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OK1 at sunrise
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There was a bit of route confusion at the start. The GPS track had us heading up behind the hotel into a residential area. The route sheet had us back tracking on the frontage road, but due to construction, that would require a detour. We decided follow the GPS track and it worked great.
We were cruising off the front of the group when Jeff picked up some road debris that jammed his front brake. He controlled the bike, but the brake was severely bent and unusable.
Carl from the crew stopped and we opened the brake by loosening the cable and rode on to the first SAG. Lon was able to bend the brake back into place, adjust the cable, and we were back in business, at the back of the group!
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Easy rollers on the first 60 miles of the ride
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Mountains start to appear on the horizon
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The rollers gave way to wide open farm land, with the mountains appearing in the distance!
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Red truck SAG at 51 miles
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We arrived at the Red truck SAG in Talihina at just under 4 hours, a few minutes before the suggested SAG window closed. We made a quick stop and headed out toward the Talimena National Scenic Byway.
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Think Blue Ridge Parkway, with less traffic
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Steep climbs, fast descents, and awesome views made this an afternoon to remember. There were 15 climbs listed on the Garmin climb-o-meter, including 2 relatively long ones (8 and 6 miles). The average grades sounded reasonable (8%), but were much steeper in places since the route simply follows the ridge line, and is not engineered like a normal highway. Max grade recorded on GPS was 26%, and max speed of 47.1!
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What about a bike warning!
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Michael and Jeff lead out the first climb
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Choctow Vista
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Rare flat spot!
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Great lunch at 70 miles (30 to go)
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Great views, and seats in the shade
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Big Cedar Vista
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We continued onto the last SAG at 84 miles. We made it a very quick stop. The legs had a little trouble getting going again after the 30 minute lunch break, and we didn't want that to happen again.
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Welcome to Arkansas!
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More steep rollers for the next 10 miles to the state line. This was our first state border crossing that was near the end of the day.
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Easier rollers for the last 5 miles
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View from the room
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We rolled into the Lodge at Queen Wilhelmina State Park just before 5pm; 9.5 hours, 6,500 feet, and 99 miles. This was a great day on the Transcon; hard work, great food, spectacular views and worth every minute!
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I am a member!
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We had a great meal in the lodge dinning room. Since its a dry county, someone had to be a member of the Private Club. I took one for the team and ran to the front desk to join up. It was free, just had to fill out some forms. I got back to the table just as the beers were delivered!
We all toasted to a fantastic and memorable day!
There's a lot more Arkansas on tap, stay tuned!
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