ARKansas - June 2015

[emptysea]

"The sky is changin'
I can hear the singin'
Clouds will soon be alright
Bringin' on the daylight
Let it rain
Let it rain
Let it rain
And bring on the sunshine" - From The Ozark Mountain Daredevils' song "Noah"

Glen and Laura planned this year's trip. It was their turn. Petoskey Mike had planned the Lake Michigan "Circle Tour" in 2013 (to which we could not attend) and Yours Truly had the duty for our 2014 "Hills, Stills, and Thrills" tour to The Great Smoky Mountains (faithfully reported upon in a terribly long thread elsewhere on this forum).

At the IMS Chicago in February 2014, Glen had stopped at the Ride Arkansas booth. I am sure that the cute girl behind the table had nothing to do with this, but it was lucky that he did. The brochures were compelling and those, coupled with a couple of magazine articles and, I think, some testimonials from from friends convinced him that this was the place to go. Either that or Laura said "This is the place we are going." It would be pure speculation on this contributor's part as to how the decision was made, but it was an excellent decision regardless and, were it not for some inclement weather named Bill, it would have been a perfectly executed tour of northwest Arkansas.

Our 7 castaways (Glen, Laura, Bump-Start Mike with Judy, Petoskey Mike, Cheryl, and Matt) set sail from their port on their fateful trip on Saturday, June 13, 2015. Unbeknownst to them, in mid-afternoon on Saturday, June 12th, the National Hurricane Center at Florida International University noted the potential for a Tropical Cyclone in the Gulf of Mexico due south of Texas. Tropical Storm Bill was christened at approximately 10:00pm on Monday, June 15, 2015. We were watching the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup on the big screen TV inside The Rockin' Pig Saloon in Eureka Springs, AR; eating ribs and other smoked delights and savoring frothy and cold adult beverages, vaguely knowing, but not caring, about the weather that we were headed toward.

Sir William began punching his way from Tropical Storm to Tropical Depression across the Gulf of Mexico, into southern Texas (16June), then Oklahoma and Arkansas (17June), Missouri and Illinois (18June), Indiana (19June) and Ohio (20June) before he had expelled all of his moisture and faded away over West Virginia. Our planned route was to take us into Arkansas (15June - 17June), then back to Missouri (18June), then into Illinois (19June) and back home on the weekend. If you are inclined, plot the storm dates and our stop dates on a map and you will quickly understand that our plans had to change. We hadn't quite reached that conclusion yet, however.

(End of Installment #1)

[Elipten_imp]

This looks to be a good read! I'm thinking good real life testing of rain gear.


2014 CB1100 DLX
2013 CB1100 Std
1990 BMW K75 RT

[Nemo_imp]

Title: How Good Is Frogg Togg Gear?

[the Ferret]

ARKansas... I see what you did there

I like it! great read so far

[Cormanus]

And so the tease begins. Good one ES. I've been hanging out for this.

[emptysea]

Day 1: Chicago, IL to St. Charles, MO.

"If you ever plan to motor west,
Travel my way, take the highway, that's the best.
Get your kicks on Route 66."- From Bobby Troup's song "Route 66"


13 June 2016
08:00

Bikes checked and loaded. Rider's meeting completed.



Happily-faced, pre-tour group photo taken. (L-R: Laura, Glen, Bumpstart Mike, Petoskey Mike, Judy, MTC, Cheryl)


After a fairly mild and calm May, Illinois was in the middle of what would prove to be the wettest June in its recorded history. Thunderstorms were firing up on almost a daily basis and Saturday's forecast was for more of the same...warm with a chance of storms. Any check of a weather app (and these would be frequent over the course of this trip) would have shown the same forecast at any point along our route. The optimists among us, and anyone who ventures forth on two wheels in a four-wheeled world is an optimist at heart, focused on the 70% chance of dry rather than the 30% chance of wet. Besides, it had rained hard overnight so maybe the 30% had already been wrung out. It was clear at start time so rain gear was stowed and we headed out on the 302 mile first day.

Glen and Laura had planned the first day to roll us quickly down and across Illinois and just past St. Louis to St. Charles, Missouri -- I-55 to I-70. For those unfamiliar with riding these interstates from Chicago to St. Louis, imagine being a bowling ball rolling down a very long, very straight, and very flat lane with the slightest of a back-up hook to it at the very end. I-55 has only two things going for it, it gets you downstate fast and it roughly parallels (or overlays) the long since decommissioned and now historic Route 66. Fortunately, all three of our longer stops in Illinois would land us on historic sections of "The Mother Road".

I often wind up being the ride leader for our groups' shorter day rides and Cheryl had pointed out to me that I may have become a bit over zealous in that role, particularly when it came to my expressive gesticulations of dissatisfaction directed toward inconsiderate or inattentive motorists which we all encounter from time to time. Better to handle these encounters with quiet dignity and grace.

In our pre-ride meeting for this trip, it was decided that we would all adopt this "ignore and ride on" technique. Glen, who would be our ride leader most days is as calm and collected under pressure as anyone I have ever met, so it would be easy to follow his example with him setting the tone from the front of the pack. I'm more of the hothead of our group, so riding "sweep" would give me a second to see, process, and temper my reaction to any missteps on the part of our four-wheeled fellow travelers. We agreed to wait until stopping points to vent about situations we saw along the way and this would tend to make our trip more relaxed and possibly safer as well.

The entrance to I-55 South is a 20 minute ride down I-294 from our home. We smoothly swung off one super-slab, navigated the I-Pass toll lane, and merged into the right lane of I-55 South. Within a mile of this interchange is an exit ramp on the right. Cheryl was riding in the 3-spot (left third of the lane) when the driver in the middle lane realized his exit was approaching and that, rather than dropping behind us, it was a better option to cleave his way through our column between the 3 and 4 spots or, more correctly, directly through the 3-spot. Fortunately, Cheryl is an excellent rider and acutely aware of her surroundings at all times. I watched from my rearmost position in line as she deftly slid her bike to the right third of her lane while hitting her horn to alert the driver of his faux pas. The driver apparently came to something resembling his senses, returned to the center lane, and slowed his vehicle to pass behind us. It was then when the fingers went up...one at a time and in perfectly scynchronized sequence from front to back, starting with Petoskey Mike, then Bump-start Mike, and even (at least as I recall it) his sweet, quiet passenger Judy, then of course me. Once the car and my anger had exited, I began laughing harder than I had ever laughed before in a motorcycle helmet....so much for quiet dignity and grace!

(end of part 2a)

[Cormanus]

Excellent start, although I looked up young Bill and now hold concerns for the rest of the trip.

[emptysea]

(part 2b)
One of the problems with being a motorcyclist in a large city located within a large state that shares its topography with a bowling lane is the distance one must travel in order to get to interesting roads. Sure, there are other points of interest besides curvy roads: landmarks, parks, historic sites, etc., but the beauty of having roads as your points of interest is that you are making headway (usually) toward your destination while enjoying them. Stopping, even at a beautiful or entertaining spot, is still stopping. It becomes challenging to create a route that is sufficiently long enough to get you to the fun roads (or at least to the point where you have legitimate non-interstate choices), but that avoids becoming a grueling motoparade from point A to B. I am certain that Glen and Laura could have planned a 500+ mile day for our first day which would have certainly got us well beyond the Land of Langour , but they wanted to keep the ride as entertaining as possible. Getting us just past St. Louis would get us mostly off the interstate for the the second day and a 300 mile day allowed us at least a couple of opportunities to soak up some of the local flavor along our route.

Our first stop was just beyond the 100 mile mark in our trip. Odell, IL was formed in the last half of the 1800s when it was determined that a railroad line would go right through the center of it. Eventually a highway was constructed from Chicago to St. Louis which for part of its length paralleled the same rail line. That highway became US66 in 1926. One point of interest is that traffic through the tiny village (about 1,000 people) grew so heavy along Route 66, that a pedestrian underpass was built in front of the church to allow patrons and school children to get across the street. Residents got so frustrated with the traffic that they had Route 66 redirected around the town. They filled the stairways and tunnel under the street, but you can still see where the stairwells were today. (I may have a picture of this, but I'll have to add it later).

In 1932, a Standard Oil and Gasoline station was built along the Route. This building has been restored and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It now serves as a visitor center and gift shop for Route 66. It also serves as a great spot to stretch your legs and get a photo or two.

The station was closed when we arrived but the manager lives across the street and came scurrying over. We bought a few keepsakes and she took this photo of us.
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We took a nice long break in Odell. I felt like a time traveler there. If you're ever at the Odell Standard, just stop the doings of today for a second or two and you will feel like you're in 1930 central Illinois, too.

So, it was back on to the modern and efficient I-55 South. Next stop: Litchfield, IL. In between Odell and Litchfield? A town called Normal (it's not), the state capital, and 147 miles of corn, wheat, and alfalfa.

An advantage of the long, straight and flat is the opportunity, taught to me by The Ferret, to snap a few pictures of co-riders in motion.

"Petoskey" Mike on his black Goldwing


Cheryl on her CTX (manual-shift thankyouverymuch)


"Bumpstart" Mike with Judy (proving that you cannot always properly frame a photo taken from a motorcycle with one hand while traveling at 75 mph)
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Somewhere south of Springfield, probably 15 minutes north of Litchfield, we caught our first glimpse of that 30% chance of rain Another advantage of riding on a long, straight, and flat roadway is that that you can spot weather systems from a long way off. Not that we could do much about this one other than take a look at our weather apps while stopped briefly at a rest area. We could see the storm line move from right to left (west to eat) across our horizon as we continued down 55. It looked like we were going to miss riding into it, but as you can see, we didn't miss it by much.

"10 Minutes From Shelter"



Litchfield was chosen as a stopping point for two reasons: It is located on Historic Route 66 and it is the home of Niehaus Cycle Sales. Niehaus bills itself as the area's premier powersports dealers and their 30,000 square foot showroom, replete with modern and vintage motorbikes along with all manner of accessories for them. Inexplicably, I do not have any photos from our stop at Niehaus. I did get a couple from our chosen lunch spot, though.

Jublet's, while not located on Route 66 during the road's heyday, still captures the spirit of the roadside diners that dotted the Route back then and it has been on 66 for 34 years (and in the area as a bakery since 1922) so it served well my nostalgic desires. We enjoyed a filling meal. I don't recall what I ate, but if I had to guess, it was breaded pork tenderloin, which seems to be a diner staple in the area. Our friendly and efficient server assumed we got caught in the rain because "it came down in buckets here 'bout 20 minutes ago." Guess it was lucky that we dawdled a bit back in Odell.





After lunch, we stopped at Niehaus for a bit. It was pretty hot at this point in the day and the air-conditioned showroom felt good as did being surrounded by so many motorcycles and accessories. At least one of the Mikes and, I think Glen, bought AirHawk seat cushions and there may have been a few other purchases that I can't recall. If you are in the area, it's definitely worth the stop.

While our route to Arkansas would touch the historic The Mother Road on a few more occasions, our last deliberate side trip to encounter some of the old Rt. 66 was suggested and lead by Bumpstart Mike. Edwardsville was the last town of any significant size on the Illinois section of 66; reason enough to pass through it on our way to Missouri. More important than that, though, is that Mike proposed to Judy here. In front of the high school. While riding a motorcycle with she on the back. Mike took us past a few other landmarks and told us about a bunch more and I feel like there was a great story there, but I was too dopey to take notes. I may have to "interview" him to refresh my memory. Also, I know that I took more pictures in Edwardsville, but they either didn't turn out or I have misplaced them on one of three hard drives. My photo stock is growing, but without any real organization. This is the only picture I could come up with. Mike in the lead, "Historic Route 66" sign in the upper right.

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Thanks for the kicks, Route 66!
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I recall it starting to cloud up shortly after our departure from Edwardsville. It was getting late into the afternoon and it was pretty obvious from body language that we all were anxious to make it to the Hampton Inn in St. Charles. At least as anxious as anyone can be to get to the Hampton Inn in St. Charles. Back on the interstate; I-55 for most of Illinois then on to I-70 to cross into Missouri, skirting the edge of St. Louis, and on to St. Charles.

The 30% finally caught up to us for a bit in St. Louis, but I was happy to add another state to my growing list of those visited on two wheels. The rain wasn't heavy and it began to clear by the time we arrived at the Hampton Inn (which was a very place to stay, by the way).

Welcome to the "Show Me" State
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30-percenting just before "home".
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Downtown St. Charles is an absolutely charming area overlooking the Missouri River. In 1804 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, at the request of President Thomas Jefferson, left here to began their quest for a route to the Pacific Ocean. This event, a major one in U.S. history, is commemorated in many different ways throughout the town. We parked our bikes along the banks of the Missouri and walked the fairly steep bluff to Main Street and The Old Mill Stream restaurant.
Me, sporting a CB1100 Forum T-shirt, not far from were Lewis and Clark launched for their trek to the west.
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Mike pondering either food or gin selections from the menu (more on gin and "gin-snobbery" later)
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Statue of either Lewis or Clark. My guess is Lewis since, if your name was Meriwether, you'd probably carry a weapon, also.
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We walked Main Street, had a delightful dinner, and picked up a couple of growlers of beer from Trailhead Brewery to be consumed at the hotel. I would recommend either Old Mill Stream or Trailhead for dinner if you should happen to find yourself in St. Charles.

It was clouding up pretty good on the way back to the Hampton Inn and I even felt a little spit of rain. We made it back under the motel's canopy just as it started to pour. Our luck of avoiding heavy rain for this trip came to an end at this moment.

Safe and Sound...and Dry...for now..
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(end of part 2)
Part 2.5 -- A bit about the CB1100

This being a forum about the CB1100, I thought I would add a few comments about my 2013 CB1100:

My bike handled the high speeds and longish seat time of the interstate highway system perfectly. Note that I do not have a windscreen which, while probably making some difference later in this account, made no difference to me whatsoever. For those wondering, the Yoshimura exhaust is not loud to the point of distraction of either me or any riders in proximity of me. It just has a nice, throaty, tone.

Of all the bikes in our group, mine has the shortest refueling distance, but that did not prove to be a problem because, as has been discussed elsewhere in this forum, most folks need to get off their bikes to stretch just about the time I need to refuel. A larger tank would be nice, but is not a requirement, at least not for me.

More on how the bike handles in different road and weather conditions later in my report.

(actual end of Part 2)

[Cormanus]

Excellent, MTC. What capacity is a 'growler' of beer?

[clearviewx]

thanks for sharing.....