Stupiders Travels - Two weeks on the TAT from Denver to Portland

[Mendo]

Great report!!! Really enjoyed reading it and its getting me pumped to do it myself soon

[eddyturn]

Well done report. Glad it got bumped as I missed until now. Funny commentary too.

[Lucky 7]

Alright, I promised myself I'd actually finish the whole trip. It may be less organized, but the last few days were a lot of fun, especially our time in Portland.

We woke up to the waves in the morning...and barking dogs...and yelling people...and a roaring car engine. What the? I opened up the tent and saw exactly what you'd expect: three meth heads with a bunch of JYDs and a Ford Focus buried to it's axles in the sand...25 feet from the tent. Welcome to Oregon ladies and gentlemen.

I threw on some clothes and went over to see if I could help them go away. The one guy was too busy scratching his body bloody (I'm serious, he looked like a tiger attack victim) and the other guy was giving me the crazy eyes and could barely talk. The lady was behind the wheel with the gas to the floor throwing sand in a huge arc over the car. I suggested that they may need to call a tow truck and the lady looked at me and, cold as ice, says "We pushed it out before." Yikes, I'm not going to go into the questions. I finally wrangled the methies and we started it rocking and managed to get them onto the pavement. They left and we immediately checked the bikes to make sure nothing was stolen. Wow.

Okay, back to some scenic photos:





We just rode our bikes to the ocean...no big thing.




We had a bit of trouble getting ourselves through the deep sand and off the beach, but seeing as how we weren't high on meth, bleeding all over the place, and in charge of all of our teeth, we made it happen.


The 101 calls us to Portland and a roof over our heads.










Yep, lots of bridges along the Oregon coast. Also, a ton of touring bicyclists, which was cool to see. Less cool, but still interesting (odd?) was the number of sketchy homeless and teen-runaway types making their was along the coast. Outside of Portland, ole Oregon gets weird in a hurry. Hipsters, hillbillies, and Klansmen. Forgive me if I don't move here anytime soon. It's a great place for a trip, though. Scenic, scenic, scenic.

Rogue brewery for lunch.



Portland follows shortly where our gracious hosts Ty and Tara have offered to put us up for a few days.





The first and only time we slept inside all trip. It was awesome.

[Catalyst]

Great so far!

[muskeg]

Hey guys, great report! Great friends having a great time out there on motorcycles. Good clean fun. Hope you get to do it again soon!

Thanks for sharing!

[Giddy Up]

Portland was a lot of fun and lived up to the Portlandia hype. I highly recommend the Deschutes brew pub downtown. Great food and beers. A huge thanks to Ty and Tara!

[Lucky 7]

Portland! We reintroduce ourselves to modern conveniences. The bikes benefit from some running water.




After a shower for both ourselves and our motorized compatriots, it was out for the essentials, mainly new mirrors and oil changin' supplies. We saw a lot of this on the roads. Loggin' country.





With bikes squared away for the homeward blast, it was time to hit the town. Powell's Books was our first stop, then on to Deschutes Brewery. The food was fantastic, as was the beer and the company.






In true Portland fashion, Ty and Tara don't eat gluten, dairy, or meat (mostly). Only in Portland could we have such a feast laid out that didn't include any of those things. I had Mac + Cheese with extra sausage. I didn't want my old friends gluten, dairy, and meat to feel left out.


On the way out of town we happened across this amazing edifice to man's need for speed. The Campagna T-Rex. How did I not know about these? I was immediately amazed and mad at myself. Oh, and terribly jealous...



For those that are in the dark like I was, its a carbon fiber 3-wheeler with a Kawasaki 1400 drive train. Seats two and has a sequential shifter on the floor mated to the Kawi tranny. 900 lbs curb weight and 0-60 in 4 seconds. Oh, and it's completely street legal.

This brings us to a growing concern that affects all of us. While the rest of the world prospers, Lucky 7 goes without a Campagna T-rex and the freedoms to outrun Porsches. This tragic situation can be prevented. You can help. Your donation of only one dollar a day will ensure that Lucky 7 can one day afford this necessity. Not only is your donation completely non-tax refundable, you will be sent monthly photographs of Lucky 7 outrunning police cars. So donate today to the 'Little Lucky 7 Campagna Achievers Foundation'.

Ask yourself: can you sleep at night if you don't donate to this worthy cause?


With a heavy heart, we leave the 3-wheeled death rocket behind and head back to Ty and Tara's house for our last night under a roof. Goodbyes in the morning and we're back on the road. It feels like too soon. We had a fantastic time in Portlandia. To our generous hosts, we are in your debt.

The road awaits.




It's not long before we bit farewell to Oregon.



700 miles is a lot for one day. Now that we're headed east, our families beckon and our throttle hands respond. Sometime after Boise, we sacked it in at a nice State Park.

[Downhill Dave]

Great RR and you are almost home.....

[Sugar Pig]

Really enjoyed the report and writing style. Glad you guys had fun!

[Mr Head]

Great report!
Can't wait to ride the desert again.

[I]I'm on a tank. I'm on a tank. Everybody look at me 'cause I'm standin' on a tank.[/]

Mileage: 177

[Lucky 7]

A refreshing sleep and a shower outside Boise has us ready for another long day. We were hoping to get to Colorado by nightfall, but we didn't quite make it. Aside from a brief stint on I-80, we stayed off of interstate all day. It was pretty, even if our asses weren't loving us.

Slowly but surely, it was starting look like home:





So long Idaho, you were fast and hot.



Somewhere in here we realized that John's speedo cable had been slowly coming loose. For two days I've been wondering why Granny John was going so damn slow on the highway, but I wasn't in the mood to be the 'hurry up' guy. I figured he was enjoying the last legs of the trip. At some point I commented on the leisurely pace and we realized that he was reading 15mph under speed. So it goes. Speed increases and asphalt continues.






We took a little detour to drive through Flaming Gorge. We didn't have long, but it's pretty cool. The road over the dam was especially cool. It felt like something out of a James Bond movie. I enjoyed it too much to take a picture.



You can see the dam and bridge in the distance:



It was starting to rain and we were looking for a camping spot that didn't seem to present itself when we caught a glimpse of a nice rainbow.


Double rainbow all the way. DOUBLE RAINBOW!!! WHAT DOES IT MEAN??!!!


We found a spot just before the weather blew in. It was in some old gravel pit and seemed like a place that the locals came to shoot bottles and do donuts. Oh well, the sky was amazing and we had a nice fire to close out our last night of the trip.




Our last morning. We both woke up itching to get going. We were hoping for some late breakfast in Steamboat.

Look what we found!!


Home again! Colorado, I love ya.


After some great food and some souvenir shopping in Steamboat, we were back in the saddle. Excitement grows as the landscape starts looking more like home.

[Lucky 7]

Against the bikes wishes, we made it back into Denver safe and sound.

John had blown a fuse again and pulled through the last day with no lights. His speedo cable had finally given up as well, so I set our pace for the home stretch. Who needs gauges, right? I had blown a cell in the battery just before our last campsite, so the last day of the trip had me humping the kick starter every time we stopped. Note to self: next time practice kickstarting prior to leaving. Let's just say I had to learn that one in the dark on the side of the road with John miles ahead. Awesome.

Behind a random groceria on Federal Blvd we part ways and head home with much anticipation. I think the guys behind the groceria were wondering what we were up to. Two geared out motorcycle guys hugging and taking pictures in the alley. That's right, we're weirdos, now get back to work!




It was an amazing trip that we'll remember for the rest of our lives. It's an incredible (and huge) country that we live in and I feel undeservedly lucky to have experienced the small portion that we did in such a fashion. Two wheels and a long road ahead makes for quite an adventure.

Our greatest thanks to everyone that made this possible, especially our wives and families. Without your support, this never would have happened. It was Ewan and Charley's fault, I swear. I'll do my best to talk less about motorcycles now...although that Moto Guzzi project I have brewing may come up occasionally...

Let's not forget a shout to the nutters around here as well. What little planning we did wouldn't have been possible without advrider. You guys are great for a laugh and the occasional bit of real, actual info (although I maintain that only happens by accident). Kidding...just kidding...

Hope you enjoyed the report and thanks for reading.


At some point, John and I will post up our impressions of gear and whatnot. If we can pass on some of our meager learnings, we'll do our best!

[Gleado]

Thanks for taking us along!

[Mr Head]

Very cool ride guys.

Someday the pfig and I will get another chance at the unpaved expanses of the west, and beyond. Until then I get to read great reports like yours.

Thanks for the ride along.

[zekester63]

on the great RR!

A buddy and I are a couple years behind you in our process, and enjoying every minute of the planning, gearing up, learning and short ADV rides phase. RRs like this inspire, but also humble us. Thanks!