Back from the rally.

Oh, by the way. The Mountain View Music Rally was really good. Their were alot of people there. Not many vendors though, only a few. The Rally T-shirts were not what most people like either. They were one color, bright green and had ads all over the back. I would like it better if they charged a little more for them, left the ads off and put a picture on the back too. The staff had really good looking shirts, but they were of course only for staff :(.
My favorite Arkansas rally t'shirts are by far the BBBQ shirts. They come in white, grey or black and no ad's except for the rally itself.
More tomorrow on the rally, pics and all.

I was having some problems with the blog.

But not anymore :). Made the pics smaller. Doe's you like them smaller like this or bigger the way they were? I'm thinking about making them a little bigger but not as big as before.

Don't ask, just check it out. It's ok for work.

http://84.40.3.165/

More Deer

I'm trying my best not to look stressed, what do you think, is it working?

Three more deer crossed in front of me on the way home. I expected it, I was going slow.

When I got to the house, I learned that my Nephew (hes 14) had hit a deer and crashed on his Honda Rebel. I kinda doubt he was expecting a deer. He got scratched up but is ok.

Its good to be able to recognize areas where deer are likely to cross. This time of year, they're starting to move alot.

It's getting close to Mountain View Rally time. I leave Saturday morning at daylight. I have'nt made up my mind on the route to get there. Its either going to be Hwy 27, 95 or 65.

When I return, I'll have a ton of pictures.

I got seven days off starting now, yeeeeehaaaaaa!!!

Charlie and the Vega GT

Thats Charlie B. in the black leather hat drinking the Miller. He always wore that hat and he liked beer. I wish I had a picture of Charlie's old Knucklehead. Maybe I'll dig a picture out of my achives someday. I got alot of pictures that have'nt been copied to disc.

I think Charlie died a couple of years ago. Charlie, if your still kickin, drop me an email.

To the right of Charlie me in the leather jacket and rediculous hairdo.

To the right of me is brother Dick's 1976 Vega GT, a real powerhouse and ultimate genius of engineering :). He still has that car and it still runs good. Thats my Glide sitting there. I seem to be in deep concentration. I'm probably wondering how I'll eat lunch and still get home on $2.00.

David, David and David

See the red and white Harley? That was David Clay's bike. See the brown leather jacket with fringes sitting on the back seat? David wore that jacket alot, he wore it so much I can't remember ever seeing him not wearing it while he rode. David was a biker, he loved Harley's, he died several years ago, much too young. David had a friend and so did I, his name was David Cains. David was also a biker, he also loved Harley's. David was killed a few years ago ending his young life. Either David would do anything to help you, they helped me with my Harley, doing maintenance on it occasionally. We went on rides sometimes. When we would get together in David Cains' garage, we talked and laughed, had a good time. Three David's that loved Harley's.

Meeting before going to Capital

Helmet Protest about 1979

Thought I would get nostalgic, bring back a few memories plus show some people what it was like in times when we did'nt have the freedom to choose but ironically we had alot more freedom overall than we do now. Freedom to choose is kind of a personal thing , can you afford the ticket? (I just deleted some sentences, I was getting political and I promised myself I would'nt do that in this blog, after all this is for biking) What if you refused to wear a helmet, what then, would you have been arested? I don't know, I know I was was stopped twice for not wearing one, I never did get a ticket, but what if I'd refused to put it on?

The hardcore bikers of Arkansas got together and changed the helmet law. Everyone, even the ones that chose not to get involved benefited from the action of a few (kind of like a union of bikers:). If I remember correctly there were around 600 of us at the particular rally I have pictures of (thanks to my brother Dick who drove his car to the rally and took photographs). Some of the people that rode in the rally said they would always wear a helmet even if they did away with the law. They just did'nt like being told what to do, that makes sense to me, even though I wear a helmet most of the time.

The State Police and L.R. police were good to us, there were no problems. I really can't imagine being allowed to burn a helmet on the steps of the State Capital today, I don't think it would happen without someone being thrown in jail.

I rode to the rally with Paul Martin (the ower of Arkansas Cycle Works in Clarksville) and a couple of other people. Paul was a good man, he loved those Indian Motorcycles and had a good business. Paul died a couple of years ago.

As we pulled into L.R. we met the Ghost Riders MC of L.R. at a gas station and rode on to the rally with them. I have'nt heard anything out of that club in many years, I doubt they still exist but I don't know.

Everyone met at the State Fairgrounds and prepared for the ride to the Capital.

I hope everyone that likes to ride without a helmet knows that A.B.A.T.E. is the reason they can.

If you've never heard of it, it might do you good to look it up and join or be ready to get helmet hair.

Heres some pics, I'll caption what I think needs a caption.

Vesta and Prairie Mounds

In 2004 I went for a ride on 22 West. I eventually ended up riding all the roads north of Charleston and Caulksville. The town of Vesta is a central point of the area. Mostly cattle land with straight roads and wide open pastures. Not very exiting roads but esthetically pleasing none the less. Not many spots for a deer to hide in beside the road.

There are some nice sites and some history. I found the Cherokee Prairie Natural Area which I had'nt known existed. Its one of the largest remaining areas of tallgrass prairie left in Arkansas and it has Prairie Mounds to boot. I'm not talking about man made Indian Mounds like Toltec, East of Little Rock. I'm talking about the type of mounds that scientists never have figured out. How they came to be there that is. I've seen prairie mounds in the area of the River Valley around Russellville. If you'll look at the map from one of the sites I've provided, it shows Arkansas being a major area for them to occur.

I found a really huge barn and even an interesting name for a community. Hope you enjoy. I have a better camera now, and I intend to return to the area soon. I'll put up some new and better pics at a later date.

If you look closely where my bike is shown, you can see the prairie mounds. Might have to click on the pic to make it bigger, that shouldnt be a problem, because I cant figure out how to make the pictures smaller. I'll work on that.

Heres a couple of websites you might find interesting.

http://www.perigeezero.org/treatise/Enigmas/geologic/mima_mounds/index.html

http://www.naturalheritage.com/areas/detail.asp?map_num=15

Lurton - Hwy 123

From the moment you turn off of Hwy 7 onto 123 into the community of Lurton, Ar. all the way to the Hwy 65 junction at Western Grove you'll like this road. It's a nice ride and one of my favorite, especially the stretch from Lurton thru Mt. Judea and on to Carver. The road has long long swooping curves and then some really tight ones. I'll talk more about that later, this is a long road, I may do this one town/area at a time.

Be sure to ride around Lurton a little (believe me it won't take you long). Theres some good pictures to be taken in the area.

Heres pics of an old esso gas pump at the old post office, the old post office, an old car and house and what I think is an old motel (after all, a long time ago it was a long drive from Harrison to Russellville and this was close to midway).

D & C Road Ranking = Lurton to Carver = 10

Carver to Hwy 65 = 7

Vendor - Hwy 374

Next time you travel Hwy 7 be sure to make a side trip to the Vendor, Ar. community. Traveling 7 North make a right on Hwy 374 a few miles before reaching Jasper. Theres no town, just great scenary, an old house or two, the old Vendor Schoolhouse and fantastic roads. Take a look on google maps and you'll see what I mean. Its a really nice area.

Just after reaching the old school, make a left on Hwy 74/123 N, you'll get to a where 74 and 123 go their own ways, take 123. A few miles up the road you'll get to The Buffalo National River. Thats where Carver Access is, go down to the river, put on some shorts and take a dip. If you have your collapsible fishing rod, its a good place to catch a few Smalllmouth Bass.

After you cool off you can double back and this time take 74 N and after a nice long enjoyable ride thru Ozark farmland and forests you'll get to Jasper on Hwy 7. If you've made a day of it, Jasper has motels. One of them is really nice, can't remember the name of it at the moment though. I'll talk more about Jasper at another time, after all it is my favorite Arkansas town.

D & C Road Ranking = 8

Welcome Home

I'm almost certain Welcome Home is on Hwy 254. It's just a community but it's got a really cool name, don't you think? I took this ride in 2003.

This ride was my first up Hwy 27 after getting hitched with Cindy, my bike :). Cindy likes the hills and curves. I like the countryside, smell of cow dung in the air and in general the old ozarks feel about the area. There are lots of little streams that abound in the deep mountain hollows which are around nearly every other curve. Occasionally Cindy and I will stop and take a break beneath the oaks at an old homestead, all the while being vigilant for anyone still occupying the house. A while back we failed to look around, and we were politely told to move on or start a conversation. How were we to know, it looked like no one had lived there in years.

Oh, uh, I hate to admit this but, the other day, while on my Augsberg ride. I had to use the restrooom. That was'nt the problem. I had been looking at an old house site. When I got ready to leave I decided to take care of business. Anyone that knows me knows I don't hear too well, especially high pitched sounds. The house was on a blind hill, I could'nt see the roadway coming uphill, and I had'nt heard anyone, duh. I just pointed towards the road and well, next thing ya know, a truck with a man and a woman came up over the hill. I could see the whites of their eyes. I was embarrassed and thats all I got to say about that.

To arrive at Hwy 254 I took Hwy 27 N from Hector, Ar. Its guite a few miles up to 254 but as long as you remain on 27 you'll get there.

One pic is looking up 254 , and one is of a single lane wooden bridge you can see just off the highway. The pic of the little old house is just a few hundred feet from the junction of Hwy 254 /65.

I made a left on Hwy 65 and visited Leslie, Ar. a really nice town. Kind of a hilly little place, lots of tree covered yards, quiet. I would'nt mind living there. They even have a museum, can you believe it? Is that awesome or what? Did you know that Paris and Pottsville, Ar. also have museums.

After spending some time at Leslie, I went on North to Marshall. I took a pic at the old Jail, which has been allowed to go into disrepair. The last place I saw this many wires hanging from and around a building at was in the Middle East, it looks bad. Marshall also has one of the few remaining Drive In Theatre's in Arkansas. I forget the name of the place though. They don't have shows 7 days a week. I believe more like 5 or so.

On this particular ride, I took Hwy 27 S back to Hector, Ar.

I'll have to say this was one of the best rides in the state, full of curves, hills, valleys, ridge tops, and scenary. The road is in great shape. Just not many houses, so if your the type to get lonely riding a long ways without a town to stop in, well, you'll get lonely. Then again if your like me and enjoy geting lost, this would be an enjoyable ride. Oh, I would'nt consider buying gas at the Tilly store, gas station, post office, gossip shop, all in one. Back in 2003 it was over $4.oo a gallon.

David and Cindy's Road Ranking = Hwy 27 N /254 E / 65 N / 27 S a === a 10 !!! Great ride.

P.S. Just thought I would mention that since 2003 or so, I have stopped putting Cindy in every picture. I know everyone, including myself get tired of looking at her. I started taking pics without her. It just makes more sense and looks better. Shes cranky though and a real ham for photos, I'm sure I'll have to put her in a few here and there.