# Thanksgiving day ride in Arkansas



## phil. (Aug 3, 2004)

*Turkey Day Feed Store Tour - AR*

Spent Tday in Siloam Springs, AR w/ the inlaws. Hauled the bike up with me so I could get out for a ride before the big Thanksgiving meal. Didn't have a map, and the pc was down so I wasn't able to plan a ride, sometimes it works out better unplanned. 

Pic 1: The trees have dropped most their leaves.
Pic 2: Not sure what sort of operation is going on here, ny ideas?
Pic 3: McKee Foods (produces Little Debbie's) plant somewhere close.


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## phil. (Aug 3, 2004)

Pic 1: check out that rack!
Pic 2: Llama w/ ostrich and zebra's in the background....see reply below for more info
Pic 3: Rolling into the town of Gentry, AR, population 1500, on Main St. Seems familiar from growing up in a town of about 3k.


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## phil. (Aug 3, 2004)

Pic 1: Reflection portriat in the Ace Hardware window
Pic 2: Feed store #1
Pic 3: bike w/ walnut sign
Pic 4: Just messing around on the loading dock of feedstore #1.
Pic 5: last shot from the loading dock.


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## phil. (Aug 3, 2004)

Pic 1: Feed store #2
Pic 2: Feed Store Cafe
Pic 3: Little Debbie outlet store - open to public, goes along w/ the feed store theme. There's a factory/bakery somewhere near, didn't see it on my route though.


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## phil. (Aug 3, 2004)

Pic 1: Nice temp for riding
Pic 2: Better start heading back toward the house for thanksgiving lunch
Pic 3: Noticed the sign while taking the above pics, makes sense w/ the zebra's/llama/ostrich from the first post, that must've been part of it that I saw, or at least where they care for some of them.


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## phil. (Aug 3, 2004)

Pic 1: Jimmy Hendrix now selling insurance in Arkansas
Pic 2: I wonder how many ppl of this town get the rap song reference?
Pic 3: Not all places can change tractor tires you know. Actually living in a larger town now (~100k) one thing I dislike is feeling like if I take my vehicle some place for work to be done I feel like I might get screwed over, always had good ol' boy shops like this do my auto repairs growing up.
Pic 4: Mmmm... Pecan pie w/ choc chips just out of the oven when I rolled back to the house.

Hope all had a happy holiday. Sorry if I went too crazy w/ all the shots from the same small town, just taking a relaxed ride and had time to take lots of pics. Was able to get in about 30 miles on mostly back county roads, it was nice to ride some unfamiliar roads and just use the sun to figure out what direction I was headed.
Phil


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## Frank121 (May 14, 2002)

*Hey, I've ridden there...*

mainly when I was a kid. Thanks for the memories! 

I lived in Siloam Springs for a while when my dad was in Vietnam. My mom's folks lived there for years, and my aunt and uncle still do. We used to ride around all day going out by Allen canning company, Pet Milk plant, Plus Poultry (now Simmons I think), John Brown University, etc. on our sting-ray like bikes (couldn't really afford Schwinns) with no water or tools or tubes in tennis shoes and shorts back before we found out you can't ride a bike that far without padded shorts, carbon soled shoes, a bike bag with tubes and CO2 and GU, and carbon fiber ;-)

Several years back they had some real bike races in the area. Think was sponsored by a bike shop that was there but now gone, but had a weekend stage race that had a crit in Siloam Springs and stages out by I think Lake Weddington that went toward Springdale or Fayetteville. I went over there for that race...reintroduced me to hills and humidity!


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*Nice but I wish you hadn't included the pie.*

I want some *NOW!*


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## phil. (Aug 3, 2004)

Yep, no bike shop in Siloam anymore. I started the ride just north of the church camp that's just south of town on hwy 59. I rode past Allen Canning on the way out towards Gentry, and have ridden up and around JBU before. I've wanted to ride the hwy from Siloam out to Lake Weddington but haven't yet because of traffic: it's used mostly at a shortcut from Siloam to Fayetteville these days.


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## KenS (Jan 28, 2004)

*Great post*



phil. said:


> Spent Tday in Siloam Springs, AR w/ the inlaws. Hauled the bike up with me so I could get out for a ride before the big Thanksgiving meal. Didn't have a map, and the pc was down so I wasn't able to plan a ride, sometimes it works out better unplanned.


I really enjoy these kinds of rides -- where you are exploring and don't have to worry about ending up on some kind of Jersey Turnpike type of road.

We had pecan pie at my home also. I had a slice about an inch wide and still thought I was going into insulin shock.

Ken


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

*Small towns are always good photos*

Don't apologize for the photo spread. It's great seeing the smaller towns like that. I'm used to the "small" towns of California but there is always the encroaching subdivisions from the lower valleys that kind of ruin it. I agree with MB. . . .need pecan pie now.


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## Mbikes67 (Aug 7, 2005)

*mmmmmmm..........*

Pecan Pie.....


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## wayneanneli (Jul 8, 2004)

Nice stuff Phil. It always amazes me how patriotic Americans are, and that isn't an insult. Small town USA with Stars and Stripes on every lamp post symbolises this. Would you say Gentry is a town that is dying out? You often wonder how long small town like that, with 1,500 inhabitants, can survive. Are there any industries nearby? Larger neighbouring cities?
Cheers, Wayne


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## phil. (Aug 3, 2004)

Wayne,

I'm not really sure if it's dying out or not. As I mentioned above somewhere, but I grew up in a town w/ about 3k people and the population has hovered around that number for probably 30-40yrs. I'm sure these small towns used to be more vibrant and thriving but with bigger cities nearby they do fade but not completely fade away. What supports Gentry? I'd guess farming and the Little Debbie plant. There is a town with a population of about 10k about 10 miles away. Larger towns within an hour drive of Gentry, probably 150k or so in 3 main cities that have pretty much grown into each other, also Arkansas's largest university in on of those towns.

I was a little suprised myself to see all the flags displayed, not too sure, I seem to remember something on the news a short while back about a homecoming for a troop that came back from Iraq, could be wrong but that's just my guess.


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## Velo Vol (Mar 9, 2005)

*Gentry, AR*

Phil,

Wow, a few years back I attended Ozark Adventist Academy, a boarding high school close to Gentry. In fact, picture 3 in your first frame (metal building by a cemetery) looks suspiciously similar to a Little Debbie box recycling facility I worked at once upon a time.

Back when I was a student, I didn't get in nearly as much cycling mileage as I do today. But I did do quite a number of rides and go jogging along County Road 8, past Dawn Hill Country Club and Siloam Springs Lake.

Thanks for your ride report. I've only been back there once during the past decade, so it's interesting seeing the sights around there again.


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## phil. (Aug 3, 2004)

Velo Vol,

Hey, I had wondered what was w/ all the buildings, I knew it was some sort of 7th Day Adventist thing but didn't know it was a boarding high school. Basically rode up hwy59, around by the softball fields, up some road that goes by a few more plants and then hooked into a road that goes past the Dawn Hill golf course and then past Ozark Adventist Academy. I know about the city lake just not sure where it is maybe I'll try and find it next time I bring my bike up there.

I also didn't know what was w/ the little debbie trailers out front of that metal building, there was one when on my way to Gentry and then 2 there as I was riding back.


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