Another year of SFO is now in the books. Well, maybe, but more on that later....
Most of the usual suspects were in attendance this year and in addition, we had two new attendees as well. One from the land of the corn (Iowa) and the other from the land of Oz (Australia). Several past attendees have gone MIA and some just couldn't make it for personal or medical reasons. To those I wish the best and a speedy recovery. Hopefully they will all resurface and join us at the next SFO.
On to the recap - we end up having 10 bikes (and their respective owners) show up, 8 stayed at The Hub, one local and one just passing thru. We had an '03, an '05, two '06's, 3 '07's, an '08A, an '08AE and even a Super Tenere'.
Our newest attendee, Craigsregs hails from the land of the corn. He had been in Atlanta on Wednesday where he had a little suspension work done at Traxxion. As he passed through Birmingham on his way to SFO he joined Pegsparks and I for the trek to the Ozarks by way of overnight in Memphis. Although Wednesday was a washout throughout Alabama, we managed to stay "relatively" dry. But once we arrived in Corinth, MS we stopped for dinner and checked the radar out ahead and quickly decided to spend the night there, then head to Memphis the next morning to meet Winewhisperer. Let's just say, if you've never been to Corinth, MS I doubt you've missed very much. But we managed to have a blast! However, as they say, "What happens in Corinth, stays in Corinth."
Unloading the FJR's that evening in our "budget" priced motel.
The next morning it was on to Memphis to meet Winewhisperer, then head in the general direction of The Hub.
The first of many of our parking lot meetings at The Hub this past weekend.
On Friday, all eight of us staying at The Hub headed to the Ozark Cafe in Jasper for breakfast. We learned to never trust the radar on your phone in an area with a very poor phone signal reception. Needless to say, the rain made it's presence known early and often on Friday. However, three or four of the guys made the most of it and said that they had found some dry pavement somewhere. Some of us found a wet county instead and stocked up for the afternoon....
After the Friday washout some of us endured, we were jonesing to get out Saturday.
Friday night we heard from our Aussie attendee, festar. He said he would be at The Hub Saturday morning. He came rolling in on his shiny
new '03 Gen I ready to roll. FJRMGM and two others had already headed out on a ride, so the remaining seven of us charted a course that would take us on a little 250 mile jaunt around Bull Shoals Lake.
Here's Pegsparks and sevens0n waiting to pull out Saturday, with Winewhisperer back at the pump fueling up.
We headed up through Harrison on AR 7 and then briskly down AR 14 to Push Mountain. At Push Mountain we rearranged the riding order so that the ones feeling the most spry could push the limits of the FJR, while some of us just strolled along smelling the roses. Supposedly there is film somewhere of the Push Mountain trio but I'll have to leave that to the owner of that production to decide whether or not it goes public.
Either way, after that big run we stopped to fuel up and grab a bite. We introduced festar to some Southern eatin' at Skippers in Mountain Home, AR, While we were hoping for some healthy vegetables, apparently they specialize in fried this and fried that. It's all good. Then it was time to suit up again and head for US 160 in southern Missouri. Here's Pegsparks and LA2wheeler ready to roll.
After the roller coaster ride that is US 160 we found our way to Hollister, MO, just outside of Branson, MO to an interesting little spot called "Ye Olde English Inn" founded in 1909.
https://oldenglishinnbranson.com/ It's a neat little place I discovered a couple of years ago when I was looking for some hangover relief after an evening around an SFO campfire.
Anyway, here's a shot of the gang of seven that were in the Bull Shoals run on Saturday, taken just before entering the Pub at Ye Olde English Inn. From left to right, Winewhisperer, FJRBandit, LA2wheeler, festar, Craisgregs, sevens0n and Pegsparks.
Here's LA2wheeler, Craigsregs and Pegsparks enjoying a cold one while relaxing and chatting with festar about his upcoming travels across the US.
Our steeds waiting patiently out front.
Winewhisperer telling us all he's number one.
LA2wheeler trying to look and see what going on inside the car next to him.
Headed back to The Hub on a beautiful evening in the Ozarks.
That evening we had a nice prime rib dinner at the restaurant on site at The HUB and then it was back to the parking lot for more
stories lies about what great riders we all are...
After a good time was had by all, we said our goodbyes and agreed that it would be The HUB again for the next SFO.
Everyone got out
relatively early Sunday morning headed back home. Pegsparks and I struck out with GPRIDER, Winewhisperer and LA2wheeler. We made our way to Hot Springs via scenic AR 7 where we said our goodbyes. Pegsparks and I continued on towards Greenville, MS where we crossed the Mighty Mississippi.
Then onto the long slog across Mississippi on US 82.
As it started getting dark we had to stop to change out our visors and eye protection. I wish I had kept on my dark shades.....
All good things must come to an end. But before signing off I'd like to give a big shout out to Randall and Debbie at The HUB, along with their very friendly staff and of course Happy, who is one of the best furry animals on the planet. Because of them all, we were treated to another great stay for SFO this year.
For those that don't know, Randall and Debbie took on a monumental task a few years ago when they purchased the once proud property known throughout Northwest Arkansas as "Dogpatch". It is said to have been one of the largest amusement parks in the country at the time it was in operation. Well, mother nature has now reclaimed most of the remnants, but Randall and Debbie have worked hard to get the hotel back into shape, while providing us all with a clean place to stay at a very affordable price. Not to mention, they are two of the nicest people you will ever meet, bar none. They tell me that they've already had two or three weekends of complete sell out this year and there are several weekends booked solid this coming year. That's great news for both them and all of us. Hopefully they'll be able to continue to update and improve the property and continue to provide us with an affordable place to hold SFO right in the heart of some of the best riding the country has to offer!
Thanks to everyone that attended and I look forward to seeing you all again next time at SFO. Which, by the way, brings me back to what I mentioned at the very start. I said that another year of SFO was in the books --- However, we had an executive committee meeting of eight this year and decided that after multiple years of having at least one day rained out that maybe the Spring wasn't the best time for us to have SFO. So we decided that we are going to give the Fall a chance in the Ozarks. But since none of us can wait another 18 months to go back, we're going back this coming September. Yep, you heard it right, we're going back to The HUB in the Fall
this year. If you are interested in joining us stay tuned and keep an eye out for a new thread entitled - SFO 2014 - The Redux.
Till then ----
