Impassable During High Water

This morning we left Fayetteville to ride Hwy 16 to Clinton, AR. This is one of the two roads we came here to ride. Paul and I have ridden it twice before, and found to be anything but straight. It has fast sweepers, tight corners, and pavement quality that varies from good to excellent. Nor does it have much traffic, and no enforcement.

The day started well. We got about an hour and a half on Hwy 16 before the rain started in. It wasn't a hard rain, so we managed to stay dry and maintain decent speeds. Once again the 'stich kept me dry, no leaks at all. The Joe Rocket 'waterproof' gloves slowly stopped being waterproof... oh well ...

As we passed through Deer, AR, we came up on a pickup going quite slow, pacing a small dog running alongside the road. The dog then met up with more dogs .. wierd .. to top things off, the local school bus yard was full of mostly short buses. Lake Wobegon it ain't.

On a frequent basis we encountered fog and lighter rain. We could see the clouds thinning, promising mere overcast, but then our hopes were dashed as we entered another downpour. Fortunately I continues to stay wet, and as the temps remained above 64F we weren't miserable.

The weather put a damper on enjoying the road, so after 120 miles we bailed and headed north to our hotel in West Plains. Just before the Bull Shoals ferry we stopped for lunch (well, we had breakfast food, but it was lunch time) at a park resort cafe. The food was excellent and the prices even better.

Reluctantly we left the cafe and rode, in the rain, to the ferry.


Once on the ferry it REALLY started raining. Since we weren't moving, the rain just came right down and soaked us. Well, it soaked Chuck. I was nice and dry in my 'stich (except my hands).


This is when Chuck said he was officially miserable. At least it wasn't cold.

Once off the ferry we had to choose: go east to West Plains and a dry hotel room, or go north on Missouri 125. We've heard great things about 125 .. and with the weather primarily south of us, we went north, hoping to stay away from the worst of it.

As we went north we saw several signs stating "Impassable during high water". These were accompanied by scales indicating how high the water was, up to three feet. I'm thinking I can do 4 inches before the water touches the exhaust pipes .. I suppose if it does, they might crack due to the immediate cooling effect. Eight inches and my wheel bearings would get soaked (and perhaps the engine oil pan .. ) Luckily they were all passable ...

Yet the rain fell, and it fell hard. Top speed was 40 mph through many sections... but it eventually started to let up and the road was drying in patches.

Hwy 125 was excellent, even when wet! From Protem to Bradleyville it was 24 miles of tight, beautifully banked corners. The speed limit was mostly 55 mph yet the corners were rated at 25-15 mph. The northern 21 miles (to Oldfield) wasn't as tight but was still a VERY good road. In the future we'll have to include this on our rides...

From Oldfield to West Plains we took T then 14. These were fast roads... we made good time. Are there ANY bad roads in this region?

At the hotel we spread out our wet stuff and went in search of food .. which was Chinese takeout (wierd sauce but awesome chicken) and a sixpack of Schlafly's Oatmeal Stout. Oh yeah .. and Simpson's, Family Guy and American Dad ...

Tomorrow .. Saint Louis, where we'll meet Paul and continue our ride to the east.