Nana's Solo Adventure...

[Nana]

Since I had plans to meet up with Marge in Eureka Springs on Sunday to firm up some rally plans, and since the weather forecast was out-of-this-world ideal for it..... I decided to stick a pack on my trike and take an easy 2-day ride to Arkansas. I've ridden for years, both on 2 wheels and 3, and often ride locally on my own; but, despite having ridden cross-country and many other long distance trips, I have never taken a long trip solo. Seems to me, this is the time to do it!

I woke up to 59º, a promise of sunshine and pleasant temperatures, and zipped up my leather jacket with a smile. Because he thought it was unfair that I was getting all the riding fun, Mike hopped on his bike and decided to ride about two hours West with me as far as Indianapolis. Both of us were happy for the leather, but it was a beautiful morning to ride and the temps were in the low 60s when we pulled out at 8:00 a.m.!


Fun fact of the day: At highway speed, my speedometer is consistently 5 mph higher than the GPS shows. So.... when I think I'm going 70, I'm only going 65 in reality. YAY! I get to speed up!!! I've never had a GPS on my trike before........ hmmmmm..... Mike may not get it back!

After topping off the tank and having a cup of coffee and a doughnut in Indy, Mike headed back toward Ohio and I headed on toward St. Louis..... still happy to have the leather jacket on for a couple more hours! I have seen dozens and dozens of bikes and trikes on the road -- both being ridden and trailered -- but 90% of them are headed East. No doubt they are all heading home from Sturgis, and almost all of them waved and gave thumbs up as I passed them going the other way. Bikers/Trikers are such great folks!!!

I skirted St. Louis and rode on down I-44 about 60 miles further to the little Rte. 66 community of Cuba, MO. I just checked into the absolutely charming Wagon Wheel Motel. ( Wagon Wheel Motel ) This historic stone motel was recently refurbished completely. The rooms are small and cozy (they didn't mysteriously grow in the intervening years ), but immaculate and comfortable. Wifi is free, each room has a private bath and flat screen TV, and the price is right!




A couple of blocks up the street is a tiny gas station with two pumps and a big sign that says they pump the gas for you. The attendant was happy to let me fill the trike myself, but he turned the pump on and handed me the hose. Don't go there expecting to prepay with a credit card. They take cash only. Gotta love this tiny town!

An easy 461 miles today, and tomorrow will be an even easier day. Looking forward to seeing Eureka Springs! Updates to follow

[Nana]

I woke to a light rain falling this morning, so just "hung out" and watched the olympics for an hour. Then wiped off the main part of the raindrops from the seat and the tank, loaded up, and headed out; temps in the upper 60s and still overcast. The little bit of rain that had fallen quickly absorbed away, and by the time I ate breakfast at a little cafe, the highway was completely dry. There is lots of green around here because of all the trees, but the grass and ground seem very dry in most areas, and yesterday when I crossed the Mississippi River, it was startling to see how drastically low the water level was. A tug and barge were moving slowly, but obviously had to stay right in the very center of the river as it appeared very shallow to either bank.

It was under 300 miles to get to Eureka Springs, so I just relaxed and enjoyed the ride. I-44 winds through the rolling, heavily treed hills and is a beautiful route. When I turned south at Springfield onto Hwy 65 (not freeway, but almost) it was even better.....except for a never-ending stream of billboards advertising Branson entertainment!!!! I was distracted and disappointed by the signs, but I finally made a conscious decision to ignore them and look beyond to the rolling Ozark Mountains with all of their thick green forest.

Then, once I was past Branson and on the final leg to Eureka Springs, it was absolutely wonderful! The GPS led me down MO-86 -- a two lane, winding bit of Heaven! There were still lots of trees, but the hillsides also hold large grassy pastures with contented cattle grazing. Such an enjoyable ride through a beautiful rural area.

I found the Best Western Inn of the Ozarks without difficulty, but my room wasn't ready, so I found some lunch then rode slowly through the downtown streets of old, historic Eureka Springs. None of the streets are flat. They are narrow, winding, and utterly charming with their old storefronts. I don't think the photos really give a clear picture of the slopes and charm, but this will give you an idea:





Parking is VERY hard to come by! There are metered spots on the street (I caught one as someone pulled out of it), but public parking lots have signs saying $5.00/3 hours with $5.00 minimum. It makes using the $5.00/day shuttle deal sound very appealing. The trollies apparently run constantly, and circle by the various motels. With your all-day pass you can hop on and off at will, and never worry about finding a parking spot!

The shops are definitely touristy, but not filled with cheap, made-in-China souvenirs and t-shirts as Gatlinburg stores tend to be these days. I saw lots of gorgeous "artsy" pottery, jewelry, flowing hemp and linen clothing, artwork, etc. There are a few shops with souvenir t-shirts, but they also hold Bjorn sandals, and other higher end items. It would definitely warrant a few hours of wandering and window shopping for anyone who likes that sort of thing.

When I had checked into my room and unloaded, I took a trash can of warm water and a couple of rags down to rinse off the bugs and road grime from the trike........and drew a small crowd! LOL!!! Some were bikers, but just as many were not. Several took pictures of the trike, and one white haired gentleman (who was not a biker at all, from his appearance) held forth to anyone who would listen about the V-rod's engine -- water cooled, developed by Porsche for HD, incredibly powerful, etc., etc. "And this little lady says she rode it all the way from Dayton, Ohio herself!!!!" And I just kept rinsing, and wiping, and smiling, and saying "Thank you!" if someone complemented the trike. What a hoot!

My room is very, very nice -- spacious, king-sized bed, clean as a whistle. I am on the second floor with entrance from an upper level walkway over the parking lot. But there is also a back door onto a balcony overlooking the rear of the building over the pool and central recreation area. I haven't walked down there yet, but the pool looks very nice, and there is a movie area, pool and pingpong area, and mini golf back there. I'll explore it all with Marge and Claudia when they arrive in a couple of hours. These two pics were taken from that back balcony:

[Nana]

It's been a good, busy, productive day in Eureka Springs.....

• Marge & I had an informative meeting with the president of the Chamber of Commerce
• And a wonderfully productive session with the owner of the Best Western Inn of the Ozarks and his chief of sales for the hotel and convention center where details were discussed and plans laid for the rally in June. In addition, we were given a tour of the entire facility and what will be available to our group.
• We also visited the two of the RV parks that Tom (trikeleader) had contacted on behalf of the rally attendees. (Details will be found on the rally registration web page.)

And for skuuter and Lucky..... yes, we DID eat well! As requested, here are a few pictures:

Breakfast at "PANCAKES"







Treats at "CRAVINGS"







Dinner at "LA FAMILIA"

[Nana]

I woke up this morning to another ideal riding day.... thankfully! The skies were clear, air fresh, temps in the mid-60s. I ate a hearty breakfast in the motel restaurant, said good-bye to Marge, and got on the road at 7:30 a.m.

The GPS led me back up to Springfield, MO, then East on Hwy. 60 all the way to a very tiny sliver of Illinois (crossing the Mississippi River) and right into Kentucky (crossing the Ohio River). Then it was just back country roads down to the town of Murray, KY where I checked into another charming, well-kept mom-n-pop motel (Murray Plaza Lodge | Rated #1 of 9 hotels in Murray Kentucky (KY)) 363 beautiful riding miles later.

A side note.... While I definitely enjoy the amenities and spaciousness of the newer, big-time motel chains, for a place to stop for the night, get off your trike/bike, and enjoy a slice of old fashioned atmosphere, check out the web site: momandpopmotels.com. That is where I found both of my stop-over spots for this trip. Many of these older motels have been allowed to deteriorate, I'm sad to say, but if you look you can find treasures that have been maintained and loved, and will more than meet your needs on a trip like this while saving you a good deal of $$$!

Murray, KY is the home of one of our sponsors -- the Hannigan trike factory (Hannigan Motorsports Home Page) where my baby was "born" and delivered to me back in March this year. Since I could conveniently travel home this way from Eureka Springs, I am bringing her by for a first well-baby checkup now that she has about 3,500 miles on her. I'm not expecting any issues to be found at all, and she has hummed along beautifully this week; but I thought it would be good to have all her bolts and nuts and parts checked to be sure everything is staying tight. The good folks at Hannigan will look her over carefully first thing in the morning, and then I'll be heading home tomorrow.

[Nana]

Today -- the final day of my Solo Adventure -- was full of fun and adventure!

As with all the others, the weather has been ideal and very comfortable. I ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel, and was at Hannigan's front door by 8:15. Jim Gooch looked the trike over in the sunshine and asked me how it was running. He answered a few questions I had, then rode her around to the shop to take off her wheels and check all her trike parts .



I opened my Kindle and settled in for an hour or so of staying out of their hair. But they are such nice folks!!! Ruth Anne Hannigan came out for a chat, Andrew Hannigan stopped to say hello, and John (head of sales) invited me to go out and play.........on a 2012 Goldwing with the brand new Hannigan trike kit on it! He pushed it out of the showroom, put on a dealer plate, and away I went.

So all you 2012 GW owners, how many hours of flight training did you have before you understood how to use that cockpit? I determined how to turn it on, where the horn and the turn signals were, and simply ignored the rest. Worked for me....



So, what did I think? It was smooth, handled well, and was easy to drive with lots of pickup. I did about 5 miles on the main road, then off on winding country roads -- not "twisties", but lots of curves to try out; about 20 miles total. I would definitely need different handlebars if I were to ride it much! I was scooted up to the very front of the seat and still leaning forward to steer in the corners (no smart comments about munchkins, guys...LOL!). And I've read the ongoing discussion about all you long-legged guys needing adjustments to get your legs comfortable, but it would take a long time for me to feel comfortable with my legs bent like that constantly too, and I am NOT long-legged!





I think it must be simply what you are used to. I have always ridden cruisers, from the little Honda Rebel 450 to Harley Softails. Shadows, the VTX, etc. all feel normal and comfortable for me. I like the low center of gravity and the feel of sitting down "in" the bike/trike with my feet more in front of me; with the GW, I felt like I was up on top of a mountain. It felt secure and stable and it is a beautiful trike, but not a good fit for me on a permanent basis. I sure did have fun giving it a go, though! Thank you, John, for giving me that opportunity!

Jim brought my V-rod around with a smile saying everything checked out just fine! He had adjusted the rear shocks at my request to lift the rear just about a 1/2 inch (it did great all the way home, Jim. Thanks!), even checked all the tire pressures, and I was good to go. I pulled away from Hannigan at 10:30 with about 370 miles to reach home.

But what's an adventure without a bit of REAL adventure? On the loop skirting Louisville during rush hour, I was heading to the next exit to fill up with gas. Just one mile from the exit I felt a sputter, crossed my fingers that I wouldn't shut down in the middle lane and took advantage of a brief break at that precise moment to make it across the left lane to the left shoulder just as the trike died.

I was well out of traffic, so I turned on the flashers, dug out my AAA card and phone and made the call. It was so hard to hear because of all the fast moving traffic on both sides of me, but I got that the roadside assistance operator said they could have a gallon of gas to me in about 15 minutes..... YAY! She confirmed my card number, address, name, etc., then asked for a description of my vehicle so the driver could find me. I told her it was a motorcycle, and she said, "Oh, then I can't help you." SAY WHAT??????? EXCUSE ME???????? "You don't have RV coverage, and motorcycles fall in that category."

HELLO! I'm not asking for a mechanic or a tow for a motorcycle, I'm asking for one gallon of gas. What the heck difference does it make WHAT vehicle I'm driving? I couldn't hear her answers except for the word "can't". I hung up.

Then I called Mike, told him exactly where I was, what I thought she had said, and asked him to call AAA to see if I had heard her right, and to see if he could please find me some gas even if he had to call a Louisville tow company. Meanwhile, I was safe and fine and would wait to hear from him.

It seems he got the same response that I had heard. It didn't settle well with him, and he "requested" that they immediately cancel our AAA membership and refund the prorated remaining fees we have paid for this year. The response? "Oh, Mr. Harrison, you've been loyal members for 40 years, please don't leave AAA now!"

ROTFL! Can't you just imagine the nice chat that followed as he educated her on the fact that loyalty has to go BOTH ways to be worth anything? I'm positive it was a "nice chat", because less than 10 minutes later a roadside assistance truck pulled up, and a whistling teddy-bear of a man had poured a gallon of the good stuff into my tank, shaken my hand, made sure he heard my trike start for himself, then "stood guard" while I slipped back into the busy rush hour traffic. I made it to the gas station at the next exit to top off with four more gallons and headed on down the highway with a big grin on my face.

I pulled into our garage at 6:30 p.m. What a fun trip! I am so thankful for God's blessings the whole time! Even with the run-out-of-gas episode, I wouldn't have missed a single day of it. The trike ran smoothly, the riding was fabulous, the time in Eureka Springs was a treat, and the weather was perfect! I'm so glad I took this opportunity and just did it!

[stormrider]

Hi there Nana
Great feature and photo's, glad you had a good trip, but those pacakes looked real yummmy