MKO
Well-known member
The Beechcraft Drifters Motorcycle Club organized a little ride from Wichita, KS to Fayetteville, AR for the Bikes, Blues and BBQ rally last week. Nine people on Six bikes took Rt. 400 east, did a little jog on I-44 to Joplin, MO then dropped down 71 into Arkansas. Four of us stopped along the way in West Mineral, Kansas to see Big Brutus and see the museum that pays tribute to the coal mining history in the area.
We had rooms in the Bentonville/Rogers area about 20 miles north of Fayetteville, the rest of the gang had rooms in town. After checking in around 4 PM, we road into Fayetteville via I-540 and found ourselves in Friday evening bumper-to wheel stop-n-go rush-hour freakin'traffic. It took us over an hour to get there. Once we got in town the Zumo did a nice job of snaking through the back streets to find a nice parking spot near the corner of Dickson and West St.
We strolled Dickson St. and ended up in Willie D's Cafe where the entertainment was just starting and the beer was cold. They had two pianos facing each other with a guy and a girl taking turns on the lead vocals. They played a nice variety of southern rock, piano classic pop and country. They also played non-stop for the 2 hours we were there and did three shots of various poisons in the mean time. As far as BBQ, you could order anything you wanted as long as it was one of three items on their special rally menu: 1/4 slab of ribs, wings, or a combo plate of ribs and wings with fries. I got the combo plate for $10.25 and almost couldn't finish it, but it was good.
The next day three of us hooked up around 9 AM for a nice ride through the Ozarks. We headed up to Eureka Springs via 62 where a Corvette rally was taking place. There was a little bit of traffic, but most of the bikes we saw were headed the other direction. We had planned our route in the opposite direction of the huge poker run and we were glad we did. We often saw large trains of bikes slowly following a camper through the mountains. From Eureka we took 23, Pigs Trail, south, did a little jog further east at 412 to 21 south down to 16 back west to 23 again down to Ozark. All the roads were perfect! A nice combination of twisties and sweepers, conservatively marked between 15 MPH and 50 MPH. Some beautiful scenery as well, although the fall colors had not arrived yet due to the unseasonably warm temperatures.
Just north of Ozark we stumbled across the Pig Trail rally. The smell of food caused us to do a u-turn and investigate. There was free admission, live music and if you filled out a form with your name and address, ice-cold beer for $1. We were in! Turns out it was their first formal year and they were trying to grow the popularity. There were only a few food vendors this year, but the Italian sausage sandwich with peppers and onions hit the spot.
Back on the road after an hour and a half or so, we headed a little further south to grab I-40 west to 71 north back in to Fayetteville. We stopped south of town to look at the manufacturer's displays, but found we were too late for any demo rides. That evening we had dinner at the Hog Haus on Dickson, which is a micro-brewery, and then strolled Dickson. It was a sea of people and an unending parade of bikes and characters. A good end to a great day.
Sunday we headed home on the same route and caught a storm just west of Parsons , KS that lasted about 45 minutes. We saw it coming so we put on the rain gear in time. The rest of the ride home was uneventful, and I pulled into my garage at about 1:30 PM.
Here is a link to some pictures I took:
https://picasaweb.google.com/Ostrom11/Bikes...ettevilleAR2007
We had rooms in the Bentonville/Rogers area about 20 miles north of Fayetteville, the rest of the gang had rooms in town. After checking in around 4 PM, we road into Fayetteville via I-540 and found ourselves in Friday evening bumper-to wheel stop-n-go rush-hour freakin'traffic. It took us over an hour to get there. Once we got in town the Zumo did a nice job of snaking through the back streets to find a nice parking spot near the corner of Dickson and West St.
We strolled Dickson St. and ended up in Willie D's Cafe where the entertainment was just starting and the beer was cold. They had two pianos facing each other with a guy and a girl taking turns on the lead vocals. They played a nice variety of southern rock, piano classic pop and country. They also played non-stop for the 2 hours we were there and did three shots of various poisons in the mean time. As far as BBQ, you could order anything you wanted as long as it was one of three items on their special rally menu: 1/4 slab of ribs, wings, or a combo plate of ribs and wings with fries. I got the combo plate for $10.25 and almost couldn't finish it, but it was good.
The next day three of us hooked up around 9 AM for a nice ride through the Ozarks. We headed up to Eureka Springs via 62 where a Corvette rally was taking place. There was a little bit of traffic, but most of the bikes we saw were headed the other direction. We had planned our route in the opposite direction of the huge poker run and we were glad we did. We often saw large trains of bikes slowly following a camper through the mountains. From Eureka we took 23, Pigs Trail, south, did a little jog further east at 412 to 21 south down to 16 back west to 23 again down to Ozark. All the roads were perfect! A nice combination of twisties and sweepers, conservatively marked between 15 MPH and 50 MPH. Some beautiful scenery as well, although the fall colors had not arrived yet due to the unseasonably warm temperatures.
Just north of Ozark we stumbled across the Pig Trail rally. The smell of food caused us to do a u-turn and investigate. There was free admission, live music and if you filled out a form with your name and address, ice-cold beer for $1. We were in! Turns out it was their first formal year and they were trying to grow the popularity. There were only a few food vendors this year, but the Italian sausage sandwich with peppers and onions hit the spot.
Back on the road after an hour and a half or so, we headed a little further south to grab I-40 west to 71 north back in to Fayetteville. We stopped south of town to look at the manufacturer's displays, but found we were too late for any demo rides. That evening we had dinner at the Hog Haus on Dickson, which is a micro-brewery, and then strolled Dickson. It was a sea of people and an unending parade of bikes and characters. A good end to a great day.
Sunday we headed home on the same route and caught a storm just west of Parsons , KS that lasted about 45 minutes. We saw it coming so we put on the rain gear in time. The rest of the ride home was uneventful, and I pulled into my garage at about 1:30 PM.
Here is a link to some pictures I took:
https://picasaweb.google.com/Ostrom11/Bikes...ettevilleAR2007
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