Riding around Fayetteville

As promised my riding buddy Jim, and his 76 year old friend Bob, were at the hotel at 9:00 and we set out for a long day, 444 kilometres, in the Ozark mountains to the east of Fayetteville.  We visited a really neat place, Eureka Springs, that is full of old buildings. One of these, the New Orleans Hotel, has wrought iron railings on balconies facing the street on all of its floors. We got caught in some heavy rain as we were headed to Jasper, and at one point when the wind gusts were at  over 50 mph, and the lightning was getting more intense and closer, our leader Jim pulled into a self serve carwash bay. We waited there until the worst had passed and then resumed our ride. We stopped for lunch at a place called the Low Gap General Store where I had a nice bowl of squash soup and a fine plate of catfish. For the rest of the ride we were under clearing skies and rising temperature.

As agreed yesterday when we parted company, Jim to ride to his home and I to ride to the hotel, I met Jim at a service station about 40 miles south of Fayetteville. Our ride would take us down some nice winding roads up and down the sides and on the tops of the two highest points of land between the Appalachians  and the Rockies. The view from the top is magnificent.

Those clouds you see are tame looking but they are a warning to those who can read clouds that maybe something is going to happen. Well it did. After lunch the sky became dark and we knew it was going to rain, again. But having learned our lesson yesterday, we again pulled into one of the bays of a carwash where we waited for the rain to start. It didn't. Having put on our raingear we decided to make a run for the Lodge on the top of Mount Magazine, the state's highest peak. But since tempting the weather gods is never a good idea...well you've probably guessed that we got rained on. But the good news is that the worst of the rain, wind, thunder and lightning happened while we were in the Lodge having a beer. After we rode down the mountain and headed to our respective berths under bright sunny skies.Another great day of riding, over 600 kilometres.

I wonder what Jim, and the weather have in store for tomorrow?