Solo Road Trip to the Ozarks… What Can Go Wrong

Okay, yes sir. Oh my gosh. I'm going to have to disagree, but more on that later. I planned a 1,700 mile road trip to the Ozarks of Arkansas. I'd ride through Eureka Springs to check out the Bikes, Blues and Barbecue Rally, meet a couple fellow YouTubers, ride the famous pig's tail, and for the first time, ride a Harley Trike. The 800 mile ride to Arkansas would include a stop at my in-laws before heading to the rally. Oh my gosh, that's so embarrassing. I rode through the famous town of Eureka Springs to get to Bikes, Blues and Barbecue, and I didn't realize until I got there that I wasn't off to a great start. I'm literally so depressed. It's literally the end of the day on Saturday. I got here so late, and this rally ends on Saturday. They're not having it on Sunday. Once, I was on a group ride with a bunch of Harley riders, and I needed a knife. I said, does anyone have a knife? And like six people was like, yep. It'd be cool if you could demo ride a trike. So everything on this is automotive. That's a Corvette engine. Well, not everything, but almost everything. Corvette engine, a lot of power. They make them all by hand here in America. Do you know how much they weigh off the top of your head? About 1,700 pounds. 1,700 pounds, oh my gosh. So this was much smaller than Sturgis. I was expecting like a long street of booths and things to see and do. Kind of like at Sturgis, but it's actually like in the parking lot of the Embassy Suites. Yeah, so I got here at the very end of Saturday thinking, that's okay if I miss some or if I get here late, I can come on Sunday, but I cannot. There's nothing Sunday. So I missed most of the rally and the demo rides, but I guess that's okay. There's always chances to ride more bikes. I'm going to focus on what's important now, I guess, which is visiting my old high school friends for dinner. And then tomorrow, the Pig's Trail. But I think I still got enough to do a hidden camera video on the rally, which you'll see next. My Boar's Butt tour guide would be a local trike rider and fellow YouTuber. Oh my gosh, look at that trike. So I'm here going to the Pig's Trail and I'm meeting Ben, veteran biker. He is going to let me ride his trike. I bought this because I hurt my knee in an accident and I wanted to keep riding. And this is the best of both worlds. My better half loves it. She can even control the radio from the back seat. Harley Davidson made about 1,500 of these. That's their GI enthusiast. Because the trikes were started during World War II to carry ammunition to the field. Oh, I didn't know that. In retired military, you gotta have a big flag in there. Oh yeah. It's easy to find. First time on a trike. Looks like a street glide. It is a street glide ferry. Oh, okay. Yeah, and then it looks like someone's in front of me, my film crew. All right, so I'm just going to take these for a little bit of a loop around the parking lot. And if I get used to it, and then we're going to ride on over to the Pig's Trail. Oh, I love having a backrest. Look at you with both cameras. This is the film crew. It sounds just like Big Red. Yep, yep, yep. Here I go. First time on a trike. Ah, I don't know where to go. Ah, I'm freaking out. There you go. It took some getting used to. But after some parking lot practice, I was ready to take it to the street. And then parking brake. This is the hard part, the turning, the tight turns. And now we're going into the good part, the road, where I feel like I could sit right here for like 10 hours. Oh, and I don't need to put my feet down. That's the craziest thing. So confusing. I am stopped and my feet are not down. Okay, so the hardest part of this bike are the tight turns in the parking lot. In the parking lot, like, I'm not going to lie, I was a little scared of this bike. Because I didn't need to turn my head. I don't need a lean. I don't need a counterweight. I don't need a countersteer. It was so, so against, like, everything I've been, like, trying to drill in for five years. And all the turning was all my arms. And I'm like, oh my god, this is not easy. But now that I'm on the road, ooh. I've got a backrest, too. Like, I'd love to just put a cruise control and just sit back on the highway. How nice would that be? I'm so excited. I finally got to ride a trike. And, like, a really cool one at that. Ben's pretty cool. He's been riding, like, longer than I've been alive. He's only had it a couple months, so they haven't taken it on long trips yet. I keep leaning with the bike. And it makes no difference in the turn. I mean, the trike. Ah! Woo! Alright, peak trail time. You reach peak adulthood when you buy a LazyBull. I refuse to believe that. You don't have a LazyBull? No, never. Riding the trike was the most mind-boggling, mind-boggling experience of my life. And now we're at the base of the peak trail. And we're about to get on the super tight curves, I think. Or at least curvier roads. So I'm going to be back on the nimble Tiger 900 that I'm comfortable with. And then we're heading to lunch at the Orch Cafe. I'm getting toasted in the sun with my gear on. That's why I took my jacket off. Yeah. Yeah, I don't do that. No matter how hot it gets, I keep it on. Really? Yeah, I might open it. Unzip it, but... I've got one that's like... And then, we saw it. I've got a first aid kit if anybody needs it or not. I'll have it. You're good? Yeah. It was her. I have a car. So I look down at my throttle as I'm turning. Trying to push it forward. Because I'm going too fast. Have you got a cigarette? Take it easy. Good luck. Dang. Every year, because people buy brand new bikes, the first place they want to come ride is here. There's two more curves that are just like this. Okay. This is a lot like North Georgia Mountains, so I'm kind of used to it. I can go around you. Unless he blocks me in two. That's okay. You too. So, just finished the pig trail with Ben, my tour guide. He just went on home. And, you always think you're going to have more time. Well, at least I am. But, there's a couple things I'm just going to have to miss this trip in Arkansas. Like, I really wanted to go down Highway 7 and visit the Arkansas Grand Canyon. And, I also really wanted to go on Peels Ferry and put a bike on a ferry. But, I'm not going to have time. I'm going to have to backtrack from the route to Kay River Campground. And, at this point, I'm like cutting it kind of close to getting to Kay River Campground before dark. I don't want to ride after dark. So, I'm going to have to miss this trip. Going to have to do it another time. And, I'm on my way to the campground. As is bound to see something like this when traversing hundreds of miles. Thank you. Okay, yes sir. Oh no. Oh my gosh. This is so cool. I literally cannot believe my eyes. This is where I'm staying. I'm pretty sure Adam Sandoval got married here a couple weeks ago. Oh my gosh, this place is magical. Look at this. Look at that treehouse. Like, that's right on a river. They've got a stage. They've got like a picnic area. I saw a sign somewhere that said petting zoo. And, I've seen, I have no clue what kind of birds they are. But, they're big and they're cute and they're eating stuff in front of the check-in place. Like, this is so cool. I can't believe it. And, look where I'm staying. What? After a good night's sleep, met up with Adam for a tour of the campground. And, of course, his garage. So, all the siding you see, like on your treehouse you're staying in there? Yeah. That's all cedar siding. So, I don't buy any of that. When we build, we make everything we build with. So, I've got a saw mill. And, when we cut ATV trails, we'll cut the trees down and then we'll bring them here and we'll actually mill them and turn them into the lumber we build with. Oh my gosh. It's my minibike's big brother. Look at this. Hello. I've got something today. Hi, little boys and girls. It's not just about me. It's for you, too. After visiting the twisties of North Georgia Mountains, Tail the Dragon, and riding the scenic roads of Cherahala Skyway, Needles Highway, and the Badlands, with as much hype as I heard about the Ozarks, I was unimpressed. But, I missed some key spots, like Arkansas' Little Grand Canyon, and putting my motorcycle on a ferry. In just a few weeks of this video being published, I'm leaving on a cross-country road trip. If you think I did this visit wrong, tell me below what you think I should have seen in the Ozarks. And, maybe I'll stop by again. Until then, for literally the most beautiful roads I've seen yet, check out my road trip to Sturgis. See you in the next one.