Tiffany Ambling through America

[Greg MacD]

Where is the next destination after leaving NOLA?

[Tiffany]

Here's a sign that ensures you keep moving...



Thelma and I were getting so very wet and the visibility through the spray was so poor that I decided to stop at this picnic area for shelter - in a weird way, the rain was welcome as it had been so blisteringly hot just days ago. And on the plus side, look how clean Thelma is after all the gallons of water have landed on her. I wear a Rukka jacket and all the way through these downpours I was completely dry under it.



GredMcD
To answer your question, we were heading up to Arkansas and some hill country. First I had to cross part of Alabama, and I swear that they have people with the strongest accents manning the welcome centres. I had stopped to get a state map, but at first couldn't understand the woman behind the counter. I asked her to repeat what she said and she just looked at me as if I was an alien. We managed to communicate, I got my map and continued on my way, stopping at some great small town petrol stations for snacks to eat and a chat with staff to avoid more rain.


Luckily it had stopped raining when I needed to stop for the night, I'd reached Delhi in northern Louisiana, followed an old track and found a spot flat enough for the tent.



The mosquitoes had been bad as I put the tent up and I soon found out why in the morning, as this was behind the row of trees



The swamps gave way to corn fields



We'd arrived in Arkansas, and these little creatures were everywhere



Dead armadilloes, scattered along the roadside like discarded bowling balls, or maybe they were just sunbathing

I finally reached the Ozarks, and what pretty hills they are, I needed to gain points for the GS Giant Adventure Summit and so took a forest route, my first serious off-roading for a while. I didn't have a very good map, but the nice man at the welcome centre had made a few suggestions and pointed me in the direction of some horse trails that were suitable for motorised vehicles. What a mistake that was, in England we have bridleways for people on horses and they tend to be leisurely tracks across fields. They are sometimes shared with other track users as well, after I entered the forest, I realised this was a very different situation.




I checked the signs as I headed along this trail



I had no idea that there were bears this far south. I decided to keep moving



Easier said than done



The route ahead had some steps in it with a drop off at the bottom, I needed to try and haul rocks to make the drop off easier to negotiate. But Thelma was on a slope and I couldn't put the side stand down, hence I had to do this



I got through that bit, and the the upward slope on the other side was worse

[Paddygfw]

love the pictures...it's like we are there

[RobBD]

I hope Thelma doesn't nap too often for you. No doubt she wont stand up by herself after one of these naps.
Take care

[bk brkr baker]

I checked the signs as I headed along this trail



I had no idea that there were bears this far south. I decided to keep moving













[/QUOTE]

I have a friend that lives on the edge of the Ocala Forrest in Florida. He has been troubled by bears trying to get in his dogs food stash. He said they have dozens of bear- car collisions on the roads near him.
Bears are everywhere.

[TheReaper!]

Since this is not in real time , it’s probably safe to assume Tiffany makes it ? Does Tiffany get out alive , does she
turn around and head for the pavement , or like a good little Englishman does she press on ?

Or does the man of her dreams rescue her , and they ride off into the sun set never to be heard from again ?



What we have here is a first class cliff hanger , like a TV series that wants to make damn sure you tune in next week .

TheReaper!

[Paddygfw]

A little of the subject but are those pants you are wearing leather? My wife and I are buying new leathers. If they are could you give us your opinion and the brand name?
Thanks
Paddy

[lukeman]

Glad to see the report is continuing. Its always interesting to see america through your eyes ;)

My grandfather used to have a 1968 CT90 which was the first motorcycle I rode when I was 8. I managed to drive it into the house one time so I know how it feels ;) Brings back some memories.


I see this kit makes the new bike look like a Thelma.. Pretty cool...

[Greg MacD]

I had the opertunity to visit Hot Spring Arkansas a few years ago, nice little tourist town....I understand what you meen about the acents of the people here in the South, some can be very hard to understand, I am originaly from Long Island NY, I too get looks like I am from some other planet...as we are called down this way "Damn Yankees" it's all good, some real nice people.Enjoy your travels, I am enjoying reading about them, Cheers.Greg

[10 Man]

I took a ride on the mule drawn carriage on one of my trips to New Orleans around the old French Quarter
when we would turn onto a street that was packed by people standing in the street partying the driver would make the mule do a danceing trott so his shoes hit the street real loud and he would yell ...get out of the way killer mule !
people would part and we made it through .......quite a show !

[Tiffany]

Originally Posted by RobBD

I hope Thelma doesn't nap too often for you. No doubt she wont stand up by herself after one of these naps.
Take care

Rob, you know Thelma, this was her payback time, something along the lines of
"if you insist on bringing me along this crap track, then I'm going to make it as bloody difficult as I can for you"
and those sort of tactics work

Originally Posted by TheReaper!

Since this is not in real time , it’s probably safe to assume Tiffany makes it ? Does Tiffany get out alive , does she
turn around and head for the pavement , or like a good little Englishman does she press on ?

Or does the man of her dreams rescue her , and they ride off into the sun set never to be heard from again ?


What we have here is a first class cliff hanger , like a TV series that wants to make damn sure you tune in next week .

TheReaper!

Reaper, it wasn't a deliberate cliffhanger, I was there for a very long time getting Thelma out



which afforded several photo opportunities

as for my other options...well, I'd reached the point of no return and had already decided that I wouldn't be able to get out the way I'd come in - I only got photos while I was on the "easier" bits.
As for the man of my dreams coming to rescue me, bring him on

Originally Posted by Paddygfw

A little of the subject but are those pants you are wearing leather? My wife and I are buying new leathers. If they are could you give us your opinion and the brand name?
Thanks
Paddy

Paddy, pants mean an entirely different thing in England...
However my trousers, yes, they are leather and I love them. They're British-made ones from Frank Thomas
www.frank-thomas.co.uk/

I've had this pair for ten years.

[Blader54]

Yep, Tiffany, that is a great beach! I stand corrected! The touristy agencies ought to show more photos like that than like this.....



although I bet this is great training for aspiring Iron Butt riders!

[Tiffany]

After a prolonged sojourn in the forest doing the Horse Trail (never again), I made it back onto tarmac and eventually found these guys



ah yes, I thought, as I looked around, I must be in the right place, they're picking up GS's

The GS Giants and their adventure summit, deep in the hills at a great camping spot under the trees, fantastic food, amazing riding and good company. To my delight, there was also a creek to swim in with a rope swing over it. I caught up with some familiar faces from the previous adventure summit in Utah back in May.



Interesting ride tales each evening as everyone came back from their adventures, including the infamous Frog Bayou ride - 60 miles in 12 hours and a group of 11 riders.They also had stories about their journeys from their various home states.

[Tiffany]

Roads in this area are very interesting



Thelma borrowed some air




I went exploring and found a pretty graveyard



I liked this sign on the fence



I went in search of lunch and found this place



Not much for the peckish vegetarian, until they explained what hush puppies were. I missed the sign that proudly declared this establishment to be a place for "fine dining".

Meanwhile, back in the woods, a course was being set up, bikes were prepped



The riders were gathered




With the cute Canadian dog as mascot, he only understands french!

And they were off



A trials course through the woods with thrills and spills

[Tiffany]

still in the woods



There was even an orange bike competing.

Meanwhile, Gaila and Tad had got hold of my camera and were taking selfies



with a very unfortunate pic of me in the background.
In my defence, I had JUST got out of the creek where I'd been swimming to cool down and therefore was not in bike gear.

However I couldn't resist having a go at the course through the woods, once everyone else had finished and left the area



This was one of those pictures where I've got my gritted teeth look.

and then Gaila took this photo



It's a good one of Thelma, but OMG I look somewhat tubby in this photo