• Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! Feel free to hang out and lurk as long as you like. However, we would like to encourage you to register so that you can join the community and use the numerous features on the site. After registering, don't forget to post up an introduction!

Humm The Word Is out

Forums New posts
bsheet2

bsheet2

0
Joined
Dec 9, 2008
Messages
510
Reaction score
4
Location
Houston
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AObw4sFMdQ"]Land Rover LR4: Driving the Trans-America Trail - Jay Leno's Garage - YouTube[/ame]

Not necessarily a good thing.

The bicycle folks have also discovered the TAT.

https://instagram.com/swallowbicycleworks/

Better go soon before it gets too popular.
 
I'd like to do the "New for 2015" section. Did AR-west in 2010 and loved the trip. Hope it isn't easy to navigate now with all the new tire tracks!!
 
Bicyclists will have their deluded psuedo-better-than-thou friends shut it down to motorized vehicles, or at least some interesting parts.
 
Sure would like to ride the TAT again before it all changes, and/or gets shut down. Rode the AR, & E OK sections in 2009... great fun!
 
Yes let's do try to make that a goal for next summer. Would be a really fun expedition with some of our bunch. I don't think we can even ride the actual TAT until sometime in July thru some parts in CO, since we are crossing the continental divide, and the snow pack doesn't usually melt away on the trails 'til then. I'm sure there are go arounds, but what fun is that? I'm sure by late July or early August as always, we will be more than ready for some relief from the sweltering madness. A ride across the Rockies, and then west to the Oregon coast would be a great way to escape the heat! The first big consideration would be are we gonna try to ride the TAT back home? We could head south on the Pacific Trail then make a loop back home either on, or parallel to I-40. Ship bikes & fly back from the coast may also need to be an option for some. I would likely drop down into SoCal, then make my way back from there.
 
I like the way your brain works.
 
Over the past 30 years, I have attended at least a half dozen Sturgis Rallies out at the Buffalo Chip. I haven't really noticed any more biker hooligans there, than at the Full Throttle or any of the other bars around town. There definitely is an outlaw rider campground, hidden way back off the highway, outside of town. This is where all the true renegade pirate types hang out. Debauchery & mayhem is on going out there 24/7. But first, you gotta know how to get there. And next, you better fit in if you go there. And it definitely AINT at the Buffalo Chip! :trust:
 
The Sierra Club will be first to file lawsuits to shut the trail down because of an endangered __________ (plant or animal, take your pick). I've seen them do it in CA sand dunes. They don't like people having fun or enjoying themselves unless of course fun and enjoyment is watching birds through binoculars.
 
Oops sorry guys! I accidentally posted a Sturgis Rally comment in the wrong thread. Moderators could you please move that post to the Sturgis thread where it belongs. Most of the TAT riders couldn't care less about a bunch of renegade pirates running amok at Sturgis.
 
I've done parts of the TAT on the bike every September for the past three years. To be honest, I've definitely considered taking my truck and the dog some time. The roads are perfectly doable in a halfway decent 4x4 vehicle.

Heck, on a few of the big mountains in Utah I was passing minivans and giant RV's!

I could see it being a great time taking a friend and truck camping for a week.
 
Was the western AR portion also pickup truck friendly now? In '09 it was only a single track thru some of the wilderness areas. Complete with small ledges and face slapers. If so, this is a big change in only 6 years. At that rate it will all be paved in another decade or two.
 
Member of the AMA and Sierra Club here. Plenty of room for everybody despite the general misconceptions on both sides. Anyway a motorcycle is a good way to go birding.

Donny,
Catch up with ThrasherG. He, his wife and a buddy did it a couple of years ago and he can fill you in on the technical issues. They rented a uhaul and took a one way trip to the start and then rode home. You could do it the other way. I may be willing to do a chunk of it next year, but I can't do it and LAB2LV. The wife would skin me.

m
 
I've only ridden Oklahoma and Denver to Manti la Sal northwest of Moab. Gnarliest thing west of Salida were the passes near Animus Forks. Was actually chock full of Jeep Wranglers. That area near Silverton and then Moab are the absolute busiest sections of the trail I've travelled.

Either way, the trail has plenty of room for both bikes and trucks. Not only that but you can always make your own way and break off the trail. I cut down south in western Utah and rode some incredible dirt roads towards Lake Powell. Started this last trip in Cloudcroft New Mexico and rode probably 80% dirt to the TAT near Silverton. Lots of tracks available online.
 
I rode the western half of the AR TAT in 07 and it was all p/u friendly. It was just another dirt/gravel county road used by the locals, typical AR. We had a great time but it was not a "challenge" by any measure. The Land Rover guys are funny, just another marketing ploy for them akin to the beemer folks. I'm sure they will portray it as an adventure thru the wilds. Maybe even the occasional banjo.
 
Irishcoffee said:
Starbucks stands will pop up soon,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,its over folks. Nice while it lasted.
Click to expand...

The Colorado portions, at least the famous mountain pass sections, have long been crowded. Now that UTVs are so prevalent, it is worse. There are scores of these things available to rent in Silverton and the traffic up the major passes is crazy. It feels like being in line at Six Flags or something.

Just got back from a 500 mile all dirt tour around SW Colorado the last week of September. On the singletrack, we saw no one except for a few hikers. The major passes and dirt roads were full of jeeps, UTVs, four wheelers, etc. This is during the week--not the week end, and after the summer vacation season. Animas Forks looked like a mall parking lot. I could not get out of there fast enough. Went up and over California Pass to Poughkeepsie Gulch (down)and got right back to seeing no one. Just have to stay on the technical stuff.
 
Last edited:
Bad news about the mid week crowd after school starts, that is when I normally go. Sorry to hear that. Ouray/Silverton has always been a hot bed of jeeping but the explosion of the 4 wheeler crowd and its variants is very bad for our offroad future.
 
They aren't the first to do the TAT on 4 wheels. And won't be the last. Looking at their route they didn't even follow the whole TAT. And, the TAT has several iterations now. They went through Black Dragon Wash in Utah; that isn't in the current TAT. They took the shortcut through Nevada and skipped the ride along the northern border that clips the corner of California; but that isn't in the latest version that Sam is selling. It is constantly changing. :shrug: Most riders, including myself, pick and choose which parts they want to do from all of the options. No big deal. Like they say, "It's all good."
 
Johnf3 said:
Just have to stay on the technical stuff.
Click to expand...

That is why I won't have a big adventure bike. I'm old, bashed, and struggle righting a dropped 200 or 250 with a travel load by my self, but I like the loneliest routes best.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top