Jasper, Arkansas Shamrock Tour®
Jasper is the perfect rally point to ride anywhere in northern Arkansas, and seemingly every road in this part of the state is a gem. SR 7, or Scenic Byway 7, leads into Jasper from the north and the south. It is rarely straight for more than a few hundred yards, climbing hills and plunging into valleys. If you don’t wear a massive grin within two minutes of riding your motorcycle around here, you’re doing it wrong.
The first day, I roll out of the motel parking lot at 7:45 a.m. The weather could not be more perfect: about 70 degrees and slightly overcast. Leaving Jasper southbound on SR 7, my Suzuki glides over the freshly paved road with a 7% grade. Ahead and to the left, the Arkansas Grand Canyon reveals itself through the fog.
The valley used to be called Vendor Valley or Big Creek Valley, but back in the 1970s, the new owners of the Cliff House Inn needed a draw for tourists. So, to entice people to buy trinkets while they waited in line for one of the few indoor bathrooms in the area, they christened the valley the “Arkansas Grand Canyon” and a tourist destination was born.
SR 7 is good, ridiculously good. The “Crooked and Steep” signs advise caution, but the smooth tarmac tempts me to push harder, hit each apex faster, and brake deeper into each corner, my bike snarling and barking through the trees. The yellow light from the sun skips through the foliage and needles to break up the gray of the asphalt. I am the embodiment of freedom. I am one with the bike, the road, and the land.
Motorcycle & Gear
2014 Suzuki V-Strom 1000
Helmet: Sedici Sistema II
Jacket: Sedici Avventura Waterproof Jacket, Bohn Body Armor
Pants: Sedici Avventura Waterproof Pants, REV’IT! Philly 2 Jeans
Boots: TCX Mood GTX Shoes
Gloves: Sedici Fillipo Waterproof, REV’IT! Cayenne Pro
Luggage: Nelson-Rigg Hurricane Dry Saddlebags, Nelson-Rigg Hurricane Adventure Tank Bag, Hepco & Becker Xplorer Top Case 60 Liter Black
Before long, I’m riding through Clarksville and turning north on SR 103 toward a well-needed stop for food at the Oark General Store.
With Age Come Biscuits and Gravy
The tall pine trees not only fill the air with their fragrance but press right to the edge of the pavement, blocking out any light or warmth from the sun. Nothing on the right protects me from a drop of 50 feet or more into the forest’s depths and the mountain on the left leaves little room f or error. It is never a straight road, full of knee-dragging corners, where shifting to fourth gear feels like flying.
I cross the Mulberry River and see a sign for Oark, home to Arkansas’s oldest continually operating general store.
Listed on the Arkansas Register of Historic Places, the Oark General Store operated as a post office in the early 1900s and was a marketplace for early settlers selling crops, timber, and furs. While it still serves as a general store, offering groceries for locals, hikers, and campers, the main draw is the cafe now owned by Brian and Reagan Eisele. I arrive at 10 a.m. in time for a country breakfast. My server suggests the B&G combo, and I heartily agree without even looking at the menu to know what it is. Coffee appears as if by magic and, a few minutes later, the table is covered with a plate of scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns, biscuits, and gravy. My only regret is not staying for one of their famous burgers and a slice of pie.
After breakfast, I chat with Brian about the store’s history, buy a couple of souvenirs, and head outside, where I meet a couple of guys from Missouri. One is riding the new Royal Enfield Himalayan—a gorgeous bike.