Chaingang Rally, September 2003
Road of our Dreams, Talimena Highway
Photo by Josh Herbold
Lorna, Nancy, Bob, Mike
Photo by Josh Herbold
Photo by Josh Herbold
Photo by Josh Herbold
Lucky Josh, he won this t-shirt!
Few destinations offer roads as good as those in and around Mena, Arkansas. Mena sits on the western edge of Arkansas, about equidistant between its northern and southern borders, and is only a few miles from the Oklahoma border. Mena is also host to the Chain Gang rally in late September and this year EC Riders members Mike Brunt, Nancy Koeneman, Lorna Doucet, Josh Herbold, and myself, Robert Jiménez, gathered at the Monticello Road exit off Interstate 57 in southwest Champaign to head for the hills. It was a damp, foggy morning but we topped off our tanks just the same. We executed this trip on a pair of super snazzy Cagiva Gran Canyons, a well-equipped F650, a beautiful new R1150R, and a nimble little green Kawasaki Ninja 250. Yes, that’s right, a 250. The poor little thing almost spun its way into moto heaven but it didn’t and successfully carried its rider there and back, and then some. Just how the heck is your bike now, Lorna? I figure we put on around 14 or 1500 miles on this trip.
Anyhow, back to my story about the rally. This ride is definitely recommended if you live for curves. There are almost no limits to the number of curvy, twisty roads you could indulge yourself on in Arkansas. It’s really up to you. Check out the fantastic pictures Josh took of the Talimena highway and eat your heart out if you haven’t tasted this sweet honey or a road. Getting there is fairly easy, if not a bit boring for the first 200 or so miles. The quickest way is to hop on I-57 and exhaust its entire length as you slip over the impressive bridge spanning the Mississippi river and cross over into Missouri. If you know your agriculture you’ll be able to identify the cotton and rice growing in the adjacent fields. Without a doubt, a different eco-system and economy than what we see on our side of the river. Within a short stretch the interstate fizzles out and becomes MO Rt. 60. From here you have several options. You could stay on straight boring highway and head toward Little Rock via 67 if you want to make the best time possible, or you could keep riding west and pick up 160 west. That’s what we did and after I took a wrong turn north, we found our way back south, past Poplar Bluff and onto 160 West. This is a wonderful road that will take you through the town of Fair Dealing and onto some very nicely paved curves for a number of miles. You’ll go through the towns of Doniphan, West Plains, and Gainesville. If you just want a great ride, you really don’t need to go any further. These roads, and several others in the area, are first rate and you can have all-day riding pleasure here. We got our money’s worth in this part of Missouri but we kept on riding and headed south toward Mountain Home, Arkansas. I really hate route 62 which cuts through Mountain Home, but if you’re lucky the traffic won’t be too miserable. A bit west of Mountain Home, we stopped in Flippin and had to take some pictures at the Flippin Church of God sign. No offense to the religious but we had a great time considering the onomatopoeic ramifications of these consonantal conjunctions. Sorry, couldn’t resist. Up to this point, all bikes purred contentedly; no problems with duffel bags strapped down more securely than the Marquis de Sade’s kinkiest date. More on this as the story proceeds.
We stopped for the night in Harrison, got signed up in the Motel’s drinking establishment and since riding had ceased till the morrow, we all enjoyed a libation. The membership was necessary because Harrison is in a dry county and the motel circumvents the problem with their ‘private’ bar. Great people in this part of the country, great roads, but many dry counties. The bar was officially closed but after we all moaned the wail of the damned, a kind soul re-opened the bar and provided us with a private audience. You don’t find that kind of service just any old place.
Mena is also in a dry county. The message is clear, come prepared! The next day we availed ourselves of incredible southbound Rt. 7. A few eyebrows twitched as Mike conducted a full FAA-style mandated review of all the straps on his ‘naked’ R1150R, then restrapped it, and then strapped it again. Something about those naked riders! Anyhow, Rt. 7 is sublime and has been written up in several of the motorcycle magazines as part of Arkansas’s overlooked ‘sport bike’ heaven. We enjoyed this road and stayed on it past Russellville, along I-40, and then headed west on Rt. 28 until we hit the town of Ola. In Spanish, Ola means wave, like a sea swell, and while 28 isn’t the best road in Arkansas, it was pleasant enough, just enough gentle curves to keep one awake and attentive. We stayed on this road till we got to Rt. 71 which carried us the rest of the way into Mena. From there we found the Talimena Highway and zoomed up to the Queen Wilhelmina Hotel and the accompanying state park. Great place, nice accommodations, with an incredible view. The elevation increases a considerable amount, must be a few thousand feet, because it’s often a good deal colder up at the park, sometimes its foggy and wet. Just ask Bill Usilton who went with me the year before! Anyhow, the folks who run the chaingang rally are fantastic. They will feed you and make sure you are very well hydrated with quality food and drink. There aren't many rallies that do a better job at this. Go and enjoy!
The next day, Josh and Nancy headed down to Mena while Mike, Lorna and I hopped on the Talimena highway and headed into Oklahoma. Since we weren’t trying to get home, or find a new destination, no strapping was in order so the R breathed a little easier. This road is one of a kind and at times there are dramatic drop offs on both sides as the highway teeters on top of a ridge for something like 50 miles into Talihina on Rt. 1. Lots of curves, tight twisty curves; some so tight you have to know your limits and those of your bike or you could end up wishing you were piloting a hang glider rather than a motorcycle. Seems like someone often does get hurt so if it’s your first time, you may want to follow someone else who knows the route. But, go ahead, use some of that rubber on your tire’s chicken strip. We stopped and admired the view from one of the overlooks while Lorna consulted with an internationally renowned dog surgeon, or someone of similar stature, and we picked up a few other riders on slow K1200RS’s who wanted to know why we didn’t brake more often for the curves. Guess those suckers are just a tad heavier than a Cagiva. They kept their tires on the road, though, and they stayed with us all the way to Talihina. The road gets boring at this point so we went back the way we had come. I messed up (yes, yet again!) and missed the turn back to the park and we detoured a bit and had to double back. We hopped on 259 and rode down to Broken Bow. Bad idea. The road wasn’t all that nice and it started getting hot. It has a few nice sections but probably not worth the effort. We went east after lunch and back into Arkansas. We found Rt. 8 and followed it back into Mena. Not a bad day’s ride but the best part of it is the Talimena highway; probably the only part really worth getting to know. You not only have to see something like this to get the full impact, you also need to ride it at least once in your life to be able to say that you’ve really lived. In my imagination, heaven has nothing but roads like this. The bikes don’t need gas, maintenance, or new tires and the only reason to stop is to get a cool drink and discuss the day’s ride with your friends. Wait! That’s pretty much what riding in Arkansas is like, except for the gas, maintenance and new tires stuff.
On Sunday, Josh took off and got himself home by the end of the day, must have been a long, hard iron-butt kind of slog. The rest of us decided to prolong the fun and turn our return home into a two-day ride. Another round of black straps, pulled this way and that, tightened, checked for tension, and finally all snug and ready to go. The R was ready to roll! We hit the road and began the rather lengthy ride home, something like 7 to 800 miles in front of us. It’s at this point in a ride that I start feeling guilty and thinking I should have been home a couple of days ago. I really hate this feeling. The guilt makes me a little anxious and cranky. Still, I’m glad we took the extra day. The work on my desk hadn’t grown too exponentially and I managed to get it under control within a relatively reasonable amount of time. Sitting at home now, in January, I wonder why I didn’t spend more time on my bike during ’04. Yeah, I know, some of you are asking how could he possibly spend more time on the road? But, way back in those halcyon days of September, many hours of great riding still awaited us, even if I did feel an occasional twinge of guilt, I tossed my bella machina into the curves as hard as I could and did my best to enjoy the sensations. Someone has to do it, right? On our way out of Arkansas, we headed back to Highway 7, up to Mountain View (not Mountain Home) and savored Highway 9. Highway 9 is where on a previous excursion to Mena, Josh met a homicidal terrapin and burst into a flaming ball of glory. Well, it was something like that, and we won’t go into all the details, but if you are interested contact Mr. Turtle. Anyhow, Rt. 9 winds up through some rather impressive hills and includes a significant stretch of 15-20 mph curves. Gotta watch out for gravel here and keep your eyes wide open. Good time to practice all those handling tips David Hough provides in Proficient Motorcycling. If you’re lucky, or maybe unlucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of the occasional tarantulas that crab-walk across the road whenever they sniff pheromones on the other side.
After some very good riding between Mountain View and the Missouri border, we stopped for a coke and a chat with other bikers enjoying the day in Mammoth Springs, AR. It’s right at the state line and a very pretty river flows through this town. There is a nice restaurant on the river here and the park on the other side of the road makes a nice rest stop. All straps were checked yet again and we got back on the road and roared into Thayer, MO and onto MO Rt. 142. This road is a treat, lots of roller coaster like hills and fun curves rated between 35 and 50 mph. Of course, we all know those, ahem, recommendations are supposed to be doubled, right? We ended up in Doniphan for the night and settled down in a nice motel on top of a hill. We all took a nice walk and checked out what looked like a corporate headquarters across the street. After Nancy and Lorna set off their alarm system (how did you two do that?), we ran down a hill with a maniacal cat in hot pursuit. The exercise did us good and we undid it all by buying some treats down at the gas station/convenience story at the bottom of the hill. Monday’s ride was mostly two-lane divided highway and not much fun. Still, except for the little Kawasaki not wanting to start a time or two, no real mishaps. A great ride, great people, and great roads. Can’t really ask for too much more. Hope we can gather a few more of you for next year’s chain gang. Take care, y’all and start planning now for a couple of rallies in 2004. Otherwise, what would you do during these cold, dark, wet months? Oh yeah! Take a New Year’s day ride over to Oakwood. Not a bad way to start the New Year.