Arkansas motorcycle trails, event receive attention in a sentimental journey

Author Bryan Harley with MotoUSA.com writes of his adventure touring a swath of Northwest Arkansas on assignment to the Bikes, Blues & BBQ Rally in a recent post for the site. He took the opportunity to go back to his family’s homestead in Paris and visit his grandparents cemetery.

Until the trip, he’d only visited the old homestead once and knew of it mostly through family lore.

“[T]hat was the way of life back on the old Harley family farm in Arkansas. Miles outside of a little town called Paris, it was a time when family’s had to be self-sufficient, milk their own cows, churn butter, raise chickens for eggs, whip up breads from scratch, chop wood to keep warm. The Harley homestead lay in the shadows of Horseshoe Mountain. My memories of the ranch were all second-hand stories swapped between my dad, his brother and sisters, tales of celebrating the 4th by tossing dynamite off the mountain, accounts of how Uncle Doug’s fighting cocks could filet you open with their spurs, rumors of an illegitimate bloodline to General Robert E. Lee. To me the Harley ranch in Arkansas was a mythical place, a place where my grandparents found their final resting place.

“The opportunity to visit this resting place was definitely in the back of my mind when I learned I’d be heading to Fayetteville to cover the Bikes, Blues & BBQ Rally. With its combination of music, food, and incredible riding in the Ozarks, the Southern hoedown is developing a reputation as one of the rising stars of the rally circuit.”

Sprinkled with photos sure to make most riders envious, he writes well of the roads in Arkansas for motorcycle enthusiasts and speaks well of the encounters he had along the way with locals.

“Arkansas is aware of the riches it has to offer motorcyclists. The state publishes an almost 100-page long motorcycling guide to prove the point. From the roads to the scenery to the people, it is a gem waiting to be discovered.

The Southern spirit of the people in this area of the country would reach out and touch me one more time. A couple weeks after arriving back home, a text popped up on my phone from an unknown number. The message said “I was cleaning up at the cemetery and found your card at the foot of their grave. Thought I would send a picture.” The picture was of my grandparent’s grave marker, the lines of the lettering and flowers in the corner crisp and clear. I shot back a text thanking them for their kind gesture but never heard back, an anonymous message sent from their grave.”

Link here to see his entire adventure riding from Austin through Arkansas.

Also, the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism in recent years has worked more to promote motorcycle tourism in the state. The department created and maintains a website devoted solely to motorcycle tourism that includes detailed route information on 21 “classic on road routes and 5 off road/dual sport routes” in the state.