29 Sep 2010 ON A MOTORCYLE: Couple enjoys fall colors

The couple’s favorite cycling time is fall. Summer is often too hot, and spring, too rainy. The two learned about rain on an early group ride to Queen Wilhelmina State Park with Verna’s sister and brother-in-law, Linda and Howard Curtis. 

“It was the worst trip we’ve ever taken,” said Randy. “And the best,” added Verna.

The first day was foggy and rainy. “We didn’t have the gear for it,” Randy explained, adding that leather is not good in the rain. The couple now wears textile jackets with leather trim.

On the second day, however, the sun shone and the scenery was beautiful.

The couple seldom wears leather now. They have gear for all kinds of weather, including three helmets for Randy and two for Verna, and jackets with mesh-backed, zippered vents that go from warm weather to cool. Randy also now has a phone that allows him to check the weather and avoid rain.

Some of their favorite rides include Highway 7 to Harrison, which goes through the “Grand Canyon of Arkansas” along the Buffalo River, and Highway 123 to Mount Judea and through Boxley Valley near Jasper, where they have seen elk.

On one such ride to the valley, Randy wanted to arrive at dawn to hear the elk bugle. In order to do that, the group had to leave Cliff House in Jasper at 5:30 a.m. Most of the group decided they would rather sleep in.

Randy considers it their loss. “As the sun came up there must have been 40 elk right there,” he said.

The advantage of cycling over driving is that it engages all the senses, according to Randy and Verna. “I like the fact that I can look all the way around – 360 degrees – with no windows in the way,” said Verna.

“You can smell the pines when you go through them; you can smell the farms when you go by them; you can actually smell the creeks when riding by the Buffalo River,” Randy said. “You see wildlife that you don’t see in the car.”

You also actually feel the temperature change as you gain or lose altitude atop the mountain, Randy said. And if you happen to catch a glimpse of something interesting as you whiz by, you can easily return for a better look.

Randy bought his first motorcycle, a bare-bones Suzuki Cruiser, in 2003. “I talked Verna into going with me and that started it all,” he said.

In 2007, they needed a cushier ride, so they purchased a Harley-Davidson Electra Glide with a CB radio for communication with other group members, an internal communication system so they can talk while riding and more luggage capacity. Randy also has a second cycle for “tooling around.”

Many of the regional managers of SimplexGrinnell, the company for which Randy works, are motorcyclists, and it has become a tradition for the company’s motorcycle enthusiasts to ride together each year. In 2004, they rode the Natchez Trace from Tupelo, Miss., to Nashville, Tenn. In 2005, they toured the Smokies around Knoxville, Tenn.

In 2006, Randy invited them to Arkansas for the first time for a ride through the Ozarks to Eureka Springs. The trip was so popular that the group returned in 2007 for a ride from Mountain View to Branson. Another Arkansas ride is planned for late fall this year, with Mount Magazine as the destination.

Randy and Verna have traveled all over the country, often trailering their motorcycle because they don’t like to spend hours “just getting someplace,” and because Randy hates riding on interstates.

“We ride for recreation, not transportation,” he said. “We just don’t want to be rushed.”

But the couple keeps coming back to Arkansas – and bringing other cyclists with them.

“The neat thing about living here is that we don’t have to trailer to take some great rides,” Randy said.