How I spent my summer vacation, or 6000 miles on a dual sport

excellent story excellent pics congrats on the adventure

I loved it. Wish it could keep going. Glad that you didn't have any major problems. I gotta get a bike again.

skierd wrote: Luke - anyone can do it. Pick a date, pick a destination (or a route of interest like I did), and come hell or high water leave on that date. Prepare accordingly. Or don't and just wing it. Either way, you've got to go. After all... there's no time like the present. Being home sick is a great time to start planning.

Good advice! I can't believe it's been more than 20yrs or so since my last one...BMW E3 around the Southeastern US coast from Pass Christian MS to Wanchese NC, mostly on 2-lanes through AL, all the way around the FL peninsula (still kicking m'self for skipping the Keys), and up through GA and SC to my old home in NC-took about a week and a half IIRC, and we drove back on the Interstate in 12hrs straight (all praise Prez Eisenhower!).

skierd wrote: Life's short and tomorrow may never come after all.

This is the most honest statement upon this thread. Where's the "I bow to you" icon?

Sound advice, Skierd.

I think I know what's on the cards for next Semester break .

I wish the wife would let me do this. She's agreed to a trip in an old sports car, but she's wanting kids. I don't want to do a trip like this with a kid in tow.

I'm really pleased that you found the beauty of the Great Plains. I grew up in Nebraska, and so many people get those glazed eyes thinking of endless interstate miles. There is so much more to it. I love the plains and I'm glad to find another who does.

David

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your trip. These are the things you'll never forget. I can't ride a motorcycle, but most of they way looks like easily traversed roads. Could a small 4x4, like a CJ5, make through the few tight spots? Great photos and narration! Hope you can use this as some sort of project at school.

Gearheadotaku wrote: Thank you so much for taking the time to share your trip. These are the things you'll never forget. I can't ride a motorcycle, but most of they way looks like easily traversed roads. Could a small 4x4, like a CJ5, make through the few tight spots? Great photos and narration! Hope you can use this as some sort of project at school.

I'd like an opinion on that also. My brother has been going on about an adventure in his 83 Landcruiser and I directed him to this thread. Very inspirational, thanks for all the work it must have taken to post, I really enjoyed it!!

Warloop Road would be a little too narrow in many places for a jeep, but is easily bypassed. I know that some 4x4 clubs go over Hancock and Tomichi passes, which are the most difficult part of the trail, so yes it could probably be done. Takes all the fun out of it imo though...

Here's the place to get the trail maps http://www.transamtrail.com/

10 years ago my wife, daughter, and myself went from NW Arkansas to Colorado in a 4cyl Jeep Wrangler. We did several trails, but limited difficulty because we were wheelin alone. The ranger stations have detailed trail maps.

thanks for the very cool tread on this and all pics are very cool and the detail you did was very thimbs up.........

I was wondering why you were all hell bent (and whiskey bound, apparently... nyuk nyuk) on getting a drink at just one place. Sounds like a fun couple of days as a capper to a great few weeks. Good on you for doing it, even better for thinking enough to share it with the rest of us.

Great pictures, great writing (really). Good job, all around. A+

Bump! This thread is awesome, and has me plotting to do the TAT in my Trooper (because where's the fun in traveling without a fridge and camp chairs).

Any idea what condition the TAT is in now, almost 3 years later?

Check ADVRider. There's probably someone from that forum on it right now that is posting daily updates. They're your best source of info.

Really enjoyed reading this thread, especially with all the great storytelling and photography. I'm not a rider, but I do have to ask a few questions, in the hope that your answers would dissuade me from doing something like this!

1. Of all the places you went, and all those dirt/gravel roads and fields - are these all "legal" or "public" thoroughfares, or are some of them private property that just "isn't watched" etc etc?

2. Of you trip, how much of it would you say could be done by......a car? Specifically an old BMW that is otherwise used for rallycross

3. And further on that, does anyone know of a similar route for cars (e.g. not 4x4s) that has great non-paved roads like that and rivers that could be forded in a car (I figure 6" to a foot would be passable).

I know.....why would anyone want to do that in a car vice a bike....IDK. I would :)

Tom Suddard wrote: Bump! This thread is awesome, and has me plotting to do the TAT in my Trooper (because where's the fun in traveling without a fridge and camp chairs). Any idea what condition the TAT is in now, almost 3 years later?

Can't help you with the fridge, but there's a lot of people that travel with camp chairs on the backs of their bikes. Hell, I'm one of them if you count the ultra small packing byer camp stool I take with me. See the next part of my reply about taking a car...

The TAT has been re-rounted in Tennessee for sure, and I think in Mississippi and Oregon, since I rode it. Most of the re-routes are due to paving and road closures due to natural disasters, rock slides, etc. Its still very active and ridden by at least a couple hundred riders every year. I hope to eventually finish where I left off and ride the western half of the TAT just to say I finished it...

irish44j wrote: Really enjoyed reading this thread, especially with all the great storytelling and photography. I'm not a rider, but I do have to ask a few questions, in the hope that your answers would dissuade me from doing something like this! 1. Of all the places you went, and all those dirt/gravel roads and fields - are these all "legal" or "public" thoroughfares, or are some of them private property that just "isn't watched" etc etc? 2. Of you trip, how much of it would you say could be done by......a car? Specifically an old BMW that is otherwise used for rallycross 3. And further on that, does anyone know of a similar route for cars (e.g. not 4x4s) that has great non-paved roads like that and rivers that could be forded in a car (I figure 6" to a foot would be passable). I know.....why would anyone want to do that in a car vice a bike....IDK. I would :)

1. All of the roads are public, on-the-map (depending on when it was printed lol), open to everyone roads. Its part of why you need a plated bike to ride it, not to mention the frequent transits between towns, big river crossings via bridges, etc.

2. I'd say 95-99% of the original TAT could be done with a small 4x4. Hardest parts would be the canyons and washes in Utah, middle of nowhere portion of Nevada, and one small tight two-track section in Arkansas. If you used the big bike bypasses available on the original TAT maps, you could probably drive the whole thing in the family sedan, rallycross prepped or not, if you minded the rocks, though I'd prefer to take a small 4x4 like a Jeep Wrangler or Suzuki Samurai if only for ground clearance and the fact that you'd probably have a winch on it to get yourself unstuck. Why you'd want to ruin your vacation by driving instead of riding a dirt bike, floating and flying over the undulating terrain freer and happier than any man has any right to be is beyond me however...

3. While I am sure there are other routes out there, I have not researched them beyond Sam Correro's other two trails that cover the Mississippi Hill Country and the Continental Divide trail. There are also collections of fire roads and trails in Oregon and Washington known as Backcountry Discovery Route (OBDR and WBDR) which are ok for 4x4's as they mostly use fire roads and forest service roads... There is a trail system for Idaho as well, but its got a lot of technical tight single track in places. And of course there's always Baja. The American Southwest is also full of roads and two track that lead off to the middle of nowhere desert... Bring gas and survival gear and get out there!

Re: river and creek fording... it all depends on the river and the amount of rain the region's seen. Even back home I've seen raging creeks I wouldn't want to watch someone else go down in a boat completely dry up due to drought. Similarly, I got lucky as it didn't rain all that much while I was on the TAT. If it rains, all that pretty, wonderful dirt turns to mud. Deep, wet, sticky, steal your shoes MUD. Bikes either end up with fried clutches (due to the rear tire being locked in place by all the mud), dead tired riders, or bee-line for the pavement when it precipitates.

I never posted my other two big rides here... so here are the links and a brief summary:

Chasing Dreams and the Ghost of my Soul

This was a near 7000 mile meander from Maryland to Key West to Oklahoma and back that ultimately let me put my life together

skierd said: I'm tired. I'm loosing it, or have I already lost it? I hate the 20-something year old children that go to my school, that live in and trash my neighborhood, that I'm going to end up working with or teaching, and have no desire to participate in this bullE36 M3 anymore. Screw my overpriced pest infested apartment complex, the path to 'success', this winter bullE36 M3, berkeley it all. I'm done, I'm out. Taking my ball and going... I don't sleep well at night anymore. Dreaming of the openness of the Plains, the massifs of the Rockies, the sands of the beach and the desert, keeps me awake, calling to me. The simplicity of life on the road. Can't ignore it, can't shake it, just gotta go... just gotta go...

And just as any good movie needs a sequel...

Chasing Dreams Vol 2 Maryland to Alaska

This past spring I moved to Alaska, and left behind or got rid of everything that didn't fit on my WR250R. Another near 7000 mile trip, this time just over a month. The moment I finally saw the Pacific from the saddle of my motorcycle was one of the happiest of my life.

skierd said: Then I started working toward a life that would never have me stuck again, allowing me the freedom to travel and do work that I like for the benefit of that goal. Being realistic in the fact that making a living as an artist is several years and lots of source material, practice, and hustling away, I want to work in the beverage industry or in motorcycles. Long story short... I found a job bartending. In Alaska, for a cruise line's hotel. Starting in early April, through the end of September. The goal... well there is no goal. I've got an idea to follow the sun after the season is over and end up with a similar gig someplace warm over the winter... or maybe just hiding out in Baja for a while until the next season gets ready to start. Or not. Or maybe I'll hate it and end up working a 9-5 somewhere.... ... Will I even make it up there? What if I hate it once I'm there? What if i don't make enough to come back down? What if I crash and hurt myself or worse? How am I gonna handle mom crying again? And what would I think of myself in 20 years if I don't go... But first, I have to get to Alaska. I leave in about a week. (Yes I know its still winter )

So anyways... I'll never be the person to dissuade or discourage anyone from traveling and following their dreams. If I hadn't, I wouldn't be where I am now and as happy as I am now.

skierd wrote: I tried to stop in Kansas City to get some Oklahoma Joe's BBQ... but they were closed (Sunday). :(  Boo hiss, its been on at least one "Places to eat before you die" list and I was really looking forward to it.  Too bad, maybe next time. 

OK Joes is just up the hill from work. My coworkers and I used to go every Friday. Then it got discovered, and it's much harder to get in now. On a perfect weather day, the line starts wrapping around the building. On a regular day, it's out the door. Still worth going to, and it's possibly the best in KC, all due respect to Arthur Bryant's and Gates.

Dangit Dave! I was hoping to be productive today!

(can't believe I missed those)

lol if it makes you feel better they're calling for a high of 29 tomorrow here in Fairbanks, right now its the mid to low teens, and this is probably the last week or so when it'll still be up near freezing for a couple months.

Guess thats what snowmobiles are for...

Not to be a stalker, but have you figured out if you are going to stay the winter up there, or are you going to migrate?

Amazing thread! Maker's Mark is about ~15 miles from my house. I've never touched bourbon, but I know it's a big part of my state's history.

Glad to know that you've done so much and been so many places on a dual sport of all things.

I, a married man with one child, envy you badly. Heck I'd love to just long haul the power tour.

I wish you many more adventures, and many more fifths of bourbon.

I remember mailing some tires to Skierd on his trip I think :)

Incredible story and adventure. Thank you so much for sharing it with all of us!!!!

Now off to read your other 2!!!!

In reply to Jaynen:

Kenda K761's if I remember correctly. Thanks for the tires that got me home!