Arkansas 123

[Bigin]

Hwy 123 out of Mt Judea near Jasper.

[dray]

Hwy 123 out of Mt Judea near Jasper.
?
:think:
what about it

[Skid]

Well it is listed under the "Favorite Roads & Destinations" thread....
So must be his favorite.
:beer:

[Bigin]

It is my favrite ride here. Steep, twisty, vertical rock walls, overhangs, very tight 1st gear turns, hairpins, great views. Have only ridden in the fall and winter, but seldom see another vehicle. Almost like your own scenic, private road course. Is not a direct route to any where, more of a scenic loop but probably have more traffic in summer. Its nice and there is a campground supported by volunteers, pretty much all natural, no buildings but cleared sites with rockfire pits and great hiking.

[oldandcrotchety]

Hey Bigin, i used to live on hwy 123, but i was on the tame end, down towards lamar. hwy 21 between clarksville and berryville is ok if you like a road that is just a little twisty, but not extreme. but my favorite is interstate 40, i grew up in the twisties and am glad to get away from them...............

[Bigin]

Yeah I know what you mean, if you want to actually make time it is frustrating with not many hwys here. But if you dont have anywhere to be it is great riding. I was not planning to get another bike when we moved but could not resist once we arrived and saw the number of out of state riders enjoying it. We are looking to buy a home and 123 is now high on the list. Of course the commute would be an issue, but not employed, any input?

[FreezyRider]

I took a trip to Arkansas last July and rode a bunch of great roads. Didn't know about Hwy 123, dang it!

Oh well, now I have a good reason to come back!!!:cool10:

[Dave77459]

We are finalizing our routes. Is Hwy 123 south of Mt Judea paved? GPS says no, Google Earth shows a centerline. We'll be riding 2-up. Is it good enough condition for that?

Dave

[RustyRecycledToy]

it is paved. Actually pretty good pavement. Watch for loose gravel washed out onto the road from heavy rainfall. look in my pics and you will see a satellite view of 123. Be ready for the unexpected.

Take 374 from 7 south of Jasper. Turn right onto 123. You'll be taking the steep part going uphill rather than down.

It really is a fun road to ride. I keep meaning to take my HD through there (weighing in at 540lbs it's lighter,lower center of gravity and tons more low end torque). Keep forgetting to roll the HD out of the garage and ride it though.

[colesgrandpaw]

Dave if you are going to take hwy. 123 all the way down to Lamar, you can take hwy. 64 west to clarksville (about 5 miles) then take hwy. 103 north to hwy. 215 west to hwy. 23 the pig trail. I think that you will enjoy this ride also.
:thumbsup:

Raymond

[Dave77459]

Thanks guys! We're bumping into daily riding limits, so we may skip Hwy 123. I'm trying to push the issue though. If I go, I'll have the navigator take pictures. :)

Dave

[Dave77459]

Dave if you are going to take hwy. 123 all the way down to Lamar, you can take hwy. 64 west to clarksville (about 5 miles) then take hwy. 103 north to hwy. 215 west to hwy. 23 the pig trail. I think that you will enjoy this ride also.
:thumbsup:

Raymond

Your route got a nibble of interest from the organizer. :thumbsup:

Is 215 paved all the way to Hwy 23? Our maps show it turning to a country road, and then unpaved?

Dave

[1sttenor]

I agree. THe best road in AR. About 10 couples of us will be down there next week....I CANT WAIT!

[Goofeychuck]

Im going to Hatfield next week what should iI expect weather wise? I'll be tent camping.

[cb1313]

Where are you headed. I live in Mountain Home, Ar. and some roads are great rides and others are THE ONLY ROADS GOING IN THAT DIRECTION. Here in the Nothern central I have riden 16,000 miles on 3 different bikes in 5 years. I hardly have traveled more than 100 miles from home (disabled ). Sometimes I can ride for 2-3 hours and not see a car on the back roads. BUT.... almost ALL the roads up here DOUBLE YELLOW...35-45 MILES PER HOUR . Mostly you travel at about 35 miles because of ..18 wheelers, farm equip., the elderly . It takes about 3 hours to travel 50 miles in any direction from my house.
If I can help let me know.... bewhere... it is starting to rain here....7 inches in 3 days and raining today.

Cb

[Goofeychuck]

Im going to Iron Mountain on the 21st and Im coming down from Joplin Missouri.

[colesgrandpaw]

Dave hwy. 215 is paved, have camera ready my wife and i rode that route about a week ago and the trees are starting to change colors.

Raymond

[Goofeychuck]

should it be in the 60's next week? I will be leaving home here in Indiana at about 45 to 50 degrees

[tx2sturgis]

Funny yall are talkin about a road that I got to ride a few weeks ago...I took some video and there is a short segment showing AR123, and a bridge on that road, in my video. Its in the first part of the video.


http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=41532&highlight=arkansas

[colesgrandpaw]

If the weatherman is correct it should be in the mid to upper 60s for about a :fingers-crossed-emoweek starting this Friday.

[BikerRSTD]

tx2sturgs, enjoyed the video. What camera did you use and how was it mounted? BTW, just returned back to Fort Worth from riding to Mena, camping, up to Jasper & the pigtail, cross Ok and back. 3 days 1452 miles. Great ride. Great weather to tent camp at Iron Mountain.