Steel Horse Rally '22
Another Steel Horse Rally in the books! This is my third and as always, a great time. As soon as I got home from ‘21s, put this one on the calendar. Few things have changed up for me as time goes on. The first one was all about ‘Indians’ … rode in with my IIRA vest. Last year, rode in with CVMA, but met up with some of my Indian buddies. This year, all about CVMA and two of my buddies rode their Indians in and we all hung out.
This year was to be a nice one because Lucy came in this
time, riding with Holly and Nancy.
Myself, Brother Dick, Mark Kennedy and Dave Vestal would ride up, with Dave
on this trike and Kathy on the back. So
all in all, we’ve got eight of us. Was supposed to be ten, but one couple had
to bow out the day before. As the weekend
was approaching, mother nature is threatening us with some crazy weather and we’re
convinced it’s going to be a wet one.
Discussed leaving a day early, then opted not to. Leaving a day later wasn’t an option to me
because I wanted to ride the area on Friday.
So we had a dynamic start time to try and stay dry. As luck would have it, the major storm missed
us and that morning the ground is dry and we decide to ride out an hour
early. But as we leave, it begins
misting and we’re locked in. Head to QT to
top off and then off to Paris to grab brother Dick. Still a lil nippy but no
rain gear on yet for me. From there we
head out around 1000 hrs and we’ve moving.
We’ll make it 37 miles out of Ft Smith before the rain threatens us and
we’re forced to suit up. But after a few
minutes of light rain, we’re there and dry.
It’s 3pm, Donnie and the girls are in the bar waiting for us. What was once a Hilton Double Tree is now a Wyndham hotel, but .. same look, same
folks. Had that reservation when it was
still a Hilton and they carried it over for me.
Except for the name, looks exactly the same .The Rally has started! After a few drinks we head out for some Mexican
food a few blocks away and it’s time to let the hair down. Margaritas are flowing and they’ve got live
music! Then back to the hotel where our
bartender from last year is slinging our drinks. First night in the books.
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| Turners Bend |
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| Turners Bend |
Friday morning and we’re headed out. Got some breakfast in our bellies, bikes are
loaded and ….. our exit point from the
hotel parking lot has a sharp corner and a slight lean and ….. one of the couples does a slow lean and …. bike is resting on the crash bars. Shit happens, egos are bruised but…. Nancy ain’t feeling it now. So after a few minutes of making sure all is
good, Dave and Kathy opted to stay back with Mark and Nancy to keep ‘em
company. Myself, Dittels and Donnie are
headed out on Hwy 64 to keep off the highways and we’re soon out on 2 lanes,
headed to Ozark. From there, we’ll roll
up Hwy 23 onto the Pig Trail. Before
Noon, we’re meeting up with Jessie Davis whom has rolled down from Fayetteville
about an hour away. He’s just gotten in from
Vegas so dragging ass a little. Get some catching up in … grabbed some drinks to sip on and we’re headed up 23, then off
on 215 over to Oark General Store for some grub. This is the oldest continuous-operating store
in AR, since 1890. Looks like an MGB car club beat us there, with a dozen parked
out front. Luckily, no lines and we’ve
got a big table there available; score!
After a great lunch, we literally reverse and head back. It’s about 70 deg out, partly cloudy but not
too bad. By the time we get back we’ll
have about 145 miles behind us. The
other two couples are waiting for us, and it’s time to kick it up a lil. Donnie and the Dittels head out to listen to
some music, while we hang back to do some sipping, then over for some Pizza that
everyone is recommending. After a nice
night out, a walk back to the hotel where we catch up with not just our group,
but some folks from CVMA 44-2 out of Hattiesburg MS. Few of them had rolled in last year and we’re
kicking it up again with them. As it
turns out, they are headed to Little Rock the next day for a Poker Run, so several
us chime in we’ll join them. That decision probably saved me from feeling some
pain the day since we called it a night earlier than usual to get some sleep.
Saturday morning, it’s 0630 and we’re getting gas. The 44-2 guys are all there waiting for us,
so by 0700 we’re rolling east at a high rate of speed. We’ve got 160 miles to travel and we don’t
want to burn too much time so we’re rolling between 85 and 92 .. averaging 88
or so the entire leg; hauling ass! We
pass several Police cars with folks pulled over, but they are all going West;
perfect! Soon, we’re on the South Side
of Little Rock, checking in and catching up.
Our plan was never to ride in the Poker Run, but to touch base with
folks and head back. Mission accomplished
and a few hours later, the bikes are parked and I’m headed upstairs. Donnie and the girls are at the Majestic
overlooking the rally fun, sipping cold ones.
Soon, I’ve got that vest, jeans and boots off and in comfortable shorts
and tee; it’s time! Few minutes later upstairs
sipping Jacks n’ Coke and people watching.
Eventually, we’ll migrate a few blocks over to the music stage and VIB
tent where we’ll camp it for hours.
Music is great because it’s not next to us blaring loud, crowds are
there, not ‘here’, and we’ve got our own bartender serving us. Perfect.
Eventually, stomachs are growling so we splt up and folks find their
solutions… As happens most every night…
damned it we don’t take over a corner in the lobby bar and we’re there until
closing. Lots of stories, lots of new memories. As we call it a night… it’s basically … Rally is over.
Bright and early it’s a mass exodus of folks from the hotel
checking out. Elevators are full for
hours up and down.. but eventually get all our luggage out, girls have the car
packed up and we throwing legs over the bikes.
Brother Dick is doing the math and opts to take a more direct route home,
Donnie is headed East by himself, Jesse left the day before while few of us
rolled to Little Rock. Top of the tanks and
we’re rolling. Weather is perfect and I’m
wearing a tee. By the time we get back
to Greenville, the temps will it 92 without a single cloud in the sky.
Mission Accomplished.
Already have ‘23’s on the calendar.
But … I may opt for a AR CVMA event instead. We shall see…. here's the SHR'22 CVMA blog post version <<SHR 222>>
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| Where's my Pizza? |
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| Mainstreet |
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| VIB Tent |
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| Shenanigan's |
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| Saturday Night |
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| Party's Over ... Sunday Morning |
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