RecumBum

(Yeah, the title is a cliche, and I hate it too. But what you gonna do? It’s true!)

The day started off chilly and a bit windy, and I wasn’t sure I was going to venture out, but the afternoon mellowed out, and I took off in mid-afternoon, driving to Berryville and wandering around trying to find a safe place to park.

I’d planned to drive the route before I rode it, but since I got the late start, there really wasn’t time. Driving the route would push my start time back to 3:30 or later, which, after a 2-hour or more ride, would get me back at 6:00 or so, which is kinda late.

So I took a bit of a chance and decided to ride the route blind. In this case, I was doubly blind. Not only had I not driven the route, but I didn’t have a map. I’d printed out a map at home, then went off and left it sitting on my desk. So I did the next best thing and looked up the route online, then hand-wrote turns. Unfortunately these notes were rather terse – just road numbers and directions – no mileage.

I took Highway 21 north out of downtown Berryville and encountered a moderate amount of traffic, but everyone was largely careful and patient, and I felt safe. I rode into the wind as I headed in a roughly northeast direction for the first half of the ride. This was a good thing, as I then had the wind at my back on the return trip, which is always the way I like to do things.

The terrain was not too bad – hillier than I’m used to, but manageable. Highway 21 passed through the unincorporated towns of Urbanette and Maple (nothing in either except for a few old houses), then into Oak Grove, a small town of 376. It had a convenience store, but it was closed on Sunday.

Highway 103 out of Oak Grove consisted of a long downhill run as I headed southeast into a lush green valley with horses, cattle, and and farms. At Yokum (another unincorporated and almost nonexistent place), the road turned toward the southwest, running along a rocky shallow creek.

I turned west at county road 601 and immediately began climbing. The road became a rough chip-seal surface, and I labored up one hill, relaxed on a short downhill, then began a long two-mile climb. At first, I wondered why I was having so much trouble maintaining speed, then realized that the grade was increasing slowly, then it increased sharply before cresting as the road curved up and around one mountain. I rested a short time at the top, then coasted down a glorious one-mile descent before another short climb, then a fast and smooth downhill back into Berryville as the road turned back into smooth asphalt.

In all, it was an excellent loop, with some very nice scenery and some challenging climbs. The total was 26.9 miles in right at 2 hours, for a 13.35 MPH average, which I consider reasonably good, considering the terrain.

AR 103 South of Oak Grove, Arkansas

So I’m no longer in Kansas, but my first Arkansas ride was great fun, and I hope to do several more this week, if the weather holds.