ARKANSAS FALL COLOR TOUR OCTOBER 22-25TH

[xr-nut]

There are 4-5 of us northeast kansas guys heading down to the mill creek arkansas area for the weekend of october 22-25. this weekend just happens to be the same weekend of the fall color un-official/un-organized ride. We are NOT staying in clarkesville but right near the mill creek riding area. our group will be staying almost entirely on trails with very little road riding and will maintain a quick pace, suited to mainly off-road type bikes.(we have 4 300 xc's and 1 525 xc, only 2 of which are tagged) if youre interested in meeting up or getting rooms where we are staying send me a pm. it is a private lodge facilty that is new this year and has trail head to the mill creek system on the property. we plan to be there around noon thursday and leave early sunday.

[david h]

Good to hear from you Joe, long time no see. Your ride sounds like fun, but several of us already have a much more tame ride going in that area that same weekend. Ride safe and try to come back feeling well. It can be tempting, for me at least, to ride a little over my head on those trails you will be on. One bad slip up and you can be in a world of hurt. Tell me a little more about where you are staying. name. location and price would be nice. It sorta sounds like Mulberry mt.

David H ( hemphill at sunflower dot com)

[firepiper]

Man I would like to go with you Joe. That was a good time even though it rained most of the time. Maybe next year, D. Clauson will be healed by then. I know his foot will be healed before his hinie the way his lovely bride keeps chewing on it.

[troy]

Joe,

I'm in, but only for Sat & Sun riding. I'll should arrive by 10PM Fri night. Thanks!

[xr-nut]

Well, as usual plans are changing! My group is down to 2. We are still planning to leave thursday morning with intentions of riding some thurs afternoon. if anyone wants to ride with us i have room, if not im leaving the trailer home and hauling in back of truck. the guy im bringing is kinda new but has been there before and will for the most part keep up. we may just ride on our own so we dont hold up the group. see ya'll down there.

[safiri]

I am leaving south KC at 8pm Thur and will arrive about midnight. I am by myself at this point and borrowing Daryl's hitch hauler instead of hauling my trailer.

I will bring my Coleman two burner camp stove and cooking gear (pots, pans, cooking utensils, coffee percolator). Group is free to use but each person is responsible for their eating gear (bowl, plate, flatware, cup). If I remember, I may throw in an electric coffe maker and an electric hot plate.

See you all there.

[MacWildcat]

A few of us will be gravel road riding in the White Rock vicinity Saturday, might run into you folks.

[xr-nut]

new tank mounted, 6.3 gallons of beautiful pre-mix!!!

[safiri]

new tank mounted, 6.3 gallons of beautiful pre-mix!!!

Joe ... say it aint so ... I don't see any red in that picture, but I do see a lot of orange ... Dang, you have come over to the dark side!

[xr-nut]

i figured life is too short to fight it anymore. i like riding the best there is, so now i am. this bike is by far the best off-road bike ive ever ridden, right outta the box. coolest part? its tagged and legal. 2009 KTM 300xc-w, ride it anywhere.

[troy]

I am leaving south KC at 8pm Thur and will arrive about midnight. I am by myself at this point and borrowing Daryl's hitch hauler instead of hauling my trailer.

I will bring my Coleman two burner camp stove and cooking gear (pots, pans, cooking utensils, coffee percolator). Group is free to use but each person is responsible for their eating gear (bowl, plate, flatware, cup). If I remember, I may throw in an electric coffe maker and an electric hot plate.

See you all there.

I'll arrive late Fri and leave late Sun afternoon. I'll bring my bowl & flatware to enable mooching opportunities. I can mooch Sat breakfast if something looks better than the cereal and milk I bring. My Sat lunch plan is to hit Oark Cafe. Sat night, I can eat at the BBQ joint right across 23 from Fort Rock. Sun morning, cereal again. Sun afternoon, pb & honey bagel or whatever joint we find ourselves near.

Mike, I would definitely enjoy some of your camp coffee on Sat & Sun mornings. I promise to bring your travel mug back that I borrowed from our School Creek ride.

I watched all 6 video segments of "World's Strictest Parents" filmed at Fort Rock Family Camp. Regardless of your religious, social, and political beliefs, I'd rather this family raise kids than how most kids are raised in America today. I like the way Terry gets the kids to think about things.
http://www.youtube.com/user/fortrockfamilycamp

[MoRidin]

Man...I am all set guys! I stopped by Wally World and picked up some food and such, and Troy, I am willing to try out the BBQ place on Sat if you want...sounds good to me. I am actually thinking about skipping out of work on Thursday and bringing my bow and spend some time on the range...I will have to play it by ear.

Got the plate on the 200 (sort of) and ordered a Ram kit for the GPS...but I may not have time to build a hardwire kit, so I may not have an actual functioning GPS.

[MoRidin]

new tank mounted, 6.3 gallons of beautiful pre-mix!!!

Wow...I have to say I have never had tank envy until now. I feel like a little girl...

[Hayden]

Man I would pay you to ride that thing once.

FYI Im leaving at 1:30 Thur so should be down around 9 or so. Im staying all next week so if anyone wants to play hooky from work or school, Ill be camping at Mulberry Mountain Ranch. Mostly going to try out new trails and explore for the week. Some east of 21 hwy even.

And yes tank envy for sure.

BTW I would say everyone should bring along a hand saw of some sort. The Blow down and Ice damage from last year is still a problem and if we are exploring.....

Hayden

[MoRidin]

All packed and loaded! See you all in AR!

[safiri]

I just got off the phone with Troy ... sounds like you guys had a great time. (For those wondering why I wasn't there ... my wife and kid were both sick on Thursday and Friday so I was home taking care of them.) Glad I sent the electric hot plate and percolator down in addition to the camp stove. Hope to be there this spring.

[troy]

WOOHOO!
What a blast! I've never seen so much water down there--the creek crossings were "fun". Wonderful scenery with the autumn colors in full swing, great trails, and nobody was injured. You can't ask for much more!

Goal for my next Arkansas ride -- finish exploring that trail all the way up to Kilgore Gap. I'm 89.34% confident that trail goes through. Not a trail to explore when the water is high, though.

Lesson #382: Bring HIGH quality boot dryers. I left those pieces of crap I brought in the trash at the cabin.

Lesson #419: Bring high quality kitchen trash bags and a roll of duct tape to make water-proof boot liners.

Tip #1078: Always have a rider along who has more macho guts than you do. He'll be first to find a path through the swollen creek crossings. You'll either be able to follow his path or at least you'll know one path NOT to take. (Thanks, Doc!)

Joe, thanks for the log jumping education!

I took zero photos, so I'm looking forward to some sharing, Sean & Tracy. We got some great videos of me stuck in a mud puddle being pulled out with my tow rope and some great video of Tracy trying to get his bike out of a sticky situation.

[MoRidin]

Wow...awesome weekend guys. I am sore, sore, sore!

Lesson # 1372: Do not use tinted lenses when there is a distinct possibility that you will be riding out on your headlight. This leads to no goggles which leads to painful branches in your face and lots of questions from coworkers why your face is all cut up and bleeding...

Lesson # 1389: A KTM 200 XCW will go 88 mph!

Lesson # 1412: Guard your boot dryers...Troy is on the prowl!

Lesson # 1521: Get a waterproof camera because this weekend was far too fun to have gone without photos.

Great routes Troy, you have earned your black belt in routing. Sunday was just an absolute blast! I have to say the tree and washout workarounds were some of the funfest moments I have had in quite some time. Passable trails are for wimps!

I have not had a chance to look at the helmet cam stuff...but will work out some highlights ASAP and burn a DVD (for Joe or anyone).

Peace!

[troy]

Sean, you are the Route Sensei. I will wear my black belt with pride and honor.

Lesson #855: Put wallet in ziplock bag before putting in pants pocket. My wallet is still drying at home after I cleaned all the mud out of it.

Tip #1174: Stop in to eat at the new Pig Trail BBQ on Hwy 23 Thur - Sat. You will not be disappointed!

Regret: We never got to try out "the longest zip line in Arkansas". (Over 1,000 ft.) I guess we were too busy riding. Go figure.