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Foster wrote:That was the roughest "dirt" I have ever seen and the most fun!

If that was the roughest trails you've ridden, nobody could tell--you handled it like an old pro.

This turned out to be a DRZ ride--5 of 8 bikes were DRZs!

Awesome ride! Conditions weren't ideal, but now that we've all warmed up and dried off, we'll just forget about that part and the memories will be of the awesome roads and trails. I love riding in Arkansas and this trip makes me want to go back as soon as possible.

It was great to have the route figured out beforehand and it included a lot of fun riding. Before this trip, Nick and I had some frustrating routing problems with USFS gates and private land that we weren't aware of. Luckily, Troy's route that he built flowed pretty well and there weren't any bad surprises.

Overall, I had a great time and can't wait to do it again one of these days. I took some pictures and posted them to my photobucket account. They didn't turn out the greatest- some of the photos are a bit fuzzy (probably my frozen hands shaking- Ha!) and the video from my iPhone is choppy, but you'll get the idea.

Here's a link: http://s264.photobucket.com/albums/ii17 ... AR%20Trip/

I should have some more once I get around to taking all the photos and videos off of my GoPro.

troy wrote:

Foster wrote:That was the roughest "dirt" I have ever seen and the most fun!

If that was the roughest trails you've ridden, nobody could tell--you handled it like an old pro.

This turned out to be a DRZ ride--5 of 8 bikes were DRZs!

Nick's off-road riding is coming along nicely. We were discussing it on the way home and I didn't realize how limited his exposure to it has been. He was riding awesome, especially since this is only the third time he's really gone on gnarly stuff.

As for the DRZ's- They are the preferred choice of serious dual sporters worldwide.

I can't remember having so much fun on a motorcycle as I did this past weekend. Thanks again for all the planning and preparation leading up to this ride. Being able to follow a group veterans my first time down there made all the difference.

Count me in for the next trip!

Below is my attempt to link to the pictures I took on my phone. Hopefully the panoramic shots came out well.

https://plus.google.com/photos/10766684 ... 7207363521

I really had a great time riding with everybody! I had not done any off road riding since last spring so it was really great to get back down to Arkansas again. Even though the weather wasn't good and we had to deal with some problems it was all worth it. Thanks again to Troy for all the wonderful appetizers he had ordered in advance of our dinner Saturday night! I will post up some pictures soon.

Steve

Cold??? Was I the only one tough enough to not ever be cold....that's the nice thing about being the oldest in the group...I'm the first to forget the details and remember the great time! We had a great group and I can't wait to go again!

Here are a few pictures. Just going through them makes me bummed to be back home.

https://picasaweb.google.com/1146212127 ... er2012Ride

Here are the "keepers" from the photos and videos I took. With the dark, overcast skies most of the weekend, and being deep in the trees, the lighting made it difficult to get decent, non-blurry photos with a crappy camera. But...enjoy!

Here are all my photos.

A couple of teaser shots!




Videos!
Nick making the wet log riding look easy!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaxRJt_z2IU[/youtube]

Kendall through the same section like a pro. Randy gets bucked a little.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27DG-ZYxgu8[/youtube]

Scott goes for a little jog!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIyKWFnj8cA[/youtube]

James looks good then gets hung up!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyjoInglvl0[/youtube]

(Nice thing about being behind the camera is folks don't catch you doing dumb stuff!)

Here is the aftermath of Nick trying to kill Scott with a DRZ!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2SklhYeIFg[/youtube]

You can't see through the helmet, but I think James had a big grin while crossing this creek!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaZcW1RpC8c[/youtube]

Scott trying to keep the boots dry!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m87Ukl79Qk8[/youtube]

Chris ALMOST gets across the creek!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfNKyJ3iUXQ[/youtube]

Scott & Steve doing their thing!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc59x2V4DP0[/youtube]

See the photos.

I didn't see the rubber ducky taped to the bikes for bath time!

Good pics and nice memories for those who went!

Yes, I'm jealous!

But not of the cold!

Here are my pics. Disappointed that so many came out blurry, though. Have to hold the iPhone more still next time!

https://plus.google.com/photos/11173889 ... 1196672033

I am so glad that work didn't prevent me from missing this trip entirely.

You all made great riding buddies. Thanks for everything!

So, I just want to say this was a great weekend. The planning was well thought out, thanks Troy for putting together some great rides. I really appreciate everyones help after my bike took a "bath". Anyone got a video?

This was a great group to ride with.

I'll post up my pics in a day or so.

ozarksrider wrote:So, I just want to say this was a great weekend. The planning was well thought out, thanks Troy for putting together some great rides. I really appreciate everyones help after my bike took a "bath". Anyone got a video?

This was a great group to ride with.

Thanks for all the "thanks", guys! There was effort from several folks to make it a great mini-adventure, so thank you!

As for the "well thought out" plans, well....we ended up riding maybe half of the planned route on Fri. We never got to see Shores Lake, White Rock Mtn lookout, Bee Rock, or the Mill Creek system. We ended up having to skip the lunch stop on Fri, too! On Sat, we ended up never making it up to the view on top of Mt. Magazine. With our late Sat start, we ended up skipping Sat lunch, too! Sun went mostly as planned, except one rugged section we cut out to make up time.

I was impressed and grateful for how well the unexpected things were handled. My wheel bearing issue caused only a hiccup in the plans. The drowned bike caused only a 40 minute delay. I think Nick changed that flat tire in about 20 minutes. We did good!

Anyone have coordinates to that first pictures? Looks like a neat place.
Jim

stimmer6253472 wrote:Anyone have coordinates to that first pictures? Looks like a neat place.
Jim

Nope. I like to keep it secret. I took away everyone's GPS units and they had to ride blindfolded. Total carnage.

That photo was taken on the falls in Frog Bayou.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=35.75989 ... gl=us&z=19
In the satellite image, you can see a trail running N from the falls. That trail is a real bitch rock garden. i.e. FUN! The "easy" way to the falls is to enter from the E on the road that runs along the S side of the creek. With your mad skeelz, you could get there on your 990, but you'd have more fun on a lighter weapon.

Ok guys, here are my photos from the trip. There are a bunch! I went through and deleted some of the go pro photos but I still had a ton. I was too busy installing my awesome new bars, handguards, grips, and throttle tube last night I can't wait to give them a test run off pavement!

http://www.f0ster.com/2012/10/arkansas- ... hotos.html

I am no photographer and I did not edit any of the video. If I had more time this week maybe but I am headed back down to Arkansas next weekend for a street ride.

troy wrote:

stimmer6253472 wrote:Anyone have coordinates to that first pictures? Looks like a neat place.
Jim

Nope. I like to keep it secret. I took away everyone's GPS units and they had to ride blindfolded. Total carnage.

That photo was taken on the falls in Frog Bayou.
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=35.75989 ... gl=us&z=19
In the satellite image, you can see a trail running N from the falls. That trail is a real bitch rock garden. i.e. FUN! The "easy" way to the falls is to enter from the E on the road that runs along the S side of the creek. With your mad skeelz, you could get there on your 990, but you'd have more fun on a lighter weapon.

Just threw that waypoint onto my gpx file with all of my White Rock rides. I have been close but never there. I will have to try and find that next time. Looks cool.
thx jim

Thanks for all the photos and videos, guys! I just looked through what all of you posted (finally). You get a pretty good re-cap if you flip through Nick's helmet cam photos.

stimmer6253472 wrote:Just threw that waypoint onto my gpx file with all of my White Rock rides. I have been close but never there. I will have to try and find that next time. Looks cool.
thx jim

Here is a GPX file with our Frog Bayou track and a waypoint for the falls. The easiest way in and out is from the E end.

I was looking at those tracks, thanks Troy, and was surprised that the elevation change was only 400 feet. I plotted it on google earth and it looks like we followed a ridge. For some reason I though we were in a valley.

Can't wait to go back.

stimmer6253472 wrote:If you go to Mt Magazine read the records posted and you will find someone hang glided from there to Bolivar, Mo!!! Not sure how far that is but it's a long ways. I was amazed that they could make it that far without being powered. I'd like to try it.
Jim

Speaking of the Mt Magazine hang gliding spot here is the list of records. Pretty impressive.



Here is where you take off.