and unusual) sandwiches. But when I hit Hwy 65 on the return, it was only 2:00, and Harrison was only 20 miles away. So decided to go for it. But the weather had other plans. The dark clouds ahead, and the fact that all the cars coming the other direction had their headlights on told me that I was riding into a storm.

I pulled off the pavement at a Branson Tourist Info cabin to don my rain gear. The moment I turned off the key, the storm reached me, and I spent the next 45 minutes on their porch, watching weather radar on my phone, looking for a chance to get back to my car and trailer that was waiting for me at the Traveller's Inn. Continuing north was not an option, so I headed west towards Jasper, and avoided all but some moderate rain.

As I pulled into the gas station in Jasper, I came across Kendall and a couple of friends on KTMs taking shelter from the same storm. Kendall was hoping I had a spare riding jacket in my saddlebags that he could borrow (he hadn't brought one), but I had nothing for him, sorry to say.

When I stopped at the Ozark Cafe in Jasper, there was only one bike parked outside -- a BMW R1200GS. The bike's rider was sitting (alone) at the same big table our group had shared the day before, so I asked him if he'd mind if I joined him for lunch (he didn't). I forget his name, but was was making his way from Austin, TX to Minneapolis, MN. We had a nice lunch and visit.

The rest of the trip between Jasper and Eureka Springs was uneventful, save for a few light showers. Once I got far enough west, the sun was back out, and the sky looked clear to the west and north, so I ditched the rain gear.

Rolled into the Traveller's Inn about 6pm. Asked the clerk if they had a place were I could change back into street clothes for the car ride to Rogers. They said our room from the previous night hadn't been cleaned yet, so they gave me the key so that I could not only change, but shower. I thought that was very nice of them.

Again, great ride overall, but I didn't enjoy it as much as Saturday's. Mostly because I didn't have anyone else with me, and I don't like solo riding that much, but also because Troy's track was a really good one.

Scott! Yikes! In retrospect, you should have ridden home with Carl & I. We did a fair amount of gravel and 2-track stuff and took a longer route, but got home just an hour after you did. REALLY glad you are OK. More importantly, is the deer OK?

Riding alone....I do it, and enjoy it deeply actually, but not having someone to help you pick up your loaded bike or to call 911 when you are unconscious....let's not think about it!

On the way home, I decided to ride down a 2-track to a really muddy creek crossing and went 2 feet farther than I should have. If Carl had not helped me get my big bike turned around, I might have resorted to taking the bike apart to turn it around piece by piece!

James, you are the first rider I've heard be underwhelmed by 341 / Push Mountain Road. It's the best paved road I've ever ridden, and that's the sentiment I get from every rider I've spoken to about it. Either the road has degraded considerably or you are tough to please!

I met Carl near Martin City at about 2:30 Thursday afternoon. It would be just the 2 of us making our way down to Joplin. The night before, I created this 148 mile route.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/8817823

It was a great mix of gravel roads, dirt roads, 2-track roads, and back highways. With all the recent rain and the threat of constant rain during the ride, we expected lots of roads to be too muddy and water crossings too high to cross. However, over the entire 3.5 days, the route only got diverted twice due to impassable creek crossings.

As I ate my Chipotle lunch, it started sprinkling. The rain stopped as we mounted up for launch just after 3pm.

The first "serious" crossing I had been concerned with was the one below. The maps showed the road dead-ending on either side, but the satellite imagery showed that people cross the river here. As we headed down the 2-track road, it got a little muddy and I thought "surely the creek will be too high". It looked a little daunting, but was not bad at all.

YouTube Video



Carl & I reached Joplin about 5 hours after leaving Martin City, got a room at the Days Inn and enjoyed steak at the Outback. Really the most rain to hit us the entire trip was the sprinkling we got walking the 1/2 block back to the hotel from dinner. We could NOT believe how lucky we got considering the forecast!

Kendall & Alissa live in Holiday Island near Eureka Springs now. Kendall agreed to ride up to meet us to enjoy Friday's ride. Instead of having him ride all the way into Joplin, we met him at the One 14 Coffee Bar in Neosho, MO.



Carl & I got there with plenty of time to enjoy a great cup of coffee and some breakfast quiche. Yes, REAL MEN do eat quiche.

A few years back, Eddie (ajayhawkfan) had introduced me to Roaring River State Park, the trout hatchery, the spring, and the WONDERFUL dualsport road that comes in from the North. Again, with the recent rain, I had serious concerns that we'd have to route around this road--a part of the route I expected to be a highlight. But my fears were relieved--the entire road was just damp enough to eliminate all dust and provide excellent traction.

I got my first of 2 front flats on that road, though. In classic style, I pinched my new tube. Carl used his almost dead glue to patch my old tube which had a serious hole along the seam. The patch held and we got on our way. (We had 2 more tubes with us, so no worries!)

We spent some time enjoying the spring and hatchery. (See Carl's photos posted earlier.) I'm always amazed to read that the spring dumps out 20.4 MILLION gallons of water every day! (The largest spring in Missouri spits out over 38 MILLION gallons per day!) When I think of California's drought, I think we don't have a water resource problem--we have a water distribution problem. Let's build more golf courses to water--that will solve it.

With his local dualsport knowledge, Kendall led us from Roaring River State Park down to Eureka Springs, AR. As it turns out, most of his route ended up being the same roads I had created for our ride home. It was some primo stuff, so just as fun to run the other direction! Kendall, what was that great road along the river called? Here is the only picture I took there, but this road was great! A lot of it is very narrow and tree-covered as it runs along the river.



Kendall's route took us through Beaver, AR to cross the Beaver Bridge. It is a beautiful, one-lane, wood-deck bridge.



Friday's route was not a long one, so we had lots of afternoon to relax. Kendall took us to his place in Holiday Island where Carl & I hung out with Kendall & Alissa for a good hour or more. They have a great place with a fantastic back deck and patio. I'm jealous of Kendall's man-cave workshop!

Carl & I made our way into Eureka Springs and got a motel. Carl took me for a romantic dinner at Cafe Amore--a place he had been a few times before. It was VERY good Italian food and service. However, locals tell me that Ermilio's is the better place.

That evening, James texted me to say that he and his brother, Scott, were going to join us Saturday morning!

Saturday morning, James & Scott, Kendall & Alissa, and Carl and I took off for our 170 mile adventure loop down to Jasper, AR and back!



Here is the 2nd river crossing that forced us to find an alternate route. The road down to this crossing was great fun so a little back-tracking was just fine with us!



On a nice gravel section, I spotted a trail that led off the road to a rock face. We parked the bikes and enjoyed the view. The cliffs had to be 300 feet above the river below. We took a group photo with Kendall's camera at this spot, so he needs to share it!



I saw this old stone building and had to stop to see what it was. Turns out it is owned by a very talented pottery artist. The building is his store. Stop in and say "hi!"



Going down the Jeep road to the Compton Trail head on the Buffalo River, we came across a tree down that completely blocked the road. Turns out James had a saw with him! The tree was too big to cut through--especially twice to remove a section. However, the ditch was deep enough to give us some head-room on the left side. So we used the saw to remove a few branches to create an opening under the tree. We got some good video and some photos of the event.

YouTube Video



Having fun!

YouTube Video

We made it into Jasper for lunch and gas around 1:30 I think. We enjoyed a great lunch at the Ozark Cafe.

Since the ride back to Eureka Springs was slightly longer and we'd taken about 4 hours to reach Jasper (my flat tire didn't help!), I decided to cut out a few bits of my route. It was still a great route with lots of really good dualsport quality roads. I don't have any pics of the ride from Jasper to ES, but maybe that's a sign of how good it was!

Back in ES, Kendall & Alissa recommended Pepe Tacos at Casa Colina. Except for the chili Carl ordered, the food and atmosphere were excellent. We ate out on the deck.

I told everyone we'd have a 7:30 kickstand up for Sunday's ride home. Scott planned to ride home with us. James planned to ride with us for a few miles before heading back to ES as he had to be in the Rogers area for work on Monday so he was staying over.

I woke up at 7:33! Apparently I turned off my alarm and don't remember it! I dressed, packed, tightened my chain, and arrived at the launch point by 8:01! No breakfast and no coffee...and I'm an addict.

By that time, James had decided to go hit Push Mountain Road instead. Scott had decided to take fastest highways home to take care of some things there. Kendall & Alissa had other riding plans for the day with some friends in the area. So Carl & I headed home via my 240 mile route.

I didn't take many photos on Sunday, but the route was really good. It purposefully included more back pavement where we could kick up the speed to get home, but still had some real 2-track gems along the way.

Carl & I came around one corner to see the road completely blocked with this tree. We did not have a saw. However, the tree was brittle and we were able to break off enough branches to create a hole to ride through. Video and pics:

YouTube Video



We stopped just outside of Carthage for fuel and a break. I really enjoyed this piece of art titled "Crapduster". It's an old manure spreader turned into a flying machine!



Here is another nice section on the way home:





If you look close, you can see the smile behind that helmet!



A truly wonderful 700 miles!

troy wrote:More importantly, is the deer OK?

I suspect it's running around with a VStrom footpeg embedded in its side. Scott said he could only find one of the two that broke off in the crash.

For some reason I can't get Troy's pictures.??

This link should take you to my pics and vids from Saturday:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/1117 ... 0819696561

jasbaum wrote:This link should take you to my pics and vids from Saturday:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/1117 ... 0819696561

Nope, probably our firewalls or whatever here at work.

I will try to get the rest of my pictures posted tonight.

Just sharing some more random pictures. Everybody has probably had their fill by now but.......



This is me running out of gas on I-70 before I even met up with Troy. He said later to me he was wondering what he got himself into by agreeing to let me ride with him, can't imagine what he was talking about.

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First mechanical on Friday.............





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Carl, you feeling OK? Need an intervention, buddy?

Thanks for posting this pic, btw--DANG I make that new Olympia jacket look good! Sometimes when I'm riding, I don't know whether to look at the beauty of the Ozarks or my own reflection in my mirror.

Black.Hawk wrote:Did ya'll hike up Dear Leap Trail to the overlook? It's a fairly rugged trail, but the overlook is nice.

We did not, and I've never been up there. I'm always in full, heavy motorcycle gear and boots, so never feel like making the trek up there. Kendall was with us and said it's pretty cool up there. I'll come back down some day with my wife and daughter and explore the area.

troy wrote:Carl, you feeling OK? Need an intervention, buddy?

Thanks for posting this pic, btw--DANG I make that new Olympia jacket look good! Sometimes when I'm riding, I don't know whether to look at the beauty of the Ozarks or my own reflection in my mirror.

Probably. I am continuing my deleting frenzy! For some reason I thought the pictures would still be here when i deleted them from photobucket. Bummer, it took me a lot of clicking, copying and pasting to get those there. I don't have the energy to redo it. I will do better next time if you will have me.

and yeah, you look great!!!!

Do not feel bad, Carl. You are not alone:
http://www.rideforum.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2386