How I spent my summer vacation, or 6000 miles on a WR250R

Might as well toss this here as well.

Its been a long time since I had a voluntary vacation from work and school, 10 years this summer to be exact. I had been planning a long road trip off and on for the last few years, but always ended up having to cancel due to lack of job, lack of money, or lack of suitable vehicle. This year, no such excuses. So grab some popcorn, pour yourself a drink, and settle in.

My last summer class ended at 10:30am on August 6th and my first fall class starts on 8/31 at 11am, so I had just over 3 weeks to spend on the road. There was a basic itinerary for at least the first 2 weeks: ride Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway, Deal's Gap, and the TransAmerica Trail from the beginning in Jellico, TN to Salida, CO. After that, ride home on whatever route looked appealing.

A note on gear... what I wore reflected the trip. Just under half was dirt and just over half was pavement. As such, I wore street gear on my upper body (Shoei RF-1000 helmet, Rev'It Air jacket, Joe Rocket leather gloves) and dirt gear on my lower body (Klim Baja pants, Alpinestars Tech6 boots, EVS knee guards). Everything worked perfectly and was comfortable to the point that I mostly forgot that I was wearing it during the trip, especially the helmet.

Day 1 - Towson, MD to the Blue Ridge Parkway

Loaded up to go, goodbye Towson University!


I got moving around 11am. I wanted to be the hell out of the Baltimore/DC metro area before rush hour even thought about starting, so it was time to slab it. On the Baltimore Beltway...


...and the DC beltway


...to US 29.


Time for the first, but certainly not the last gas and food stop of the trip:

:dg

As I was sitting there eating, this guy pulled out and walked into the store. We're not in the city anymore... :rofl


Not too much later, it was time to get the trip started for real:

A quick note about the setup: Side bags are Dirtbagz Scouts. Tail bag and tank bag are Wolfman Enduro models. I planned on camping most of the way (more on that later...) and stored my Hennessey Hammock, sleeping bag, stove fuel can, and camp shoes in the left side bag. In the right bag was rain gear and clothes. In the tail bag was everything else (tools, a few spares, food, notebook, first aid kit, toiletries, and some other odds and ends) with the big ass REI camp pad out in front making a nice back rest for the road portions of the trip. The tankbag There is also a 2gallon rotopax gas can on the left side. I had a 1gal water rotopax strapped to the rear rack when I started (in the first pic), but I hated the extra weight and added difficulty of strapped everything down securely so I ditched it at my Mom's house as I went by. More on it all later...


Anywho... Skyline Drive didn't take too long getting to the goods.


First of several tunnels over the next few days


There's not much to be said for these, the pictures speak for themselves.






Motoring


And before you know it, its over.


The road itself was wonderfully curving and twisting, and being a Thursday it was fairly empty. Its hard to say which was more fun, the views or the road. As nice as it was though, the first hundred miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway simply blows it away:



One of my favorite road signs of the whole trip :lol3


Another tunnel


And as day faded into night, I made it to Otter Creek Campground, ~60 miles in on the BRP and ~300 miles from home. Cooked up a quick dinner, set up the hammock, and got some much needed sleep with a plan to be up near dawn.

Day 2 - More Blue Ridge Parkway, mostly.

Someone forgot to tell the mountains it was August as it got down to about 50 degrees that night and I damn near froze in my hammock. I left the camp pad on the bike since it was hot when I went to bed, and with no insulation under me when the temps finally dropped over night I woke up cold. The pics of camp didn't turn out, put I have more later.

One of the interesting bits about the parkway... there aren't any gas stations on it once you get off of Skyline Drive. I pulled into Otter Creek just as the reserve light popped on, and the closest Garmin listed gas station was 25 miles off the parkway... I could have made it, but it would have been very annoying so I used the big green gas can to give me some extra range for the first time.

Time for the first annoying bit of the trip: the rotopax can was leaking from the corner opposite of the vent cap. There wasn't an obvious spot, just a tiny weep hole near where you can lock two rotopax's together. Some JB kwik weld over the hole and it was fine for the rest of the trip. Getting the can off the bike with the dirtbagz was also annoying, but less so than wasting an hour wandering around for a gas station. An inelegant solution at best...

No worries, time to motor. :ricky First thing of interest was this little pond




and not too much later I stopped for breakfast at one of the Inn's on the parkways and ran across my first herd of Harley riders.


Nice people, took a bunch of pictures of the group for them on their cameras, pretty sure they were on a memorial ride but I can't remember now and didn't write it down.

No worries, lets get moving!



Somewhere around mile 100 on the parkway (campground was around 60) I took notice of two things. 1) The parkway had gotten decided less scenic and less on the Ridge 2) there were miles and miles of nice gravel roads paralleling the parkways. Hmm.... time for a dirt detour!






Pretty soon I came to the first route decision for the trip. I had two maps routed in my Garmin, one followed US 58 west to Jellico from where it crossed the BRP, which was my original plan. See, I only had a rough idea of how far I thought I could comfortably go on the bike each day and a hard date I needed to be back in Towson for class to start. The original route plan had me 265 miles to Jellico...


... the second route had me finishing the Blue Ridge and heading to Deal's Gap before cutting north to Jellico to start the trail.


It was an extra day on the road guaranteed (or so I thought), and as amazing as it is looking back it required some serious thinking... Ooooh look, water! Lets ride while we think!





You have chosen... wisely.


There's no simple way to put it, the parkway in North Carolina is one of the most beatiful roads in the country.





Made it to another campground about 60 miles north of Ashville, another 300+ mile day on the bike. I thought this thing was supposed to be uncomfortable? Fuel range was also hovering around 60mpg and I was by no means taking it easy.

Tomorrow would debatably be the most scenic day of the trip...

You want distance? I'll give you distance. :deal

Day 3 - End of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Deal's Gap, and Jellico, TN

One thing I like about camping: waking up at dawn. One thing I don't like about camping, at least in a crowded public campground: other people. For example I woke up around 1:30am to the sounds of a couple obviously having more fun than anyone else going by her moans... :lol3 There were a lot of noisy kids, noisy pets, and people in general, and big (and unwelcome) change from the relative solitude of the last few days.

Whats nice about waking up at dawn? Other than getting out before everyone else, the views are pretty nice:



First stop for gas was around 8am, as I came off the parkway I found this little sign...

:deal

They weren't kidding. I learned something about North Carolina that morning: when the sign says its a 20mph curve, its a 20-fricking-mph curve. :eek1 Had a close call when the road curved around a cliff face and tightened back up with no warning...



As nice as that was, it was just a taste of what was to come.

Back to the Parkway:



But first a little breakfast. This is a big part of how I could get up and going quickly in the morning. I tended to pass a town big enough for a walmart every few days, so I would get a box or two of clif bars to eat first thing in the morning. Before stopping for the night I would also get a gatoraide and drink about half of it. Waking up, the two combined makes a decent way to start the day. Cheap, somewhat filling, and tasty.


More early morning beauty:




It wasn't all sunshine and happiness unfortunately, as I was coming up one of the mountains after my breakfast stop, I ran into these guys




The guy in the white and red shirt was responsible for the skid marks in the grass, lost it on the corner and went for a pretty decent tumble. His bike was ok except for the mashed up highway pegs (the bike pictured is his), and he was fine except for a few bruised (or broken?) ribs, few bumps, small cuts and a abarsions. Used my first aid kit and helped patch up what I could. Keep it safe out there guys...

As I entered the Cherokee reservation that serves as the terminus of the Parkway, I couldn't help but notice some more dirt roads off to the side that again seemed to parallel the parkway... Off we go!




It popped me out basically into the town of Cherokee at the end of the parkway. I found the town odd and harsh on the eyes and ears after being in the woods for 3 days. I guess I just don't get the casino thing maybe?


Oh well, lets motor! Kudzu!


I like where this is going...


This is the dam Harrison Ford's stunt double jumped from, if I read the sign correctly.


Its only a few miles away from...




Here's hoping I don't make a contribution...

Lots of amazing hardware, lots of bikes, lots to look at.



But screw it, lets ride it! I haven't ponied up for the US129Photo's CD yet, but I made 3 runs through the gap, two of which I pushed the bike as hard as I dared to. What. A. Fantastic. Road. The fact that its a US highway gives me some faith that the US government can indeed occasionally get something right. Blind squirrels and nuts and all that. I can say that I felt my boots touch down several times, and that was on D606's. I certainly wasn't holding anyone up on the dragon. But the same can't be said for the D606's... by this time they had about 3000 or 3500 miles on them, the last thousand of which were pretty hard street miles on the Blue Ridge and North Carolina back roads. Every knob on the front showed evidence of overheating around the base, and the rear was pretty well worn. More on the tires later....

In any event, my last trip through was taken at a much more relaxed, cruiser pace (especially because I got caught behind a few dressers). So, I took some pics:



and pulled off at the scenic overlook. One of these bikes is not like the other :rofl




It was only another 100 miles to Jellico, and I had plenty of day light left... so I pused it and made it. It was something like 350 miles, can't remember the exact total as I didn't write it down.

More slab...

Oh thank Jesus...

You gotta start at the beginning, and I had laundry to do, so I took advantage of the reasonable rates at the Days Inn Jellico and turned in for the night, excited for what the next day would bring as I've read that the first 60-100 miles of Tennessee were great.



Some quick reflections...

Skyline Drive, while pretty, was a disappointment compared to the first
and last 100 miles of the Blue Ridge. Similiarly the middle 200 miles
of the Blue Ridge were fairly disappointing by comparison.

The last 150 miles of the Parkway, Deal's Gap, and any/all of the roads
I took to get gas makes me seriously want to move to western NC. The
people are fantastic, the roads are amazing, gorgeous scenery. The
detours off the "route" were as good or better than the parkway many
times.

Less is more indeed, I'm going to be working on my setup over the
winter to drastically reduce bulk, weight, and make everything more
efficient. More on that later as well...

Day 4 - Start of the TAT

Got a decently early start today,
earliest hotel checkout of the trip. The water main in Jellico had
burst overnight, leaving me without a shower for the morning
(fortunately I had taken care of it the night before after enjoying the
pool and hot tub and utilizing the guest laundry). One thing I found
neat about the Days Inn Jellico though, unlike most hotels that have
their room bibles hidden in a drawer, theirs were out and open on the
table when you first walked in.


An interesting touch imo. Even though I'm not particularly religious, I thought it was a neat little personal touch.

And we're off! It was hot and muggy as I expected TN to be, that would change soon enough however...


One
neat thing about eastern TN: the pavment and gravel are the same
color. Made for some, uh, interesting riding with the early morning
sun peaking through the trees distorting your view.


Also
got my first big lesson of the trip: you never know whats around the
corner on these roads. I had several encounters like this on the trip,
slow down for the curves fella's.


First bit of water!


Neat old studebaker(?), in someones front yard on the trail


Right
around here I had another insight: bring a quiet bike for this as
you'll basically be going through someone's front yard all the time and
you really don't need the extra power. This isn't a race and the only
opponent is the distance.

I also had my first reroute near
here. Sam's maps (or my Mapsource interpetation of them) had me going
down someone's driveway. It took a little while to get rerouted out of
the neighborhood I was in, but pretty shortly I was back on the little
purple line on the Garmin.

Oops, time for another detour, this
time intentional! Saw this forest access road off to the side and
decided to get some mud on the bike.


Passed this little roadside cemetary, very quiet and very pretty spot.


Right
around Wartburg, TN, where I stopped for my first TAT gas stop and
subway sandwich (seriously, there were subways EVERYWHERE! I'd be in a
town that basically consisted of a post office, a co-op, and a gas
station, and there would be a subway in the gas station. Fricking
weird...), the skies opened up on me. I had planned on detouring to
the nemo bridge rail road tunnel, but the weather changed my mind.

Fortunately I had a covered place to change into my rain gear. Unfortunately my rain pants leaked like a seive. Soggy butt most of the day, which got better when I had to stand and it all ran down into my boots.

Old and new:


Well... this is the south...


Time
for another reroute! It finally stopped pouring, at least for a while
and I was motoring down this nice smooth wonderful gravel road when I
looked down and noticed my Garmin had me turning. To where? Left of
course, on a little road I didn't see that even existed when I first
went by.


Screw it, its an adventure, lets see where this goes. After all, this is a road. Right?


Oh wait it gets better...


No wait...






Then...





Uh... hell no. Time to backtrack. Learned my second lesson: do NOT
trust the Garmin over the actual conditions on the road. There were
exactly three times that it was correct in taking me down a path that
eventually faded out of existence, once was Warloop Road in Arkansas
and twice was on county roads in the Oklahoma panhandle.

As I got back to the nice groomed gravel road, it started P O U R I N G
again, found shelter at a gas station, I took refuge inside and got the
bike out of the rain as best I could.





After about an hour, the skies cleared and I was able to dry everything out except my boots over the next few hours by riding.

Be sure with Pure!




I loved these little roads nestled on the old railroad grades, usually with a rock wall on one side with a creek on the other.




Finally, I came to this nice river. I recognized it immediately from
other ride reports for the TAT, but noticed no one ever stopped to
enjoy themselves like the locals did.




Screw that, I'm two days ahead of schedule and need a snack break
anyways. I stripped out of my riding gear, put on some shorts and
waded across to the far shore to eat and relax. Had a nice little
conversation with one of the families that were there enjoying the
summer sun one last time before school started.





After a while of watching everyone else play, it was my turn!



That was a LONG crossing, and fun! The water was only about mid-shin
deep and while the surface was smooth it was kinda slick and filled
with big holes, the best place to go was on the little ridge of rapids
and stay STRAIGHT on it.

Back on the road!





Getting late, time to find a campground. Fortunately I was very near
Rock Island State Park. Nice little detour for the dam closure... Not
sure which of YFF's are responsible, but I got a nice laugh from it!


All set up!


And here's the Hennessy Hammock:


Most comfortable thing I've ever slept in outdoors. With the camp pad
underneath in a 40 degree down bag, I was comfortable down to the mid
40's. With just the bag underneath me as a mosquito barrier, it was
still as comfortable as one could be on a HUMID 80 degree night.
You're literally just floating, and since the hammock is cut
assymetrically to the cord you actually lay mostly flat. Its a little
fussy to set up as you need to have good tension and tree's just so
apart, but it was a life saver to not have to find a piece of level
ground in the mountains... it was also a PITA to use when I wasn't
allowed to use the trees in Mueller State Park in Colorado. It works
well enough as a bivy sack, but my back much prefers hanging in the air
in my little bear burrito.

At night, I hung my riding pants and jacket outside of the hammock from
the center line, under the tarp near the entrance, with my boots
underneath where I could step into them. I could hang the next days
clothes from the centerline on the inside above my feet and generally
had as much room inside as I would in any other 1 man tent, but with
the benefit that I plenty of places to put everything.

Only other thing I had with me for camping was a little coleman peak1
single burner stove I found at Walmart for $20, a pot, a fork, and a
sierra cup. Didn't need anything else, as all I would otherwise do
after camping
was check the bike over and write in the little notebook I brought to
remember what I saw and did. After eating and writing, I went to bed
(usually just as the sun was setting) as riding 12 hours is tiring.

I ate about 10 meals on the while camping, which usually consisted of
boil-in-the-bag rice (hence the stove), fresh salsa or a handufl of
mixed vegatables, and a packet of the ready to eat chicken or salmon or
tuna, with a cliff bar and a banana for dessert. Cheap, very tasty
after a day on the trail, very filling, and healthy. I just ate out of
the pot I cooked the rice in and all the cooking supplies fit inside
the pot except the fuel can, which was stuffed in between the hammock
and sleeping bag on the side bag to protect it. The sierra cup was
used mainly for a tot of rum or bourbon.

As I was setting up to eat dinner, I heard an animal coming up behind me:


Cute little guy was aparently a runaway that liked the campground so
much that anytime he was returned to his family he would promptly
escape and come back. Nice little guy, very friendly and happy! All
in all, thanks to the fire to dry my boots and gloves, and camp
showers, it was a nice day on the trail.

So far, an excellent write up and great pix! How did you get the pix while in motion?

The easy way: pulled the camera out of the tank bag, turned it on, snapped a pic, turned it off, and put it away with my left hand.

Day 5 - More Tennessee

Up at dawn again and on the road by 7:30am. Some of my favorite riding was early in the morning before the world had woken up...


Not that there was much to be woken out here. One of the nice things about this route is the rarity of being around other vehicles. I saw just enough cars, trucks, and tractors to keep me honest coming around corners, beyond that I was mostly alone on the road (and loving it).


Lots of Tennessee has been paved unfortunately, and they're working on paving more of it all the time. One of the few bits of gravel left:


And the first brown moment of the trip:


Looks innocent right? Just a stream rolling over concrete? Nope, this was the first of the infamous TN water crossings. I think at one point I was perpendicular to the road it was so slick, made it across though! Seriously, think wet ice with slimy snot on top, coated in teflon, and you're getting close.

A short while later I decided to take a breather under a pair of bridges. There was a boat ramp leading down to the shore where there was some nice shade, so I stopped and ate a quick snack and relaxed.




More water... very gunshy now going across, but this one turned out to be nothing.


Saw this one out of my mirror as I went past, so I had to go back and try it too. This was deeper than any of the other TN crossings, and was rough getting across as it wasn't paved or covered in smooth stones like the others, but I had traction so it was pretty mild overall. Fun through.


More of this endangered species


Another false alarm...


Uh oh, here we go. I've seen this one before.


Stopped, got out and walked it. Just as slick as the first one, except the bottom was smooth river rock covered in slime and moss. As slick, if not slicker. Found a place I thought was a little less slick and decided to try to ride it across...

Made it!


Was it trials perfect? Hell no! But my ass stayed on the bike the whole way and it moved across under its own power. And didn't go down. :evil

Another false alarm, pretty routine.


Under the Natchez Trace


So I'm feeling pretty good about myself. Making good time, no crashes at the slick crossings, and its a beautiful sunny da.... wait what the hell is that.


Ah dammit... This was by far the worst of the crossings. I've seen so many ride reports of people falling on this one, like just about everyone. I wasn't about to join the club so I walked it again. Slicker, faster moving water, and deeper. But I made it just as easily as the last one.


TAT - 0, me - 3 ... for now. The trail would get her revenge later...

More roads...




Ended the day in Savannah, TN and grabbed a hotel because my boots were soaked again and I wanted to dry them out and take a hot shower. Also the skies started threatening t-storms, and I did not want to be out in it if I could avoid it. Regardless, I was happy to be almost out of Tennessee and with luck I would be in Arkansas tomorrow. 330 miles today.

Awesome, Thank you very much for posting here too!!!!

Day 6 - Get me the hell out of Tennessee and get to the big river

Woke
up with a decent hangover thanks to eating at a decent restaurant
called Uptown the night before (http://www.uptowntn.com/home.asp),
ended up drinking a bottle of wine with dinner after a 2 beer
appetizer.

Thats ok though, it decided to pour down rain first thing in the morning, so I slept in a little.

Waiting out the storm


Cleared up, mostly around 10:30 and I was on the road by 11.


Oops, not quite yet. About 20mins later, another storm rolling through, ended taking shelter at this body shop:


If
you're ever near Savannah, TN and need body work, stop in and see these
guys. Very nice, old school run type shop and were very nice to let me
cower in one of their bays, stink up their waiting room, and read their
magazines.

I ended up dodging storms all day, fortunately the
trail swung me between and around the rest of the rain and I stayed dry
the rest of the day.

Western TN was such a disappointment.
Why? They're paving it. 80-90% of TN was paved, much of it was
obviously in the last few years as well. The last 70-80 miles were
almost completely paved and treeless (I guess from logging?) and as
such it was kinda miserable riding. Fortunately, just before the
border, it turned back into dirt... and then suddenly...


turned red. Welcome to Mississippi!



Got
my first taste of how the roads would be for the next 300+ miles: 2-8"
of dirt and gravel dumped on the road and left to sit. Great for cars,
great for drainage too I guess, not so great for a motorcycle. At
least the storms kept the weather cool...

Had another brown
moment, or more accurately a black and yellow moment, shortly after
taking the above picture. I hit a bee at 40mph, stung me in my neck
when I hit it, went down my jacket, and stung me 3 more times before I
could stop the bike and get the little fucker out.
No more (stinging) insect encounters after that, though I did run into
a june bug (bounced off the armored knuckle on my gloves, and it still
smarted) and hit a few big horseflies along the way. I started wearing
my 'stich scarf to keep the bastards off in the buggier area.

Most of Mississippi was pretty nondescipt fields and country lanes. As I approached the River, it got better though.




Thanks to another ride report, I bypassed the first of the two main
bridge closings without incident. Then I came to the other one that
most people say you can ride over (gotta love all the tire tracks).



Note
the kudzu reclaiming the road... I decided not to risk it, there were
a bunch of loose nails on the former bridge surface and I didn't trust
my riding abilities that late in the day to get over the assorted bits
of lumber other riders had used to get across, especially since the
detour was only a few miles.



Getting flat... and hot...


Here's something I was really looking forward to, riding the levee roads:


Easy
riding, but fun because you're so much higher than the surrounding
land. Great views and cool to be off the main roads again.

Back on the highway and there... can you see it?



Ahh.. the bridge to the west, across the Mississippi River! But for now, tonights destination is in sight:




Stayed
at the Isle of Capri casino. Can't beat $40 a night, my low for the
trip, with an included all-you-can-eat buffet and comp drinks if you
gamble a little. Also can't beat the parking, right up front at the
hotel entrance:


My night ended up costing me about $15 total as I won $25 on the slots.

The
food was decent at the buffet, wasn't expecting much for the price
honestly. Got to see a bunch of country ass people, and the absolute
fattest family of four I've ever seen. Each, individually, was so fat
that they couldn't sit at the same table together, the mom, dad,
son, and daughter had to each get their own table to fit their
disgustingly fat asses. And the mountain of food each required, of
course.

I was less than pleased when the fire alarm when off
at 4:30am, but all in all it was a decent place to stay, considering
the price. There certainly wasn't anywhere I'd trust to stay in
Helena, Arkansas, just across the river, thats for damn sure.

.

Time to enter what I consider the start of the "real" west, in other
words everything west of the Mississippi River. Crossing the bridge to
Helena, AR:






Helena was a hole, I was very happy I didn't have to stop there for
anything. And once out of Helena, the roads finally mostly turned to
dirt:




Its a shame the surface was so god awful though. Literally 4-8" of
ungraded gravel, it was like trying to ride on ball bearings. For
once, I was very happy to find pavement because it was a welcome relief
to the crappy roads.

Long bridge going over a swamp and river, I think it was like 7 miles long.




Finally the trail, according to the maps, cuts into a national forest
and starts along wonderful national forest dirt roads. Then of course,
as seemed to be the case for this day, we hit a problem:


Of course it has me going down a closed road. Screw it, lets investigate ('cause its worked so well so far)... Nope, no dice.


Thankfully I got off and walked, as this sucker was DEEP and sticky and
I didn't want to ride across it twice potentially. About 100 yards
past this mud pit (I'd already passed about a dozen like this), the
"road" disappeared into nothing into the woods.


So another reroute, this time a lengthy one as I had traveled about 10
miles up a forest road to get to this point with no cross roads.

It was also around this time that I noticed something catching on my boots when I moved around on the pegs...


You gotta be shitting me. The soles of my boots started falling apart,
I guess they didn't appreciate being soaked and dried so much. After
the late start, a long reroute, and the boots, I only was able to make
it about 150 miles on the trail today. I ended up staying in an
overpriced cruddy hotel in Heber Springs as I couldn't find a (legal)
place to camp that looked at all inviting.

And as I was unpacking I started to take a good long look at my
tires... they aren't going to make it to Colorado. The front had begun
chunking knobs and the rear was just about bald. In their defense,
they did have nearly 5000 miles on them and they had been pushed pretty
hard on the pavement between the parkway and the gap, for over 700
miles, but I was getting pretty bummed over it at this point. Tomorrow
the search began for dealerships in the area that might have boots and
knobs... but tonight it was time for bed.

Not a lot of pics for this day because it basically sucked.

Just a real quick aside, here's how I packed everything:

Left dirtbag: Hennessey Hammock, fuel can, small bottle of whiskey,
camp shoes (sanuks), and my sleeping bag/pillow in a waterproof stuff
sack. Stakes lived in the outside pocket of this bag.

Right dirtbag: rain pants and overboots in a stuff sack, clean clothes
in a waterproof stuff sack, hi-viz vest, wide brimmed hat for camp,
mesh sack for dirty clothes

Tail bag: Stove, pot+lid, pot holder, fork, and sierra cup (all tucked
inside the pot), Tools (enough to tear the bike down to components),
spare front tube, tire spoons, chain lube, collapsible jack stand (made
by a guy on ADV), stake mallet, first aid kit, toiletries, Monkey Butt
powder, notepad with pen, phone and camera charger, electrical tape,
and an oil filter for the change in Salida. I also kept the rice for
dinner back there. REI 2.5 camp pad strapped to the outside of it, as
was my Klim jacket.

Tank bag: WD40, gatoraide, wallet, phone, house keys, camera, extra
earplugs, a can of altoids, LED head lamp, folding knife, and a spare
strap for the luggage.

2L Coleman Camelback copy from walmart, I only kept water and cliff
bars in it as I didn't want anything hard on my back, just in case...
whatever meat and veggies I picked up towards the end of the day for
dinner into the camelbak as there way no where else for it lol.

For sure there was a system to it to get everything to nestle together lol.

Dirtbagz,
yellow is my sleeping bag, red are my clothes, brown thing is the
hammock in the snakeskins, rain gear in the grey tube.


Tail bag


Up
close of the tool kit (do need to add a 14mm wrench to really complete
it) The blue thing is a 3/8" drive adapter for the tire spoon/wrench.

Slo - I might have, but I didn't know the area at all, I was tired, and
it was getting dark. The only shops that I could find didn't have
anything of use to me, no 18" rear tires and no boots in the right
size. Well, thats a lie... Sunrise Honda had some dorothy red Tech6's
in the right size and significantly on sale, but I just couldn't do it.
I ended up JB welding the sole of the boots down, which held mostly for the rest of the way home.

Day 8 - Welcome to the Ozarks!

Once you leave the east, Arkansas goes from crappy to fantastic. This
is also the first time on the trip I felt I really *needed* a dual
sport with dirt tires. Pretty soon after leaving, the trail turns into
the Ozark National Forest and gets spectacular.




Stopped for a quick snack/quasi lunch under this tree as it was the
only shady place convenient to pull off. The silence once I cut the
motor was palpable, removed my helmet and earplugs, and slowly as the
sounds of nature crept into my awareness. There wasn't a man made
sound to be heard, just birds chirping, bugs buzzing, and a slight
rustle in the trees from a slight breeze. The stress from the day
before faded away and all thoughts of turning back were oblitherated.


A little store house near the tree.



I'm guessing it was a spring house back in the day, but whatever it was its not used for much of anything now.

Its hard to make out from the pic, but the road surface turned to big
rocks, washout, and gravel. I also noticed I was starting to gain
altitude...


Come up over the ridge and...




The road would play peek-a-boo with the ridge line all day. I was
getting low on gas again, so it was time to pull off yet again and find
a station. This was the closest to the trail, but only had 87 octane.
As it was 10+ miles to the next station (putting me 15 miles off the
trail) I decided to deal with it. Besides, I like stopping at little
country stores like this. It was the first of several times that I
would only be able to get regular gas (bike takes premium).
Fortunately, it runs just fine on it...

Back on the road, and back up on the ridge:







Coming back down again, I passed this little road side sign. I have a feeling what it means but I couldn't believe they would be that obvious about it, so I didn't stop.



Caught behind a logging truck, fortunately he let me by shortly afterwards






I wasn't quite out of gas yet, but I was ready to eat and stop for a
spell anyways. Happily, I arrived at another trail icon, the Oark Cafe:




Had myself a chicken tender sandwich, fries, and a drink, and filled up
the bike (with 87octance again), and had a cool conversation with the
guys running the store. It has been there for over 100 years, and
looks it from the inside, but its such a neat place that you have to
stop. I also found out a little tidbit if information that I had been
wondering since I left... see, I always figured I would run into
someone else on the trail since its gotten decently well known (at
least amongst adventure rider types). They hadn't seen anyone for a
solid week before I got there... That would explain the lack of tire
tracks I'd seen, but it was different knowing that I was the only one
out there (or so I thought).

Back into the hills:


Getting kinda late again as I came across a sign pointing to a National
Forest camp ground on White Rock Mountain. I was tired of hotels, so I
went to check it out. Free! Sold!


Running water, latrine, fire rings with lots of good firewood
(scavenged from other, now empty, campsites), settled in for a nice
night on the mountain ridge. It was easily the buggiest campground
I've ever slept at unfortunately, infested with mosquitoes, horseflies,
and yellow jackets, but it was mostly made up for by watching the sun
rise over the mountain from the hammock.

Liking the report so far.

Day 9 - into Oklahoma

Woke up early to the sounds of insects buzzing around my campsite, the
bugs here were simply horrible. Fortunately I had gotten pretty
efficient at packing up camp by this point so I was able to get out
without getting bit or stung again...

Back on the wonderful national forest roads!


Finally came to whats considered the first truly difficult section of
the trail, Warloop Road. This is a big reason I stopped early the
night before, as I didn't want to go down it tired.


Not so bad at first.


Around this corner, it basically turns into a large and loose rock strewn piece of single track for about a mile.


While I had seen worse trails back home, it was by far the worst actual
"road", with signs and houses on it, I have ever been on up to that
point. Definitely not terribly big bike friendly, but so long as you
look ahead and take your time its not too difficult. Thankfully it
sees some maintenance, couldn't find the ADV log though...


Being comfortable enough on the bike and on the dirt to look ahead was
probably one of the biggest things I gained during this trip, followed
closely by being way more comfortable standing and operating controls
on the pegs. Both make riding on roads of questionable character so so
so so much easier. Looking ahead was a skill I had originally learned
autocrossing, and I remember the feeling of when I finally "got it",
and it was the same feeling I started to get in the Ozarks and cemented
on Warloop. In both cars and bikes, its what really allows the rider
and the machine to work together as one...

Enough philosophy for now, there's miles to cover!

Crossing into Oklahoma:


Out of the mountains and into the prairie



I loved these old river cuts


I made it to Pryor, OK and had to make a stop at the local library to sort through a few things.


Specifically tires:



The rear wasn't too too terrible, but I was very worried about the
front. All the gravel was particularly unkind to them both and I was
starting to worry about the safety of riding on them, especially with
how misshapen the front knobs has become. I searched a little in vain
for shops along the route, made a few posts on the WR250R mega thread,
and decided to soldier on, praying they'd get me to Colorado.

Is it getting flat yet?




Great sign for a dual sport!


Home... home on the range...



I absolutely loved the landscape in Oklahoma. Wide open spaces
stretching to the horizon in all directions. No hills, trees, and
barely any structures to obscure the view. Simply fantastic, and very
humbling.

Another day, another reroute... well, lets investigate...


Nope, definitely closed lol.


Crossing into the Cherokee Reservation


Another cool old bridge


I ended up making it to Sedan, KS and stayed in the only motel in
town. They were familiar with people on the trail, were nice enough to
let me park the bike on the lawn in front of my room. I went a step
further and parked the bike inside the room as it and I had attracted a
little too much attention riding out to get dinner. Even with the
computer break for an hour in Pryor, and the tires, the roads in
Eastern OK were very nice and allowed me to motor at a pretty good clip
and managed to make 300 miles on the day. I was defintiely getting
tired and frustrated by this point too, and was starting to have my
doubts about being able to finish the trip.

I was just about settled in for a decent nights sleep to continue
worrying about the tires and the ride, when the phone rang. It was
another ADV'er, Highfive, offering up tires and a place to do some
maintenance in the morning. Only problem was, HF lives a solid 100
miles back the way I already came... took one more look at the tires
and said "I'll see you in the morning".

Day 10 - Rancho Highfive and more of the great plains

Time for a high speed run back to Tulsa. How does the bike handle high
speeds? How does the lil 250 handle the revs? Put it this way, I held
the throttle to the stop for 90 miles, tucked down into a stiff
headwind, and all that happened was my gas mileage went to shit (ran
dead out at ~90 miles). Used the rotopax out of necessity for the
first time and rolled into Rancho Highfive a little later than I wished.

Parked next to the infamous R²:


The man himself:


We basically pulled the equivalent of a NASCAR pitstop for dual sports
and had the tires changed, wheel bearings repacked, and air filter
cleaned in 2 hours. And by we, I mean HighFive. He and I both knew better than to let me get in the way. Rolled in with dead tires, left with a basically new OE front trailwing and a brandy new rear Dunlop D606.

Of course, then it was time to play a little. Got to see the brandy
new motocross track he was building in his backyard, made me kinda
upset to have all the luggage and live so far away. I also had the
opportunity to ride R² and see what all the fuss was about. The power
mods are now a definitely consideration, it definitely wakes the motor
up all over but especially up top, and the added oomph would definitely
be a fun addition. I also got to ride his son's KLX250S and came away
very glad I went blue instead of green.

Highfive is also trials rider, and a good one at that...


with his own little playground in the backyard.


He even let me putter around on it



That may have been the most nervous I was the entire trip.
After all his generosity, the last thing I wanted to do is drop this
thing. So light and easy to control, there's definitely a fairly steep
learning curve to riding one skillfully I imagine. A 280cc 2-stroke
with controls so light that they work when you think about it and no
seat to sit on will do that. I need one of these once I get a car
again, I can see this being illegal amounts of fun, especially around
campus and my apartment complex.

After riding, I was invited in for lunch and got to meet the whole
family. A nicer and more generous group of people I've ever met.
Again, thank you so so much for the tires and help and restoring my
faith in people, and allowing me the phyiscal tools and mental
refresh/reset to be able to finish this ride.

Back on the road again, and back to the reservation and on the trail. Another cool old bridge:


and another

and another...




the bridge from yesterday


Shortly afterwards, the road turns into the open range land. I saw a
lot of these oil storage tanks and wells pumping away across the state.


An abandoned farm house that looked like it was an extra from the wizard of oz



And then there's this...




I just had to stop, turn the bike off and take my helmet off, and just
sit. It was entirely empty of human presence and except for me, the
bike, and the road, and so utterly beautiful its beyond description to
me. I could have stayed there all day, just staring at the rolling
hills and the grasses dancing in the wind. But I knew there were still
a lot of miles to go, so back to it...

A short detour. HF had told me it was more than worth my while to make
it into the Tallgrass Prairie preserve, and I'm very glad I did.


Cows have to be the dumbest and laziest creatures. As you approach
them, they will first get up, and look at you like "are you really
going to keep coming and make me move?" Then, as you get closer, they
run just far enough to get out of the way... in possibly the lest
graceful fashion I can imagine a 4 legged animal moving.


Ohh... hello...


Thats right, free range bison. Thousands of them. No fences, no
controls, nothing between you and them. They're smaller than I
imagined, but have a... fierceness in their eyes utterly devoid in the
eyes of their bovine cousins. The signs explained it, but looking at
them made it clear that these were wild animals. Its a shame there are so few left...




As you leave the buffalo range, you come up over a hill and see this
giant goddamn TREE. Now, I haven't seen a tree this big since I left
Arkansas some 300+ miles ago. There isn't anything this size as far as
the eye can see in any direction, and there wouldn't be anything
like this again until I got to Colorado. Its completely dead save for
the small bit at the top.



Riding into the sunset of another day...


I only made about 150 trail miles (another 300 on the bike though) and
ended the day in Blackwell, OK. Tomorrow would get me most of the way
across OK and the next day would see me into Colorado...

This is completely awesome. I've read every word and can't wait for more.

Please....don't make me wait too long for more.

Thank you so much.

+1.. Very good report. The pics are great, & the narrative is superb. I like your style, Skierd..

scotty

Day 11 - More Oklahoma

I'm starting to feel good again. Weather was not:


Decided to take the "wait n' see" attitude... nope, lets get breakfast.


The storm passed quickly, maybe a half hour thundershower, and it was time to get back on the road. Moar nice gravel:


And sunshine returns!


So did the clay, for a few miles:


Caught this old homestead/farm out of the corner of my eye. One of the
things I was continually amazed at was the sheer number of former homes
that were either victims of tornados or some other forms severe
weather. I lost count of how many Wizard of Oz'd houses and barns I
came across, but this was by far the most interesting (to me anyways).







Seeing stuff like this, all I could think is... who lived here? Did
the survive the storm, assuming they were here when it hit? If not,
why did they leave? Where did they go? The left piano kinda got to me
a little, you could almost here the ghosts of a long gone family...


Fuel was getting low again, so I had to cut back up to Kansas to Kiowa
for gas. When was the last time you saw a gas station like this?


Another place with just 87 and diesel, oh well...

Glad I wasn't there, she would have had a field day with me.


Coming back to OK:


More open range...


and more cows...


One of my favorite pics of the trip. Flyover states? Hardly.


The road meandered like this over about 50 miles of ranch land, very
few fences, almost no structures, just wide open space as far as the
eye can see. And then, a reminder to its not so civil and peaceful
state...





You gotta wonder how many times this story was repeated during the
1800's, but went unnoticed... As peaceful as it seems today, its hard
to imagine this whole center section of the country as essentially a
lawless war zone for the better part of a century.

Moo cows!


Crossing the Cimarron "River"




Somewhere around here, I ran into Gary. I can't remember Gary's last
name right now (its in my Garmin), but he's a farmer from just outside
of Gate, OK. He was coming along on his quad right about when I
stopped for a quick snack under the shade trees on the edge of his
property and we had a nice long chat about riding, the trail, and the
region. I learned that the county I was in (Beaver?) had a population
right around 1500 people, and that there wasn't a stoplight in the
county. The population peaked in the early 1900's, but with mechanized
and commercial farming its been shrinking ever since. Really really
nice guy... he is also a huge fan of the TAT and the many riders that
go by. So if you see him, stop by and say hi. He mentioned that he
has a guest house on his property and any TAT riders are welcome to
stay the night. Unfortunately for me it was too early to stop, but if
anyone doing the trail later on is interested I will send you the
coordinants.

Another small setback... my right eye had been bothering me all day the
previous day and today, but I couldn't figure out why. I figured
between the sand and dry heat that I was just getting dehydrated and
the eye was just dry so I took my contact out to clean it. Thats when
I noticed the nice little tear in the lense. Last pair of course,
looks like I'm finishing the trip with my glasses that I fortunately
remembered to bring as I'm blind as a bat w/o correction.

Towns so far gone, not even the ghosts of structures remain...


Another abandoned home


Horses! Smarter than cows and more predictable than deer, it was fun riding along side and behind them for a while.


Just when you think you're doing something newish and kinda unique, you
see something that makes you realize you're 468 years late.



Sorry about the blurriness, now you know how I see w/o correction (j/k... my eyes are worse lol).


I kept riding until the sun setting was simply too blinding and too low
on the horizon, then cut north to Liberal, KS to find a room again.
There simply was no place to camp (legally) out here, and there weren't
enough trees to hang the hammock for stealth camping, which is one of
the two reasons I'm selling it. The other is its a bit tedious to set
up quickly correctly as you have to get the tension right, which is a
little too much fooling around as the sun sinks behind the horizon
after a long day of riding for me. I'll be replacing my REI Halo bag
and gigantor REI 2.5" camp pad with a Big Agnes bag and pad and adding
a MLD bivy and MSR e-wing tarp and some bug netting. Not only will it
all take up the space formerly occupied by the hammock alone, but it'll
weigh less and deploy much quicker and stealthier. I don't plan on
going to ground completely though, I'm looking into other, lighter,
smaller packing hammock setups to compliment the bivy and tarp to work
together as a system.

Tomorrow... COLORADO AND THE ROCKIES!

Day 12 pt 1 - OK, NM, and CO, or I'm not quite as alone as I thought...

Another day, another county road between fields. Open range has given
way to farmland at this point, so no more barb wire to divide the
scenery, just fields as far as the eye can see.


More vacant homes...




Hmm... the road's starting to fade... and turning to sand...


Ah bloody hell...


F U C K

If you're gonna crash, it might as well be in foot deep sugar sand. I
was doing about 20mph, got caught on the center mount, and after
fishtailing for about 50 yards just completely ate it.

It gets better of course...


It was not particularly fun trying to get out from under the bike, as
if I lifted it up wiggle out, the fuel can dug into my lower leg just
above my ankle and if I didn't lift I couldn't move. Fortunately I
found a happy medium and got out to assess the situation. No damage to
the bike, and no damage to me except for a few bruises on my left side
on my ribs and general soreness for the next few days.





The road eventually became good again fortunately. At the next
crossroads, the Garmin had me going straight on some nice two track
again, so I motored along...



DAMN it.


Some back tracking and rerouting, back on the road.













Stopped for gas in Boise City, OK, the shell station there had a pretty
decent little diner inside with damn good breakfast food. Looking out
the window as I finish my coffee, and I see a newer loaded up KLR pull
up to the pumps, take a long look at my bike, then roll over to the air
pumps. The rider walks into the diner part of the general store, see's
me, and asks me about the bike, the trip, etc. Turns out he's on the
TAT too and has been chasing me for the last week or so. So, meet Paul (for the life of me, I can't remember you're name and I apologize for it), another ADV'er.



There was also another guy on a nice GS whose name I didn't catch heading east.



Since Paul and I were headed in the same direction, we decided to ride
together for a while, at least as far as Salida since thats where I was
stopping on the TAT.







Out of Oklahoma



A little bit of pavement as a connector...


Then back onto the open range.




...and the antelope play! Fast little bastards, missed on 3 other shots trying to get them.






Another abandoned homestead.


almost ran over some barb wire without noticing it, would have made for
a nasty surprise for sure... watch where you put a wheel out here off
the roads, lesson learned.

Its obvious someone spent a lot of time building this, and a lot of
effort. Hell, how far did they have to go to get the trees for the
roof?! Paul snooping around





Getting into the canyons

Day 12, pt 2

Remember what I said about do the trail now, because they're paving it? The west isn't immune to it either... I kinda get the feeling the cowboys must have had when they first encountered barb wire. The attempt at taming and dividing of the wilderness that simply refuses to submit. Still, its a nice view...




The pavement disappeared once we got down into the canyon






Go this way dummies!


As we both stopped to take a picture, we hear a dog barking and a tractor approaching. Meet Henry the rancher:


Had a nice long talk about the area, his ranch, and the amount of rider's he seen over the last few years. He actually put the sign up because people kept missing the turn and riding down a dead end road where some of his relatives live.

The climb out of the canyon was on a nice wide little road, lots of elevation climb and rocks and sand and loose dirt. No pics as there was no where to stop, but it was easily just as difficult as Warloop imo.

Finally, up on the Mesa at ~7000 feet.





Another abandoned home, right as you got up there. Judging by the size, this had to be a pretty nice place back in the day, just out in the middle of no where by itself.








Hmm... ominous clouds...


Branson, CO jail house


Dey gots me! (can't help it, I turn into a little kid around this kinda stuff)


Spartan accommodations, wonder if they'll let me use the hammock?


Note... don't get into Branson expecting gas cause there ain't any. Nearest gas is Trinidad, quite a ways ahead... more on that later...

It drizzled a little on the way in to town, so she decided to pick up some trail makeup.



the old church in Branson


Hmm... those clouds don't look any friendlier, lets ride!




Ended up stopping to throw on rain gear in Trinchero as it opened up pretty decently. This would be the last time I got seriously rained on for the remainder of the trip.


Waiting for another paving project, the construction workers had the road down to one lane... but the didn't have radio contact with each other. About 30 seconds after getting the go ahead and rolling out, a semi comes barreling down the hill. :eek1 The driver rolls to a stop next to me... "HEY, YOU GOT ANY SMOKES?"

Why yes... yes I do. Tossed him my last cigar (bough a pack of cheapie Garcia Vegas in tubes to enjoy at a few campfires), pretty sure I made his day.


Liquid sunshine!




And I made it! Welcome to downtown Trinidad, Co.


I made it 155 miles from Boise City and used 2.021 gallons out of my 2.1 gallon gast tank, ~76mpg. No doubt the slower speeds on the trail helped, but still the bike isn't exactly unloaded as I'm about 200 pounds, probably 215-220 dressed, and carrying 50 pounds of gear. Did I mention I love this bike? Got dinner at the Main Street Diner, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Fantastic food, get your salsa hot. :deal

Ended up bedding down at Trinidad State Park for a dissapointing night. Not only did the ranger over charge us for the campsite, I couldn't find a decent pair of trees to hang the hammock. The showers were nonexistent. The closest bathroom was in the picnic area a mile away. Lame...

Tomorrow: Salida!

Day 13 - Trinidad to Salida

Dawn came way too early after a late dinner and slow camp setup the
night before. The trees around Lake Trinidad weren't the best for the
hammock, and its not the easiest thing to string up in the middle of
the night (which is a big reason why it was sold in the Flea Market
yesterday). Regardless, we still got on the road relatively early in
the day for the relative short hop up to Salida.

Passing by the power plant leaving Trinidad


On the old trail again... hard to imagine doing this by wagon... or horse... or on foot...


The skies started to threaten again, so we both made a stop to do throw
on rain pants (and for me, my overboots as well) in preparation for
weather that hopefully would never come. Gear decision number 2, I'm
getting a 1-piece rain suit (Klim Stowaway sold, BMW Pro Rain 2
acquired earlier today).


False alarm of course, mostly...


More abandoned homes. This was probably a nice one when it was built,
someone definitely put in a lot of effort. Guessing either miners or
ranchers, and either the mine played out or the cows all died? Or just
got tired of living out here...








Another one...


Whatever this used to be, it had to be important. Those steps were not
small, and the foundation was substantial. A home? A bank? A mine
office? Gotta wonder how it used to look, how long it took to get like
this, and what it used to be.


Coming off the mesa.


I've got my head up in the clouds... approaching 10,000 feet for the first time according to the Garmin


Back down a little way...





Time for a pit stop, on the menu was the Main Street Diner in La Veta,
Co. I'm kicking myself for not getting a picture of it, but if you're
on the trail or hell just in the area, stop in. You'll get more food
than you know what to do with, I guarantee it. Brunch consisted of a
gigantic omlette stuffed with ham, cheese, potatoes, bacon, and
sausage, all covered in red chili. Its the first time in as long as I
can remember that a breakfast has gotten the better of me, just
couldn't finish it!

After fueling up the bikes as well, Paul took the lead for a while.





Seeing a church in the middle of nowhere makes you wonder what once was...


I like where this is going





And into the San Isabel National Forest we go!


It was around this point that I started to notice something... I didn't
like being behind someone. After nearly 3500 miles of riding alone, I
was no longer content to share the view I guess? Part of the problem
for me was also that Paul generally kept a slightly slower pace than
me, particularly on the uphill and flat portions, slower enough that I
was often and consistently put between gears and generally out of
sorts. It was fun while it lasted, but I caught up to him and said I
wanted to ride on ahead at my own pace, maybe see you in Salida, and
rode on ahead. Part of the issue was I did NOT want to get caught out
after dark and I still had my GPS set on Central time, telling me I was
an hour later than I really was, and a lot of it had to do with I was
anxious to get to Salida as I had someone to meet.

The road continued UP UP UP! Crossed over 11,000 feet still running
strong, but c o l d. I had to stop to throw on a thermal shirt, pull
my rain shell out, and put on my windblocker glove liners to stay
warm. Coming back down the mountain:



My maps had me continuing down this highway...


Screw that, I accidentally(?) set a waypoint on this dirt road that lead through Puma Canyon, and took a detour instead.








Its amazing how fast a town can rise and fall out here.


Just after my second fuel stop in Westclife, I got caught in either the
remnants or the beginnings of a fairly strong storm, during which on
the road out of town I had to stop to let the winds die down. They
were blowing so hard that all the loose sand on the road surface was
blown away in a mini sandstorm and I just simply could not see, or open
my eyes, or anything. It felt like walking into a sand blaster. Snapped this after it cleared since I was stopped anyways.








Crossing US 50.




We're on the home stretch now!


Back up and over another few mountains, I'll let the pictures do the talking.
















And finally...


Time to turn my phone on and rejoin civilization! Called my dad who
had driven down and met him downtown at the Boathouse Cantina


Dad retired from the government after 35+years in February, sold the
house and eventually moved to one of the islands in Pugent Sound near
Seattle after wandering around the country for about a month with the
only plan being to stop when he found someplace nice. Wonder where I
get it from? Since its only about a 2 days drive for him, he drove down and met me in Salida.

Looking down the Arkansas River, waiting for dinner, anxious for the riding to come tomorrow...


... time to climb some mountains!

Day 14 Part 1 - Hancock Pass

Up early enough to gorge myself on the continental breakfast at the
Holiday Inn Express and got moving around 9am. Appropriate sentiment
on the marquee...



As you can see, I left the side bags in the hotel room. I knew the day was going to be difficult, didn't want to make it any harder by adding width and weight.

Time to do what I came all this way to do... ride to the top of a few mountain passes! Stay on target...




Nice long winding road up to St. Elmo. Note: the park service is
starting to close off some of the roads and old townships are being
closed off to close up the old mines and remove their presence. Get
out there now before the greenies take it all away...

St. Elmo!


See the KLR? Yup, ran into Paul again. This is good though, I was
happy to not be on the mountain alone a little while later...

More St. Elmo... this little town way up over 10,000 feet is the
crossroads for the 3 main passes over the mountain. Go through town
and turn right to go to Tincup, go left just as you get to town to go
over Hancock and Tomichi.

Lets go left!




Not so bad so far... wonder what all the fuss is about?



Another TAT monument.


Air's starting to get a little thin, and I'm feeling it. Its also
quite chilly up here, so I stopped to throw on my rain shell for an
extra layer. I was already wearing my thermals and glove liners to
give you an idea.


Welcome to the ghost town of Hancock. Here's all thats left:




Right around the corner is the detour for the Alpine Tunnel trail. I
didn't take the hike to the tunnel as I frankly didn't feel like
walking several miles at altitude in MX boots.







Word to the unwise: When they say high clearance 4wd vehicles, they
mean ATV's. Only. I got to the first switchback and turned around
after dropping the bike twice on the ascent, and twice on the descent
walking it down.


Head pounding from exertion, I had to stop for a few minutes to get my
breath back. Keep in mind I'm still up over 11,000 feet here, 4000
feet higher than where I started my day.

Ok, no more stalling. The road to Hancock:




I had left paul back in St. Elmo, but he passed me while I was farting
around on Williams, caught up to him shortly after this pic and ended
up riding with him most of the rest of the day. A little further
along... both of these are the easy parts btw. I always wondered why
I couldn't find any pics from any other RR's going over the pass to
show what I was getting into, its because if you stop on the hard parts
there's a good chance you get moving again between the slope and the
surface.

So, keep the moment up and GO GO GO! Ah fuck...






Nearly lost it as the bike pogo'd over two big ass rocks that I
misjudged. The last mile or so was like this, and I had another half
mile or so to go (going by how it felt, haven't looked at the GPS track
yet). Now I'm stopped and somewhat trapped between two big rocks. I
can get my feet down where the bike stopped thankfully, but if I start
moving its all or nothing cause I won't be able to dab to keep it
moving... deep breath... take another picture...


Ok, gun it! Up and over without much grace, but I'm moving vertically again. Thanks again for the new rear D606 HF...

Sucess! Then... as I was backing up to take a pic of the bike in front
of the sign, I trip over a big ass rock and fall flat on my ass. Fortunately Paul was there to grab my camera, tell me to stay put, and snap a pic. Orson fall down...






Made it!


I'm a little tired, but excited. The hard parts over... right?

Part 2 - Tomichi, Marshall, and Tincup Passes

Ok, so where do we go from here? Oh, see that little ribbon of road on the mountain? Yep!


The descent from Hancock was more difficult than the ascent. Very few places to rest, very few places that weren't like this:


In general it was smoother "road", but it certainly wasn't a cake
walk. Before the trip I added 4 teeth to the rear sprocket and to date
this is the only place I felt I wanted it lower. It was just so steep
and loose, when it comes time to change gearing again I think I'm going
with a 13/46 or /45 and carrying a 12T for the gnarly stuff like this.


More rocks, one of many little creek crossings that were mercifully smooth.


Ok, time to climb again. And... fuck


The cliff on the right had me trying to stay left and hug the
mountain. The deep pea sized gravel on the left rut had other ideas
and I washed the front end out. Got it back up easily enough, but this
is where I decided to sell the rotopax rack after it tried to dig into
my leg again. To those of you who ride off road with hard cases, well,
you're braver or dumber than I am.

Up and over the hill, then down a little, before making the ascent over
Tomichi. Looking back over a road "repair" to cover up a washout.


On the other side of the mountain, sorry I didn't stop at the summit of the pass but that really wasn't going to happen.


Getting smoother, and much lower in elevation...


Made it to the Tomichi Graveyard... looking back again, NOW they tell me.









A closed mine on the road out.




On the road to Sargent, no pics at the gas/lunch stop. Paul and I
parted ways here, his road taking him to the Pacific and mine taking me
back to the Atlantic. Keep an eye out for his RR!


Think I'm done yet? Nope! There's two more passes I want to hit... on the road to Marshall





Marshall was so much easier its not even funny, and its still a quite
scenic and fun ride. Unless you're a DAMN good rider or a glutton for
punishment, don't go over the others with a big bike.

Coming back down:


Back to Salida to make some plans. Took advantage of the help of
another forum member and stopped by Hayduke's shop to grab my street
tires that I was going to swap out too the next day at another inmates
house (RAMZ).

Gotta love the Life is Crap T's, I had to buy this one



Ok, daylight's fading... but I think I've got time. Lets do one more... Onward to Tincup, mush!


It was also pretty easy, at first. Then you make a pretty hellacious
climb and pop out above the treeline into an alpine moonscape. I
dropped the bike up here too, same deal as what happened on Hancock.


The road to Tincup...


but thats as far as I got. Two reasons, one it was getting dark.
Fast. I did NOT want to get stuck on top of a mountain after dark.
Second, these signs:


Not sure if it was referring to the area directly behind or the road
itself, but I decided to err on the side of caution and head back to
Salida.

So long!


Back to Salida to meet my dad for dinner and rest up for tomorrow's maintenance and short ride






So, some reflection... Hancock and Tomichi passes combined are the
most difficult pieces of road I've ever ridden. I've done worse around
home, but at 8000 feet less elevation and not some 40 miles of
it. This day was erring a little close to work on the work-fun scale,
but it was still a blast to ride it. Additionally, these trails got me
rethinking my gear setup start formulating a plan to drastically reduce
weight and bulk. The experience of the next few days really
crystallized it...

Great Report.....WOW!

Day 15 - Maintenance, Phantom Canyon, Mining Towns

Of course, like an idiot, I forgot to take my camera with me to Ramz's (another ADV inmate)
house to do some much much needed maintenance. The night before I
cleaned my air filter again because it was filthy after just over a
thousand miles of sand and dust (last time was at HF's). In the
morning I made a run to the Yamaha dealer near Salida and picked up 2
quarts of Yamalube and a 14T front sprocket to make the ride back
easier, then picked up the tires (Kenda K761 for the road ride home)
Threw the tires over my shoulder and rode out, of course getting there
a little later than I expected. Did a MUCH needed oil change, Ramz was
generous enough to change the tires and show me around his fantastic
garage. Sorry about the oil spots again... got all buttoned up around
2pm, loaded up and rolled out of Salida on US 50 East.

Into a nice stiff headwind of course. I was very happy to have the 14T
as the new rear tire was significantly shorter than both the D606 and
stock deathwing, gave me enough gear to pull into the stiff headwind
but still cruise at 65mph comfortably.

Looking back on US 50...



Further along.



further still.


Made a quick pit stop in Canon City for gas and lunch, then headed out
to Phantom Canyon on CR-67, which follows the old railroad grade to
Victor and Cripple Creek.

Now thats a good sign


A short bit later, the road turns into a beautiful and smooth gravel
road and heads into the canyon. There was some traffic, thankfully
RV's are not allowed.


The first of several old rail road tunnels


The whole ride was just stunning.













After the last pic, the road curves into this narrow gorge that was one
of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Just like on the plains,
I just had to stop and soak it up. Once I cut the motor, pulled the
helmet off, and took out my earplugs, the only sound was the slightest
trickle of the creek running beside the road.











I was unfortunately snapped out of my reverie by a Dodge Ram roaring
around the corner and tearing off in the direction I was headed. Oh well, its starting to get a little late anyways.

Approaching the old mining town of Victor


Old mines were everywhere!


Downtown




City Hall



More old mines, there were easily dozens of these scattered through the surrounding hills













Leaving town... there still be gold in them thar hills! No really, thats part of a very active gold mine.


Approaching Cripple Creek...


What a disappointment, very touristy and main street was nothing but
casinos and cowboy or miner themed bars. Not my speed, I was happy to
be out of there quickly.

One last mine on the hill over looking the town...


Looking back


From there, I rode up to Mueller State Park to meet my dad again and
camp for the night. I was in for a rude surprise... though the
campground had plenty of wonderful trees to hang the hammock from, they
did not allow you to tie anything to trees for fear it might damage
them. Never did I ever think I would be in the woods and not be able
to use the damn trees. Set the hammock up as a bivy by tying it to the
picnic table and a big rock and slept horribly on the ground. Also,
because the campground was just over 10,000ft in elevation, it got
quite chilly at night. Fortunately my REI Halo +40 bag was up to the
task and I stayed nice and warm.

Tomorrow... top a 14er! And a major disappointment...