Triumphrat

HiDesert · 06-16-2009, 12:40 AM

My work in Missouri was done. It was time to head home.

Having gotten to Missouri with a Saddlesore ride mostly on I-40 and I-44 (see elsewhere in this forum), I wanted to do as much of the return trip on backroads as possible.

The weather had been patchy, so I wasn't surprised to wake up to this:

I rode down route 63 from Columbia to Jefferson City, the state Capital; here's the capitol building:

From Jefferson City, I took 54 south. I wanted to see the Lake of the Ozarks. Quite frankly, I was a little disappointed with the Lake of the Ozarks:

I was pretty surprised at how crowded the area around the Lake of the Ozarks was. It was really built up. They even have roving guard dogs.

HiDesert · 06-16-2009, 12:53 AM

Past the lake, I found a smaller road that cut off part of the route. I did sacrifice another look at the signs for Pomme de Terre Lake. Where do they get the names in this state?

73 was nice; there were a few decent twisties, and some interesting sights.

Now here's a road name I can get behind!

73 took me to 65, which is almost highwayish, so naturally I had to get off of it as quickly as possible. I pulled off to take route 125 south. I stopped for gas in Fair Grove. I had two "That's a Triumph? I used to have one" discussions before I was out of there, and I also saw a cool convertible.

Route 125 was a good road. Oh, and the weather had improved considerably.

HiDesert · 06-16-2009, 01:07 AM

I enjoyed route 125 a lot. It passed through the Mark Twain National Forest, which stopped shortly before the state line. I was in Arkansas.

Immediately after crossing into Arkansas, I found myself behind a minivan. It was poking along, so I was really glad to get a wave around. Shortly after the wave around, route 125 split off from route 160 (which it had joined a few miles back), and I stuck with 125. I thought I saw some sort of sign about a ferry ahead. What?

Yes, there was a ferry ahead.

There were some cool bikes waiting there for the ferry.

We discussed the riding in the area while we crossed the river.

They split off shortly after we crossed the (Bull Shoals) Lake. I ended up behind a pair of guys on cruisers, including one with pretty extreme ape hangers. I poked along behind them for a bit, but then got around and the fun really began. I had decided to take route 7 all the way south to I-40. That turned out to be a pretty good call.

7 was a good road. There were a lot of Police around Jasper. 7 seemed to follow the top of a ridge for a while. I decided to stop at a randomly selected overlook. It turned out to be a good choice.

HiDesert · 06-16-2009, 01:19 AM

This really was one of the prettiest spots of the whole day.

From here, I continued south to Russellville. I was really surprised by how good the riding was along this stretch. I've heard there is good riding in the midwest, but now I believe it. It was a little tough finding my way through Russellville to my next road, route 27.

Route 27 was okay. It took me to Danville, population 2392.

Etc., etc., a few more turns brought me into Oklahoma. Okay, there was one interesting incident. I'd been doing the tire saving slalom (weaving in my lane to minimize the tire squaring off) when I saw flashing lights in my rear view mirror. I'd been keeping pretty close to the speed limit, so I wasn't worried. I was even less worried when he only asked for my license, and not my registration. He said he was just checking on me since I was weaving. He said some people had complained. Presumably not about me personally. He checked my license (apparently there aren't any warrants out for my arrest), and that was pretty much it.

Here's the sign welcoming me to Oklahoma.

HiDesert · 06-16-2009, 01:28 AM

I stopped for gas right after entering Oklahoma.

I talked to a guy there who had the thickest, twangiest accent of anyone I've ever met. Without serious concentration, I'd never have understood a word he was saying. I had an easier time on the Orkney islands.

After filling up, I headed west, with some general ideas about which roads to take. It wasn't too much further down the road that I passed through the little town of Wilburton. Roll the L when you say it; Willlllburton. Sorry; for some reason, as soon as I saw the name of the town, I imagined Mr. Ed pronouncing it. It was past 9:00, so I decided to call it a night and hopefully still get some dinner. I found a little hotel that offered me a room for $50. That's pretty cheap, so I asked to take a look at the room first. It seemed clean, so we had a deal. I unloaded the bike, showered, and headed out to find dinner.

My choices turned out to be a) Pizza Hut, b) McDonalds, or c) gas station food. Pizza Hut it is! Like an idiot, I had my usual 3-4 diet cokes with the meal, so when I got back to the hotel, I had some trouble falling asleep. Moron. Once I did fall asleep, I was awakened by the sound of rain.

Oh, goodie.

Ventura · 06-16-2009, 02:41 AM

Nice job HiD!!
And great bike by the way!

All looks like a great ride on a great day too.
With the added spice of being pulled by the police too!!
Always adds to the excitement!!

Well done.

V.

DaveB · 06-16-2009, 05:01 PM

You appear to be marooned in Oklahoma.

Perhaps you need a ttub nori for the return trip home

?

DaveB.

Catenaccio · 06-16-2009, 05:23 PM

Since you're stuck in Oklahoma in the rain, can we assume you stayed at Hotel Hell-O? (Although to be sure, I stayed at a $50 a night dump in Roggins, CO which was about $49 overpriced. One had to pay to leave.

)

HiDesert · 06-17-2009, 12:23 AM

Boy, how late do you all want me to stay up? Can't a guy get some sleep before he finishes his ride report?

Good one, DaveB.

Well, I woke up, and peeked through the blinds on the window to see that it had indeed rained, but there was dry pavement out there. Some patches of water, but mostly dry pavement. Cest la vie. When I first opened the door, I immediately saw something laying on Misty's seat. ***? Holy heck; now that's what I call service:

Color me impressed. This is one of the good ones. I happily cleaned Misty off with the towels that were in the bag, and prepared for departure. You don't get breakfast with a $50 room, so I decided to heed the wisdom of the forum, scorn McDonalds (even though I've always felt their pancakes are better than anyone has any right to expect) and find some Mom and Pop place along the way.

Here's the view departing Willllllburton.

The first few miles looked kind of promising on the map. I swear on a stack of service manuals, this is in Oklahoma:

HiDesert · 06-17-2009, 12:56 AM

A few turns later (did I remember those route numbers correctly?) I found myself crossing a lake (good; that was on the map!) and saw a Mom and Pop place with a full parking lot. That's a good sign. The gas station next door had some cover, and the ladies behind the desk were happy to let me keep the bike there while I had breakfast. They even asked me to move it closer to the door so it would be further under cover.

Breakfast was slow, but good. I reviewed the morning's pictures, text messaged Mrs. HiD, and studied the map of Oklahoma. The final route decision would await my survey of the sky after breakfast.

I got gas before heading off, not because I needed it, but because they were so nice to me about sheltering the bike. I hope they don't spend the $4.23 all in one place.

The sky ahead looked very gray, so I grimaced, and headed north to I-40. I passed through the picturesque little town of Eufaula (wow; I remembered the name correctly!)

before crossing another leg of the lake. I passed a fenced field with some odd-looking cattle in it. I had to make time (Google maps had told me I had 720 miles to cover by the fastest route), but the curiosity was killing me. U turn...

Texas Longhorns. Cool. The sign also mentioned elk, but I didn't see any of those. Big deal; we have them in my home county. Home; I should be headed there. I got a few photos, and got back on the road.

Turn here, turn there, and then I felt a few drops. Just as I got to the underpass below I-40, it started to come down in earnest. I stopped, pulled on my rain jacket, and hit the highway. Fun, fun, fun. I'd kept my mesh gloves on, figuring they'd dry out faster than the leather gloves when the rain stopped. Good call.

The first sign said it was about 104 miles to Oklahoma City. Wow; I didn't think it would be that far. But those 720 have to fit in somewhere. The rain stopped about 20 miles or so along the highway, and I started to amuse myself by shifting my hands around to get the gloves to dry, which they did reasonably quickly.

I pressed through OKC, and stopped on the far side to (in order of priority) take off the rain jacket, get some caffeine, and gas up - may as well, since I was stopped.

Getting back on the highway, the sky looked very dark ahead. Again. But this time with lightning. I got off at the first exit, and headed off due north. Ninety degrees off the direct azimuth to home, in other words. Oh well, at least the sky ahead was dry, and I was seeing some of America's history.

I kept riding north (trading the lead over and over again with a woman in a little blue compact) until the sky looked storm-free to the west. Then I took the first numbered road that went west. Getting on that road was fun:

Hey, it's the great plains; you take your curves wherever you can get them.