We started the activities with registrations on Friday. Written routes with maps were available for those that wished to do some early riding in the area on their own. Those that chose to had a great experience. Some of the best motorcycle roads anywhere in America can be found in NW Arkansas and SW Missouri. Some of the more famous rides would include the Pig Trail and Hiway 7. The entire area is awash with twisty roads, great scenery, rapidly changing elevations, little traffic, and very good road surfaces.

Friday afternoon we went on a dinner ride which crossed Beaver Dam then out to the town of Beaver and across the “Arkansas Golden Gate Bridge.” This is a wood floor suspended bridge across an arm of Beaver Lake. One thing that makes it unique is that the planks run lengthwise on the bridge rather than crossways as you would normally expect. At first one is concerned that the motorcycle tires will tend to follow the gaps between the planks but that fear is dispelled once the rider gets on the bridge. It is there to some degree but not enough to cause concern. From there the riders rode into Eureka Springs via Hiway 23. This route put us through some of the most scenic and oldest parts of the historical town. We wound up at Forest Hill Restaurant for a great buffet meal. Upwards of 70 people thoroughly enjoyed the meal and ride. The 50/25/25 drawing resulted in Kent Hott and Twila Cook each winning $57. Twila very generously donated her winnings to the charity for which we were having the silent auction. We also had a large group campfire with lots of discussion and fun.

Saturday morning we had coffee and doughnuts followed by a seminar on riding the twisties. Kent Hott, MSF Instructor and GWTA Member, was kind enough to lead the discussion and question/answer period that followed. The riders then left on the guided ride of their choice. Rick Harvey led the slow ride. Chuck Stallings led the scenic ride. Robert Donkers led an average paced ride. Kent Hott led an aggressive ride and Jerry Burford led the fast ride. We had a ride for anyone depending on his or her unique riding skill and desire. The pace was set to make the ride as enjoyable as possible for everyone involved. That is the reason we offer so many rides, each one at a different riding pace. Whether you wanted to ride slow and take lots of pictures or preferred to scrape some pegs on the corners, we offered a ride to suit. Other riders chose to do their own rides as a self guided ride. We had the maps and suggestions available for that as well.

The evening saw us chowing down on some fantastic BBQ and trimmings at the campground. The food was catered from Road House Restaurant in Eureka Springs and served by volunteers at the campground. The food was a real hit. The meal was included in the registration.

We then had a slide presentation by Steve Short depicting some beautiful scenes from some of our motorcycle tours. The GPS question/answer/discussion followed at the pavilion. We tried to focus on those units our people are using rather than be brand specific. There were a couple of questions concerning units that most of us were not familiar with that went unanswered, but most of the questions someone present was able to answer. The exchange provided some valuable information for us all. Following this discussion, we had our awards. The youngest rider went to Kent Hott, MO. The most senior rider went to Bryan Sowers, IA. Longest distance solo to Charlie Tucker, TX. Longest distance 2 up went to Ralph and Ann Edgar, IL. Greatest state participation went to MO. Greatest chapter participation went to Chapter N, MO. The silent auction winners were announced. The real winner was the daughter of Dave and Donna Aaron. They are long time contributors to our motorcycle rallies with their leather shop in Ozark. Their child is facing a cornea transplant without benefit of health insurance (pre-existing condition). All proceeds from the silent auction went to them for their daughter’s medical bills. Due to the extreme generosity of our people, we were able to donate $563 to this cause. A great deal of thanks was expressed to all those that made the rally the success that it was. They were too numerous to mention and go way beyond the host chapter and even any one state.

Following the awards the group retired to the group campfire where they were entertained by Lance Boudreaux from the Kansas City, MO area. Everyone was very pleased with the talents of Lance as he sang and played the guitar. It was very much appreciated that he volunteered for this. The 50/25/25 drawing resulted in $92 going to Ray McGrew from OK and another $92 to Ann Edgar from IL. We talked, joked and teased until way into the night. It’s great to relive experiences with good friends. Such was the nature of the whole rally. It was good friends enjoying the company of each other. We had several attending their first rally. From our standpoint they were just friends not everyone had met previously.

Sunday morning is always the saddest part of the rally. We had doughnuts and coffee, packed up and wished our friends a safe journey home. No good byes, as the separation is only until we again cross paths on another motorcycle adventure.

We hope to see many more riders in 2009. We may not all choose the same brand of bike or have the same riding style and we surely come from vastly different backgrounds, but we all enjoy motorcycle touring and each other’s company.

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Click on the link below to get a printable version of the flyer which includes the registration form.

download THIS Adobe PDF file

There is a link for Motels in the Eureka Springs Area at the lower left of this page.

Eating at the Rally

Visiting around the campfire is a main event at Colorama

Riding is What it is All About

Motels available would include a vast number at Eureka Springs. Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce Information Hotline can be reached at 1-800-638-7352.