06 Far East Ride - Day 2 - AR & MS

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This is the second part of a series that is about the ride I took on my 2005 883 Low Harley Sportster 'Effie' from Kansas City to Novia Scotia and back. This was part of my vacation from 4 to 20 AUG 2006

Saturday 5 AUG 06

The morning was a late start again…. This is the story of my life lately. Previously even if I couldn’t get up and moving in the morning to make it to work, I could be up at the crack of dawn to start a motorcycle ride. But I am resigning myself to the vacation atmosphere and just whenever…It was a great ride out to Bakersfield MO (IBE #57). Again it was miles of shady lanes. A stop at the Bakersfield city limit sign to get the picture and just enjoy the countryside. The destination on the agenda for today is Clarksdale MS. This was a stop last year a couple of us made when making a weekend loop from KC to LA and back. In Clarksdale MS there is a blues joint called “Ground Zero” that is notorious for great blues. Morgan Freeman is part owner or something like that. Last year we didn’t find out about it until we were leaving and a couple Gold Wing riders were telling us about it. I was always sorry we missed it. This trip was planned with the intention spending Saturday evening at this establishment. The route to Clarksdale picks up 4 more ABC points and 1 more IBE city (Black Rock #37). The route is through Memphis, TN. I have tried 3 times to see the National Civil Rights Museum at the Loraine Motel in Memphis. This is where M L King Jr. was shot and killed. Every time I have gotten to the museum it is either closed or closing and they won’t let me in. Today I am there at 2:30 in the afternoon. The museum is busy, parking lot is full, probably 20 Harleys parked along the street. Within 3 minutes of getting off the bike I am approached by someone wanting some money to go get a cool drink. It takes awhile before he will take no for an answer. Now I am getting uncomfortable about the bike. My saddlebags lock up, I can put all my electronics in those saddlebags. But all my clothes and personal gear are strapped on the back rack and not securable. I am looking up & down the street at the other Harleys, noticing that there is not even a helmet in view. While I am considering my situation I am approached again by someone wanting some money… he is more persistent and will not accept that I don’t have anything for him. Finally a security guard comes out and shoos him off the property. But I am now very bummed out. I get back on the bike bid ado to the museum for one more trip, promising to be back yet again someday.

It is HOT the rest of the day. I proceed to Clarksdale and check in at the same little independent motel I used last year. My Quest calls it the Plantation Inn, but they changed their name since my software update, I can’t remember the new name. At $36 (taxes included) it made a cool convenient rest. I got to the hotel early in the day I run out to Burger King and get Lunch/dinner and fill up the gas tank. I wanted to pick up some more bottled water and a Gatorade too, so I went into the gas station. The gas station has a drive up window on the side of the building which is something I have not seen before. They are selling all the little convenience items out the window, so people don’t have to get out of their car. Wow, neat idea. There is a line of cars waiting for the window which is why I had noticed the window. Inside there are 2 people just dealing with the window, one going for the items requested and one handling the money transaction. I watch the window action for a couple minutes, almost every car is getting beer (1 or 2 cans) through the window. This store has the BIG cans of beer that they sell individually. It was so hot today that a beer sounds good so I pick up a big Bud ICE. I am not a beer drinker, Jack and Coke is my preferred drink, rarely does a beer sound good to me but today it is going to hit the spot. Getting back to the hotel, I unpacked, downloaded pictures, showered, drank my cold beer and waited for it to get a little cooler as there is a Boone MS about 5 miles out of town according to my Map Source software. I need Boone for my ABC's.

Ground Zero doesn’t start entertainment until 7PM. About 6pm I get out to go find Boone. My Quest has a hard time finding the satellites (never a problem before) so I groan as I pull the Quest 2 out of the saddlebag. I have not been happy with its performance since I bought it. The Q2 manages to lock onto satellites in no time, however it takes 2 minutes to load and calculate the route. We start off to Boone and I find the Q2 is so slow redrawing the screen its usually a done deal by the time it tells me what direction to head, I have already had to choose a direction and am heading that way. Every recalculation is taking between 2 and 3 minutes to display. I am spending a lot of time on the side of the road waiting for the Q2 to get it together. When I hit the actual highway Boone is on it seems to work okay, but jeeze this is a straight shot it should be able to handle this. I find that the town is not Boone it is Lu Rand, my software has an error in its database. So I turn around and head back to the motel. The Q2 is more of a pain then it is worth as a navigator so I turn off the route and just use it as a moving map, finding my own way back to the motel. It was hot and I decide to just lay down for a quick nap. That was a mistake. I woke up about 10:30pm. So I missed out on Ground Zero again too.

The First Journal in this Series is: 06 Far East Ride - Day 1 - MO
The Route Map for the trip is located in the last Journal: 06 Far East Ride - Day 17 - HOME

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Photos

The Crossroads Hwys 49 &61
This is 'the crossroads' in Clarksdale MS. This is the place as the story goes that the guy sold his soul to the devil to become the greatest of guitar players.

IBE #57 Bakersfield, MO
One of the cities mentioned in Johnny Cash's song "I've Been Everywhere". Okay so maybe he didn't mean Bakersfield Missouri. Great road heading into town, especially on a HOT day.

IBE #37 Black Rock, AR
Riding in AR is always great. I love finding these little towns. I miss living in the country, I gotta get out of the city.