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By Eric Rossiter
June 27 and 28 marked the dates for the
Ozark Mountain Region ride4cash and that’s
where we were headed.
I love the Ozarks and try to never miss an
opportunity to get down that way for some
home made hills with a side order of twisties.
There’s a magical quality to the Ozarks that
almost makes me feel like I’ve gone back in
time, and that doesn’t bother me a bit. I relish
the chance to head south, get lost in the hills,
and fall off the grid.
If you follow my Missouri Miles column, right
here in this very online magazine, you may
remember my recent bout with Mother Nature
on a trip up to Omaha and back. Due to that
episode still being fresh in the spousal units’
mind, it pains me to say that MileEater was
trail… trai… I can’t bear to type the word I’m so
ashamed.
She was hauled down to Arkansas. She took
it like a champ though, and when she roared to
life down Marble Falls way in preparation for
the Ozark Moonshine Run during Friday’s
segment of the ride4cash, you could sense
she was ready to get back on the land to set
my soul free.
The registration point for the rally was in Lake
Harrison Park in Harrison Ark. Run sheets
were $25 per sheet per day with a maximum of
eight per rider. The spousal unit assumed the
position of Financial Advisor and informed me
we’d be running one run sheet for that
particular day.
We saddled up and headed north on 65B to
Extreme Sports to try our hand at the draw of
the cards.
Extreme Sports appears to cater to the quad
crowd or ATV’s or whatever the buzz word is
these days. It looked like they had some sport
bikes and assorted leathers, helmets and gear
for that genre also.
I grabbed a donut and a cup’o joe and
proceeded to flip over a 10 of clubs, which I
thought was a pretty good start considering
the kind of luck I usually have at these types of
events. Life is good, man. Let’s motor on and
see what else the Ozark’s have to offer, shall
we?
Back down 65B and grab Arkansas 7 to head
south to a cool little spot hidden away in the
Ozarks called The HUB, perched majestically
on top of Marble Falls , which along with
Dogpatch are known as the Twin Parks of the
Ozarks.
I’ll come back to The HUB later, I mean
literally as well as figuratively as we’re staying
there, but it’s time to draw a card and roll some
throttle. The Queen of clubs and that will work
my good man. Write it down and initial the
afore mentioned run sheet and we’ll be on our
way.
Back down the mountain and south on 7
again, headed for the Grand Canyon of the
Ozarks Gift Shop. This was a cool little shop
complete with a viewing tower that put you up
about 40 ft. farther than you already were on
this bluff. From ground level it looked like you
could see three counties so there’s no telling
what you could see from up there. (well, that’s
not true because we have pics)
I was so impressed by the view that I almost
spaced grabbing a card but the spousal unit
flipped a 2 of clubs, which the girl at the stop
kind of dogged on but it worked for us. We
decided to take a quick break and provide
some time for the spousal unit to climb the
tower and snap some photos. (see? I told you).
This area is well known for the Cliff House Inn
just south of Jasper which affords a simply
spectacular view of the Grand Canyon of the
Ozarks. If you’re looking for a totally awesome
vacation spot the Ozarks have it goin on.
Shhhhh… Don’t tell everyone though; we don’t
want it to get too crowded.
We head south again on 7 to 374 to 123 and
into Mt. Judea (pronounced Judy). A stop at
the Mt. Judea school and it’s an 8 of clubs and
I think I’m dreaming. If you knew how I usually
do on dice runs and poker runs, et al you'd
understand my unbridled enthusiasm.
One card away from a Flush and I'm grinning
from ear to ear. I’m all smiles and chatting
away with the volunteers at the table, they
probably thought I was nuts. Oh well, one's
goal in life should be to enjoy oneself and I
enjoy myself when I go to Arkansas. I work
hard so I can play hard.
Ok, we’re ready to saddle up and motor on
down through Lurton and start our way back
north to Deer.
We continue south on 123 into absolute twisty
heaven. Awesome sweeping curves with nice
roads that are well marked are a perfect pallet
for scooter paradise.
We pick up 7 again and go north to 16 west
and roll into Deer in search of the school. A 5
of Clubs awaited me in Deer and that
completes the Queen high Club flush. Far out,
man, the phedster is living large this morning
in the Ozarks. All is right with the world baby!
It’s been a very good day for poker, and
there are still two stops to go. We don’t stay
long in Deer, as there have been rumors of
burgers and hot dogs at the next stop, and I’m
beginning to get powerfully hungry.
Continuing west on 16 and then north on 21
to 43, takes us through the historic Boxley
Valley and up towards Ponca. Much of this
valley the Buffalo National River meanders
through on its way to the White. The breath-
taking sheer limestone bluffs with activities
such as canoeing, floating and hiking make
this area of the Ozarks an outdoorsman’s
paradise.
Boxley valley is heaven on Earth man, and I
totally achieved inner bliss on this part of the
ride. We were third bike in at the Buffalo
Outdoor Center in Ponca, in what eventually
would become a group of about a dozen.
There were indeed $1 hotdogs that turned out
to be fairly killer in the taste department, as far
as hotdogs go anyway.
There were burgers and beans and tater
salad and chips and pop and all kinds of
goodies, but I’m a sucker for a good grilled
hotdog. The meal was far better than the next
card, which was a 3 of diamonds. I reckon
feeding the beast that was gnawing on my
back bone toasted my poker juju.
We hung out a bit checkin out a totally cool
shovel that caught my eye, but soon we were
on our way to our last stop of the day's run.
It’s less than a 10-minute run up to the
Compton Store in Compton, Ark. No sweat and
we roll in quiet because I hit the kill switch.
“Man, that’s the quietest Harley I ever heard!”
someone yelled from behind me. “That’s
because it has a Honda motor” I yelled back.
A 7 of Hearts is the card of choice in
Compton . My card drawing juju is indeed gone
for the day, we’ll have to go with our first five
cards. I crack the throttle a few times when I
fire MileEater up to make sure the 86 cu in.
twinkie goin potato, potato, through her true
duals with some throaty V&H’s on the end, is
indeed heard. Yeah, I can be one at times.
We motor up 43 N towards Harrison enjoying
the scenery and just totally digging the run we’
ve just made. We turn in our ride sheet back at
Lake Harrison Park hopeful of a decent hand,
which we had, but it wouldn’t beat 4 Jacks
which I overheard was the best hand so far.
Oh well, it was fun and we did ok and saw
some gorgeous scenery on the ride, which is
what it’s all about anyhow, in addition to
supporting a worthwhile cause.
A quick run back down 7 south takes us to
The HUB where we grab some welcomed R &
R and hang out for a while.
The HUB is the “Hidden Jewel of the Ozarks”
that sits atop Marble Falls providing a glorious
view of the entire expanse of the run we had
just traversed and the extraordinary sights and
sounds we had just experienced with all of our
mind and being.
You can see from Jasper to Ponca and
Boxley Valley in between. The HUB has been
operating in its present configuration since
2005 when Randal and Debbie Phillips took
over the property. On the grounds is a 1,500-
seat convention center ready, willing and able
for your next MC or RC club event, or any kind
of event.
The facility comes complete with a sound
stage, lighting and dressing rooms, which
makes its versatility almost endless. A 60-unit
motel is part of the facility offering comfortable
living spaces at more than affordable
rates.
To top it all off Scooters Restaurant sits right
across the driveway from the motel and offers
up some of the finest fare found anywhere, at
more of those above mentioned affordable
prices.
“Scooters Restaurant features hand cut Rib
Eye, New York strips, and beef filets never
frozen and charbroiled to perfection with our
own seasoning. We also have the best catfish
to be found anywhere. On Friday and
Saturday nights we feature our Prime Rib.” is
taken right from their website, and you’ll simply
have to trust me when I say “they ain’t lyin.”
The evenings are spent around a roaring
bonfire extolling the virtues of the days events
and adventures that are to be explored in the
Ozark mountains .
To call this physical environment and mystical
ambience a biker's paradise would not be
adequate enough of a descriptor I fear. I often
find it difficult to put labels on those seldom-
found chicken-soup for the soul moments, but
the weekend spent at The HUB in the Ozarks is
one of those.
One of my undertakings as a moto-journalist
is to turn you on to the people, places and
things that make our two-wheeled world such a
wonderful place to inhabit, and I would be
remiss in my duties if I did not give The HUB
adequate space and billing. Randal, Debbie,
Pat, Becky, Cathy and Debbie and the entire
staff at The HUB and at Scooters go out of
their way to make sure you have everything
you need and to ensure your stay is a
pleasant one.
Around the corner from Scooters, be sure to
check out Cactus Jack's Custom Etching.
Cactus Jack has a really cool little shop
adorned with David Mann art from Easy Riders
and his own custom hard tail with a candy red
metal flake paint job straight out of the 70’s. It’s
magnificently airbrushed with murals that
outline Cactus Jacks’ memories of his service
duty in Nam . He has some of this etching
work on display and can custom etch just
about anything. When you stop in please
thank him for his service and when you shake
his hand, tell him “Welcome Home.”
Be sure and tell him phedup from Riding
South Magazine said to stop by. It’ll let him
know that someone who wasn’t there still care’
s and also let him know his gig is getting a little
free pimp'n.
Saturday morning turned out stormy and rainy.
Surprise! Oh, I almost forgot, Cactus Jack is
the only guy I’ve met this spring who took off
on a 7 day, 3 state road trip, and didn’t get
wet. I told him I was riding with him from now on.
So anyway Saturday was soaking wet, but
there were some hearty souls whose riding
plans would not be thwarted by a little foul
weather. Some of the HOG folks were down in
the area from the Lake Ozark and Lebanon,
Mo., chapters and staying at The HUB for the
weekend. Awesome group of folks who were
nice enough to let the spousal unit and I hang
out and partake of their camaraderie and
hospitality.
They donned the appropriate rain gear and
took off for parts unknown in a couple of
different groups.
The weather apparently had an affect on the
turnout for the ride4cash event as well as the
Cookin' on the Creek BBQ Championship
Cook Off.
The Ride 4 Cash event was sponsored by the
Harrison Arkansas Convention & Visitors
Bureau in conjunction with Cox
Communications to benefit the Main Street
Harrison Downtown Development
project.
Attendance was limited with 180 riders on
Friday and 103 out of an estimated and
hopefully expected 500 riders on Saturday.
Unfortunately there was no way the city
planners could have foreseen the six inches of
rain that absolutely immobilized the area that
day.
That’s right, six inches of rain. But true to
their word, at the end of the day the $5,000
cash prize was awarded to David Smith of
Fayetteville, Ark. The event raised $6,200 and
cost around $15k to put on so I’ll let you do the
math on that.
I spoke with Terry Cook at the Harrison
Arkansas Convention & Visitors Bureau and he
said they were committed to promoting and
carrying out the event again next year. We
spoke about some planned changes and
different possible ideas for next years event.
I found this excerpt from Mr. Cook on the
Harrison, Ark., blog posted by Tamsyn Simon,
that he asked that I be sure and pass along.
“On June 27-28, 2008, the Harrison
Convention & Visitors Bureau and Main Street
Harrison held the Cookin’ on the Creek BBQ
Championship and the Ozark Mountain Ride 4
Cash Motorcycle Event. While weather played
a critical component in the lack of success for
both events, the Lake Harrison location was
absolutely perfect.
All the visitors to the events loved the lake
location and spoke extremely favorable about
our park and Minnie Harris Stage area. If
anyone saw Lake Harrison Park after the
Sunday storms of June 22nd, you wouldn’t
have thought an event could have been held
there.
The city workers and Mayor Pat Moles did a
tremendous job of cleaning up the park and
getting it ready to receive guests from out of
town. While their attention was getting the city
back into working condition, they also realized
how important it was to show our visitors a
beautiful park setting.
The visitors were impressed with the venue
and more impressed after learning of the
damage and cleanup efforts. Special thanks to
James Hensley, John Phillips, Frank Gelinas,
and especially Pat Moles for all their efforts.
Without your hard work, we could not have put
on the events of the past weekend.
Our gratitude goes out to each and everyone
one of our city, county and state workers.
I would also like to thank the many
organizations and businesses that helped with
the Ride 4 Cash Motorcycle Event. Without
their assistance at the stop locations, the
event could not have happened. The
businesses and organizations that assisted
were Extreme Sports of Harrison, Jerry
Jackson Realty, Ozark Arts Council, Ozark
Mountain Region Tourism Association,
Western Sizzlin Restaurant, K-Life Ministries,
Independent Living, Harrison Daily Times, The
Cotter Chamber of Commerce, The Flippin
Chamber of Commerce, Arvest Bank and Chris
May with YouMayTravel.com. Their efforts are
so appreciated especially since they sat in the
rain on Saturday showing hospitality to the
motorcyclists and making them feel welcome to
the Ozarks. The day was dreary for all the
bikers, but our volunteers did a fabulous job of
making them feel welcome and special.
The volunteers that helped with the setup of
the event and registration need a big slap on
the back and extra kudos. Mike Magness, Mike
Brown, Bob Richards and Kelley Linck did a
fabulous job of setting up the event site and
directing bikes to the appropriate areas.
Barbara Brown, B.J. Marcil, Yadi Cook, Colleen
Tomlinson, Melissa Kirkland, Becca Holt,
Brooke Holt, and Emily Cook all made
registration go off seamlessly and always had
a smiling face for our guests.
Lastly, the staff at the Harrison CVB, Kelly
Holt and Tamsyn Simon. Your efforts, not only
over the weekend, but for the past six months
made the event organization go off smoothly
and that effort positioned Harrison to be
successful.
There is no way an event of this size can
happen without a dedicated staff and fabulous
volunteers who care about the success of
Harrison and the image to our visitors. My
thanks and gratitude goes out to each and
every one of you that assisted on the event.
Terry W. Cook, Executive Director
Harrison Convention & Visitors Bureau”
Personally, I totally dug the event but I’m
partial to Arkansas and the Ozark mountains
as previously stated. Harrison is a cool little
town and appeared to be totally biker friendly.
The roads alone are a reason to make the trip.
They’re simply heaven compared to the slabs
in Missouri. You hear that MoDOT? I’m doggin
ya!!
Hopefully next spring won’t be as wet and
coverage of the event such as this will help get
the word out.
Send us your pics for our web Gallery, and
be sure to post your upcoming events in our
Events Calendar.
Give me a shout at
erossiter@ridingsouthmagazine.com if you like
my column, don’t like my column or you just
want to rant about something.
If you attended the ride4cash event and have
any ideas how to make it better, improve
attendance, or just want to list the things you
liked or didn't like, shoot me an e-mail and let
us join in palaver and be well heard. Until next
month, ride safely!! Oh, and get your
reservations at The HUB now for next year's
ride4cash event!!
Do I know how to pimp a cause or what?
Peace, man.
June 27 and 28 marked the dates for the
Ozark Mountain Region ride4cash and that’s
where we were headed.
I love the Ozarks and try to never miss an
opportunity to get down that way for some
home made hills with a side order of twisties.
There’s a magical quality to the Ozarks that
almost makes me feel like I’ve gone back in
time, and that doesn’t bother me a bit. I relish
the chance to head south, get lost in the hills,
and fall off the grid.
If you follow my Missouri Miles column, right
here in this very online magazine, you may
remember my recent bout with Mother Nature
on a trip up to Omaha and back. Due to that
episode still being fresh in the spousal units’
mind, it pains me to say that MileEater was
trail… trai… I can’t bear to type the word I’m so
ashamed.
She was hauled down to Arkansas. She took
it like a champ though, and when she roared to
life down Marble Falls way in preparation for
the Ozark Moonshine Run during Friday’s
segment of the ride4cash, you could sense
she was ready to get back on the land to set
my soul free.
The registration point for the rally was in Lake
Harrison Park in Harrison Ark. Run sheets
were $25 per sheet per day with a maximum of
eight per rider. The spousal unit assumed the
position of Financial Advisor and informed me
we’d be running one run sheet for that
particular day.
We saddled up and headed north on 65B to
Extreme Sports to try our hand at the draw of
the cards.
Extreme Sports appears to cater to the quad
crowd or ATV’s or whatever the buzz word is
these days. It looked like they had some sport
bikes and assorted leathers, helmets and gear
for that genre also.
I grabbed a donut and a cup’o joe and
proceeded to flip over a 10 of clubs, which I
thought was a pretty good start considering
the kind of luck I usually have at these types of
events. Life is good, man. Let’s motor on and
see what else the Ozark’s have to offer, shall
we?
Back down 65B and grab Arkansas 7 to head
south to a cool little spot hidden away in the
Ozarks called The HUB, perched majestically
on top of Marble Falls , which along with
Dogpatch are known as the Twin Parks of the
Ozarks.
I’ll come back to The HUB later, I mean
literally as well as figuratively as we’re staying
there, but it’s time to draw a card and roll some
throttle. The Queen of clubs and that will work
my good man. Write it down and initial the
afore mentioned run sheet and we’ll be on our
way.
Back down the mountain and south on 7
again, headed for the Grand Canyon of the
Ozarks Gift Shop. This was a cool little shop
complete with a viewing tower that put you up
about 40 ft. farther than you already were on
this bluff. From ground level it looked like you
could see three counties so there’s no telling
what you could see from up there. (well, that’s
not true because we have pics)
I was so impressed by the view that I almost
spaced grabbing a card but the spousal unit
flipped a 2 of clubs, which the girl at the stop
kind of dogged on but it worked for us. We
decided to take a quick break and provide
some time for the spousal unit to climb the
tower and snap some photos. (see? I told you).
This area is well known for the Cliff House Inn
just south of Jasper which affords a simply
spectacular view of the Grand Canyon of the
Ozarks. If you’re looking for a totally awesome
vacation spot the Ozarks have it goin on.
Shhhhh… Don’t tell everyone though; we don’t
want it to get too crowded.
We head south again on 7 to 374 to 123 and
into Mt. Judea (pronounced Judy). A stop at
the Mt. Judea school and it’s an 8 of clubs and
I think I’m dreaming. If you knew how I usually
do on dice runs and poker runs, et al you'd
understand my unbridled enthusiasm.
One card away from a Flush and I'm grinning
from ear to ear. I’m all smiles and chatting
away with the volunteers at the table, they
probably thought I was nuts. Oh well, one's
goal in life should be to enjoy oneself and I
enjoy myself when I go to Arkansas. I work
hard so I can play hard.
Ok, we’re ready to saddle up and motor on
down through Lurton and start our way back
north to Deer.
We continue south on 123 into absolute twisty
heaven. Awesome sweeping curves with nice
roads that are well marked are a perfect pallet
for scooter paradise.
We pick up 7 again and go north to 16 west
and roll into Deer in search of the school. A 5
of Clubs awaited me in Deer and that
completes the Queen high Club flush. Far out,
man, the phedster is living large this morning
in the Ozarks. All is right with the world baby!
It’s been a very good day for poker, and
there are still two stops to go. We don’t stay
long in Deer, as there have been rumors of
burgers and hot dogs at the next stop, and I’m
beginning to get powerfully hungry.
Continuing west on 16 and then north on 21
to 43, takes us through the historic Boxley
Valley and up towards Ponca. Much of this
valley the Buffalo National River meanders
through on its way to the White. The breath-
taking sheer limestone bluffs with activities
such as canoeing, floating and hiking make
this area of the Ozarks an outdoorsman’s
paradise.
Boxley valley is heaven on Earth man, and I
totally achieved inner bliss on this part of the
ride. We were third bike in at the Buffalo
Outdoor Center in Ponca, in what eventually
would become a group of about a dozen.
There were indeed $1 hotdogs that turned out
to be fairly killer in the taste department, as far
as hotdogs go anyway.
There were burgers and beans and tater
salad and chips and pop and all kinds of
goodies, but I’m a sucker for a good grilled
hotdog. The meal was far better than the next
card, which was a 3 of diamonds. I reckon
feeding the beast that was gnawing on my
back bone toasted my poker juju.
We hung out a bit checkin out a totally cool
shovel that caught my eye, but soon we were
on our way to our last stop of the day's run.
It’s less than a 10-minute run up to the
Compton Store in Compton, Ark. No sweat and
we roll in quiet because I hit the kill switch.
“Man, that’s the quietest Harley I ever heard!”
someone yelled from behind me. “That’s
because it has a Honda motor” I yelled back.
A 7 of Hearts is the card of choice in
Compton . My card drawing juju is indeed gone
for the day, we’ll have to go with our first five
cards. I crack the throttle a few times when I
fire MileEater up to make sure the 86 cu in.
twinkie goin potato, potato, through her true
duals with some throaty V&H’s on the end, is
indeed heard. Yeah, I can be one at times.
We motor up 43 N towards Harrison enjoying
the scenery and just totally digging the run we’
ve just made. We turn in our ride sheet back at
Lake Harrison Park hopeful of a decent hand,
which we had, but it wouldn’t beat 4 Jacks
which I overheard was the best hand so far.
Oh well, it was fun and we did ok and saw
some gorgeous scenery on the ride, which is
what it’s all about anyhow, in addition to
supporting a worthwhile cause.
A quick run back down 7 south takes us to
The HUB where we grab some welcomed R &
R and hang out for a while.
The HUB is the “Hidden Jewel of the Ozarks”
that sits atop Marble Falls providing a glorious
view of the entire expanse of the run we had
just traversed and the extraordinary sights and
sounds we had just experienced with all of our
mind and being.
You can see from Jasper to Ponca and
Boxley Valley in between. The HUB has been
operating in its present configuration since
2005 when Randal and Debbie Phillips took
over the property. On the grounds is a 1,500-
seat convention center ready, willing and able
for your next MC or RC club event, or any kind
of event.
The facility comes complete with a sound
stage, lighting and dressing rooms, which
makes its versatility almost endless. A 60-unit
motel is part of the facility offering comfortable
living spaces at more than affordable
rates.
To top it all off Scooters Restaurant sits right
across the driveway from the motel and offers
up some of the finest fare found anywhere, at
more of those above mentioned affordable
prices.
“Scooters Restaurant features hand cut Rib
Eye, New York strips, and beef filets never
frozen and charbroiled to perfection with our
own seasoning. We also have the best catfish
to be found anywhere. On Friday and
Saturday nights we feature our Prime Rib.” is
taken right from their website, and you’ll simply
have to trust me when I say “they ain’t lyin.”
The evenings are spent around a roaring
bonfire extolling the virtues of the days events
and adventures that are to be explored in the
Ozark mountains .
To call this physical environment and mystical
ambience a biker's paradise would not be
adequate enough of a descriptor I fear. I often
find it difficult to put labels on those seldom-
found chicken-soup for the soul moments, but
the weekend spent at The HUB in the Ozarks is
one of those.
One of my undertakings as a moto-journalist
is to turn you on to the people, places and
things that make our two-wheeled world such a
wonderful place to inhabit, and I would be
remiss in my duties if I did not give The HUB
adequate space and billing. Randal, Debbie,
Pat, Becky, Cathy and Debbie and the entire
staff at The HUB and at Scooters go out of
their way to make sure you have everything
you need and to ensure your stay is a
pleasant one.
Around the corner from Scooters, be sure to
check out Cactus Jack's Custom Etching.
Cactus Jack has a really cool little shop
adorned with David Mann art from Easy Riders
and his own custom hard tail with a candy red
metal flake paint job straight out of the 70’s. It’s
magnificently airbrushed with murals that
outline Cactus Jacks’ memories of his service
duty in Nam . He has some of this etching
work on display and can custom etch just
about anything. When you stop in please
thank him for his service and when you shake
his hand, tell him “Welcome Home.”
Be sure and tell him phedup from Riding
South Magazine said to stop by. It’ll let him
know that someone who wasn’t there still care’
s and also let him know his gig is getting a little
free pimp'n.
Saturday morning turned out stormy and rainy.
Surprise! Oh, I almost forgot, Cactus Jack is
the only guy I’ve met this spring who took off
on a 7 day, 3 state road trip, and didn’t get
wet. I told him I was riding with him from now on.
So anyway Saturday was soaking wet, but
there were some hearty souls whose riding
plans would not be thwarted by a little foul
weather. Some of the HOG folks were down in
the area from the Lake Ozark and Lebanon,
Mo., chapters and staying at The HUB for the
weekend. Awesome group of folks who were
nice enough to let the spousal unit and I hang
out and partake of their camaraderie and
hospitality.
They donned the appropriate rain gear and
took off for parts unknown in a couple of
different groups.
The weather apparently had an affect on the
turnout for the ride4cash event as well as the
Cookin' on the Creek BBQ Championship
Cook Off.
The Ride 4 Cash event was sponsored by the
Harrison Arkansas Convention & Visitors
Bureau in conjunction with Cox
Communications to benefit the Main Street
Harrison Downtown Development
project.
Attendance was limited with 180 riders on
Friday and 103 out of an estimated and
hopefully expected 500 riders on Saturday.
Unfortunately there was no way the city
planners could have foreseen the six inches of
rain that absolutely immobilized the area that
day.
That’s right, six inches of rain. But true to
their word, at the end of the day the $5,000
cash prize was awarded to David Smith of
Fayetteville, Ark. The event raised $6,200 and
cost around $15k to put on so I’ll let you do the
math on that.
I spoke with Terry Cook at the Harrison
Arkansas Convention & Visitors Bureau and he
said they were committed to promoting and
carrying out the event again next year. We
spoke about some planned changes and
different possible ideas for next years event.
I found this excerpt from Mr. Cook on the
Harrison, Ark., blog posted by Tamsyn Simon,
that he asked that I be sure and pass along.
“On June 27-28, 2008, the Harrison
Convention & Visitors Bureau and Main Street
Harrison held the Cookin’ on the Creek BBQ
Championship and the Ozark Mountain Ride 4
Cash Motorcycle Event. While weather played
a critical component in the lack of success for
both events, the Lake Harrison location was
absolutely perfect.
All the visitors to the events loved the lake
location and spoke extremely favorable about
our park and Minnie Harris Stage area. If
anyone saw Lake Harrison Park after the
Sunday storms of June 22nd, you wouldn’t
have thought an event could have been held
there.
The city workers and Mayor Pat Moles did a
tremendous job of cleaning up the park and
getting it ready to receive guests from out of
town. While their attention was getting the city
back into working condition, they also realized
how important it was to show our visitors a
beautiful park setting.
The visitors were impressed with the venue
and more impressed after learning of the
damage and cleanup efforts. Special thanks to
James Hensley, John Phillips, Frank Gelinas,
and especially Pat Moles for all their efforts.
Without your hard work, we could not have put
on the events of the past weekend.
Our gratitude goes out to each and everyone
one of our city, county and state workers.
I would also like to thank the many
organizations and businesses that helped with
the Ride 4 Cash Motorcycle Event. Without
their assistance at the stop locations, the
event could not have happened. The
businesses and organizations that assisted
were Extreme Sports of Harrison, Jerry
Jackson Realty, Ozark Arts Council, Ozark
Mountain Region Tourism Association,
Western Sizzlin Restaurant, K-Life Ministries,
Independent Living, Harrison Daily Times, The
Cotter Chamber of Commerce, The Flippin
Chamber of Commerce, Arvest Bank and Chris
May with YouMayTravel.com. Their efforts are
so appreciated especially since they sat in the
rain on Saturday showing hospitality to the
motorcyclists and making them feel welcome to
the Ozarks. The day was dreary for all the
bikers, but our volunteers did a fabulous job of
making them feel welcome and special.
The volunteers that helped with the setup of
the event and registration need a big slap on
the back and extra kudos. Mike Magness, Mike
Brown, Bob Richards and Kelley Linck did a
fabulous job of setting up the event site and
directing bikes to the appropriate areas.
Barbara Brown, B.J. Marcil, Yadi Cook, Colleen
Tomlinson, Melissa Kirkland, Becca Holt,
Brooke Holt, and Emily Cook all made
registration go off seamlessly and always had
a smiling face for our guests.
Lastly, the staff at the Harrison CVB, Kelly
Holt and Tamsyn Simon. Your efforts, not only
over the weekend, but for the past six months
made the event organization go off smoothly
and that effort positioned Harrison to be
successful.
There is no way an event of this size can
happen without a dedicated staff and fabulous
volunteers who care about the success of
Harrison and the image to our visitors. My
thanks and gratitude goes out to each and
every one of you that assisted on the event.
Terry W. Cook, Executive Director
Harrison Convention & Visitors Bureau”
Personally, I totally dug the event but I’m
partial to Arkansas and the Ozark mountains
as previously stated. Harrison is a cool little
town and appeared to be totally biker friendly.
The roads alone are a reason to make the trip.
They’re simply heaven compared to the slabs
in Missouri. You hear that MoDOT? I’m doggin
ya!!
Hopefully next spring won’t be as wet and
coverage of the event such as this will help get
the word out.
Send us your pics for our web Gallery, and
be sure to post your upcoming events in our
Events Calendar.
Give me a shout at
erossiter@ridingsouthmagazine.com if you like
my column, don’t like my column or you just
want to rant about something.
If you attended the ride4cash event and have
any ideas how to make it better, improve
attendance, or just want to list the things you
liked or didn't like, shoot me an e-mail and let
us join in palaver and be well heard. Until next
month, ride safely!! Oh, and get your
reservations at The HUB now for next year's
ride4cash event!!
Do I know how to pimp a cause or what?
Peace, man.
Ozark Mountain
Region Ride 4 Cash
Region Ride 4 Cash
Click on photo for full-size image
