As I said yesterday about biker friendly Eureka Springs, Arkansas, it’s a quirky little place. It’s hard to miss the seven-story, two-thousand pound concrete statue of Jesus that overlooks the town. Victorian-era houses and businesses are built right into the sides of steep mountains; in fact there’s one hotel that can be entered from ground level on every story — all eight of them. Bonnie and Clyde passed through once, and Jessie James is said to have hidden out there. Temperance advocate Carrie Nation lived in Eureka with her little bar-splintering hatchet. A church, built to conform to the Ozark Mountain topography, connects to three different streets at three different levels. Because of this, it has three separate addresses, one for each street. Oh, and there’s not a single stop light in Eureka Springs. Not a one.

UFO enthusiasts love Eureka and have held an annual conference here for the past 22 years (actually, it’s going on as I write this). In response, other members of the community hold a “Gaylien” event around the same time. There are writers’ conferences, music festivals and art hops. Hippies and yuppies and rednecks mill the streets with preachers and members of the very “out” gay segment of the population.

But what you’ll notice most about Eureka Springs are the vast numbers of motorcyclists. They’re everywhere — old ones, young ones, men and women. Weathered guys wearing colors ride choppers next to businessmen on flashy factory models.

For a lot of bikers, it’s all about the destination and the journey. Eureka Springs is located just off of the famous Ozark Mountain Pig Trail, a 19-mile, treacherous stretch of road that features hairpin turns and more curves than Pamela Anderson in her “Baywatch” days. According to Wikipedia, Eureka’s “winding, hilly, curved streets form 16 ‘S’s; a large ‘O,’ and numerous ‘U’s’ and ‘V’s’, yet the town has no perpendicular street crossings.” In short, it’s a great place to ride.

Signs on hotels and restaurants happily welcome bikers, and there are a lot of shops that cater to them. One of my favorites is 39 Classic Cycles, run by Richard and Sue Freudenstein. The shop is filled with antique motorcycles, parts and ancient cycle memorabilia, and Richard can tell you the history of almost every item. I also stopped by the Rider’s Rest Motel and talked to Malcolm, the caretaker. Rider’s Rest is biker owned and so biker friendly that signs posted say things like, “Motorcycles only,” and “No cars allowed.” If you’re driving anything without handlebars, fuggedaboutit. The Best Western is just up the road.

I met so many great biker folks who had traveled in from near and far to share the weather, the winding roads, and the company of fellow bikers. I met a dog named Turbo and a cat named V-Twin. I shot way too many photos, and talked to people until I was hoarse, but I loved hearing about their bikes and their travels. I can’t wait to go back.