The TAT Rocks....

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I am holed up here in Neosho, just south of Joplin, Missouri.
I wanted to be in Kansas by tonight, but got thundered on and drowned about an hour outa here in the Ozark Mountains, they had 11 inches of rain here since last night and the road and fields were flooded and drains were just not coping.
All my clothes are now drying here in my sauna room. I never put my wet pants on as I thought I was going to out run it..Dah.
I want to make a run for Trinidad in the morning, weather permitting, 840 kms
I have a room booked in Moab for Sat and Sun nights.

Since the last Blog, I have been to Friendsville and met up with Francois, at Duel Sport Touring, to change my Spectro Oil and fit a new set of Continental TKC 80 tyres. (My rear tyre made it OK Curtis)
Well what a great guy Francois turned out to be, he wouldn't accept any payment for the work he did for me or the other boys that were there before me.

My visit with Ronnie and Vanessa, who live in the Smokey Mountains, of North Carolina was a great social event, with plenty to eat and drink, with happy hours, around the camp fire with Charlie and Teresa and Arthur and Renee, along with new friends met along the way. Many thanks again Guys, sorry we couldn't finnish the Moonshine!!I will have to come back some time with reinforcements!!
Ronnie, Vanessa and Arthur, not only ran me outa town, but ran me outa State through Tennessee and into Kentucky, to make sure I didn't get lost and finish up back at their place! Thanks again Guys.

Here is some input from Tony and Keith and Bryan. Robin Hood and his Merry Man TT have repacked their bikes and at home already, Been there, Done that, got the T shirt etc.
Cheers, Rosco

From Bryan and Keith...
Hi Guys. Just a note to check in and update. Tonight Tues 24th we are in Siloam Springs Arkansas after a neat ride through the Ozarks today. We are having a great run and had a rest day at the Isle of Capri Hotel on Sunday. No dramas so far but tyres are going to be an issue soon. We have some being delivered to Trinidad by Saturday and hope we acn get another 3 or 4 days out of what we have left. The trail has been amazing with day 3 out of Columbia a real highlight. Great roads lots of wildlife, lots of Amish and major flood damage. We had to bypass washed out streams despite our best efforts but we did manage to pick our way around a house which had been shifted about 100 metres onto the road. We are still hitting the road about 6am to try and miss some of the heat which is sort of working. I saw a mountain lion on the road today from about 50metres away which was pretty cool and a bit rare apparently. Sounds like everyone is having a good time. Keep us posted. Bryan and Keith.

From Tony.....
Hi all
Since meeting up with Keith and Bryan, I have ridden one day with them on the TAT and then continued on ahead as they needed another rest day in Trinidad after the Blues festival (poor things). Anyway, as the old boys don't seem to sleep and need to be on the road before the sparrows have even scratched their arses let alone farted, I thought a more leisurely pace could be achieved by following them from in front by a day. As they ride faster than me, we are likely to meet again soon.

The riding since Trinidad has been superb. I avoided the Hancock pass and took the longer and just as much pain in the arse route over Tincup pass (wet, cold, boulders, slippery rocks, and steep) and on to Lake City. The riding today from Lake City has been the best
in the USA to date bar none - superb scenery, challenging riding, many high altitude passes, single trail, forests and bogs reminiscent of Riverhead in Auckland - biking nirvana all in one day no less.

A more leisurely day follows tomorrow to Green River via Moab where I'll probably wait for Keith and Bryan before tackling the tricky stuff in Utah / Nevada.

Enough waffle - enjoy the photos (sorry there are so many "bike in front of...." type shots, but that is all I can do on my own without a tripod) and for those still riding keep it the right way up.

cheers
tony

From Keith and Bryan....
Bryan and Keith are in Silverton Colorado - about 1/2 way into the TAT.
The ride so far has been nothing short of fantastic, with favourite days being the Ozarks National Park, and the Rocky Mountain passes.
Where do we start to describe the ride and what we have seen?
Typically, we are up at 5am and on the road at 6, with some days on the bikes 12 hours. We are easily exceeding the 200 mile schedule of the TAT route sheets, over 300 some days.

Every day and every State has had interesting riding and lots of variation.
Tennessee - very green, rain, with lots of route notews and tight riding.
Amish farmers, lots of wildlife, lots of flood damage (incl road closed due to house being swept onto it). People really friendly.
Mississippi - more open faster riding and gravel roads. Bayous, levees (no Chevies) dirt poor people living in shanties (in the worlds weathiest country), both black and white.
Arkansas - long straight dusty gravel roads mixed with soft wet sandy roads . The Ozarks - Bryan saw a Mountain Lion, the famous Ozark general store (no moonshine available), fantastic trail, views and wildlife abounds.
Oklahoma - Open prairie, farm tracks, dirt roads, huge landscape with big sky.
More new tyres in Bartlesville.

Kansas - straights up to 33 miles long, overnight in scary town of Liberal Kansas, saw beautiful sunrise next morning over prairie.

Colorado - 10th day of TAT - expansive fields of Oak, beautifull section through north New Mexico outback ranch.
Rest day in Trinidad, more new tyres and Blues festival (hoedown!). 270 miles Trinidad - Salida, over 2 miles high.
Spectacular riding. Into the Rocky's - Hancock Pass - steep and very rocky - a real challenge on bigger bikes with luggage, the Utube clips do not do it justice and not a good place to come "unstuck".
Also Tomichi, Cinamon, Engineer, Corkscrew, California, and Hurricane passes many over 12,000 ft.
Engineer pass (both ways- there and back) unscheduled due to Keith's poor navigation skills but a fantastic piece of country and a unforgetable riding experience.

So here we are in Silverton having taken a rest day. We are both holding up well, and no bike issues so far.
So far on the TAT we have seen: Mountain Lion, scores of deer and antelope, turtles, squirrells, prairie dogs, armadillo, coyotes, fox, eagles, snakes etc, but no bear or elk.

Tomorrow we plan on reaching Moab Utah where the sand and steep rocky trail awaits!

Bryan and Keith.

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Photos

Tenere
So the Tenere was on the TAT

Tree Down
Lucky they had small bikes

Curtis's Balls...
Thanks Curtis..

The Short Bus
My Smokey Mountain Accomodation

Great Hosts
Ronnie and Vanessa, with family and friends

Comments

[Greg]

To The Boys
Hi Guys, Looks like a fantastic ride, with all the variety of terrain. Shame about the crazy heat and the wet weather. MMmm those yamaha's look like they are in their element. Wish I was there, carry on with the fun. Oh and happy birthday String

[String]

We are still here
We are still on track to finish the TAT .We are in Eureka Nevada roughing it out in camping! we have had a great days ride and met up with Kenny and Todd from Tennissee. we haven't had any cell phone coverage for the last few days.