Dogpatch Biker bash 2008

Dogpatch Biker bash. September 5-7
It was billed as one of the biggest bike Rallies in North West Arkansas. It was to be held at the Hub and there was suppose to be lots of venders and shows and all that. Since I had never been to one of their gatherings I decided that I would go.
Planning a run has gotten to the point of telling people that I am going and what time and where I’m leaving from. I told everyone about the rally and everyone seemed interested in going. So I pulled out from my local one stop around 9:30 am and ended up going by myself.
The trip down was a good one. The recent storms passing through left it cool and fresh out and traffic was light on 412. Didn’t even see a state trooper anywhere. Since I was all on my on I took hwy 21 and went toward Kingston . There was always a few riders down that way and I hoped to catch up with some of them and get their take on this gathering. My luck was still holding and I didn’t see a soul anywhere.
At the foot of the Boxley mountain I took a left and headed to the river and hwy 74. 74 is a lot of fun for me to ride especially the ride up the mountain. I tell people that other states have their Dragons Tail, we have the “Possums Shank“. Short tight curves and some of the best scenery in the world. The only thing wrong with it is, it ends all too soon.
I pulled into Jasper and several bikes went by me heading north on hwy 7 toward the Hub. I fell in behind them and we all held to a leisurely pace all the way.
When I pulled the hill, hwy7 spur, to the Hub I noticed several bikes parked all over. I pulled in and visited with Randal, the owner. Randal told me that he was all sold out at the motel and was letting people pitch tents all over. He also gave me the run down on what all was going on.
After talking with Randal I started to go to the main Rally site at the other end of the parking lot and noticed a bikini clad girl with a garden hose. She was washing bikes for a donation.

From the looks of things she and a couple of other girls were doing a bang up business. There were several bikes around them and as they finished one would move on to another. For a fleeting moment I thought about having them wash mine. But in all reality it would probably do more harm than good. Mine might fall apart if all the grit and grime were washed off.

The Rally was a short walk across the parking lot. $10.00 got you an all day pass and access to everything. The first thing that I noticed was a live band that was doing a good job of bluesy southern rock that made for a good back ground as you walked around. The vender area reminded me of a carnival midway. Lots of fast food type trailers and plenty of people selling Tee shirts and leather goods, Pins and patches. A couple of people were selling light kits and super polish for your bike. The swap meet type of parts vendors were absent from what I could see. There was a man selling Suzuki Boulevard parts and that was about it.
The games were going on as I made my way around. I stopped to watch the tire toss and had a good time. The girl that that won looked less like a biker than anyone I have ever saw. She had on a nice dress and “sensible shoes”. She looked like she was headed to the grocery store or was on her way home from work in an office somewhere. As the tire toss was ending the Sport Bike Stunt Rider Team was gearing up. Those guys put on a good show. Watching them reminded me of my age.

My stomach reminded me that it was lunch time and I walked back to the Hub and Scooters restaurant. The place was pretty busy and the food was good, like always. The Bikini girls were still hard at it and provided a floor show for lunch. After eating I moved out to the patio and had coffee. While I was sitting there one of the best home grown rat bikes pulled in. It was a Kawasaki Vulcan 700 and it was painted military green camo. This bike had lots of custom touches. Like the hand shift made from half of an old harness hame. The brass knob serving as the handle. The pipes were wrapped and the mufflers were tail pipe tips off of a 70’s Chevy Chevelle. The seat was a wide solo like it was from and old 40’s Indian. The passenger seat was a true work of art. It was made from an army boonie hat. Stuffed full of foam and held to the rear fender by a cargo bungee. There was so much to this bike that I cant describe it all. It was just a real pleasure to look at. While I was looking it over the owner was bolting on an oogah horn. Showing that adding class just never ends. I stood around talking with the rat owner and visited with people from all over. Once they figured out that I was a local of sorts, they had lots of questions about the area and it’s history. Most agreed that it was some of the best riding in the world. Before I realized I had spent most of the afternoon visiting. About 5 I headed back down to the rally to see if anything new had came in. sadly it hadn’t. That was kind of a let down for me as I love the parts / swap meet type of get together.
All in all this was a great get together. Very relaxed and everyone that I saw seemed to be having a good time. I met people from several different states and all over Arkansas. I’m not sure and haven’t heard anyone comment on how many people were there. The motel was sold out and there were lots of tents. Some speculated that since last year it had rained all weekend, some of the vendors were a little gun shy this year. This turned out to be a great run. I had a good time. Met lots of good people and am looking forward to next year. Hope to see you on the road.
I totaled 172 miles of this “back yard“ride.
Proud Member Of The 365 Group
( I rode mine today)

Backyard Ridin

Today I didn't have anything going on and decided to run the local back roads around home. I find it help full to keep up with the road conditions locally. Anyway, I took off around 9 am just puttin around.
About half way into my ride brought me back to an intersection in the middle of the town I live in. Since it was getting close to lunch I drifted up to a local gas station that has a decent cafe and ordered a burger. After giving my order to the girls at the cafe I wandered back outside to sit at the picnic table while I waited. Most of the morning it had been very hot and muggy feeling, like it was going to rain and just as I sat down it did. Man! It opened up and poured. Glad I was under the awning.
As I sat there watching the rain a big Yamaha cruiser pulled in and the rider looked very relieved to be out of the rain. Also, at this time two young guys walked out of the store and began talking to the Cruiser rider. After a few minutes of listening to them talk I noticed two sport bikes parked next to the building in the rain. Their conversation centered on the riding they had been doing and how bad it had been. I learned that the Cruiser rider had just left his home and had ridden a total of eight miles before he was forced off the road by the rain. The two sport bike riders had about 20 miles in when they noticed the sky getting dark and headed for cover. Absent mindedly I checked my trip meter and my total for the morning was 126 miles.
The conversation finally drifted my way with one of the sport riders asking what kind of bike I had. I told them all about my antique and one asked if it was a bobber as it looked like something was missing. I explained that compared to when it was new a lot was missing. That I striped off everything I didn't like. So, I guess you could call it a bobber. At hearing this the other sport rider began to show some interest and started asking questions. As we were talking one of them noticed my mileage and asked how long it had taken me to put 126 miles on it. When I told him a couples of hours or so this morning they both acted like they were hard of hearing and said "huh"? About this time, Mary, one of the girls from the cafe brought out my burger and started telling them how I always ride and junk like that. They were kind of caught short so to speak and said that they didn't ride much, just around town and that 20 or thirty miles was a big trip to them. I told them that I understood. Life sometimes gets in the way and you do what you gotta do.
Both of the sport riders were seriously giving thought to our conversation and looking over my bike and the big Yamaha as well as their own. They seemed to have a question on their minds but suddenly changed gears and went back to chatting about bikes in general.
I finished my lunch and offered to let Mary kick start my bike. She grinned and passed. The cruiser said you have a kick starter? Pointing it out I offered to let him start it. Mary started giggling and he got red faced and I guess thought better of the idea saying no. All three said that they had no experience with anything other than late models. None with a kick starter.
I couldn't resist and flipped out the pedal and kicked it to life. I let it idle a few minutes and switched off. About this time we all agreed on a couple of things. It was time to go and electric starters were sooo much easier.
All in all it was a good day totaling 207 miles. It's funny what you can get into just puttin around your on Back yard.

Proud Member Of the 365 Group
(i rode mine today)