Day-4 Statistics:
166 miles
5 hr 38 min
29 mph average
Bartlesville, OK
to Summers, AR
Sorry I didn’t post this last night but
once I got home I took a shower and relaxed the rest of the night. I’m writing
this the next morning Friday, August 12.
This was our last day on the TAT for
Leg-2. It was to be a 155-mile ride with no problems anticipated but if there
is one thing you learn riding the TAT is that there are always problems.
We actually got started as planned
around 7 am and made excellent progress the first 4 hours where we met up with
Marty in the support truck at a place called Salina, OK. The heat index for
today was forecasted to be 110-115 degrees so we wanted to get to the end ASAP
to load the bikes and head home. With about 70 miles left to ride, Woodrow and
I used the fuel in our RotoPax then topped off at the gas station next to our
meeting spot; bad decision.
We pulled out of Salina and within a
few miles were back on gravel on the TAT. In only a short distance we came to a
sign saying “road closed”. No reason provided and no indication looking down
the road what was happening. We stopped and discussed what to do. It was
already getting hot and everyone was anxious to get to the end knowing we still
had a long drive ahead after loading the bikes and gear into the truck.
Normally we would have continued down the road to see if there were a way
around but this time all agreed to try and bypass the road closure and get back
on the TAT as soon as possible. Problem was there was no easy bypass.
We backtracked a few miles and got on
the highway to work our way around and look for another road going towards the
TAT. We came around a turn and once again was stopped due to road construction
with a flagman holding up traffic. We are all setting on our bikes in 100+ heat
with the engines off on very hot asphalt waiting for a pilot truck to lead us
through the construction. It finally came after what seemed like a long time
but was probably 10 minutes and we continued on our way.
Terry was in the lead and we went from
highway to gravel roads to a very narrow 2 track through some dense forest
looking for a way to get back on the TAT. We came to a spot where I could see
on my topo GPS (Garmin 64ST) that there was no easy TAT access and it would
take another 20 miles to get back on and then head towards the truck. I stated
that Woodrow and I only had maybe 50 miles of gas left (empty RotoPax) and if
we went direct to the truck on highways it would be 30 miles. We figured it
would be much more to reach the TAT then ride it to the truck. Due to the heat,
get homeitis and desire to reach the end we all, except Steve, agreed to head
to the truck on highways.
Steve had always said he would continue
on the TAT into Arkansas to Dover, AR because he had missed that section when
Me, Jeff, Terry and Woodrow had accomplished it a month or so ago. He decided
he would continue on to find the TAT and would leave the group at that point. I
gave him my SPOT with extra batteries so he could be tracked and for emergency
and he rode off in one direction and the rest of us backtracked to the highway
and headed to the truck.
If you were following the SPOT track I
provided you would see that he eventually went to Moody, OK to refuel then rode
the TAT east to I-25, then north to the Fayetteville area where he got a motel
for the night. He should be on the TAT now heading home via Dover, AR. One bad
spot he has to ride is Warloop Road just east of I-25 around Ft Smith Lake.
This is the hell road I wrote about in an earlier post but we rode it when it
was wet, muddy and extremely rocky. Steve should find it dry but he is going
uphill. Still a challenge due to the rocks.
The remaining 6 riders intercepted the
TAT about 5 miles from the end and road into AR exactly where we had originally
planned. When you look at the map, our track is the bold red where the TAT
track is the lighter red line.
I will post a final summary of the
Leg-2 later today along with total miles covered and other useless information.
I’ve included some pictures of us loading the bikes plus individual riders.
Sorry Jeff my son and Steve aren't in the pics and real sorry I didn’t get one of Marty the
support truck driver.
The support truck made this a much more
enjoyable ride. It allowed us to keep the bikes light and maneuverable. Marty
did an outstanding job of meeting us at the planned hook-ups, provided fuel,
cold drinks/snacks and even checked us all into the motel each night. We would
get to the motel and he would already have the rooms ready and the Air Cond
turned on high! I feel sorry for all those TAT riders doing it solo or
unsupported but not enough to give it up.
You’ll notice in the pics below one guy
always has to do it differently. That would be Woodrow backwards on the bike
and wearing ugly socks. He’s the same guy who ran off the mountain in one
incident and broke his leg in another incident on Leg-1. He has greatly
improved because he rode some really tough stuff this time and did it like a
pro.
More to follow in the TAT-2016 Leg-2
Final Post
One last thing. The 2½-hour truck ride
from the end to Little Rock was almost worse than riding in 100+ heat. There
were 6 of us in a truck made for 5 and all of us (except Marty) were sweating
and extremely smelly. Several of us almost decided to unload the bikes and ride
them to Little Rock except we didn’t have the strength to get all our gear out
of the truck. We got to Terry’s around 5:30 pm, unloaded our gear and I rode my
bike the last 12 miles to home wearing helmet, boots, shorts and a t-shirt.
What a sight but I didn’t care.
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