Hogs Trip 2024
This year we are heading to the Ozarks in Missouri and
Arkansas. We plan to ride at least 3,800 miles (6115 kilometers.)
Sorry for the delay in writing. It has been some hard riding
over the last few days so I didn’t get started on the blog right away so today
I’m up early and decided to start writing.
Day 1 Wednesday 7-31-24. Home to Youngstown Ohio. 419 miles
(674 kilometers)
An early morning start with Bobby to meet the three Buffalo
boys by 12:30pm for lunch. All highway at about 70mph (113 Kilometers per hour) Originally in our first few rides thirteen
years ago there were four or five riders from Syracuse and now there are only
two of us. One moved to Florida and one to Florida and now Denver. On the way to Ohio we hit a little rain but just
enough to soak the books and jeans, There are now three riders from Buffalo.
Day 2 – Thursday 8-1-24. Youngstown Ohio to Coshocton
Ohio – 301 miles (484 kilometers)
The boys wanted to visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame in
Canton Ohio so they set off at 8:30am. I decided to wait at the hotel for an
hour and then join them once they were done. The morning was very hot and I set
out to find where they had parked. Finally I found out they had taken the
shuttle bus from about a mile or two from the museum, They were then dropped off
at a quarter mile from the entrance. I tried to enter the parking lot but they
said I had to pay the thirty dollars fee even if it was just to find the exit.
I parked at the entrance under the shade and waited an hour or so until the
gang returned. It was very hot and humid. I wear my leather coat and full face
helmet for safety. It keeps the sun off me and both are ventilated but still
hot.
Day 3 – Friday 8-2-24. Coshocton Ohio to Evansville
Indiana – 318 miles (512 kilometers)
Today the boys wanted to do a distillery tour after lunch in Louisville KY. We parked in a seedy car park under a highway underpass, had lunch and then I headed to the hotel early. For 120 miles. Some rain showers and heavy rain for twenty minutes. The boys arrived several hours later. Dillie with the only Honda in the grouppicked up a screw in his rear tire and had to get it repaired with a new tube. Of coursDay 4 – Saturday 8-3-24-. Evansville Indiana to Osage Beach MO 374 miles (602 kilometers)
After a very warm ride we arrived at
what we thought was the “resort”. Turns out we had the wrong address and had to
back track six miles to the night’s accommodation. Apparently it is a very popular
place for hen’s nights and young people. It had a huge pool with swim up bars.
The restaurant was huge and very, very noisy.
Day 5 – Sunday 8-4-24-. Osage
Beach MO to Clarksville Arkansas 266 miles (428 kilometers)
Great day of riding with highway at mostly a 70 mph speed
limit (113 Kilometers per hour) half the day we rode through the Ozarks on nice
windy roads in beautiful country side.
Day 6 – Monday 8-5-24-. Clarksville Arkansas nil miles (nil
kilometers)
Interesting morning. I awoke at five am and a building
contractor for the hotel said they had to repair the roof in the front of the
hotel where all our bikes were parked. I explained that my fellow riders would
not be up until eight but he then explained that the scissor lift had to be
located nearest to the front door and the bike would have to move. Guess which
bike was there. Yes mine. Easily done and all the other bikes were safe.
The boys today were riding 320 miles round trip (515
kilometers) to see some caves and then return to Clarksville. I have decided to
stay at the hotel today and have a rest to do some laundry and write the blog, On
previous trips we have had a day off in the middle to rest but this trip is
very well planned but full. J Dog (official nickname) is organizing and leading
the team.
As it turned out the boys did not do the cave as they did not have enough time. They rode what Bobby thought was the best ride that he had ever been on. They all were very hot when they returned and I still think I made the best decision staying cool.
Day 7 – Tuesday 8-6-24-. Clarksville Arkansas to Southhaven
Mississippi (near Memphis Tennessee 274 miles)
This morning Dudley decided to ride home to Denver instead
of riding east for the day. He was expected to ride the 800 odd miles in two
days but he got there in one day!
For the rest of us it was a very hot ride with lots of
adventures. J Dog is the leader of the group this trip and has been very
thorough with planning. He does a great job mapping out rides that have less
freeways and four lanes and taking two lane roads that are more interesting.
One of our riders is called “Rage” and he received the nickname from throwing a tantrum about not eating soon enough several years ago. I thought the name was unfair as he is a lovely chap with not an indication that he had a temper. In fact I thought we should rename him as “walnut” because he would pee more often than anyone else on the rides. Apparently he told us that the doctor said his bladder was the size of a walnut. Today changed that. The first twenty or thirty miles today was spend traveling on small roads as J Dog was trying to keep to backroads rather than the freeway. At our first pit stop Rage flew into a rage at J Dog because Rage thought we were going to take the freeway to cover more miles. He later apologized but it solidified his nickname.
There has always been a rivalry between the Harleys and the Hondas on the trips. The Harleys are very American and unfortunately do not have the best reputation for reliability whereas the Honda are probably more refined. So far the Harleys have generally had an issue on every trip and required us to visit a local dealer for repairs. So far the Harleys have had a motor blow up, two new batteries, a relay, broken gear lever and a bolt for the drink holder. The Honda have had only one issue with the bike stopping in the rain and one screw in the tire. One Honda did fall over and had to get a new rear-view mirror but that did not stop it running. The screw in the tire and could have been an issue with any bike.
It has been a running joke for years that I was not a full
member of “the Wild Hogs” The name of the group and was taken from the movie
about a very urban group of riders who through away their cell phones and hit
the trail to prove they were tough. It stared John Travolta, Tim Alan etc.
It was understood that I was only a probationary until the
founding fathers voted me into the group. Each year they told me that it was a close
vote but I would have to wait another year.
This year only two of the four founding fathers were on the
trip. Mike moved to Florida and joined us for a couple of trips and he rode
North to join us. He recently sold his bike and traded it in on a pontoon boat.
.I think he did not like riding it around Florida as it is very flat and
boring. Deak (who is a Deakin) stayed home this year for a family occasion.
Dudley (one of the characters in the movie) rode in from Denver on his BMW
bike,
The big news is they voted me into the group. As Bobby
explained it was one vote for yes and one for no so they tossed a coin and
Bobby lost. I was presented with an official Hogs patch to sew on my leather
coat. I asked what special options I get
with full membership. The answer was nil. Asked if I could book future
accommodation or special restaurants that answer was definitely no. Not after
that famous trip to Novas Scotia where supposedly the days were cold and wet
and the accommodation was seen as very basic. In fact there was were only two
half days of rain and the accommodation was the best available. Well almost.
Also it wasn’t that cool and certainly a lot better than ninety five degrees.
A lot cooler today with cloud cover all day. Mostly highway, plenty of trucks but easy going. We had to stop for a bolt for one of the boys and the other three went to the Corvette museum. Tomorrow we expect rain part of the way so fingers crossed we stay dry. Having wet boots is the worst part of rain as they take days to dry.
Day 9 – 8-8-24-. Bowling Green Kentucky to Portsmouth Ohio- 288 miles (464 kilometers.)
Day 10 – 8-9-24-. Portsmouth Ohio to Greensburg Pennsylvania - 300 miles (483 kilometers.)
No breakdowns and no parts needed today. An easy day with good weather that became hotter during the day. Nice local roads in the morning and crazy highway in the afternoon. Many big trucks overtaking us at seventy five miles per hour. Tonight we are not in walking distance to a restaurant so we ordered take away Italian.
