Riding The Talimena Byway

Starting from the park gives you about 1/4 mile to warm up before you start climbing. Yeah, this was a good plan.

On the edge of town, the road begins to climb . . . a lot.

This profile of the first 12 miles doesn't show the crooked, but you get an idea of the steep.

About three miles in, you've done most of the climb . . . and the views just keep getting better.

More stinking views.

This big piece of rock seemed like a good excuse to stop and take a picture . . . Not that I was tired or anything.

You know you're getting close to the lodge when you can see the fire tower. The service road to the tower is about a 1/4 mile long with a grade of roughly 174%.

At this point you might be happy because you are nearing your first rest stop. Then again, you notice that you go way down and then have to climb way up. Doh!!

Well, however you spell it. Nice place for a rest.

There is a nice deck with good, comfy chairs. I could sit here for a really long time.

It's like a . . . a . . . vista or something.

I definitely had the skinniest butt at the lodge that day. It looked like everyone else spent too much time polishing their chrome.

The road is two-lane with no shoulder, but traffic is very light and pretty courteous. Even so, I got tired of waving at all of the motorcyclists.

Up and down. Up and down. From 50 mph to 5 mph. Gosh, this is fun.

What the heck. I had to do something with my time.

So, enough of the pictures. Were was I headed? From Mena, climb up onto the Talimena Scenic Byway. Chug along for 30 or so miles to Hwy 259 (in Oklahoma). Drop down the hill (wheeee) to Hwy 270. Down in the valley now, cruise along the gentle grades back to Hwy 71 and Mena.

Heres the profile of the entire route. Can you guess the section where I reached my maximum speed?