Seven days and four states

[zbillster_imp]

Ok, I'm a little perturbed by this post.

How is possible that despite being on the look out my entire life to no avail, I have not seen a single Scooby Doo Mystery Machine and yet you see TWO on the same trip no less?

I cry foul good sir.

Yeah, that was freaky.

Looks like a great trip! Excellent pics.

I must say, I'm amazed that you were able to find a front tire and get it mounted quickly while on the road. I've had to do this a couple of times and each time it cost me a whole day trying to find a shop with the right size tire that was willing to mount it while I waited.

Yeah, I got lucky ... I used Google maps on my smartphone on a Sunday night, searched for "motorcycle shops" in the Eureka Springs area ... I knew because I needed an uncommon 18" tubeless radial my best bet would be a Honda dealer, and I knew that most shops won't mount it on the bike. I wrote down a list of a half dozen motorcycle shops and started with the one in Springfield because it was open on Monday (most shops are closed). They had the one tire in stock, and held it for me.

There was another Honda dealer in nearby Rogers or Springdale but opening Tuesday. If I was really desperate, I could find more shops in Little Rock. Luckily there's a lot of motorcyclists around here, so supply is meeting demand for motorcycle service.

My Plan B and C were:
1. Order one off Amazon or another retailer and have it shipped to a hotel.
2. Head back home early before the rain predictions got worse.

The 39 Cycles shop in Eureka Springs (pictured above) I was pretty confident would mount it same day for a good price. They didn't have a tire my size in stock (I think the ratio was off and bias ply).

Next time I'll be checking my tire wear more carefully before I leave.