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My TAT pics

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portero72

portero72

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Location
austin tx
First Name
Mark
very nice slideshow. How much of the TAT did you run? Where was the shot with snow/slush across the road?
 
I'm a bonehead! I thought TAT was short for "tattoos"!! :doh: But I DID enjoy your photos anyway! Looks like you had a GREAT time! :clap:
 
:lol2:
When I saw "My TAT pics", I thought I was going to have to come in and remove some images :-P
 
TAT=Trans America Trail, a 95% dirt journey that starts in Tennessee and ends on the Oregon coast. Me and my posse did Oark, Arkansas, to Moab, Utah, and that section took us 10 days.

The slushy-snowy part was at the beginning of Hancock pass, near Salida, CO. It was too thick to make it through. We had to backtrack and reroute.
 
very cool. It made my butt hurt just looking at the pics of the dirt roads across Oklahoma.
 
Where does the route go from flat boring straight in OK to interesting and fun heading west? I'm considering starting at the NM/OK line, or NM/CO line, finishing in Oregon.
So it was still slushy/snowy in the CO passes in July?

Any comments on bike preformances on the TAT? (I just upgraded with the TAT in mind.)
 
TexasShadow said:
Where does the route go from flat boring straight in OK to interesting and fun heading west? I'm considering starting at the NM/OK line, or NM/CO line, finishing in Oregon.
So it was still slushy/snowy in the CO passes in July?

Any comments on bike preformances on the TAT? (I just upgraded with the TAT in mind.)
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To answer your first question-I may be the wrong person to ask that, since I LOVED the 'long boring flat' of Okla. It was ALL interesting and fun for me. The slow evolution of the landscape was paramount to the experience of cross country travel. Having said that, as soon as you cross from OK to NM, the scenery changes from agricultural roads to ranchland, and becomes hillier. Hope that helps.

As far as bikes go, I feel my XR650L was the perfect bike for the trip-lighter than the other Japanese DS bikes, with better suspension(but a crappy seat).

We did the TAT in mid-June, and the high passes ranged from closed, to open with runoff/mud present. Weather is ALWAYS a factor.
 
portero72 said:
I may be the wrong person to ask that, since I LOVED the 'long boring flat' of Okla. It was ALL interesting and fun for me. The slow evolution of the landscape was paramount to the experience of cross country travel.
Click to expand...

I agree, and I can't put my finger on it, but there's something surreal and beautiful about some flat and barren landscapes, with the straightest of roads. Lucky for me, I may be one of very few that enjoys the drives in west Texas and the Panhandle...
 
I love seeing those pics... planning a trip to Moab, Ouray, and Taos in September with a couple of riding buddies... although we won't be riding the TAT, I can't wait to experience Canyonlands Natl park...

Thanks for sharing.
 
portero72 said:
To answer your first question-I may be the wrong person to ask that, since I LOVED the 'long boring flat' of Okla. It was ALL interesting and fun for me.
Click to expand...

gotdurt said:
I agree, and I can't put my finger on it, but there's something surreal and beautiful about some flat and barren landscapes, with the straightest of roads. Lucky for me, I may be one of very few that enjoys the drives in west Texas and the Panhandle...
Click to expand...
As do I. My comment was 'tongue in cheek' considering the frequent rolling of eyes and chastising of riding on flat lands. Granted I'm not sure I would enjoy Kansas all that much, however.

My inquiry was more probing to decide where to start my venture from when the time comes. It all depends on how much time I have. If I can wrangle early semi-retirement, I might just take a month off to do it rather than try to cram it into two weeks. But I've pretty much decided I'll begin at or near the NM border. Just have to decide *which* border :)

Thanks for the info, portero. I presume that a DR350 will do just fine, yes? And I suppose that predicting bad weather is better than hoping for good weather in the passes.
 
TexasShadow said:
As do I. My comment was 'tongue in cheek' considering the frequent rolling of eyes and chastising of riding on flat lands. Granted I'm not sure I would enjoy Kansas all that much, however.

My inquiry was more probing to decide where to start my venture from when the time comes. It all depends on how much time I have. If I can wrangle early semi-retirement, I might just take a month off to do it rather than try to cram it into two weeks. But I've pretty much decided I'll begin at or near the NM border. Just have to decide *which* border :)

Thanks for the info, portero. I presume that a DR350 will do just fine, yes? And I suppose that predicting bad weather is better than hoping for good weather in the passes.
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I think the Dr350 will be fine-there are a few sections of pavement that are a few miles long, just so you know. But you'll be loving that light bike on those passes, though.
 
Nice pics from the tat. You get any harassment from locals? With as popular as this ride seems to become (atleast online!), I wonder what some of the farmers think of DS bikes cruising their roads

Did you see any other bikes doing the same ride?
 
Daveg


Actually, ALL the locals were incredibly nice and accommodating. That was one of the coolest parts of the trip. The vast majority did not seem to be aware of the existence of an established route favored by dualsporters, although a few did mention seeing other dirtbikes go through. The thing to remember-unless you're lost and off track, all the roads on the TAT are public. And play by The Golden Rule-treat the locals/land with kindness and respect, and be a good ambassador for our sport. Everything should be smooth after that.

Here's a good ride report one of the guys in my group did, with more riding pics. Enjoy!

http://ridedualsport.com/forum/index.php?topic=373.0
 
Even though the road is public doesn't mean the locals don't get pissed at you. I guess it just SEEMS that there are alot of bikes doing it. Maybe just the people who ride it do RRs on advrider =]
 
did you guys trailer out? Or just ride out to your start point?
 
poser said:
did you guys trailer out? Or just ride out to your start point?
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We trailered, from Austin to Ft. Smith, Ark, and picked up the trail in Oark. The ride back from Moab was all paved. And sucky.


Daveg-

The rare times when we did encounter locals on the road(like if we were lost or confused on which fork to take), they were all incredibly helpful, curious, and friendly. If I were to assume, I'd say some Texans view dualsporting on public roads that go through private lands a bit differently than in other states. Perhaps because 97% of Tx is privately owned, an attitude of, 'This is MY land, the county forced a road through it' still remains. I've encountered hostility while riding public roads in the Big Bend area, near Junction, etc. More than once I've run up against locked gates on a obviously public road. I understand your reservation. Good thing then, that none of the TAT goes through Tx!
 
portero72 said:
If I were to assume, I'd say some Texans view dualsporting on public roads that go through private lands a bit differently than in other states. Perhaps because 97% of Tx is privately owned, an attitude of, 'This is MY land, the county forced a road through it' still remains. I've encountered hostility while riding public roads in the Big Bend area, near Junction, etc. More than once I've run up against locked gates on a obviously public road. I understand your reservation. Good thing then, that none of the TAT goes through Tx!
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I concur with this. Attitudes about land and property here in TX differ from other places I've lived and ridden. It's almost militant here as if properties are like separate and different 'countries' and guarded as such. I am still curious on where and what this stems from.

Regardless, the issue of large groups of bikes (dualsport or otherwise) is a different but not entirely separate matter. I doubt locals see large groups of bikes on the TAT routes.
 
TexasShadow said:
Great story and photos!!! :clap: I went through it twice :mrgreen:

If you guys don't mind, I might tap you for info/suggestions/input when my time comes.
Click to expand...

Please do-ask away when you're ready! Also, that link I provided contains other RR's by the same guys I rode with, all about the same trip. They were split up into riding/food/animals, etc. Check it out, some really hilarious stuff there.
 
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