Tour de Lunch with J.B. Hunt

A bunch of guys over at J.B. Hunt corporate ride together on their lunch break and they call it the Tour de Lunch ride. I follow several of them on STRAVA and it looks pretty much like they hammer each other for an hour about 3 days a week. I think that’s really great. Folks just finding ways to get miles & stay physically/mentally healthy all while doing something they enjoy. A couple of the guys routinely do the WHF Saturday ride and Eric E invited me to come along on their 7th Annual Turner Bend Spring Classic ride. Every spring the TDL crew will take a day off from work to tackle the Mulberry Loop which is one of my favorite routes in Arkansas. If you have a bucket list for routes this one should be on it.

We started from the Turner Bend store on the Mulberry River.

TDL crew.

South on 23 aka The Pig Trail for several miles.

Everything is super green right now.

Rain was all around us.

The Pig Trail can be a little busy with large vehicles but you are only on it for a bit.

Watching the rain roll in.

Heading east now on 352.

Regroup before turning left on 164. Great view.

The route is pretty flat to rolling up until this point. Pain is on the horizon.

These signs are legit in the Ozarks.

The AR 103 climb is about 3 miles, 852 feet gain.

A handful of great turns & ramps.

Looking down the switchbacks.

Paul B manages a smile.

Ozarkia.

Heading west on 215. One of the coolest roads in the Natural State.

Crazy smooth tarmac meandering along the turquoise Mulberry River. 

Back to Turner Bend.

What a morning. 

A great group of guys.

The Turner Bend store serves up a mean sandwich.

Hamming it up.

Let’s Eat!

Someone asked for a bottle opener and Eric E pulled this out of his pocket. That was a good laugh. Good times. In good company.