me too, apparently they're having trouble getting more folks given this last minute request. I'm sure it will be a success regardless.

No

Nick,
Thanks for joining the thread! I share your enjoyment of riding solo as well. I'm sorry you experienced the horror stories you describe. Would those experiences fall under the category of "riding with other riders who are similar in skill levels and style of riding" as described in my OP? Whenever we post open forum rides, these events are used as a conduit for meeting similar riders with similar styles of riding tastes. Garnering their contact info, then inviting them on off-forum "closed" rides. This is when the true shenenigans take place!

Interestingly, I've done 75% of my riding with at least one other person. My solo trips include riding around Lake Superior, riding from Missouri to Virginia and back as well as 2 solo Ozark trips but count for a small percentage of overall miles. While I do enjoy solo riding, and will do solo trips in the future as well, I prefer riding with others. Different strokes .....

One of the other things I enjoy as well about riding with others who are of similar skill levels and styles of riding is that shared experience and camaraderie you mention. I remember something I shared with my friends at our first lunch stop on my Ozarks trip from last week. I mentioned that during a certain stretch of road that morning when there were several bikes in front of me, a thought came to me as we were carving those corners. I mentioned to them that during that stretch I thought to myself, "This ....This right here is why all of those weeks of planning go into these trips. I LOVE this".

Another thing I enjoy about riding with others who are of similar skill levels and styles of riding, is that we are safer from the prying eyes of local LEA. If 6 of us are skirting the boundaries of posted speeds (in rural areas), only one of us will take a hit with a ticket. In my 20k miles of riding in the Ozarks our groups have never had a ticket. Booyaa.    To me, it's more impressive to avoid tickets.

I'm not a fan of wheelies (and can't do them) but I don't mind folks doing so on a ride I organize as long as they don't crowd others when they do so. And if they can't do them on HWY 61 south of Wabasha, where can they?   

Zero wheelies, 10% outlaw
Greg

One of the reasons I enjoy riding with other riders who are similar in skill levels and style of riding is that when riding in a group of a few riders we are a larger entity to be "seen". As in "start seeing motorcyclists ".
I will add other reasons to this thread later. Share some of your reasons!

Enjoy your day, and ride!

The bike you are talking about is a Kawi H2 SX or SE. I would go for the SE. This bike has your name all over it. And if this bike is going to be your last. Then this is it hands down.

My budget is half what those bikes cost !   

Push Mountain Rd (Hwy 341) near Big Flat, Arkansas is one of my favorites as well. The southern boundary is Hwy 14. You can ride it for 25 miles north to Norfork, then take Hwy 5 south to Mountain View. The first 12 miles running north from Hwy 14 is the best portion of the road. What we often do is run that 12 miles, turn around and run it again back to Hwy 14! It's worth a 2nd trip. The cross roads you see are gravel fire-roads with very little traffic. The road is wide and the pavement is good quality. You can easily run both 12 mile directions and never see another vehicle. You are more likely to see another bike. This is a road where you can run 100% if you're so inclined.
As with most of Arkansas, they don't use gravel in the shoulders, so there *never* is any gravel in the corners. On very rare occasions a gravel driveway may meet the road in a corner and you might find some there.

Hwy 125 in Missouri running from the Peel Ferry to Bradleyville. New pavement a couple years ago and they didn't straighten any portion of it. One of the top 10 roads in America, IMO. You are hard pressed to have more fun at 70mph than on this road.