DUALSPORT MAGAZINE’S
FALL COLOR TOUR 2002 RIDE REPORT
By Joe Batson
SATURDAY’S RIDE
This years Arkansas Fall Color Tour was the coldest of the 4 year history of the FCT. At least the Saturday’s portion was. I only completed about 60 miles of Saturdays ride after having electrical problems. We were some of the first to get to Turner Bend, and though it had been very cold getting there, it was still very enjoyable.
Some of the first to get to Turner Bend
I was doing pretty good until we, (my riding partner, Dennis Roe and myself) got lost in the Mill Creek Trail area. We were probably the first to enter the Mill Creek area, as there weren’t any tracks to follow in the mud. Dennis was following the route sheet and somehow missed a turn, and I wasn’t used to reading maps on my GPS upside down and we turned down a wrong trail that after _ of a mile we were sure wasn’t the right way. That trail was so overgrown that we were forced to turn back. But when I tried to turn around my motor quit running. After waiting a few seconds I tried it again and it started, but then quit again. I finally got it started and turned around and we went back to where we had last turned off on this wrong trail. I studied the GPS and mapped a route back to the main road, which ended up being where we had entered the Mill Creek Trail area. RL was there with a bunch of other people, he pointed us to where the next reset was, which was at the intersection of hwy. 23.
When we got to hwy 23 there were about 20 people already there and as it was already noon, many were considering a short cut to Oark. With the electrical problems I was having, we elected to go with them. We went south on hwy 23 till we got to hwy 215 and turned east. Boy, was it cold. The temperature high for Saturday was only 39 degrees, and with the rain, and we were already wet in places, and at 55 miles per hour, IT WAS COLD!!! My gortex jacket was doing a pretty good job, but my rain pants had split all the way from one side of my crotch to the other. My hands were frozen and the water dripping off of my mustache was running down my neck, IT WAS COLD!!!
OARK GENERAL STORE AND THAT WOOD STOVE
At Oark they had a wood burning stove going and after eating we hugged the stove for quite a while and dried our gloves. They put some more logs in the stove and before we left, it was really putting out some heat. Dennis and I decided after looking at our maps, that there weren’t any more trails between Oark and Clarksville and we choose to go directly to Clarksville. After starting my bike, I turned the handlebars and it quit. I hit the starter, and it started, turned the bars again and it quit again. I tried several times again and finally got it to pull out from the Oark General Store, about 100 feet and it quit again. After going through the start, turn the handlebar routine several times, I decided I was going to have to fix it, it was not going to give me any choice.
BAHA DESIGHS SECOND ELECTRICAL PROBLEM FOR ME
After finding a pin that had pulled out of one of the plugs on the Baha Designs Dual Sport Kit, I pushed it back in and the wire where it was crimped broke off. I cut the wires and spliced around it, it started up. I put it all back together, then Dennis said my lights weren’t working, and they weren’t. We started for Clarksville anyway. Going over the mountain it sleeted on us up in the clouds. Those little chips of ice really sting. We arrived back at the motel looking forward to a long hot shower. Apparently we weren’t the only ones with that in mind, as the water was only slightly warm, all used up.
Though it was really cold and wet, Saturdays ride was still fun, and I learned that I could survive a very wet and very cold ride, I’m really a fair weather rider.
SATURDAY NIGHT BANQUITE
There were lots of war stories passed around at the banquette and two kegs of beer. I bought two bottles of wine at the winery as a peace offering for my wife when I got home. Dennis and I both won a KTM tee shirt. Thanks to all of the sponsors for all of the door prizes, wish I had won that Moose jacket. RL really encouraged everyone to ride the Sunday ride, he said it would really be worth doing. I wasn’t really looking forward to another day of torture, (fun), so I wasn’t wanting to ride on Sunday.
SUNDAY’S RIDE
We woke up Sunday morning and looked out the window at the same wet, miserable rain and cold as Saturday. We turned on the weather channel and could see that the rain was moving to the east on the radar, so we decided that we would go have a good breakfast some where and come back and decide whether to go are not. When we got back it wasn’t really raining, just a very light mist coming down. The weather channel showed the rain moving on past Clarksville, so we made a decision to try it. We got our riding clothes on and checked out of the motel and headed south. It was still very cold, but it wasn’t raining anymore. We saw several riders going back toward Clarksville on the way there.
When we got to the start of the trails, it was really slick and slimy for the first _ mile, and then it got rocky, slick and slimy. I could see why those riders turned around and went back. I knew it would be a long day if things continued as they were, but remembered that RL had said that after the rock garden, and it was, there were some really good trails, so we continued on.
AFTER THE WORST OF THE ROCK GARDEN, IT GOT BETTER
I started shooting video from my helmet can after we got through the worst part of the Rock Garden. Most of the rest of these pictures are from the helmet cam.
GOOD TRAILS AT LAST
The trails continued to improve, and we went from creeping in low gear, to the top of low gear. After this the trails continued to improve, second gear stuff, and then it got fast, third gear, forth gear. Man when you are going 50 miles per hour through the woods, it gives you this really good feeling inside, blasting down a trail with trees just missing your handlebars, dodging water puddles, hitting some of them, jumping others. The trails were fast, and we kept going faster, blasting out of a turn, hitting the top of third gear, braking hard for the next turn. I was getting funner, and funner, and funner.
We caught up with some other riders after a while, there was three of them, forgot there names, but all agreed that RL wasn’t kidding when he said, Sundays ride was a good one and that it would be fun.
We rode on for many miles of really good trails, having the time of our life, enjoying every inch of trail and they just kept on going, and going. Those who turned around and went back, really made a mistake.
We would go through a patch of fog every now and then, then it would clear. In the fog it was a little cool, but when your working the trails, you build up lots of heat and really stay warm anyway.
FIFTY MILE PER HOUR TRAILS IN THE WOODS!!!
FINALLY MET SOME OTHER RIDERS
JUMPING PUDDLES
There were lots of water puddles, but they didn’t take away any of the fun factor. These were just really great trails that went on, and on, and on.
WATER PUDDLE AT SPEED
All good trails must end, and we got to the highway. From there to Shirley’s Restaurant, as we went over the top of Magazine Mountain, highest mountain between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains, it got cold and foggy. The fog would coat my goggles so bad, I had to wipe them with my glove to see anything.
THE GROUP WHO MADE IT TO SHIRLEY’S RESTURANT
We finally got to Shirley’s Restaurant, we were the only ones there. We went in and ordered, and the others that we had met on the trail showed up, A little bit later 3 more showed up. There were 8 of us at Shirley’s, and sadly, probably the only ones who completed the Sunday loop. We all left together and rode some more trails and went through some very scenic areas.
DENNIS AND MYSELF
As the song say’s, “All good things must end some day”, our trip finally ran out of trail, and we headed back to the motel parking lot to load up. We had a 6 hour drive in front of us to get back to Fort Worth. Wish Texas had places like this.
MY DRZ 400E DASH PANNEL
If anyone would like a copy of the video, shot from the helmet cam, 90 min. contact me at email address: joebmcse@mindspring.com
See you down the trail.