| Author | Message | ||
     Jerry_haughton  |
DAY SEVENTEEN, cont.  much later that same day... ...i had dinner with Bob (aka Racerboy) and Shirley LaMear at this neat old diner on Route 66 in Pacific, Missouri. JB2 may not have been with me in the flesh, but he was still with me in spirit.  (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 26, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY SEVENTEEN, cont.  at Racerboy's house a bit earlier i had been recounting some of the highlights of my trip to this point, and mentioned how prominently Route 66 figured in to this ride's genesis. next thing ya know they were suggesting the Red Cedar Inn for dinner (hey Bob, is it "dinner" or "supper" in your part of the world? or "vittles" perhaps???), and this very cool place was where we ended up. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 26, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY SEVENTEEN, cont.  dang it, shoulda shot natural light so the flash bouncing off the sign lower left wouldn't fool the camera so bad. anyway, you get the gist of the place, i trust. JB2, the batch of Route 66 souvenirs you got in the mail postmarked from MO came from here. miss ya bud, not sure i know how to do this "followin' your front wheel" stuff without you! ok, so that's it for pix for this day. yeah? deal with it!  as good fortune would have it, Racerboy was riding one of his scooters to San Diego for a wedding and our itinerary as it relates to aiming toward the left coast happened to jive sufficiently enough that we agreed to keep each other good company on the way west. from this point on, you may refer to us as the Westward Ho's! anyway, by prior arrangement earlier this day Racerboy and his great friend John "V2win" Calhoun had agreed to meet me in Rolla, Missouri, a few clicks west of St. Louis. well, the late start (did i mention how much beer i drank the night before?), the ground to be covered, and a power nap that INSISTED it be taken along about four this afternoon, all conspired to cause me to miss the mark as far as rendezvous time. i left a message on Racerboy's cell phone this afternoon to that effect, but was even later than my revised estimate. and yet, there were the boys at the appointed spot, smiles wide and eyes askew at the red VFR that has SOMEHOW mysteriously morphed into a yellow and International Harvester blue V-Strom somewhere between Wofford Heights, California and Rolla, Missouri. V2win showed what a stand-up Hooligan he is as he had to go to work - and wasn't even on two wheels - yet patiently hung around while the wayward Ferris rolled in unfashionably late, just to put a face to a name - his to mine, mine to his. i appreciate your enthusiasm and friendship, John, and am very much looking forward to the day that i TRY and stay in the draft of the BlueWhisperJet! (SpringFast 2005, perhaps? ) so, after steak and beer at the Red Cedar Inn we retired to the stately Racerboy Rancho Rollamonga and plotted our course for the next few days. the Ozarks, here we come! TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 390.4 (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 26, 2004) | ||
| CJXB  |
Wow, talk about an emotional thread !! I'm sure the rest of the trip was as good for you Ferris, but it's making me sad seeing pics of only ONE bike !! This is a thread I've really enjoyed and have seen every post, keep it up and thanks !! CJ | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
thanks Dino and Hillbilly Ed and CJ. and JB2. | ||
| V2win  |
Jerry, I am very familiar with that bridge where you took the pic of the arch. Are you sure you were not just a little drunk from the day before? The traffic there never stops. I am amazed. God takes care of those how can't take care of themselves. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
and some days, John, i need all the help i can get. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, Monday 9/20/04:  and we're off! Shirley proves she has a sense of humor (mandatory, i determined early on, to survive any significant time in Racerboy's company ) by "riding" the broom she was using to sweep the landing as RB and i readied for launch. the machines spent the night in a closed garage, and note how RB's windshield has already fogged up - it was mighty chilly this morning, and the air was thick. but clear, and bright, and anticipation was high! thanks again Shirl for your hospitality and for making this wayward wanderer feel so at home. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  RB, you're gonna have to help with some of the "location data" on these shots, as i was busy most of the time just trying to keep you in my sights. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  this idyllic little spot was where it was FINALLY warm enough to shed several layers of gear (on a HOT day i could easily imagine paddling around in the deep little pool below, dipping the skinny) and i thought it was cool how the mirrors happened to capture Bob and his bike and the road stretching out behind us. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  Eminence, Missouri. would have enjoyed some late afternoon/early evening lighting here to play with, and can easily imagine, by looking at the width of the bridge, that the river runs thru it pretty significantly at times. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  we stopped in Eminence for lunch, and it was easy to imagine we'd gone back in time several decades or so. wish we'd had MORE time to visit, but the West Coast was exerting a pretty strong magnetic pull even at this distance, so digital drive-by shootings were pretty much the order of the day. Racerboy, one of these years i'd like to come back and spend a respectable amount of time "just" touring the Ozarks - you up for it??? (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  The Celebrated Jumping 'Strom of Calaveras County... (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  ok, so i "cheated" at the MO/AR border by turning around and pointing the wrong direction to bag my missed "Welcome to Missouri" pic, but i'm sure it was much safer than stopping in the middle of the VIBGLIB yesterday would have been... (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  ok, pointed the right direction again. my FIRST "Welcome to Arkansas" moment on this trip seems like such a lonnnnnng time ago... (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  PANIC! the brand new 128 MB memory card i'd purchased for this trip was already FULL!!!!!!! talk about a FullyFunktifiedFerris, out in the middle of nowhere (so it seemed), and out of "film." hey, cool, this little Ozarks burg has a WalMart - THEY'LL have a memory card! nope. not one. i'm not sure the "associates" there had even SEEN a digital camera before. Radio Shack to the rescue! they had exactly ONE card to fit my camera, and it wasn't cheap. and i would have paid TWICE as much as i did to take it off their hands. the image above is me photographing me on their closed-circuit TV, proving to myself that their "off brand" card was compatible with my Nikon. coolness, MotoPix is back in business. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  meanwhile, back at the ranch... Bob's rear brake had been dragging on-and-off all morning (generating a most unpleasant odor for the guy behind him), and we finally determined that the ham-fisted goon who'd installed his new tires had FUBAR'd the reassembly process and the rear caliper was pinching the rear brake line, basically allowing enough line pressure to apply the brake, but not allowing said pressure to fully release at the appointed time. woulda been easy to fix, except the H-FG had tightened the rear axle nut to about 500 foot-tons, and despite just about popping my eyeballs outta my head (i actually lifted the bike off one side of the centerstand with the wrench while trying to break the nut loose!), we couldn't effect a repair. one thing ya gotta love about Honda: there are Honda dealers EVERYwhere, and, amazingly enough, there was one just up the road. it took us a bit to find it, but when we got there they took us in like long lost friends, had RB fixed up and ready to go in about 20 minutes, and then wouldn't even charge him for the labor. all this with a smile and genuine curiosity and interest as to who we were and where we were headed. Bob tipped the mechanic a $20 and we were back in the wind again, he with brakes, me with memory, us with more Ozarks to violate. life be good. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  the first of several gas stations we encountered this afternoon/evening that were already closed for the day... note the long shadows, and we've still got "a ways" to go... how much farther, Racerboy? "Oh, about an hour." yeah, right... (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  so it's late in the day, we've racked up some impressive miles, we're low on fuel, and Tripper (Dave Tripp) is already waiting for us at the Iron Horse Stables. so what do two self-respecting Hooligans do? take a detour!!! RB says "We GOTTA do Push Mountain Road! We're SO close, and it's the second best road in all of Arkansas!" dude, i'm following you, and i DO hate to waste a good road. well, Push Mountain Road SUCKED!!!!! frikkin' A, what a piece of crap pavement, gravel in the corners, chunks of asphalt coming up in the apexes, and the like. Racerboy disappeared in an instant, and i certainly wanted to give chase, but the PMR was not a suitable playground, in my opinion. geez, if THIS is the second best road in the state, i'm ready to go back to California. it was SO bad that when i got mired behind an old Chevy Blazer tootling down the road, i didn't even pass. now mind you, it would have been a LEGAL pass (gasp!), and i still elected to tag along behind. it may be the first time in my entire riding career that i've purposely stayed stuck. NOW you're getting a vague idea how depressed i was about the PMR - what a POS. it was late in the day and the lighting was cool, tho, so i focused on looking for photo ops, knowing the Boy Racer would be waiting for me up the line somewhere. i was already working on my "unacceptance speech." finally the Blazer turned into a driveway, and i had the PMR to myself. big whoop, said i. hey, what's this? the pavement suddenly smoothed out, got clean and twistier, and started screaming "DO ME NOW!!!" at the top of its lungs. ooh baby, i LOVE it when you talk dirty to me! my time scorching the Dragon had been good training - i knew when and how the feelers would touch down and how much to expect from the Bridgestones (a BUNCH, actually), and as i began figure out the PMR's rhythm there were sparks a-flyin'. it wasn't long before i had a lock on RB and the Mother Ship, and i followed in his rather impressive wake for a few minutes, fully enjoying the task at hand, and enjoying the pyrotechnics as HE tossed HIS scooter around, dragging expensive hard parts at every opportunity. on a long downhill straight i finally put Bob in my mirrors, not exactly easy considering the pace he was setting. by now i had the road figured out. we had it to ourselves, the lighting was perfect, as was the sinuous, sensuous pavement. i don't remember how many miles we traveled at warp, as i was pretty focused on hitting my markers (and keeping that pesky Racerboy fella behind me), but the sex lasted a good, long time. i don't smoke, but if i DID i'd have lit up a whole pack when it was all over. which, in the photo above, it is. and if Bob looks giddy, well, he was!!! i'll let HIM tell the story from here: "Hey Ed...Funniest, happiest and my best moment of this whole thing was the first day out of STL with Jerry as we rode down into southern MO and northern AR to stay the first night in Eureka Springs at Iron Horse Stables where we were to meet up with Dave Tripp from KC... "First, a little background into what was in my mind...Jerry and I had never met in person except here on BadWeb and you know how that is?...You can't really tell about someone over the computer...A person we all know well had related a story of something that happened on last year's BRAG Cali tour...It seems they and an eastern dealer who was on the tour were walking around the motel lot one evening and the dealer (who used to hold an AMA national number) calls attention to the rear tires of a certain Cali group of riders who were pretty, shall we say, exuberant, on the web regarding their riding exploits (not anyone in Jerry's group)...He notes the rather wide chicken strips on most of their tires and they share a chuckle...Okay, that's the background... "About mid way through the afternoon were approaching Mountain Home AR and just south of there is AR 341, aka Push Mountain Rd or the AR Gap...For a long time this was the "best" sport bike road in AR (until they paved the northern part of 123)...So it's a damn fine road but I had not thought we'd have time that day to ride it...On the fly I decided, what the hell, we're too close not to, so I head us south to the northern part of 341...Once on 341 I pick up the pace...After a bit I glance in my mirrors and, no Jerry, so I slow up to wait...And I wait quite a bit...And I'm thinking, "Okay, we've got another of these big talking hot shots who is all talk just like a certain person had told me about...About that time Jerry BLOWS by me on the Strom...I goose the Mother Ship and we're off to the races...And we have an absolutely great run south on Push Mountain Road...One that would have made John and you and Jim smile big...We get to the end of the road and pull over...Jerry looks back at me as he walks toward me and I'm taking off my helmet and have this HUGE grin spread across my face...He just laughed along with me...I couldn't have been happier and it kind of sealed the deal for me as far as riding with Jerry anywhere, anytime is concerned... "Of course, in hind sight, what had happened is that the very northern end of 341 is much more populated and trafficked as is crosses the White River due to the tourist draw of the river...And the road surface shows it as there are several places with loose gravel and such...I know where they are, Jerry didn't and was being careful...But once he figured it out and the road began to get much better as we traveled south, he let it all out...And following him the rest of the way was like riding with John or anyone else you have total confidence in... "I wish I could say that it was the culmination of a great day but later I ran Jerry out of gas, not remembering that it was after Labor Day and all the country tourist gas stations were closed...The run up to Yellville and back made us very late into Iron Horse Stables where poor Dave Tripp had been waiting for us...I’m a terrible judge of distance and time...I’m famous for answering to the question “How long will it take us?...”Oh, about an hour”...Consider yourself forewarned...Well, the trip down Push mountain and back up 14 and over to Eureka Springs was a hell of a lot longer than an hour..." indeed. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  does this look inviting or what? (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  does this look inviting or what?, part two. by the way, Bob, HOW much farther is it??? (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  i LIVE for stuff like this! there we were, smoking thru the mountains of BFE, late for our date with Tripper, when we come around a corner and find this litter of kids skipping down the road with their Mom, happy, boisterous, and absolutely AMPED about the bikes, so much so that they were jumping about and hollering excitedly and generally raising a good-natured fuss as we approached. this, it seemed to me at the time, was a MAJOR photo op. i may have even locked up the brakes in my excitement to capture THEIR excitment for posterity. you'd need to have been there to get a feeling for how "out in the middle of nowhere" we were, up in the hills and far, far, away, and this was reflected, in part, by the fact that we had the highway to ourselves, frolicking about for several minutes with relative impunity - the only traffic at this time of night was us, and them. if this little clan looks just like a bunch of happy, well-adjusted, well-fed (do ya see some future NFL linebackers in the making?), self-reliant, good ol' down-home mountain chillin's, well, that's exactly what they are. note Boy Racer grinnin' in the background. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  man, was this kid BUZZED! reminded me of me, actually. they ALL wanted to climb on the 'Strom for pix, and i was ok with it, but the Mom - even tho she knew by then we were harmless - wasn't so sure. i didn't force the issue, but i did ask "Buzz" if i could get a shot of him solo (after getting a nod of approval from Mom, and after slyly maneuvering around where i could get HER in the shot, too), and you can just feel the energy radiating from him. after the two shots i brought 'em back up in recall and showed them to the gang, which just hyped them all the more. at this point Buzz proudly exclaimed, "We're the Famous Boys from Arkansas!" as we clicked the bikes into gear and motored away, all three youngsters chased us down the road, jumping, laughing, shouting, imploring us to "Go fast! Go fast!" and in my mirrors i could see that Mom was laughing, too. so "Go Fast!" we did. this delightful little slice of unexpected pie was one of the highlights of my trip, all thanks to the FBA. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  say Bob, HOW much farther??? never mind, it don't matter anymore - i'm outta effin' petrol.  keeping in mind the 'Strom holds almost six gallons, it'd obviously been awhile since the last gas. not that we hadn't tried, but our exuberance and enthusiasm (and occasional three-digit cruising speeds), along with our remote location, had finally caught up with me. in the shot above RB is already back on the road, scouring the Arkansas Ozarks for some portable fuel. who knows how long he'll be. hang on Tripper, we'll get there eventually. tried to get a cell signal so i could check in with Denise - we were WAY overdue - to no avail. i was stuck in the bottom of a deep mountain valley, and the only signal i was getting was how quiet and still everything was (including, alas, my motorcycle). well kids, nothing else to do but grab a few pix for the album, break out some jerky and trail mix, and check out my new digs, eh? (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  as i wandered in the twilight this bridge loomed out of the darkness. nothing award winning here, just trying to document the surroundings. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  a ha, HERE'S where i am! uh, WHERE??? about this time i had a visitor, in the form of a skunk who waddled in from the edge of forest. he was about 20 feet away when i noticed him, and the little bugger - in spite of the fact i was making benign (hopefully) human-type noises - kept walking TOWARD me! i get it - it's my beef jerky he's homing in on. yikes! i obviously didn't want to do anything to frighten or startle the $#@! thing, but i also knew it he didn't need to get any closer. as i backpeddled i kept making grunting and whistling noises, louder and louder, and the striped kitty finally seemed to get the idea that i was bigger than he was. i retired back to the bike and stretched out on the grass to wait, keeping one eye open for Smelly Cat in case he tried a sneak attack on me. save for the skunk i pretty much had this particular wilderness to myself, and wondered how many days i'd be marooned out here. Racerboy showed up presently, with a plastic gallon water jug brimming with jet fuel in his lap. "Only spilled a few drops!" he exclaimed. props to Suzuki, as the bike was quite literally bone dry, yet popped off without a hitch, and with that we bid Smelly Cat and Dillard's Ferry adieu. and yes, before you ask, i DID consider taking a shot of the skunk - woulda made a GREAT photo, doncha think??? in the end, however, i was afraid he'd shoot back. (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  hey, we MADE it!!! (after slicing thru the night to Yellville to finish the job that RB's gallon of gas had started, and after checking in with D - i blamed it all on Racerboy. ) (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  that's Tripper in the photo, still smiling after a mighty long wait. why, he even had beer waiting for us! (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  as for me, i headed straight for the bottle of Carolans i'd picked up earlier in the evening (gotta love it - couldn't find an open gas station to save our lives, but rode right to an open liquor store. ) (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
DAY EIGHTEEN, cont.  Dave's S1, Tripp'n the Lite Tanfastic. well, an adventure this day had certainly been. we humped a fair piece today, especially considering the down time getting RB's brake to break loose, and the time i spent avoiding running afoul of Smelly Cat. at this point, having clicked off my first full day on the road with Racerboy, i'm beginning to better understand how he came upon his nom de zoom - he sets a torrid pace! lucky for me he wasn't on something a little racier or i would have NEVER kept him in sight! it's all good, tho. this day had been rich in the stuff that has kept me coming back for four decades, and it was good to be here with like-minded friends, drinking and laughing and lickin' our chops for more. TOTAL MILEAGE ON THE DAY: 467.2 (Message edited by jerry_haughton on November 27, 2004) |
