Chasing the Pig

We drove up to Bella Vista Thursday night for the holiday weekend. I still had some work to do on Friday. I got things taken care of for work and got a late start. My plan was to run up and down the Pig Trail, Arkansas Highway 23. Initially I had planned on running down to Fayetteville and taking Highway 16 down to 23, but I changed my mind and took Highway 12 out of Rodgers.

The route I took:

· Take 62 in Rodgers to Hwy 12 (there is a drive in Hamburger place called Susie Q’s at the intersection. · Head east on 12 for roughly 40 miles – There is a Shell gas station at the intersection of 12 and 23. · Turn right on to 23 and head South. · There are two gas stations in Huntsville (The shell is better) · Inside the Pig Trail there is Turners Bend which has gas. There isn’t that much there, but they do make an ok sandwich. · On the far side of the Pig Trail before you reach i40 is a Valero gas station. · Turn around and do it the other way

 

The road surfaces are good. Some parts are excellent having been recently repaved. There are parts where the surface is a bit cracked, but it doesn’t matter. Because I was out in the afternoon before the holiday weekend there wasn’t much traffic, but I imagine over the weekend the place will turn in to a zoo.  Overall given the scenery the slower moving traffic shouldn’t be to big a deal.  However, if you are wanting to rail through the turns either go on a week day or avoid holiday weekends.

My big concern on the ride was keeping my Duc fueled. However, it turned out to be a non-issue. First the 848 was getting around 42mpg. Next with the gas stations at the intersection of 12 and 23 and the Valero by I40 were spaced perfectly. I only had to put about 1.4 gallons in the tank. Finally, it turns out that Turner’s Bend has a gas pump even though it didn’t show up in Gas Buddy or on Google Maps.  So all in all you fuel is not a problem.

Overall this was the best ride I’ve been on. Then again I generally don’t go on street rides so I don’t have much to compare it too. Guess I’ll have to go out more and collect more data.