Talimena Trip 2005

Six bikes showed up for the trip – five completed the trip. The [fill in the name brand of the bike you most like to insult and poke fun at] had to turn back.

No – not really. John had family matters to take care of that day, and rode his ST1100 with us up to Atoka for breakfast. He then pealed off in another direction so he could attend to his family needs later that day. It was good to see and ride with John – if for only a part of the trip.

The remaining bikes were all GoldWings. And all very good looking GoldWings at that! Two GL1500’s and three GL1800’s. We followed the planned route up to 43, over Lake Sardis Dam, on to Oklahoma 1 – which turns into the Talimena Skyline Drive. With 3 GPS units on the trip, we were not going to get lost. Of course, we would not have been lost with zero GPS units, either – but that’s beside the point.

Art and Jen, his niece, led the trip on his Illusion Blue 2002, “Barney”. Following next was [order varied from time to time] Jeff and his daughter, Heather, on the Red 2004, “Fire Chief”. Next was David and Mary on their Dark Blue 1999, “Blue Max”, followed by Yours Truly and Willie on the “Silver Bullet”. [Let’s just forget all the ‘Buzzard’ references at this point.] Last, but certainly not least, was Romex on his Metallic Red 1999, “Red Chrome” – AKA ‘Road Dog’ – and was “Bad to the Bone!” as usual.

The “Drive” was great with almost no traffic. We were forewarned by Adam that there was sand in some curves, especially on the Arkansas side. The Ranger at the beginning of the drive also warned us that the rains had washed sand and small gravel onto the road surface in places. It had apparently been worn off or removed, because, with the exception of one or two places on the Arkansas side, we saw very little sand on the road. But the warnings were well respected and appreciated. We, of course, made the obligatory stop at Queen Wilhelmina Lodge and State Park to admire the view and shop for lapel pins.

Once over the drive, we stopped at the Pizza Hut in Mena for lunch. They were out of so many items there that we all voted the place to be the ‘Best Place in Mena to open a pizza restaurant’. When it finally came out, the pizza was really good. Next year we may vary that part of the plan.

Back in the saddle – and up on ‘The Drive’.

As planned, we exited off the middle of the drive, onto Highway 259. There was still very little traffic. The high speed sweeping turns on 259 through and beyond Big Cedar are still a favorite for most everyone. A quick stop at the “Monument” on 259 we all watched David zoom by. We decided it would be better to catch up with David than to have him turn around. We spent the next 20 minutes in that endeavor. Even though we were in contact on the CB (all the bikes on this trip now have CBs) David did not see us stopped by the road and there was some amount of confusion – as I think he was still expecting to catch up with us.

Next diversion was the “Beaver’s Bend Loop”, which is a loop across the dam and around the State Park on Highway 259A. We stopped at the Nature Center there for a while and enjoyed the tranquil shaded views of Mountain Fork River below the dam in the Beaver’s Bend area. Things got a bit too tranquil for some, so we had to leave.

This year we took the Idabel Bypass around to 70 and to 32, rather than Ok3 to 98 to 32. The Ok3 route is a good one, but is 13 miles longer that direction. When traffic along Highway 259/ 70, north of Idabel, is not too heavy, it’s quicker (and shorter) to take the bypass.

Next stop, Paris – Texas, not France – at our traditional gas-up and refreshment stop along 195 at Andy’s Quick Stop. Then back to Sherman on Good ol’ 82. Well – you have to take the thorns with the roses.

Once we got into Sherman, people started peeling off in their various directions. We were planning a dinner stop but lost some of the contingency before plans – which were totally up in the air at that point – were firmed up. In other words, we drove around looking for Paula – but, alas, we were too late. When we finally ‘caught up’ with her at El Chico’s, she was finished with dinner. So we pulled into El Chili’s and ate our share.

Then it was home. Based on that scenario – which, except for the very end in Sherman, is virtually the same for the rest or the group, here are the trip statistics - courtesy of Garmin:

Moving Time: 8:14:18
Stopped Time: 2:21:33
Total Time: 10:35:51
Moving Average: 54.8 MPH
Total Average: 42.6 MPH
Maximum Speed: 91.0 MPH

Attached are two GIF pictures that show altitude profile. ProMenaToShm is the profile (altitude plot) from Mena, Ark, to Sherman, Tex. The other, ProTalimenaDr is a profile of ‘The Drive’ from Talihina, Ok, to Mena, Ark. (These are reduced quality, or resolution, so as not clog up someone’s mail box.) I thought the profiles were interesting – the Garmin output for this is not too detailed, but gives and idea.

In short, the weather was perfect – it was a great trip and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.

See you next trip!

- /<en

Supplemental Report: XM Radio

Art and I both have XM radio installed on our bikes. We chose to handlebar mount the Delphi Roady II unit and run the audio into the left fairing pocket into the AUX input on the bike. The Roady II is the smallest satellite radio available today – but there are other models that will fit well on a MC – and may have other advantages – such as plug-in to a home system – that might make them more desirable.

XM offers a lot of choices of varied music tastes, local weather (for selected cities), news, sports (ALL Major League Baseball games), comedy, and more. The reception was flawless for the entire trip. It was nice to get commercial free entertainment without interruption. Art steered me onto a channel called ‘The Blend’ which has a good mix of oldies, newies, hits, and more obscure titles – a very good channel. Other channels include music of the 50’s through 90’s, contemporary, urban, country, and more.

If anyone is anticipating satellite radio for their bike, as Art or me, we may be able to help. Especially when it comes to the various mounting options we have found available by searching the internet.

Although XM advertises 100% commercial free MUSIC – they DO have commercials on their comedy and some other channels. And on some of the MUSIC stations, they have their own promotions going a lot, which, to me, sounds just like a commercial. (I don’t know why they bother to promo themselves like that – if I am listening, I am already a subscriber! Seems silly to me.)

We would also recommend anyone considering a satellite radio – for a bike, car OR home - also consider the rival system, Sirius Radio. They have various models available, too, just as with XM. Sirius offers NFL Games – which you may prefer over MLB. Also, they are 100% commercial free. I don’t think they do the promos like XM does.

The advantage of XM over Sirius USED to be price. But XM has recently had a price increase – I guess to cover the new MLB broadcasting – which I don’t use – so that advantage is now washed. The other is that XM gave discounts on the SECOND account – and since Art and I both already had XM in our Chevy’s, we opted for the cheaper alternative. But if you are a new comer we would suggest you give a serious look to Sirius! (Both pronounced the same.) There are many receiver models available for both systems. We can still help with handlebar mounting and hook-up advice.