Day-4 Statistics:
229 miles
9 hr 20 min
24 mph average
Alva, OK to
Bartlesville, OK
As my Day-4 post stated, we expected
this to be a boring, long day on dusty straight roads. It didn’t turn out that
way at all. What should have been a 199 mile ride turned into a 229 mile ride
with so much happening it’s hard to remember it all.
It
all started normally with a launch time set at 07 am. After we all
fueled up it was 7:30. Our original plan was to ride together with Terry in the
lead (head of the 4 team with Steve, Cutter & Ernie). Jeff, Woodrow and I
(3 team) would bring up the rear. We started engines and I rode up next to
Terry and he said go ahead we need to put air in Ernie’s front tire. That’s
moment set the stage for what happened later. That’s also why I blame Terry.
3 team headed north out of Alva to
reconnect with the TAT about 2 miles away. As we started down one of the first
section line roads (8 miles from Alva) we hit the first mud hole that went
totally across the road. We stopped and checked the high weeds on both sides
and decided we could duck-walk the bikes through the weeds, which we did. A
short time later we hit the second even bigger mud hole and again we stopped
but this time did not scout. What a mistake. I said I thing I can go though one
of the ruts and started duck-walking my bike into the muddy water. I almost
made it when the front tire just slid out from under the bike. The bike and me
immediately dropped into the mud on my right side. I’m lying in the mud and
hollered to the other 2 guys to come help me get the bike off of me. They waded
into the mud and we lifted the bike up, restarted it and tried to walk it out
of the mud. No luck. The back tire was in one rut and the front tire was in
another rut and no matter how much pushing and throttle was applied we just
slid it sideways in the mud. We finally pulled it backwards until the front
tire came out of its rut and then made it to dry land. The pictures below show
mud hole and the results of my muddy swim. Bad thing was it filled both boots
with muddy sandy water and also my gloves. In addition since my throttle had
been stuck in the mud it no longer would rotate freely but would stop wherever
I let it go.
I used the water in my camelbak to try
and remove the sand from the throttle and finally got it to work a bit better
but not perfect. I also used the water to try and get the sand out of my $70
gloves but no luck. In frustration I threw them into the woods. Sorry for
littering. This was mile 8 of a 200-mile ride. I didn’t even take my boots off
but could feel the sand around my toes, also in my pants. Real comfortable I
tell you.
Both Jeff and Woodrow scouted the sides
and found firm ground on both sides and got their bikes across. About that time
4 team rode up and saw the results of my crossing attempt and how the other
Jeff/Woodrow got around the mud and did the same. If Terry had taken lead as
planned, he would have been first to cross and he would have had sand in his
underwear instead of me. That’s why I blame him. Lesson learned: always scout
mud holes and don’t be impulsive like I seem to always be.
This was just the start of today’s
events. We all finally remounted and continued on the TAT. As we went down mile
after mile of section roads we kept encountering mud holes or just sand that
look firm but was actually 3” to 4” of mud with sand on top. We duck-walked our
bikes for about 10 miles of this stuff hoping we would finally hit firm roads.
Our bikes were caked with mud and all our boots were covered with mud almost to
the top. Luckily no one dropped his bike but many close calls.
We finally got to an intersection that
was dry and had a long discussion on what to do. No one wanted to continue with
this mud crawling for who knows how far. It had evidently rained in this area
recently because we could see standing water in the plowed fields next to the
roads. We all agreed we should get off the TAT and ride the first paved road to
a town to wash all our bikes and boots then take an east bound paved road until
we cleared this muddy hell. We found pavement and rode north to Kiowa, KS. We
rode through town looking for a gas station, car wash or even a donut shop.
Everything appeared to be closed. We looked at the maps we had and the GPS and
at first glance there didn’t seem to be an eastbound road out of Kiowa. We saw
one going northeast only. The 4 team decided they would take a break and get
some coffee to talk it over.
At this point my impatience kicked in,
maybe because I had sand in my draws and boots and I wanted to get to our
hook-up point with the support truck to get these muddy clothes off. I said I
know there is an eastbound road 10 miles south in OK and I’m going there now
and riding pavement to the support truck about 70 miles away. I gave the option
to Jeff and Woodrow to stay with 4 team or go with me. They decided to go and
we headed southbound to hit the paved road.
The ride to the support truck was all
on paved road at 50-55 mph. On our ride south we finally met Hwy 11 eastbound
and there was a big sign saying “road closed 4 miles ahead at Burlington, OK”
CRAP! We decided to go down anyway to see if there was still a way through. We
pulled into Burlington and sure enough the road is closed. We stopped at a gas
station to fill up and ask if there was another way around. We were told about
a detour that was used by the truckers so we figured if they could get semi’s
through we can get these bikes through. Before we left we found a car wash and washed
the mud off the bikes, boots and my body.
We made it around the blocked road then
hit the highway again heading to Braman, OK where Marty was to meet us as we
planned earlier that morning. After using several different section line roads
from the highway to Braman (missing the muddy ones) we pulled into the Conoco
and there he was as planned. I immediately got a cold drink from the cooler
then sat on the trailer pulling my boots off. It had been 4 hours since my mud
swim. As I pulled the right boot off I looked in it and there was an inch of
muddy, sandy water at the bottom. I poured it out and asked if we had any water
to wash out the rest of the mud and Marty had the idea of using the water from
the ice chest. It worked and after several filling and dumping of water out of
the boot it was mostly clear water. The left booth was just wet inside. I got
new socks out of my bag and put the boots back on and my new socks were
immediately soaked again but at least the sand was gone. I usually carry plastic
bags for just this emergency but somehow they didn’t get into my bag.
We weren’t sure what had happened to 4
team but about 30 minutes later they rode into the Conoco. They had taken a
road through Kansas to get to the same spot.
We all looked over the maps once again
and everyone agreed we were through with the OK muddy roads. On our 70-mile
ride from Kiowa to Braman I had been looking at the plowed fields along the
road and there was standing water in many of them. This meant the roads would
also be muddy. We have no regrets by passing this section because we paid our
OK mud commitment to the TAT in the first 20 miles.
We decided to stay on paved roads until
we got to the more interesting sections starting at the Tall Grass Prairie
Preserve. We reached this area in one large group and found a most beautiful
area to ride. It was all gravel roads but we made good time with the only
incidents caused by encountering sharp turns with gravel causing several near
overshoots. Slowing down was the answer
but we were all anxious to get to the motel because the eat index was in the
triple digits.
During our ride through the Preserve we
came around a descending turn to a low water bridge and found a number of weird
looking bicycles/mopeds and their riders taking a break on the bridge. We
stopped and had a great time comparing bikes and trip details. These folks are
fantastic and I’m afraid I couldn’t do what they are doing. To read about their
ride go to the link below and some pics below:
We finally made it to the motel in Bartlesville
and I immediately got into the shower. You can’t believe how much mud and sand
was in the tub.
Sad part was this was where Jeff left
the group. His wife Lynn cam up in their truck from Tulsa to carry him, his
bike and all his filthy gear back home. We had taken a group picture of the 7
riders just as we pulled into the motel because we knew he was leaving. Picture
below.
I’m sure there are details I left out
but it is 10 pm and we are doing another early start tomorrow so we can reach
our OK/AR border destination, load the bikes on the trailer and drive home to
Little Rock to end Leg-2 of TAT 2016.
With the completion of this leg we will
have ridden from the Atlantic Ocean at Charleston, SC to Lake City, CO on small
dual-sport motorcycles in 2016. Not sure of the exact miles but it’s somewhere
around 2700 miles.
Good-night
