The Trip Home

On Sunday morning, the sky in Marble Falls was gray and rain looked unavoidable. We watched the Weather Channel and brought up the local radar on my netbook. It looked like if we started out on our way home a little later in the morning, we might be OK.
We were headed straight north (up) from the red dot on the map... We ate breakfast and checked the weather again. It wasn't raining where we were, but it was near by. We had the bikes loaded and ready, and we decided to go with rain pants only, and leave the rain jackets off until we needed them. It's easier to put on the jacket by the side of the road, than it is the pants. That turned out to be a good decision. We rode for a little over 3 hours and then stopped for gas in Lincoln, MO. We had avoided almost all the rain, and just had a little sprinkle here and there. I took of my rain pants and packed them away.
Once we were back on the road, we continued north on US 65. Around 3:00 p.m. we stopped at the Taco Bell in Chillicothe for a quick bite to eat, then it was back to riding.
When we crossed into Iowa, US 65 became a rough ride. The repairs in the concrete left the surface really bumpy. A few of the asphalt patches were bad enough to send you off the seat, then pitch the bike up into your butt. I was sore! By the time we got to Humeston, I needed to get off the bike for a few minutes. There was a small park in town with a nice M60A3 tank!
We stopped for the night in Oceola, IA, and we got a room at the Evergreen Inn. It was a nice little Mom and Pop motel, very clean and well maintained. The only issue I had was no Wi-Fi, so I couldn't update the blog. The owners live across the street in a restored Victorian style house. They seemed very nice. John and I had diner just down the street at a Mexican restaurant and we gassed up the bikes before returning to the motel.


I had been joking with John about getting on the road by 4:30, it turned out the we were actually ready and moving by 6:45. We had a short stop at McDonald's for a quick breakfast, then we were on the way! It seems like every time we go on a trip, we always say were going to get going early every morning, but the reality is that we only get an early start on one of the days..... usually on the way home...
We took I-35 north from Osceola, and got gas just outside of Albert Lea, MN. In Iowa, gas was $3.199 and in MN it was $3.599.
I split off from John at the I-494 exit off of 35E. He continued to St. Paul and followed 494 to 94 into WI. I stopped in Baldwin to call and tell Nancy I was on my way home. I didn't stop again until Hayward. I gassed up with the most expensive gas of the trip at $3.699. I got home around 2:45.

I spent $136 on gas this trip and traveled 2295 miles. There's now 29,502 miles on the FJR.


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I want to put the new tires and the chain and sprocket set on the Zx-14 and head out again!!!!

A Few More Pictures from Arkansas

An attempt was made at a group picture... but it was pretty much like trying to herd cats. There are probably 15 or 20 more FJR's that for some reason didn't make it into the picture. We lined up the ones that did show up along what used to be the swimming pool....

I don't think this is going to be a problem...

This is Happy, the hotel owner's dog. She spends the day lounging in the shade, or if it's cool, she lies in the parking lot like a speed bump...

The room numbers are a pretty interesting design...

John and I noticed that my rear tire is down almost to the wear bars in the center section. There's about a millimeter of rubber left, then it's even with the wear bars. I'll be riding home and keeping an eye on it. I thought for sure that the Dunlop Roadsmart's would last longer than this. I think the next tires will be Michelin Pilot Road 2s.

Oh Deer!!!!

After yesterday's nearly 300 mile day, we decided to dial it back a bit. I still have a 900 mile ride home. So today, we toured the Arkansas country side at a slightly slower pace.
We started out from The Hub around 9:30 this morning, and went south, down hwy 7 to Jasper, then over Ponca on 74. We took a short break at the Buffalo River access. There's a horse trail along the river and there were several people getting their horses ready to ride. The river is very low, almost dry in spots. We stopped again in St. Paul. It's not much more than a wide spot in the road. I think the small gas station/general store and a small elementary school is about all there is in town. There was a canopy set up on the edge of town and a few people were under it. They had a sign near the road that was asking people to sign a petition to make Madison County a "wet" county. From St. Paul we drove through Boston, and if you'd have blinked you'd have missed it. All I saw of Boston was a sign. Our route took us through Swain and Nail, then Deer, and back up to Jasper.
We were just about back to the motel, and when we came to the top of a ridge, out of the right ditch walked a Deer! John was in the lead and he hit the brakes pretty hard. The Deer stood in the road for a second, then ran off to the left. From my point of view, it looked like the Deer was just a few feet from getting hit. John said that it was probably 10 feet away from him when it moved out of the way. That would not have been a good thing! We got back to the motel and called it a day.
Tomorrow, we start our way back home.
I didn't get many pictures on our ride today. I'll try to get an FJR group photo tonight.
The Buffalo River, near Ponca. Looking upstream...

And Down.....

A sign just for you dear..........

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A Great day of Riding in Arkansas!!

I slept soundly last night and woke up ready to ride. After an affordable, $5.00 breakfast of pancakes, sausage and orange juice, John and I headed out for the day. The weather was perfect for riding, a mild 63 degrees at the start. A few of the more local people were saying it was almost too cold to ride. I was happy that it was cool as it was! It was about 73 degrees when we got back.
We started with about a 60 mile ride south, down Hwy-7. Then made a loop back north via 164 and 123. We crossed back over 7 and went east on 16. Then took 254 and 27 to Marshall, and 27 and 14 up to Yellville. From there, we went to the Bull Shoals-White River State Park. Then back to Marble Falls. It turned out to be a 286 mile long figure 8.
I'd say it was the best day of riding that I have ever had. 286 miles of 20,30, and 40 MPH corners. The scenery was fantastic! The condition of the roads were super! It was better than last years ride across northern California on highway 36. It reminded me of both California and the Black Hills of South Dakota.
We did run through some interestingly named small towns. Places like Snow, Yellville, Welcome Home, Morning Star, and Evening Star. I saw a few signs for towns we didn't drive through, Gassville, Snowball, Deer and Nail.
A few pictures from today....

A single lane bridge over Big Piney Creek... The creek's pretty dry...

I pushed my riding and really raised my confidence level. I rubbed off a bit of the strips left on the side of my tires. I never touched any hard parts though.

What a great day!!!
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Marble Falls, Arkansas

We woke up this morning to a heavy rain shower in Moberly, MO. The Weather Channel "local on the 8's" radar loop showed rain just over us and clear to the south. We waited as long as we could, and finally just decided to suck it up and go for it. We headed south on US-63. We rode in the rain for about 20 minutes and then got out from underneath it. Down by Cabool, MO we got off the US highway and onto MO hwy 181. 181 was a nice twisty road that was in pretty good condition. We followed that down to Gainesville, MO and switched over to highway 5 and into Arkansas. We ended the day at The Hub in Marble Falls. It used to be part of the Dogpatch USA theme park.
Here's a few pictures from today's ride.

The Hub....

some of the still abandoned "Dogpatch"

John and I had a meal at the Hub's restaurant "Scooter's" and called it a day.
Sunset from the Motel balcony..

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This makes 972 miles so far this trip, and 334 miles today.

On the Road to Arkansas!

I left home Tuesday afternoon and headed for St. Paul, MN. Before I left, I tried all morning to cut the grass so I wouldn't return to a forest where my lawn should be. Every time I'd start to cut, it would start to rain. I'd stop and go inside and the rain would quit 10 minutes later. I'd go back out and 10 minutes later it would start again. I gave up.
I had the FJR packed and ready to go. John and I are headed to Marble Falls, AR for the Southern FJR Owners Rally. We were at the rally in Eureka Springs, AR in '09 and '10, but we missed '11. I'm really hoping for better weather this time. It rained the entire time both prior years.

Once I got 30 miles from home the weather was perfect! I got to my friend John's house in St. Paul around 5:00 p.m. I parked my bike in his garage then John, his wife Wendie, and I went out for diner. We had a great meal at a Mexican restaurant called Los Arco, in West St. Paul. I forgot to bring the camera and get a picture of the food. I spent the night at their house and we left around 8:00 this morning.

Our first stop was the Iowa Travel Center near the MN border. We picked up some new Iowa maps and took a short break.

Then it was down I-35 to Ames for gas. It's nice to pay only $3.349 for gas instead of the $3.739 back in Cable, WI. We had lunch at the Subway in Monroe, IA.

Gas in Monroe was $3.299!

We stopped for the night at the Super 8 in Moberly, MO. 464 miles today.

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