Missouri's Route 160 blew me AWAY!

[SWriverstone]

This isn't new--others have mentioned it here, and some people who have been to Nationals in Eureka Springs know about it...and I'm guessing anyone local to Missouri/Arkansas knows about it too...but Rt.160 in Missouri absolutely blew me away!  

I've ridden the Cabot Trail, the Pacific Coast Highway, the entire BRP, Cherohala Skyway, etc...and this stretch of road made me grin every bit as wide as any of those other roads—it's that awesome! (That's why I'm posting this here and not in the Region 5 forum—because I think this road has nationwide significance to motorcycling!)

I was pretty impressed with the good section of Rt.123 in Arkansas (anyone who's ridden it knows where I'm talking about)...but I thought 160 was even better. Why?

1. Very little traffic—we saw almost nobody along here on a Thursday, and there are plenty of passing opportunities if you come across anyone.

2. Great road surface—for the most part (especially in the twistiest part) it was smooth and clean.

3. Beautiful scenery—I loved the scenery along the first half: wide-open vistas of green rolling hills dotted with mature hardwood trees, ponds, old barns, etc—I couldn't get enough of it.

4. Sweepers—in the first half, miles and miles of sweepers. Great fun. (I love sweepers.)

5. Twisties—in the section (roughly) between Alton and Doniphan (36 miles) the twisties are world-class, and seemed near-perfect to me: 4th gear and high revs all the way baby!   Not too tight, not too open...just right!

6. Overall length: the entire good part of 160 stretches 150 miles, from east of Forsyth (once you escape the gravitational field of Branson) to Doniphan (where things flatten out). It's 2-3 hours (depending on how fast you ride it) of sheer bliss!

I loved this road so much I'd seriously consider renting a cabin near there and just riding this road back and forth for several days!   It's the "BRP of the Midwest," or at least has got to be one of the greatest roads in the midwest.

Scott

PS - I have not one single photo along this route 'cause we were having so much fun riding. But here it is on the map...



PPS - As evidence of the twistiness of that last stretch, we were most of the way through it and came wailin' around a corner only to slam on the brakes in front of a pile of police and flashing lights—looked like two cars had a head-on collision and were in a bad way on either side of the road. We guessed one of them crossed the center line.

As great as the twisties are, possibly the only negative to this section is that the twisties go up and down alot, rollercoaster-style—meaning many of the apexes are at the top of a blind crest...so you've got to be careful!

[garry]

I agree about the eastern-most section (Alton to Doniphan). Just an amazing stretch of road... Not nearly as technical to the west of Alton until you hit jct 125, then it gets really twisty to Forsyth, but the pavement is kinda funky.

[sprale]

Back when I used to live in Springfield, I took this route by car and always wanted to do it by two wheels.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=6192260160043261927,37.136170,-93.296460%3B7872344599107747599,36.805250,-93.348930%3B2200581722626779206,36.625010,-93.144020%3B4253993189068435404,36.614040,-92.026160%3B3103471645322908055,36.770110,-90.416900&saddr=US-60+E+%4037.136170,+-93.296460&daddr=37.028869,-93.298645+to:MO-13%2FUS-160+%4036.805250,+-93.348930+to:MO-76+%4036.625010,+-93.144020+to:US-160+%4036.614040,+-92.026160+to:US-60-BR%2FUS-67-BR+%4036.770110,+-90.416900&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=9&via=1,2,3,4&sll=36.877424,-92.592773&sspn=1.065547,2.054443&ie=UTF8&ll=36.668419,-91.884155&spn=2.136839,4.108887&z=8

[chornbe]

We took that road on the cross-country trip and it was a whole lot of fun, and helped us to forget the pain that was Oklahoma!

[CBR_Rod]

160 is an awesome road.  Drop down in to Arkansas and there are many more.  I went on a weekend ride just to do hwy 160 3 weeks ago.  Wanted to go to Poplar Bluff butt didn't have time do to droping in and out of Arkansas all the way while riding east.  Stayed on 160 coming back home.

[FJRmgm]

Route 160 was on my "recommended rides" for the STN National in this thread.

http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php/topic,25600.0.html

Next time you are on Route 160 take Route 95 north out of Lutie to Long Run and Thornfield to Wasola and Route 5/95 - you will find it to be as good or better than Route 160.

It is a hoot and glad you liked it.

[Orson]

well, since you blew the secret, you can go to BestBikingRoads.com and enter it into the U.S. database.  

[SWriverstone]

well, since you blew the secret, you can go to BestBikingRoads.com and enter it into the U.S. database.  

No worries there...'cause there is most definitely NOT a major population center nearby, and NO reason for anyone to be riding this road unless they're riding cross-country!   (In terms of potential crowding, this is not Deal's Gap...)

Scott

[stk0308]

The HSTA holds a rally in early September(5-7 this year) called the Bull Shoals(BS) Rally every year in Theodosia.  It's a real nice rally at the marina on Bull Shoals Lake, right on 160.  Not only can you get a hotel room, or go in on a house rental for the weekend, but there's also camping available right on the rally site. *hint, hint*  

[mxvet57]

The HSTA holds a rally in early September(5-7 this year) called the Bull Shoals(BS) Rally every year in Theodosia.  It's a real nice rally at the marina on Bull Shoals Lake, right on 160.  Not only can you get a hotel room, or go in on a house rental for the weekend, but there's also camping available right on the rally site. *hint, hint*  

just a note, the marina is under water rite now.

[stk0308]

just a note, the marina is under water rite now.

As bad as a few years ago?  Or worse?

[CBR_Rod]

Forsyth ball grounds were under water along with the camp ground that is right there at the bridges, that was 3 weeks ago.  The lights were only a few feet out of the water and only the roofs of the shelter houses were visible.