Post-5 map

TAT-2016 Post-5 09-06-15

TAT-2016 Post 5 – 6 Sep 2015

Still adding equipment to the bike getting it TAT ready. This week I’ve installed:

30mm Risers (see picture) – This mod raises the handlebars to make riding while standing on the foot pegs a bit easier. For the non-dirt bike folks, the rider stands while riding through difficult terrain because this significantly lowers the overall center of gravity (CG) of bike and rider. A lower CG lets the bike move around while the rider remains in the optimum position. This doesn’t sound logical, I know, but it works even though the riders body is now higher, the CG impact is at the foot pegs; magic. I had to bend over to far with the stock arrangement but with the risers it’s perfect.

Skid-Plate (see picture) – It’s interesting how many rocks and logs are encountered while riding through the woods and streams. The Skid-Plate protects the engine and several critical components such as the oil pan and water pump. The stock plate is plastic and worthless. The new one is heavy aluminum plate and provides much more coverage.

Radiator Grill (see picture) – This is my first dirt bike that is water-cooled rather than air-cooled. Water-cooled has lots of advantages except that it puts a delicate component right behind the front wheel where rocks, etc. can be thrown into the radiator and punching a hole. A leaking radiator can quickly disable the bike a long way from help. I added a heavy aluminum grill in front of the radiator for much better protection.

With all this new gear installed it was time to take the bike to ride some trails. Steve, Terry and I decided to ride (Woodrow unable to go and probably a good thing as it turns out). We decided to ride West of Little Rock about 30 miles into the Ouachita National Forest. Lots of logging roads through this area and we expected to get some gravel road and maybe river crossing practice. After passing Paron, AR we headed North on highway 9 until we found a road heading West into the forest. The gravel road we selected was well used and we were making good progress climbing/descending through the  hills and valleys; until we came to a locked gate. We found no signs on or near the gate plus there was an obvious path around the gate so we decided to continue on the dirt road; big mistake. The road continued to climb and no major issues for a while. We started realizing this road had not been used in a while and was grown up almost across the road in places. Both Steve and I had GPS on our bike and they indicated better roads ahead. The end result was we kept going, the road kept getting worse and we finally reached, what I first considered, a complete blockage.

We had come down a long stretch of twisting, bad road until we came to a rocky stretch then a rocky stream crossing. The water wasn’t deep but the rocks were slippery and then we had to immediately climb up a rutted road for a short stretch where the road was blocked by several large fallen trees. To make it even worse, the road and trees were in a deep cut that had been washed out by lots of moving water.  The road climbed steeply past the trees through a very rocky stretch for about 40 feet until it resembled a normal road again.

We all shed out riding jackets and helmets to scout for a possible detour around this mess. No luck, both sides were too rocky or steep. It was hot and the humidity was so high we all were sweating like racehorses. Both Steve and my glasses fogged over so bad we had to take them off to see. Steve’s glasses were broken during this incident; how we don’t know but they were found broken in the middle of the road.

We first considered turning around and riding the long road back to the gate. None of us were keen to ride through some of the stuff on that road again (see picture of me and my bike on the ground during one section). 

We decided to hike past the tree blockage to the top of the hill to see what was there. About 100 yards up the rocky road was another gate and then a beautiful gravel road. We went back to the trees and decided we would try to move what we could then manhandle the bikes up this section. Several of the trees were too big to move but we cleared a path but it would require a couple of tight turns and taking the bikes over several smaller logs. For some reason Steve and Terry felt the lighter bike should go first; mine. I’ve named this section the Devil’s Cut due to the deep washed out section of road with the jumble of trees making any progress hell.

There was no way to ride through the jumble of trees, rocks, rutted rocky road, etc. I agreed to go first but said Steve and Terry needed to help hold the bike up and push while I walked beside the bike operating the throttle and clutch. With my lighter bike (300 lbs) we were able to push, pull, lift and tug the bike past the trees and up the rocky stretch of road. We had to take breaks several times due to the heat and humidity plus the exertion required. I was not looking forward to doing the same thing for the 2 heavier KLR650’s.

With lots of sweat and sore muscles we got all the bikes past Devil’s Cut. Once we got to the gate we had to squeeze our bikes through a narrow gap in the gate but we finally were back on a decent gravel road.

Summary – We rode exactly 100 miles, mostly paved 2-lane and good gravel roads. We rode maybe 5 miles on some terrible road and trails. The 5 miles by far took the most out of us. I left the house at 6:30 a.m. and returned at noon. We all agreed that the conditions on the 5 miles was good practice but not something we would expect to encounter on the TAT (we could be wrong). I’ve included several pictures, mostly at Devil’s Cut. I’ve also included a map of the section around Devil’s Cut.

BTW – We all agreed we should have stopped at the first gate. Especially when we saw a sign on the second gate stating no motorized vehicles allowed.

TAT-2016 Post 4 – 27 Aug 2015

We finally accomplished our first joint ride on the dirt. We decided to stay close to Little Rock so agreed to meet at Ott ATV Park, next to the Arkansas River just off I-440. Steve and Terry rode to Ott on their bikes. Woodrow still doesn’t have his learners permit so I loaded my bike on my trailer and then picked Woodrow and his bike up at his house. We all arrive at Ott about the same time on Saturday around 1:00 p.m.

Steve and I being the more experienced riders had gone to Ott the day before to scout the trails and to determine if Terry and Woodrow could actually do these trails. We decided they could but some of the trails were even tough for Steve and I. Steve even laid his bike down while trying to ride through a deep rut caused by some big ATV.

Woodrow and I unloaded our bikes and everyone geared up for the ride. Ott is a maze of dirt roads, trails, sand pits, deep trenches and ponds. We started by just going down the main dirt roads but even they have spots of sand, rocks and an occasional deep rut. Woodrow and Terry did exceptionally well on these areas and in fact the only thing that caused them any issues was when we would hit stretches of sand about 6 to 10 inches deep.

We then stepped it up a bit by taking a few sidetracks that were heavily rutted requiring slow maneuvering and some bushwhacking through the tangle of vines. Several bikes were dropped and in one case it took a couple of us to push a bike out of a deep rut.

We all laid our bikes down at least once, a couple more than once; mine while riding through some sand. No damage and no injuries since most of our riding was less than 25 mph. I did overhear someone on a heavy KLR650 say a lighter bike would be nice. It was all I could do to not say, “I told you so”. Our CRF250Ls were just right; enough power but easy to pick up off the ground.

The only real excitement was by Woodrow while attempting to take a side trail by going over a small sand hill. I was right behind him and all I could see was the bike swerving and his legs out to each side trying to recover. The problem was there was a sign at the intersection and I was sure he was going to take the sign out but he managed to miss it at the last moment.

We did go into one section that is almost all-deep sand and we all had a very difficult time getting back out. We all agreed WE DON’T LIKE SAND!

Other than being hot with helmets and riding jackets we had a great first ride and everyone is looking forward to doing it again soon. It is obvious Terry and Woodrow will have the skills needed for TAT-2016 by next March.

Post 3 picture

TAT-2016 Post 3

TAT-2016 Post 3 – 27 Aug 2015

My wife and I spent last week on a driving vacation (and lots of walking); 3500 miles in 9 days. We went to the following:

1               Bad Lands, SD

2               Black Hills, SD

3               Mt Rushmore, SD

4               Wind Cave, SD (did I mention I have claustrophobia?)

5               Deadwood, SD

6               Sturgis, SD

7               Devils Tower, WY

8               Big Horn National Forest, WY

9               Yellowstone, WY (stayed in lodge within spitting distance from Ole Faithfull)

10           Grand Tetons, WY

BTW – On our return trip we went through Rawlins, WY and then followed the same path back home I took on my AK2 trip; see www.rvrrunner-017.blogspot.com. The wind is still blowing 35+ mph in Kansas and the scenery hasn’t improved one bit. Rawlins, WY was also the end of our AK2 first days ride that met the Iron Butt requirement; St Louis to Rawlins, WY, 1037 miles in 16 ½ hours. Never again.

We had lots of places we wanted to see in a short amount of time but had a great vacation. Now I can concentrate on TAT-2016.

Things are moving even faster now with a few key developments. It is amazing how quickly the core team has jumped into this adventure.

As stated in Post-1, Terry and I both bought new bikes for the ride several weeks ago. Steve bought a used KLR650 from John, who now wants to hook up with us on the AR to CO leg. Woodrow bought a new CRF250L last week (more on his learning experience later). So in summary we all have bikes for the trip:

Mike – CRF250L

Terry – KLR650

Steve – KLR650

Woodrow – CRF250L

John – He has a Kawasaki 250 but not sure of model

I ordered and received while on vacation a complete set of maps and roll charts from the official TAT home page this week. There are 91 different items in the package and is very complete and impressive. This package starts in Eastern Tenn. and ends on the Pacific coast of Oregon.

Our team, group, mob, flock had our first planning meeting a few days ago. We can’t decide what to call ourselves – if you have any good ideas please send them to me. We discussed the overall scope of the trip and some of the items we must define. We all agreed on some key points:

1               We four are the core group and no matter who else joins in the future, only we four will make the decisions relating to the trip.

2               A majority vote will decide any issue. In case of a tie we will attempt to reach a compromise that is satisfactory to all four voting riders. If we can’t reach a compromise then it’s every man for himself!

3               No rider will be sent off alone for any reason unless close to civilization and only if deemed safe.

4               We will motel at all stops unless forced to spend the night on the trail which means we will have to carry the bare minimum camping gear; i.e. space blanket, fire starter, etc. This will be more of an issue once we hit the Rocky Mountains but no spooning is allowed.

5               Everyone needs to carry adequate water in a camelback or some other means. It will be hot on some of the stretches.

6               Everyone needs to wear a helmet, boots and armored riding jacket, preferably one made for hot weather riding for Leg 1 and 2. No shorts or flip/flops allowed on the bike.

7               Rain gear is a must; light weight for Leg 1 and 2.

8               Since we have several similar bikes we will split up the tools and spare parts among the riders so we don’t carry duplicate items.

9               Fuel capacity is an issue that must be evaluated. The two CRF250Ls only have a 2 gal tank (72 mpg) while the KLR650s have 6 gal tanks. I will be carrying an extra 1 gal in a Rotopax tank but we will have to watch our fuel consumption closely. Once again this is more of an issue on Leg 2 and once we hit the Rocky Mountains.

10           A days ride will average 200 miles where possible.

Route – This has been and will continue to be the most talked about item in the planning phase. My original concept was to follow exactly the route from Eastern Tenn. to the Oregon coast. After lots of discussion, we have decided to try and plot a route to include the stretch between the East coast and the TAT. After a bit of searching we found a web page by a guy called GPSKevin who has posted the complete GPS route from East to West coasts. A good portion of it follows the route on the maps I have already purchased but it also includes spurs to Cape Hatteras, NC, New York City, NY and Las Angeles, CA.

I downloaded from GPSKevin’s web page these route segments into my laptop Garmin Base Camp program and then uploaded the segments into my Garmin GPSMap 64ST GPS. Everything works great. The chart below shows the segments or sections as they are called by GPSKevin (does not include NYC or LA spurs):

Section	Miles	Total	Start	Finish	Leg Miles
1	131	131	Cape Hatteras, NC	Stella, NC
2	111	242	Stella, NC	Newton Grove, NC
3	98	340	Newton Grove, NC	Candor, NC
4	105	445	Candor, NC	Statesville, NC
5	125	570	Statesville, NC	Bakersville, NC
6	107	677	Bakersville, NC	Maggie Valley, NC
7	96	773	Maggie Valley, NC	Deals Gap, NC
8	103	876	Deals Gap, NC	Charleston, TN
9	111	987	Charleston, TN	Pelham, TN
10	119	1106	Pelham, TN	Goodspring, TN
11	96	1202	Goodspring, TN	Counce, TN
12	96	1298	Counce, TN	Ripley, MS
13	127	1425	Ripley, MS	Tillatoba, MS
14	66	1491	Tillatoba, MS	Crenshaw, MS
15	65	1556	Crenshaw, MS	Marvell, AR
16	98	1654	Marvell, AR	Beebe, AR	1654
17	129	1783	Beebe, AR	Hector, AR
18	68	1851	Hector, AR	Ozark, AR
19	110	1961	Ozark, AR	Lincoln, AR
20	95	2056	Lincoln, AR	Adair, OK
21	75	2131	Adair, OK	Dewey, OK
22	91	2222	Dewey, OK	Newkirk, OK
23	109	2331	Newkirk, OK	Alva, OK
24	87	2418	Alva, OK	Buffalo, OK
25	104	2522	Buffalo, OK	Liberal, KS
26	117	2639	Liberal, KS	Boise, OK
27	153	2792	Boise, OK	Trinidad, CO	1138
28	72	2864	Trinidad, CO	La Veta, CO
29	104	2968	La Veta, CO	Westcliffe, CO
30	116	3084	Westcliffe, CO	Sargents, CO
31	93	3177	Sargents, CO	Lake City, CO
32	155	3332	Lake City, CO	Dove Creek, CO
33	137	3469	Dove Creek, CO	Moab, UT
34	71	3540	Moab, UT	Green River, UT
35	91	3631	Green River, UT	Emery, UT
36	141	3772	Emery, UT	Kanosh, UT
37	125	3897	Kanosh, UT	Baker, NV
38	118	4015	Baker, NV	Lund, NV
39	92	4107	Lund, NV	Eureka, NV
40	131	4238	Eureka, NV	Battle Mountain, NV
41	149	4387	Battle Mountain, NV	McDermitt, NV
42	82	4469	McDermitt, NV	Fields, OR
43	126	4595	Fields, OR	Cedarville, CA
44	67	4662	Cedarville, CA	Lakeview, OR
45	120	4782	Lakeview, OR	Silver Lake, OR
46	66	4848	Silver Lake, OR	Crescent, OR
47	74	4922	Crescent, OR	Dry Creek Store, OR
48	132	5054	Dry Creek Store, OR	Glendale, OR
49	114	5168	Glendale, OR	Port Orford, OR	2376

We all agreed that we should be able to do Leg 1 of 1654 miles (section 1 thru 16 above) in at least 9 days. This would be pushing it since that requires an average of 200 miles a day including some mountain areas out East.

Our next consideration was how to do the shuttle to the starting point. We considered several options:

1               U-Haul truck to start on East coast with some riders in truck and some flying to the start point

2               Start at Beebe, AR and ride East to coast then U-Haul back to AR with some riders in truck and some flying

3               Ship all bikes to East coast and all riders fly to start point

We all agreed that the best approach would be to use a U-Haul to take the bikes to the East Coast start with one or more riders flying out to the start. This brought up the issue with where to store the bikes on the East coast until all riders arrive. Not an issue if it all happens in a short time but Woodrow brought up another idea. He has family in Charleston, SC and if we started from there, he would take the U-Haul out a week or more before the start, store the bikes at relative’s house, fly back to AR and then we could all fly out with some flexibility on the actual start date based on weather and job requirements (remember we all work for the same place and the boss is a little nervous about all of us leaving at the same time).

Steve researched a possible spur from the TAT route to Charleston, SC and the following chart represents this change to the total trip:

Section	Miles	Total	Start	Finish	Leg Miles
1	240	240	Charleston, SC	Clemson, SC
2	130	370	Clemson, SC	Deals Gap, NC
8	103	473	Deals Gap, NC	Charleston, TN
9	111	584	Charleston, TN	Pelham, TN
10	119	703	Pelham, TN	Goodspring, TN
11	96	799	Goodspring, TN	Counce, TN
12	96	895	Counce, TN	Ripley, MS
13	127	1022	Ripley, MS	Tillatoba, MS
14	66	1088	Tillatoba, MS	Crenshaw, MS
15	65	1153	Crenshaw, MS	Marvell, AR
16	98	1251	Marvell, AR	Beebe, AR	1251
17	129	1380	Beebe, AR	Hector, AR
18	68	1448	Hector, AR	Ozark, AR
19	110	1558	Ozark, AR	Lincoln, AR
20	95	1653	Lincoln, AR	Adair, OK
21	75	1728	Adair, OK	Dewey, OK
22	91	1819	Dewey, OK	Newkirk, OK
23	109	1928	Newkirk, OK	Alva, OK
24	87	2015	Alva, OK	Buffalo, OK
25	104	2119	Buffalo, OK	Liberal, KS
26	117	2236	Liberal, KS	Boise, OK
27	153	2389	Boise, OK	Trinidad, CO	1138

This change to the TAT route reduces Leg 1 by 400 miles (now 1251 miles) and is much easier to accomplish in the 9 days we have planned. So our current plan is to do sections 1 through 16 sometime in March 2016. Woodrow will take the bikes out several weeks prior to the start date in a U-Haul truck and store them in a relative’s garage. He will return to AR until we all fly out on a Friday evening to Charleston, SC. We will launch on a Saturday and be in Beebe, AR within 9 days; S-S-M-T-W-T-F-S-S.

Some items we still need to determine are cost for the above plan. We all agreed that we would split the cost of the U-Haul truck and Woodrow’s return flight to AR. We would then cover our own flight out to Charleston, SC.

We will make detailed plans for Leg 2 (Sections 17 thru 27) after we complete Leg 1. We hope to do Leg 2 later in the year (2016) and then attack Leg 3 (Sections 28 thru 49) in 2017. Legs 1 and 2 will weed out anyone not wanting to attempt the more difficult Leg 3.

Woodrow’s learning experience – As I stated in an earlier post Woodrow is our least experienced rider meaning he has no experience at all. I received several comments stating that it isn’t very smart letting someone with no experience go on this ride but we have all discussed this in-depth with him and we have 6 months to get him some dirt time and feel he’s up to the challenge. While I was on vacation last week, Steve took him out to get some round the parking lot instruction to get used to the gears and basic riding techniques. He is picking it up quickly but still has lots to learn. On his own he took the bike out for a ride in some empty lots close to his house. As he was riding (slowly) up a small hill he got to the top where a street and curb was in his path. He got too slow in too high a gear and the bike stopped moving forward. It then started moving sideways due to gravity and he and the bike fell over. He said he was lying on the ground and noticed a piece of metal rolling past his face on the pavement. All he could think was that he just broke a piece off his bike but didn’t know if it was an important piece or not! He wasn’t hurt although his new bike was missing some part (yet to be determined) and the side panels had some scratches on them. He also noticed an older lady (grandma type) and young boy (approximately 7 years old) walking on the sidewalk across the street; both watching him. As they walked away he heard the grandma say to her grandson “see Johnny, even grown-ups fall off their bikes occasionally”. Woodrow provided an excellent learning experience for that young man, I’m sure.

Woodrow recalled the video he had watched on how to lift a big motorcycle so he turned his back to the bike, grabbed hold of the bike with both hands and lifted with his legs not his back. He said afterwards that the bike was so light he could have lifted it like a bicycle but form and technique is important to learn correctly.

After inspecting the bike and not being able to find where the recently ejected piece of metal came from, he decided to ride it back to the garage. He turned the key, started the engine (all normal), pulled the clutch; wait a minute, the clutch handle feels different. It feels a little shorter than before. The mystery is solved, the piece of metal in his hand fits perfectly to the end of his clutch handle but everything is still functioning so he rides on home. At staff meeting on Monday, Woodrow came in and rolled the end of his clutch handle across the table to the other three members of the group and said he has baptized his new bike.

 

Our first group ride is this coming Saturday at Ott Park in North Little Rock and we will be doing some easier dirt roads, single track, a little sand and even some mud if it stays wet for a few more days. We are also planning a long day’s ride from the Big Piney River area (Hwy 7 North of Russellville) to Hwy 5 by Greer’s Ferry. This is actually a section of the TAT in Leg 3 but will be good practice for what’s to come. There will be many more rides in the next 6 months in preparing the group for the big launch.

I’ve already started adding more equipment onto my ride:

1               Two RAM Mounts for my GPS and SPOT and I have a third one for my GoPro or the roll chart reader (haven’t decided yet).

2               Rear rack that also has plate for my Rotopax mount and extra 1 gal fuel tank.

I’ve ordered and expect to arrive any day, 30mm risers for my handlebars to make it easier to stand and ride through the rough stuff. I have also ordered a skid-plate and radiator protective grill. Still need to order hand guards that appear very necessary after seeing what happened to Woodrow’s bike when his was dropped.

That’s all for now but will post again as we make more definite plans for TAT-2016.