Motorcycle owners enjoy the Pig Trail

story by Connie Las-Schneider

The Arkansas Pig Trail is fast becoming a major destination for bikers

Consistently ranked by motorcycle magazines among the best rides in the U.S., the Pig Trail, aka Arkansas 23, is known for serpentine switchbacks, dense tree lined canopies and close proximity to the scenic Mulberry River.

Nicknamed the Pig Trail by travelers going to and from University of Arkansas Razorback games, Arkansas 23 was once the main route between central Arkansas and Fayetteville. After the northern portion of Interstate 540 opened in 1999, the Pig Trail lost most of its car and truck traffic, but this made the road ideal for motorcycles and club rides, said Brad Wimberly, owner of the popular bike stop Turner Bend Junction located on the Pig Trail just south of the Mulberry River Bridge.

Arkansas tourism officials cater to the motorcycle crowd, with recruitment of motorcyclists including a page on the state’s tourism website providing several sources of information on riding in The Natural State.

Motorcycle clubs once feared as outlaw organizations now maintain auras of respectability and influence, and the old biker motto, “Live to Ride: Ride to Live” is being replaced by “Live to Ride: Ride to Give,” said Sherry Wewers, state office manager for A.B.A.T.E (Arkansas Bikers Aiming Toward Education).

Today’s bikers spend big bucks for their equipment and most motorcycle club members are deeply involved with charitable activities for worthy causes. The Evangelical based Christian Motorcyclist Association has more than 30 active motorcycle clubs in Arkansas that ride regularly for charity.

Veteran based clubs like the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association help spouses deal with deployments, and raise money for Toys for Tots. The Boozefighters club, one of the original veteran organized biker clubs in the U.S., sponsor many charities including Southern Christian Home, VFW women’s auxiliary, Peace at Home Family Shelter, Helping our Kids, Western Arkansas Youth Shelter and Union School Building Fund.

During the past four years, the CVMA has donated more than $100,000 to charity, said Boozefighters Arkansas Chapter 62 Charter Holder, “Diamond” Dave Davis.

Many law enforcement professionals also ride with clubs. The Blue Iron Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club out of Fort Smith conducted a charity run in June to raise money for two local police officers who lost their homes in the May 24 tornado that hit Franklin County.

A.B.A.T.E. is one of the most active clubs in Arkansas with 20 districts statewide including District 22 out of Fort Smith. Saving lives is the organization’s top priority. In 2010 alone, 79 people died in Arkansas from motorcycle accidents, Wewers said.

Wewers said motorcycle safety education also is important for “cage” drivers — those who drive cars and trucks or any vehicle with four or more wheels.

“Drivers of cars and trucks are encased in a protective cage while bikers have no protection except what they wear,” she explained.

Many drivers believe motorcycles are more maneuverable than larger vehicles, but that is not always true. Cage drivers can hit the brakes and turn the wheel to sometimes avoid a collision, but with a bike, turning the wheel quickly normally results in the bike going down and into a slide, said Wewers.

Driving on the Pig Trail or other steeply curved roads are a definite challenge for bikers, not only because of limited visibility and the need to stay balanced on sharply angled switchbacks, but because cars and trucks often cross the center line on hair pin curves which can force riders in the opposite lane off the road, said Wewers. With little or no shoulder along some stretches of mountain road, this can be disastrous for bikers and “cage” drivers alike.

Ever wonder why some bikers seem to hug the center line on open stretches of highway rather than keep their bikes well inside their lane? Visibility.

“When bikes ride in formation, some members (called guards) ride very close to the center line to increase the group’s visibility to other drivers, Wewers explained.

Driving a motorcycle is obviously risky business, so why do bikers ride?

Wewers sent survey questions to ABATE chapters throughout the state and received some surprising answers. Several respondents said they ride a motorcycle to relieve stress. Others ride for the thrill and the challenge. Some ride for a sense of freedom from constraints, and many ride for the camaraderie.

The answer from Abate member Bronc Wells, best summed up the biker experience.

“Why I ride? There are a few old standards that are true enough but have been done to death. The freedom of the open road, wind in your hair, knees in the breeze. Yada yada yada. I ride because motorcycling harkens back to a simpler time when every journey was an adventure and every mile of every journey was truly experienced. Positive and negative, the traveler experienced it all. We have become a society completely disconnected from our surroundings. We don’t visit friends any more, we Facebook them. We don’t experience our surroundings any more. We spend expansive amounts of money buying automobiles designed to minimize any exposure to them. Why do I ride? Because riding feeds my soul and connects me to the world around me like no other mode of transportation … that, and chicks really dig a man in leathers and riding a bike!”