ARKansas - June 2015

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Day 5: Harrison to....

17 June 2015

We woke early because we wanted to pack as much riding into our last full day in Harrison as possible. The Pig Trail section of AR23 was on the agenda and we thought we might hit 74 and 7 on our way there. None of this was decided firmly because the threat of rain had blown up Glen's planned routes. We'd discuss the day's ride at breakfast.

Glen and I passed in the lobby; me on my way to breakfast and he on his way to prep his bike for the day.

"Have you checked the weather?"
"Yep"
"We should talk about our schedule"
"Yep"

Bill had made more headway overnight than had been predicted and it was likely that Harrison was going to get pounded within the the next 24 hours. Pounded hard enough that, if we stayed another day, it was extremely likely that we would be stuck in the hotel in conditions too dangerous for riding for possibly two days. Moreover, Bill was tracking along the exact path we would want to follow to get back home. Decisions needed to be made.

"Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know" - from The Clash's 1982 hit "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

A few more looks at our various choices in weather apps and the decision to go was plainly obvious. Glen and I, after a brief discussion with the others, informed the nice woman at the Seville's front desk that we planned on leaving as soon as possible. She was very understanding, especially considering that they were losing four rooms for three nights, and wished us safe travels.

Safe travels, yes, but to where?

Our group was gathered at a round table in the dining area of the hotel. They have an excellent breakfast buffet there, although my appetite was a little squelched by the prospect of a shortened and possibly rainy remainder of our trip.

"We have to put some distance between us and Bill."
"Yep"
"We could head back to St. Louis and then either home or north along the river."
"Three hundred mile day. I don't mind the distance, but maybe someplace more north than east. I think east will just mean being wet tomorrow. North seems to be the play."
"How far north?"
"250 maybe?"

While the rest of us packed our gear and prepped our bikes, Laura tasked herself with juggling our itinerary, finding an overnight spot 250 miles to our north while seeing if we could still ride some of the Great River Road and visit the Mormon town of Navuoo, IL, perched piously on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi.

Meanwhile, Glen was planning and plotting and generally trying to come up with an entertaining way to take all day to get 250 miles north. This was to be one of the few days without any rain in the forecast and Glen, along with the rest of us, wanted to take full advantage of it.

In our group, there's a phrase, sometimes used pejoratively and sometimes used enthusiastically, "going east to go west". Pejoratively when the ride went too long and the circuitous route was either unplanned or uninspired. Enthusiastically when the roundabout ride was taking us to a special destination or over a special stretch of road, or both.

"If we hadn't spent so much time going east to go west, we wouldn't have hit that rain"

"Tomorrow we're headed from Robbinsville to Nashville via Cherohala. An awesome east to go west day!"

Never mind that the indirect route may be going south to go north or west to go east, we typically just refer to any such route as going east to go west.

So, Glen was working on an "east to go west" route that would take advantage of one of the few rain-free days we had by hitting some of the roads to the south of our new destination, wherever that was, that we had planned on riding over the course of our multi-day stay in Harrison.

"How's Mexico sound?" Laura asked to no one in particular.
"Sounds like the ultimate in going east to go west"
"No, Mexico, Missouri. It's about 250 miles north of here"
"Ohhhhh, THAT Mexico! Never heard of it. Sounds perfect."

"Woh, down in Mexico, I never really been so I don't really know.
And oh, Mexico, I guess I'll have to go.
Woh, Mexico, I never really been so I don't really know.
And oh, Mexico, I guess I'll have to go now.
Talking bout Mexico. Big ol' honkey-tonk down in Mexico." -- from the James Taylor song "Mexico"

Glen, knowing our destination, proceeded to sketch out a route that would "go east to go west" to the tune of 200 miles of extracurricular riding.

We pulled our fully loaded bikes out of the underground garage and headed south on US65 to connect with some very excellent "east to go west" roads.

---Day 5 to be continued----