Scooters - The Underdog Rally

 We were excited to be asked to participate as Staff by Troy Martin, Rallymaster of the NiitWit Underdog Rally that was being kicked off in Springfield, MO on June 8, 2021.  The Underdog Rally is a long distance endurance rally where participants ride motorcycles to bonus locations, take photos or get receipts to prove they were there and move on to the next location.  A rally bonus pack is given to participants at the beginning of the rally and the riders decide on the best route to gain the most points.  On the Underdog Rally, participants would also receive another bonus pack at the checkpoint in Laramie, WY where they would have to map out another route to gain additional bonus points before returning to Springfield after 6 days.

Our job at the start of the rally was to be tech inspectors where we would check bikes and riders to make sure their insurance was in order, they had valid motorcycle endorsements on their driver license, check VIN numbers, shake fuel cells and check grounding and overflow to make sure they were safe, and a general walk-around looking at odometers, lights, etc. as well as checking their riding gear, DOT approved helmets, proper attire and boots and whatever else we could tease the riders with.

Wednesday, June, 2, 2021

Because we were riding our Honda ADV150 Scooters from Tupelo, MS, we decided to take two days to ride to Springfield which was about 450 miles from home.  We woke up Wednesday, June 2nd to a dreary, rainy, wet morning.  Not particularly inviting for a ride...  Our alternate plan was to leave on Thursday in the car and just do the trip in a day.  Oh well....  Resigned to driving the car we did our usual morning stuff and then the sun poked out!  Yippee!  Let's go for it!  Our scooters were already packed and ready to go so we left about 9:30 am hoping to miss any more rain.

I was smart.  I put on my rain pants before we left, lol.  Eric, as usual, had planned a lovely route avoiding major highways and interstates.  Unfortunately, a bridge was closed for construction on our route and we had to detour.  Well, Mississippi doesn't mark detour routes at all!!  The sign just said "Bridge Closed" and "Detour" but no directions for a detour.  We spent the better part of an hour trying to detour around the closed bridge.  We were probably no further away than 15 miles from home while searching for that damn detour!  Eventually we got sorted out and on our way out of town.

We had a pleasant ride on back roads but the clouds were threatening.  After a bit we stopped at a service station and Eric donned his rain pants.  Good call because within five minutes the heavens opened up and the rain came down!  Not epic rain, but enough to get a good wash 😉  Fortunately, our scooters handled the wet just fine.  We enjoyed the back roads and had the opportunity to get on some really small, rural lanes.

I LOVE these small lanes!  Because of our circular detour earlier it was way past noon so it was time for a lunch stop.  Gotta say, it was not good, lol.  I'm off Sonic for a good long time now 😧

Back on the road we made good time and finally pulled into our abode for the night.  We stayed at the Quality Inn in Searcy, AR.  It was nice and clean with a restaurant next door.  Easy, peasy!  We rode about 240 miles today and arrived at our hotel in plenty of time for cocktail hour 😜

Thursday, June 3, 2021

Thursday morning we were up and at ready to roll at a reasonable hour (before 9:00 am, hahaha).  More little country highways and rural lanes made the ride oh so pleasant.  The temperature was moderate and we had zero rain!  Perfect riding weather.   We took a break here.  Church parking lots always make a good rest stop.  Usually paved and no traffic!

 

It was after noon and my tummy was growling.  Our plan was to take the Peel Ferry but we really wanted to get some food before boarding the ferry.  We lucked out and found the Wagon Wheel Cafe at Bull Shoals Lake in Arkansas.  Here is the view from my lunch spot.

An interior view of the cafe and camp store.  Sorry, I forgot to take photos of lunch but it was delish!  They serve brekkie all day so I was in heaven with my bacon, eggs, hashbrowns and toast!  Yummy!  Eric had their chicken fried steak sandwich and it did not disappoint 😋

We snapped this photo outside the Wagon Wheel Cafe and now they have it on their webpage!! WooHoo, Cover Girl Shot!  Hahahaha, I should say Scooter Girl Shot 😏

A few pictures from the Wagon Wheel Cafe and Resort.  It's awesome the places you find when you have no particular place to go!

Our appetites sated we headed to the ferry which runs every forty minutes.  Guess what?  Yup, as we pulled up to the ferry landing we saw the ferry had just left the dock. Heck, Darn!

Oh well, guess we'll have to wait a bit....

While waiting in a tiny spot of shade a good ole boy pulled up in his red Chevy pickup and chatted us up.  Our little Honda ADV150 Scooters are a good conversation starter and this was no exception.  We enjoyed our chat and before long it was time to board the ferry.  It was only us and Mr. Chevy.

Aren't the Honda ADV150 Scooters with the Shad cases just as cute as can be!  I love it!!!!

I LOVE ferry rides and this was a first for the Scooters!  Good fun was had 😄 

Still chatting with Mr. Chevy...

The opposite side ferry landing.

There was quite a line of motorcycles waiting to board the ferry!

Disembarking the ferry we rode about 1 mile and all of a sudden....we were in Missouri!  More rural roads with a lot of twists and turns.  I forgot to mention that before.  Once we hit Arkansas we were in the Ozarks and on such little roads with a TON of twists and turns and corkscrews.  Hardly any straight places at all.  Oh, and it was up, up, up and then down, down, down!  Twist and Shout!  Whoopee!

Actually, all that twisting and up and down and more twisting plum wore me out and I was delighted to finally arrive at our destination, the Hilton Garden Inn in Springfield, MO.  About another 225 miles today.

This was the Underdog Rally HQ and our home for the next few nights.  We quickly unloaded and found our room.  Next on the agenda was to find the Rallymaster, Troy Martin and his lovely daughter, Erin.  Although we didn't expect any riders until Friday, a few had already arrived.

That night we had a lovely dinner at the hotel restaurant with Troy and Erin.  After a few cocktails it was off to bed.  The next morning we reported to Rally HQ and received our assignment as Rally Techs.  We had our clipboard and checklist and were ready as riders arrived.

Here is the Rally logo!

Our Rallymaster, Troy Martin with his lovely daughter, Erin at Rally HQ.

Friday & Saturday, June 5&6, 2021

Eric and I looking semi-professional a we perform a tech check on a rally rider's bike.

Photo courtesy of Richard Swim

Ever the problem solver and mechanic, Eric helps Billy Connacher work through an issue with his aux fuel system.

Photo courtesy of Richard Swim

Rallymaster, Troy Martin (center) with staff Bob Bowman (left) and John Frick (right)

Photo courtesy of Richard Swim

I really enjoyed seeing this Honda Goldwing pull up to the hotel.  Definitely a rally rider!  Love the graphics on the bike!

Everyone passed tech inspection and sailed through registration without issue.  Here is a picture of the rally riders.

Photo courtesy of Richard Swim

That night the staff and a number of riders walked a block or two to a Pub for dinner.  A good time was had by all.

Sunday June 6, 2021

Up early the next morning because it was time for riders to launch at 8:00 am!  Yes, I actually got up and dressed and attended the start, lol.

For those who don't know, the start of a rally is incredibly exciting both for riders and spectators!  Troy did a magnificent job in directing riders to launch.  It's a nerve wracking moment for the rider who is mounted with motorcycle started impatiently waiting for that finger to point at them to GO!  The biggest fear of a rider is to kill the bike at the start or to fall over.  Fortunately nobody fell but we did have a killed engine, hahahahaha.  I won't name names but it happened 😇

Here are a couple of photos of Rallymaster Troy Martin directing riders to depart!  Awesome, almost as good as a Warchild launch!  Well done, Troy 😵

And then, they were all gone - off to hunt down bonus locations, make it to the checkpoint in Laramie, Wyoming in time and then more bonus hunting until the finish back at Springfield, MO.  Unfortunately, we didn't have time to ride to Wyoming or return to Springfield for the finish, boo!  As I write this the riders are still out there trying to score as many points as possible.  I wish them all the best and a safe and fun ride. (All riders made it safe to the finish and home - best possible outcome on a LD Rally!)

Here are a few images of riders leaving the parking lot.  there was one Yamaha Super Tenere, 2 Yamaha FJR's, a few BMW R1200 GS/GSA, a few BMW R1200RT, a couple BMW K1600, a Honda Goldwing and a single Harley Davidson.

Aerostich was the preferred riding gear although we saw lots of everything else including Levi's 😆  Whew!  All riders safely launched and now it was time for us to pack up our little scooters and head toward home.

Eric again did a fantastic job on routing us on small roads on our way home.  We started the day in rain gear and it was a good thing we did!  Again, in the Ozarks, the roads were twisty with lots and lots of hills.  Our little scooters didn't much care for the hills sometimes slowing down from 55 mph to 38 mph lol!  Good thing there wasn't any traffic.  We had rain off and on.  Sometimes BIG rain and sometimes just sprinkles.  Once in a while the sun would poke out but mostly a grey day.  No problem, we were prepared and our little scoots handle the wet just fine.

Today's ride was filled with spectacular scenery!  We made a stop at the Ponca low water bridge across the Buffalo River.  Eric was brave and road down the gravel/mud lane to find the bridge and take these photos.  He warned me on the comm that I might not want to follow 😅  The river was running high and dirty from all the recent rain.

I dunno, looks good to me.  But, Eric said not so much.  He came back with a very mud covered scooter!

Fortunately for me the stop for the low bridge was at an historical site and I enjoyed looking around and reading the information plaque.

Our ride today was uneventful and dry.  Well, almost uneventful.  Good thing we grabbed a bagged brekkie from the hotel because on those small, twisty, Ozark back roads there are no diners or cafes.  We shared a granola bar while stopped for road construction.

While waiting for the road construction light to change we spied this concrete marker with a plaque that says F.A.S. 138 and an arrow.  Anyone have a clue what this means?  It was off the road about 10 feet or so.

Finally clear of the road construction we became concerned about fuel.  We were running low and up there in the Ozarks you didn't just find a service station on every corner.  Or even in any town.  Oh my...  Just as we were discussing the possibility of coasting down the next long mountain stretch we saw a little country store with a couple of gas pumps in front.  YES!  Pull in here!

Yes, they worked!  Eric had to go inside and the cashier just told him to pump the gas and come back in and tell her how much he pumped.  So that's what he did!  (Oooohhhh, look at the sky!  Ominous isn't it?)

Our little scoots were happy to get a fill up!

The front of the country store where we got the gas in the middle of nowhere!

Whew! Now we don't have to worry about fuel.  We scooted on now looking for food.  It was considerably past noon and we were both getting hangry.  Need Food Now!!!  We cruised through a couple of small bergs but no food offerings.  And then... there it was!  The Deer Stand Cafe in the Middle of Nowhere!  It must be good because there were a number of vehicles parked out front.

Bikers Welcome!  Hope they like scooters, too 😏

A few pics of the inside of the cafe.  Unfortunately, about two dozen people (think Moms & Pops and TONS of kids) had just sat down and ordered.  Our server apologized and said it might take a minute.  Oh well, this was the only game in town, in the county, on the mountain, in the state, hahahaha.  We could wait.

I forgot to take a pic of our food but it was delish!!!!  I could have done without the loud volume of children's voices (and adults for that matter) but hey, we needed to eat and this was the place.  Just as we finished a very late lunch most of the peeps had left.  Our server stepped outside to his truck, reached into the cooler in his truck bed and pulled out a few beers saying it was more than time for a brew!  Hahahahaha!  We agreed, he earned it big time.

Now, it was more twisty, winding, steep Ozark roads to Clinton, AR.  Hooray!  Time to stop for the night.  A shorter day than planned but road construction, a two hour lunch and other factors put us a bit behind schedule.  Maybe 200 plus miles today. 

We pulled into the Best Western Hillside.  I'm not even going to tell you how horrific it was.  I'm rather a Best Western fan.  Typically clean and decent and not over the top expensive.  This was unbelievably disgusting.  Don't even think about staying here!  Since the heavens opened up and it began to pour down we just called for pizza, had dinner, a few cocktails and good night!

Monday, June 7, 2021

We left Clinton, AR and got on the road for the last slog home.  Somewhere near Greers Ferry Lake we pulled over and donned the rain gear.  Good call because as soon as we got back on the road it started to rain HARD!  Fortunately traffic was fairly slow and cautious.  After crossing a couple of bridges over the lake we came upon this little town.  Bob Higdon, you've been holding out on us!

Today was more Ozark mountain roads until we finally reached the Mississippi Delta in lower Arkansas.  During our trip we kept seeing road signs that said "Road Not Safe When Under Water".  Hmmmm....since for the most part we were in the mountains we really couldn't understand that because the water would run down hill.  Well, at some point we came upon water over the roadway.  Sorry no photos because we had a truck behind us and no opportunity to stop.  Anyway, we stayed in the middle of the road on the crown where there was the least amount of water.  GACK!  There was actually a good deal of water covering the road.  Our little ADV150's cut through the water just fine!

We rode into West Helena, AR and needed some lunch.  Ah ha!  There is a McDonald's next to the Sonic.  Well, Sonic is off my radar for a while so Micky D's it was!  The lobby was open so we went in to order.  But....you could order inside but couldn't eat inside.  What?  Oh well.  We got our food and then it started to rain.  Crappola.  Instead of using our scooters for a lunch table we were forced to huddle under the very small awning over the entrance door and eat our meager lunch.   Hahahaha, just part of the adventure!

Lunch finished, we topped off the fuel tanks and headed to Mississippi.  We had to cross the Helena-West Helena Mississippi Bridge.  We took this same route and bridge on our way to Springfield and it was a nightmare for me.  It was wet and rainy and WINDY for our first crossing and it scared the bejesus out of me.  I couldn't look around, I had to focus straight ahead with my heart pounding.  I was so happy when we got across the bridge.  So, now I had to face it again!  Oh, I really didn't want to cross that damn bridge.  It's VERY high and narrow with lots of traffic especially now since the I-40 bridge across the Mississippi is closed.  Oh well, I didn't even ask Eric for options.  We just went there and guess what?  No problem!  Hahahahaha.  No wind, lighter traffic, no rain, it was just fine and I could actually enjoy the crossing, looking here and there and not having any issues, Yippee!!

File Photo

We're almost home but not quite yet.  Still on small, rural roads we gradually made our way closer and closer to Tupelo.  Unfortunately, we got wet. Nah, we got drenched!  It poured down with huge drops that felt like hail.  Dang!  Here is a photo of a typical rural road we traveled as we made our way home.

And then, we were home, safe and sound and wet, (only on the outside of our rain gear), lol.  We rode the little Honda ADV150 scooters about 1,025 miles during our four days of travel.  The scooters can just deliver.  They can handle the bad weather, the flooded roads, the Ozark twists and turns and even though they slow down, they can climb those big hills 😏

Here is a screen shot of our trip.

So much fun was had.  We also had the opportunity to sort out some nitpicks on the scooters in preparation of the Scooter Cannonball Run (coming up real soon, ohhhhhhh!).  Troy Martin put on an excellent rally and we had a ball working as staff and meeting the riders.  I need to add a rain jacket to my kit because unfortunately my Klim is no longer waterproof no matter what I do to it.  Oh well. 

Both our scooters are now equipped with wonderful Shad top and side cases so that is well sorted.  Eric will remove one side case and replace it with two Rotopax gas cans for the Scooter Cannonball Run.  Actually, I expressed some concern a few times when our fuel was low and no service stations in sight.  I suggested we not do another long ride without carrying extra fuel.  Mr. Eric agreed!  So now, he has fabricated a mount for the Rotopax and we'll check that out on our next trip and next blog!

This was our longest Scooter trip yet and boy, was it fun, rain and all.  I'm liking the slow adventuring and staying away from Interstates.  Heck, we're retired, we have lots of time to explore 😄

As always, thank you for following along.  Next long trip I'll try to write something everyday so I don't have to try and remember what happened that day.  I may not publish, but I think that will help keep things in order at the end of the day!

Cheers!

Cletha & Eric