DAY #2..............GASVILLE, ARKANSAS TO ..............

I'm writing this edition of the Blog from home....I'll explain later.
I left Gasville this morning at daybreak, with just a hint of fog in the air.



It was an absolutely beautiful morning to thump, so I headed towards Push Mountain. I was able to see the sunrise while up on the mountain, then headed down the other side. Mark Nisly, another FSSNOC member, had suggested I ride HWY 9 between Mountain View and Melbourne, so I headed east to catch this road. It was another fun filled ride, full of twistys, and the colorful trees were beautiful.
After coming back to Mountain View I started working my way back west and HWY 7, which I planned to ride all the way to southern Arkansas. Unfortunately my plans were changed. I did something I've done many times before, but this time it nailed me. I rested my right leg on the right highway peg to stretch, and immediately came up on another curve. This curve was not particularly steep, but had no bank. My right foot caught the pavement and the bike stood straight up, heading straight for the ditch. The next thing I knew I was laying in the ditch, with the bike in front of me. It was on it's right side and the exhaust pipe was trying to start the grass on fire under the bike. I dug as much grass out from under the pipe as I could, and the smoldering stopped. Now for the almost impossible task of uprighting the bike by myself. The road I was on was very desolate, but finally a man in a pickup stopped to help. I already had the bike standing, and he helped me push it out of the ditch. By this time I realized I had what I thought was a broken finger and my ribs were starting to hurt. I reloaded the bike and started riding again. It wasn't long before I realized this wasn't going to work, as my pain level started increasing. I called my wife Mary and told her to head my direction, and I would continue riding until I couldn't stand it any longer. We met just West of Tulsa,Oklahoma, and I had ridden over 300 miles after the accident. After my son and I loaded the bike on the trailer, we headed for the hospital in Newton, Ks. After the x-ray's they determined my finger was just dislocated, but I do have broken ribs and torn ligaments. I am in quite a bit of pain, so unfortunately I am going to miss the ThumperCafe in Gate. This hurts almost as much as my body pain.
So there you have it.........hope you all have a great time in Gate.
Motor Mike

DAY #1...........THUMPERVILLE TO GASSVILLE, ARKANSAS

I left Thumperville this morning with the trusty KLR showing over 37,000 miles on the odometer. It was cloudy with slightly damp pavement, and the temperature was a cool 54*. With the ThumperCafe still several days away, I headed Southeast towards HWY 400. The skies looked like they could open up on me at any time, but all I got was a few sprinkles.

Has anyone besides me not heard of a town called Dennis, Kansas? There's not much there except a few houses and a Post Office, and the Fire Station my bike is sitting in front of.

This is also where I turned and went South. I rode past Big Brutus, something I've been going to do for a long time, and just never took the time to do so.
.

I ended up on HWY 86, which is a very fun road to ride, full of hills and curves.


Following this road to HWY 65 South, then Arkansas 14 East, I rode through the town of Yellville, Arkansas, one of the stops from the Dog Days 500 ride several weeks ago.

I made it to Gassville, Arkansas for the night, and will ride Push Mountain on Wednesday morning.
I rode all day today and so far have not found Oklahoma. I've got 3 more days to find this state, and with any luck, everyone else going to the Thumpercafe in Gate.
Stay tuned for the Wednesday night edition.
Motor Mike