Day two...and the end

Mark got up at 0400 to take a look outside...rain.  We got up at 0600 for real and you guessed it, RAIN.  Weather radar showed that this was probably going to be a heavy downpour lasting most of the day and maybe into tomorrow.  We have rain gear so that's not catastrophic, just worth noting.

More importantly, my ankle still hurts whenever I put weight on it...like if I had to support the bike.  That means I would be in danger on any non level surface, gravel, or another water crossing.  It's just not worth taking that chance because we may well find ourselves in the middle of nowhere when that happened.  It's one thing to start out at 100% and have a problem, quite another to get in the saddle knowing that you have a critical problem.  In short, we had to abort.

Once again we loaded up in the rain.  This time we hit the Interstate for a 70 mph blast.  Although the rain was really heavy all went well.  We had really heavy traffic in Chattanooga TN.  Believe me, riding bumper to bumper in heavy rain is exciting....excitement I can do without. 

Back in Tellico Plains we loaded up (damn, seems like were here just yesterday!), got a great BBQ lunch, and headed back to Roanoke.

Beth was glad to see Mark again, as was their new puppy, Oliver. 

Here's another shot of the bike, showing that the beak simply sheared off.  I think my aux light bar caught in the sand and got enough leverage to just rip the plastic apart. 

I'm now back in Portsmouth, Virginia.  Tomorrow I will drive to NC so I can attend the funeral on Thursday. 

Looking back on this adventure I'd say that we had enough excitement and left ourselves open for learning more about riding off road, particularly water crossings.  The TAT itself was less of an adventure than I was expecting, much more pavement than I thought we would see.  Granted we only rode 175 of 430 miles in TN but the map made it look like the rest would be more of the same back roads.  Sam's roll charts were generally very good but there were enough places with either no road name or a wrong one that we got lost a few times.  The GPS coordinates on the roll charts were what saved the day.  If we missed a turn we could go to the listed coordinates and get back on track.  For the future I think I will pick up the TAT in OK or CO.  Now it is time for an Advil!

Day one

I got up to pee at 0500, part of being over 65. I heard rain drops on the roof. Hmmm. Well, by 0700 it was pretty clear that things were getting worse by the hour. The weather radar confirmed that we would have rain all day and probably for the next three days. Damn! At least we could load our stuff while the bikes were under an awning. 

OK, this is the test for my gear. We packed up...for the first time either of us had packed these bikes for serious adventure. Got gas. Got breakfast.

 Still raining hard. Why is it so hard to start a trip in the rain? The tat starts in TN Tellico Plains but the dirt starts about 3 miles outside town. That is Wills road. Paved for a short distance just to fool you, then gravel. Actually, we got used to the gravel and were creeping along nicely. Understand that neither Mark nor I had any experience on gravel so we were really slow. Then we came to the first water crossing. We plowed through and felt great. Soon we got to #2 and that went well, wet but upright. #3 was the same. #5...another story. It was longer. I aimed directly across and made sure to feed power to the wheels so I did not lose momentum. About 5 feet from the far shore I hit a hole, got all screwed up, and dumped the bike on the bank...with my leg pinned under the bike. Mark waded across to get the bike off me, otherwise I would be there still. My ankle hurts like hell but I do not think anything is broken. This was at about mile 10.

 A close look will reveal that the front beak is sheared off.  Later I noticed that the right turn signal is history.  Otherwise the damage was minor....except that my ankle started to hurt.  You can see that Mark's bike is still on the other side.  He learned from my trip and took a route downstream of mine.

We still had the real bitch water crossing ahead of us! About a mile farther down the road we came to the real challenge. There is a hole on the left ridge that can swallow a truck tire. Locals stay to the extreme right, just about where you see a big rock about to munch your bike. Somehow we made that crossing ok.  All this was within the first 10 miles of the start!  I was thinking that if the whole ride was going to be like this it would take us forever...between trips to the ER. 

The truth was that after Wills road the TAT was mostly paved roads going through very rural TN.  Yes, we did have a bit more gravel and some bothersome potholes in the Cherokee National Forest.  Many of the paved sections were not really two lanes, more like one lane with the hope that noone was coming around a blind curve.  The rain continued all day.  Sometimes it was only a drizzle, other times made up for that.  All this kept our speeds down but we did get the chance to look around.

Whew, now I am in a warm motel room. We rode 201 gps miles but only about 175 tat miles because we got lost...more than once.

 I was using the roll charts and gps, mark had the maps to double check out progress..we still got lost. We found abandoned trailer parks where a scary movie could be set, saw countless turtles trying to cross the road, met locals who refused to look at a map but easily gave directions...wrong, and generally had a fun time.  We were on hard surfaced roads for about 75% of the time and it was all a real slice of the real America. We were dry! At 6 we quit for the day. Found a Best Western across the street from a Mexican restaurant that had 2 for 1 drinks.

 Life is good, even though I could hardly walk across the street. Actually, I had to hobble across 5 lanes of traffic (more like skipping), in the pouring rain.  Did I mention 2 for 1 drinks?  Well, that made the entire day soooo much better. 

We got to know Rosa, the bartender, and sampled the best Tequila in the house.  Smooth!

 If my ankle is better tomorrow we will forge ahead, if worse...we will decide then. Another note, my father in law has been in failing health. We saw him two weeks ago for his 90th birthday. My wife just called to tell me that he died today. My wife and the entire family want me to continue this trip. Decisions, decisions.

In Roanoke now, with the bikes loaded on the trailer.

 Third cup of coffee, bags packed, life is good!  I have a Spot Tracker and will be posting the locations on SpotWalla. Here's the link:  https://spotwalla.com/request.php?ck=d234f563a79b1a3e   We should be in Tellico Plains by early afternoon so I'll post more then.

 I am now looking back and filling in some blanks. We had a smooth journey from Roanoke, lots of conversation, a good BBQ lunch

, and then we rolled into Tellico Plains at 4pm. I can't pinpoint what I was expecting in TP but the actual town is delightful. The very small town square has a motorcycle accessory shop (clothing and gear) that rivals any shop I have ever seen.

 The  ventilated gear was very tempting but I decided to stick with my plan... Roadcrafter light for both rain protection and daily wear. The alternative was to carry one set for wet and another for dry. I am trying to simplify so my plan was set. We found our lodging and it was a pleasant surprise. Sam's maps list one place to stay and it is pretty swank, not what we needed. I found a motorcycle campground (Hunt's Lodge Motorcycle Campground, 423-253-2918) that also had 5 cabins with AC. SOLD. They also said we could leave the truck and trailer for a week. Sweet.

We talked to Jack Hunt, the owner.  Jack is a rider and had just done Wills road (our first TAT segment) the day before.  He told us about the various water crossings (!!!), that the first few were pretty easy but the last one was to be approached with caution.  That crossing looks like a sideways slice of the earth's crust.  You can see three lines of rocks sticking up like the spine of an alligator.  STAY TO THE RIGHT of the rightmost spine.  Remember that he said the first 4-5 crossings are pretty easy.

It is worth mentioning some of the little touches that made us feel right at home at Hunt's.

Notice the work stand with vice, and the stand for mounting tires.  Jack even has GoJo in the bathroom!


 After we got situated and met a few of the Motorcycle Campers group at the campground, we went into town for dinner and a beer. We found a place with live music, cold beer, seafood, and BBQ.

Over a few adult beverages we got to know Margaret (aka the beer lady) and her husband, who own the place.

 Wonderful people!  We are going to vote for Margaret to be the head of the Chamber of Commerce since she is such a good emissary for Tellico Planes.

Before we headed back to the cabin, Mark made friends with another local.  I should note that Mark in a Veterinarian so he can't pass a dog without saying 'Hi'.

The Trans America Trail (www.transamtrail.com) is a collection of unpaved roads starting in eastern TN and running to the west coast.  For the past few years I have been following other ride reports of doing the TAT.  This seemed like a logical next step in my motorcycle adventures so about a year ago I discussed a TAT ride with my partner in crime, Mark Finkler.  We had just finished a 19 day trip across the US so it was a good time to bring up the idea while he was still stoked from the last trip.  Mark agreed. 
     We did have a few minor problems.  Neither of us had ever done much riding in the dirt.  Neither had a bike that we could take off road.  OK, nothing that money can't solve!  I bought a BMW G650GS and started adding farkles.  Mark found a screaming deal on a DR650 with about 50 miles on it!  I put on an Ohlins shock, Corbin seat, GPS, Wolfman bags, bash plate, extra lights (LED), tool storage boxes, and more agressive tires.  Mark needed a larger gas tank and better seat.  We got maps for TN, AR, and MS from Sam.  You need a roll chart for the maps so that was another farkle to add to the bikes.  Pretty soon this had become a serious project!
     Now I find myself at D+1, leaving tomorrow for Roanoke, where I will meet Mark.  He works this Friday so we will leave his house Saturday morning trailering the motorcycles to Tellico Plains, TN.  It is worth noting that Sam has gotten lots of comments about the TN route, too much pavement and not enough dirt.  As a result the newest maps are a total re-write.  We have the new ones.  The previous start point was Jellico, TN; new start is in Tellico Plains...not even close.  It looks like our roads are entirely different from the earlier route.  Maybe we will miss the slippery water crossing that seems to bite 50% of the riders.  This is going to be an adventure. 

I needed extra storage for tools, tubes, and such.  With too much time on my hands I made these and installed one where the stock muffler lived, the other under my Wolfman rack.

Here you can see how I was able to mount the GPS up high so I don't have to take my eyes off the road.  The black box blocking view of the speedometer is for my roll charts.  Don't need no stinkin' speedometer!