Pictures can't even begin to do the area justice.  I tried...and at a certain point I basically gave up!  Instead, I focused on enjoying my explorations and chatting with the locals about their schools and communities.


During my stay, I slept at the home/cycle shop of Larry and Julie Britton.  Larry (pictured above) runs a very well stocked motorcycle shop, which includes a fleet of dual sport motorcycles that can be rented by the hour or day.  Their business is called "Arkansas Adventure Rider" 





The entire Beaver Lake/Eureka Springs area is an ideal vacation spot!  The historic one-lane bridge pictured below can be found on one of the many scenic roads around the lake!


My faith was challenged as I was leaving the area headed to Tulsa via a scenic, roundabout route that included the highly recommended Arkansas Road 7.  On this road, in the Boston Mountains heading south toward the "Arkansas Grand Canyon," my cycle began to handle poorly in the curves.  There were many of these curves motorcyclists call 'twisties,' so it didn't take me long to figure out I had a real problem.  My rear tire was very soft and I quickly became stuck on a small shoulder up on the mountainside. 

After calling around to locate the tire I soon discovered only one shop in the area stocked, I called a tow company to deliver air because I thought my leaking tire might hold out the 18 miles I had to travel back off the mountain in order to get to the shop.  Luckily I asked the tow driver to follow me because 10 miles down the tire blew out, forcing us to then load the cycle and trailer onto his truck for the remaining 8 miles. 



Much of that time I did not exactly have the smile you see on my face in the picture below, which was taken the day prior as I rode the twisty, undulating roads of beautiful NW Arkansas and SW Missouri!  All motorcycle riders should experience these wonderful roads!  Cabin-bound travelers will also enjoy them!  In fact, I could have added a third label to the map above that would say "Most Any Road On This Map Is Scenic & Fun!"

Riding Stats: Day 87---257.7 miles traveled, 4 hours and 29 minutes of moving time, 1 hour and 12 minutes of stopped time, 57.5 miles per hour average moving time, 45.3 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 84.6 miles per hour.  Day 88---165.8 miles traveled, 3 hours and 52 minutes of moving time, 4 hours and 4 minutes of stopped time, 42.7 miles per hour average moving time, 20.8 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 82.7 miles per hour.  Day 89---234.4 miles traveled, 4 hours and 33 minutes of moving time, 3 hours and 30 minutes of stopped time, 51.5 miles per hour average moving time, 29.1 miles per hour overall average, and a max speed of 75.7 miles per hour.