TAT the hard way - 2up on a 950

Don't know how I missed this RR. Just read the whole thing and really enjoyed. I am really impressed at the places you went 2 up. I did all the same trails riding single on a KLR and it was a handfull at times. My hat is off to you.

Hey both of you, sat down with my g/f last night and read through all of this.
I really like your writing LittleWan, very flowing, and for the g/f she said she knows exactly what you mean by the way you phrase things
3 things to say-
1 the cankle, I have a duff right ankle and it does the same thing; big swollen black mess which hurts like hell. You have my utmost sympathy.

2 the KTM, well I looked at getting one a year or so back, but couldn't find one in my budget so bought a Hayabusa instead (yeah I know a little different...now I'm looking for one again.

3 the TAT, living the other side of the Atlantic means it'll be hard to do! BUT we are looking at ways of doing it, can you recommend any bike hire places at all?

Thanks again, really enjoyed it.

Great RR guys.... very entertaining writing as well.

and I think your canckles are kinda cute...

I just found this thread again after reading some last fall. great report, its great that you 2 were able to get the beast through the TAT. Looking forward to your future adventures

Uh oh - I didn’t realize that anyone would still be reading this... I let our photobucket account lapse and I deleted some videos. Sorry!

Maybe I should have subscribed to my own thread so I could keep up...

Tripletom - you had to wait 4 months for a reply and I still don’t have much of an answer. We have never rented a bike, so I can’t recommend a place. Google might know someone... Keep in mind that some parts of the TAT are so desolate it might be hard to trust a rental bike - if they'll even let you take one out in the boonies. What about buying a bike here and re-selling it when you’re done?

back on page 7, there was a post from a Brit who did the TAT. Here’s his website: http://www.transamtrail.co.uk
Have you seen it? I think he did a lot of research about renting/buying/shipping a bike.

Anyways, thanks for the nice comments you guys. Shakeyhands - I’m glad someone thinks the cankles are cute. Especially since it’s been months now and I don’t think they’re getting any less cankle-y! Damn. That was a great excuse...

It'll be alive for many years now: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=552416

Fantastic RR- Think I need to add this trip to the stack I've got planned...
Thanks!!!

Congratulations on completing the TAT! I am amazed at your most excellent attitude and perseverance! That was a very tough ride, especially given all the injuries you sustained, the stormy weather and the tough navigating!
I truly enjoyed your report!

I absolutely loved that Report. I am thinking about riding the TAT west and loved the colorful comments and great pics. Makes me driven to ride it now, minus the man swallowing holes..lol I will also pass on the sinkhole. Do you ride 2up on adventure rides often?

Hey Guys,
I found one of the videos I had deleted. Nothing exciting - just us enjoying Highway 1, loaded down with crap. This is from the trip to Stonyford so we have camping gear - Gobi bags & that horrible top case.

Hi 209ninja,
No, we haven't done a ton of riding 2up in the dirt (I assume by "adventure" you mean non-pavement). For years, I would stay home and take care of our elderly dog while Matt rode.
Now that my sweet dog is gone I'm free to ride with Matt as much as possible. Gotta make up for lost time!

We did a Baja trip (as far south as La Paz) that was mostly off road - lots of sand and I thought we were going to die going from San Evaristo to La Paz. Racing the sun at 80 mph (it’s hard to float an overloaded school bus), deep sand and lots of vados...:eek1

That was our only “big” off road trip before this one (TAT). The rest were just weekend trips and day rides. Good dirt is hard to find in the bay area! That's why we loved the TAT.

We're starting to plan this summer's ride - it's looking like the best of TAT west (CO to NV), OBDR, and maybe some Idaho, Montana, Wyoming...

So will you be riding 2up or on your own bike this time? ANd also about how long did it take you to complete the last TAT ? Sorry to hear about your doggy.

Aw, thanks. He was the best dog, ever.
Still doing 2up. It will be a loooong time before I can ride well enough to handle silty rutted two track for days on end, slick mud, loose boulders, etc...

It took us 12 days (including the rest day in battle mountain) do to the TAT from trinidad to port orford.
Summary is here, in this post: http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/tat-the-hard-way-2up-on-a-950.493953/page-8#post-10674075


This time we're going to bring camping gear so we'll have more flexibility. Some days will be longer, some shorter, but we won't have to find a motel every night.

Just finished reading your fantastic RR. What a great trip and I am so impressed with your toughness. We're planning the Alaska Highway in 2011, but I think Colorado and the TAT are on the horizon for 2012.
Thanks again for the RR and be safe.

Where'd this old thing come from?

Hi DSGrumpy
Wow, your very first post!
Thank you for the kind words. Glad you enjoyed the RR.
We loved the TAT west so much, we did it again

The RR is here (link), but I'm getting bogged down in the OBCDR.
I probably won't get to the TAT section of the report until october.

Thanks for reading!

Ok, ok, ran into your Summer of Stupid RR last year and dog eared it for my reading pleasure at a later time. Of course, never got around to it. So now I stumbled across you guys again and decided as is my OCD nature that I must start at the start and read all the reports in your sig from oldest to newest, beginning to end. Of course, I tend to cheat and read mostly the report and not so much of the comments.
Anyhoo...
Just finished this one and would like to think that I could try following what you guys do 2 up on your 990 solo on my 950. My ambitions generally outweigh my strength and abilities, but there it is. Pretty amazing stuff you two do. I love finding other girls on ADV who enjoy this riding as much as me.
Now on I go to the Summer of Stupid.

Ok.
Um, correction here. Just got to day 3, part 2 of the Summer of Stupid. I do not think I will follow you guys anywhere. My husband and your husband would get along pretty well. He has that bushwacking spirit that I am completely devoid of. Not so much with his 1200GS as on his Ventana mtn bike. I am more adventurous on the motorcycle to be sure, but I like a defined road/trail with a determined destination. Lost in Nevada and ending up over our heads in High Rock Canyon was great in retrospect, but I don't think big bad Katoom riders are supposed to cry. I think you two would have me crying in short time. I could probably tough it out, and looking back would enjoy the adventure, but the Wimpy Moody Bitch would definitely make an appearance more than once. How the hell do you do it Little Wan?

Hi hobbes95821!
thanks for reading the old ride reports, I'm glad they're still floating around

It's fantastic that you're on a 950!
Love seeing the big bikes out in the dirt, and not too many women can handle such a heavy beast (I couldn't).
Nice!
but you're obviously too intelligent to be riding with us ( "I do not think I will follow you guys anywhere" )

Smart lady!



How do I do it?

I'm not that bright.

anyway, thanks for digging this thing out of storage!

Great RR! We were also looking at the big KTM for our touring. I hope it works well for you guys.

Good luck!

So after having read some reports and heard about the Wans, I had to go check out some of their ride reports. Seems that this was the first one you guys wrote? So, I thought I would start here. Thank you for the ride report! Awesome job!

My wife and I just finished this report and thoroughly enjoyed it. We are just a couple of old, dull, boring Goldwingers...............but if our bones weren't so brittle and our knee joints so unstable we would be reallly tempted to give it a try......................

thanks for all your work