Solar Eclipse SS1000
April 8, 2024
Ride Report
April 8, 2024
Ride Report
I don't have much of an account for my Solar Eclipse SaddleSore 1000 Gold but here it is:
I have never seen a total solar eclipse in person. That is the Main reason for this ride.
I had planned this ride almost a year ago long before all of the media attention of the past few months began. Living in Levelland, TX, I looked for a location within the totality area that was about 500 miles from home. I also wanted to go to an area that was away from large metropolitan areas. With those criteria I chose De Queen, AR.
Where is De Queen, AR you may ask? De Queen is located in southwest Arkansas about 50 miles north of Texarkana. It’s in an area I have traveled in the past so I know that the route shouldn’t have any surprises.
The route is pretty simple. I will take TX114 from Levelland to Lubbock. Then US82 all the way to Paris where I will change to TX195 to the Oklahoma line. From there OK37 to Idabel then US70 to
De Queen. It’s about 504 miles according to Garmin and Google.
For the return leg I will continue on US70 east then US59 south to Texarkana where I will visit the “Texarkana Post Office on the State Line” tour stop for the Motorcycle Grand Tour of Texas. It will also add a few buffer miles to my total Saddlesore mileage. Then I will be taking US82 all the way back to Lubbock where I will, again, take TX114 to Levelland. Planned miles: 1,068.
Timing for this ride centers on the time of totality during the solar eclipse. And according to solar eclipse sources the Totality in De Queen should happen at 13:48pm. I must arrive early enough and leave late enough from my viewing site that there is no question that I was present at totality. Ironbutt suggests at least fifteen minutes on either side is sufficient to guarantee tracking pings. Since this has been hyped by the media for the past few months I plan on arriving at least thirty minutes before to make sure that I can find a good viewing area, just in case there is a crowd. Leaving at 04:00 should give me plenty of time to get to De Queen and settle in for the viewing.
The weather is the wild card today. All areas are forecasting cloudy and stormy conditions after 13:00.
Let’s Go!
I begin at the same gas station that I have started my previous three rides. The start receipt shows 03:52 which is perfect. I stash the receipt, set all timers and odometers, and head out. I am moving at 03:58.
The ride to Wichita Falls is without incident. The temps do drop a bit into the 30s but I know that dawn is near. (And I got some hot packs for my gloves in Benjamin.) At Wichita Falls I meet a rider that was not prepared for the cold and gave him my hot packs. So far I am 14 minutes ahead of schedule.
The sun is coming up and is shining brightly. A nice sign for good viewing later today.
So far the winds have been light and not against me which helps me keep the speed up and me relaxed.
There are road signs along the highways warning people to not stop on the side of the road to view the eclipse.
As I am passing through Sherman, I begin to see thick clouds forming to the south. Eventually they are over me and in front of me. The weather radar is not showing any rain though. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Paris comes up at 10:48, 13 minutes ahead of schedule. But now I’m off to two-lane roads and lack of passing opportunities.
It’s not bad at all and I enjoy the greenery in this part of the state. I am now entering the area of today’s totality and see many places where people have gathered in open areas and have set up lawn chairs and camera with tripods to watch the eclipse. This thing is bigger than I imagined.
De Queen comes at 12:30 so I’m over 20 minutes early by my schedule. I had planned on going to the Walmart to view but, about a mile before then, I spy a nice green area with a few people set up to view. There’s a McDonald’s nearby so I decide that this is where I will view it too. It’s over an hour until totality so I go to the McDonald’s to get lunch and a receipt to mark my location beforehand. I will get another receipt after totality too.
The clouds have lightened up a lot and I can see the sun clear enough through the eclipse glasses.
I’m parked until at least 14:00 so I take this time to chill and enjoy the show. I also visit with others in this viewing area. One has come from Wisconsin, others are from Wyoming, Colorado, and California. Several have telescopes and other viewing devices set up. One even has a laptop connected to record it.
Once Totality begins the clouds are light enough that I can clearly witness the event and I am in awe at the sight. No words can do it justice. Nuff said!
Afterwards I get a receipt from the aforementioned McDonald’s then head out. It’s 14:07.
As I leave De Queen to the east there is a line of cars led by an RV so you know the going is going to be slow for a while. It’s only an hour to Texarkana where I am adding a few miles and documenting a tour stop for the MCGTTX. Fuel is quick but the tour stop is surrounded by a festival of some kind. I circle the area and come upon a city truck stationed at one of the entrances. I tell them what I would like to do and they graciously allow me in to get a photo of Hidalgo in front of the appropriate sign. (Thank you City of Texarkana workers!)
Now it’s time to head westward. I quickly find my way back to I30, which is also US82, and point us west. Next stop, Muenster.
After I exit the interstate it’s two-lane roads for a while but it eventually widens to a divided four-lane west of Paris where I am able to make good time. Muenster comes at 18:46. I get a snack here in the form of gas station pizza. It was tough but filling.
Leaving Muenster at 19:07 the sun is very low on the horizon. I had originally made loose plans to travel through Archer City and visit another MCGTTX Tour stop. But in the end I decided to not go there because Archer City is in an area that is teeming with large wildlife, and I would have been there during nighttime. Archer City will have to wait for another day.
Near Nocona I am talking with my wife, Jennifer, via phone and make mention of all the bluebonnet flowers blooming along the highway. She doesn’t believe that bluebonnets bloom this far north so I stop, take a picture of them, and send it to her. She is a believer now.
Removing the Archer City waypoint from my route puts me back onto the same route I was on this morning going east. It also adds to my finishing miles and reduces my finish arrival time.
Before I arrive in Seymour, the city of my final fuel stop before finishing, I notice some lightning on the horizon. I check the weather radar and find that there are three waves of storms forming along my route. At 20:52 I arrive at Seymour. But I do not get fuel first! The Dairy Queen is still open so I get a celebratory ice cream in the form of an Oreo Blizzard. Only after I am sated do I fill the tanks one last time before heading out to the vast openness before Lubbock.
While stopped I study the storms and find that most of the rain is either south or north of the highway I will be on. So, with fingers crossed, I head out. The riding is good with only a bit of ‘spitting’ rain near Guthrie and Dickens. There was an SUV that I was playing cat & mouse with that had those headlights that were way to bright and they refused to dim them. I slowed to let them by but they returned the favor about twenty miles later. When they passed me again I reminded them to dim their lights in a *very loud voice*. They stayed in front of me after that.
Lubbock came at about 23:45 and all the rain was behind me. Once back in Levelland the last fuel stop was 00:15!
On this trip I covered 1,072 miles in 21h46m. My average speed was only 49mph. But when you factor in that I was stopped for eclipse totality over 1 ½ hours I think that is very good. I was pleased with my choice of viewing location in both the experience, people density, and traffic (both before and after the eclipse).
On this trip I experienced an event that I have never experienced before, and probably will never experience again. And I got to experience it with people from all over this great country in a small town in southwest Arkansas.
It was a Great Ride!
https://new.spotwalla.com/trip/42a9-420d0c-fdf6/view
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