MISSION: ACCOMPLISHED - TAT 2008 on a 950

There were 7 of us......me on 950, Maddog Mike on 1200GS, Dual BMW on R100GS, then 4 others on DR650's and XR650L's. Group went from 7 to 6 on first day, then split up to 2 groups of 3, then down to 2 of us together, then I rode alone the last 2 days to the coast. We did almost all the tough stuff on the big bikes......more details later.

Here's a quickie with some videos..........

Got into Port Orford Sunday night, August 31st at 8:30pm, nice little night ride by myself, on the Oregon Coast, end of the Trans America Trail, after 2 weeks and 1 day from the where we started in Cotopoxi, Colorado. Had fun at the local bar, hung with some people from Vancouver, WA.

Left Port Orford Monday and meandered down 101 along the coast, to 199 north back into Oregon, to my friend Cameron's house in the nothing of a town named Selma. I rode right thru it and passed it by, got to Grant's Pass realizing I must've ridden right by Selma laugh.

Went riding with Uncle Cameron today, did some nasty, rocky jeep trail, dropped the 950 about 3 times, nothing new for her. I think my body is starting to feel a little fatigued after all those days of trail riding......but tomorrow will be no riding, maintenance day with oil change and air filter. I need a new rear tire (3rd one), but have to wait until San Francisco to pick it up at Scuderia Ducati / KTM. Cost too much to have a tire shipped overnight to Oregon.

I will leave Cameron's Thursday and head to the Lost Coast of NorCal for
exploration and dirt riding.......I'm looking forward to being solo now, and
camping some too.

Anyway, what a fantastic, awesome, spectacular adventure it's been........it
will take me a week to recuperate and go over everything in my head as I look at the photos.......over a thousand so far.

I have quite the little adventure left as I head home, doing coastal mountain
stuff and then over to the Sierra, see my friend Dale in Bishop, then home for the weekend of August 12th. So far, been on the road 3 weeks today, odometer trip meter just turned 4000 miles.

I'll post some pix and video while I'm here at Cam's house.

That's it for now,
Rad

Used my new tripod to setup my camera for some action video.........

LINK to video from TAT, outside Tiller/Drew, Oregon. The trail took us on some old, overgrown trails in sections, which were sometimes pretty challenging on the big bikes.

At the end of video, you hear the bike stall and I laugh, as I tipover on the trail

Part 2 LINK....After moving my tripod, I set up the camera to shoot uphill as I went up. Hope you have your sound on.....you can hear me try to get going 5 times at the beginning of the video, then finally get moving up the steep, loose rocks and make it to the top........there's a long pause in between, so you can fast forward towards the end as I walk down to get my camera afterwards, you can see how steep and loose it is.

Another LINK to video on my last day of the TAT, just before dark, heading towards Port Orford. This experience added a nice touch to the end of the ride.....

I rounded a corner and there was a huge Bull Elk and he started to run along ahead of me, so I reached into my tank bag without stopping, grabbed my camera, turned it to video mode and rode one-handed while holding the camera, catching the elk running ahead for almost 2 minutes.........not a great video, but a very cool experience. The elk was bigger than a horse, with a huge rack about 4 feet tall above his head !!

X2

tease!

I just mentioned you guys in our thread. Sounds like you are having a great ride. Maybe we'll meet again someday..........HAPPY TRAILS!

Rufus, was great meeting you guys in Eureka.....we will be in touch. I'll have to read your write-up when I get home.

Hi Randy,

Congratulations on completing this ride. I can't wait to get read your report and get a real evaluation of what it is like to ride a big bike on the full Western TAT.

Everyone who has ridden the full TAT knows what hill you are refering to here. Glad you made it as it is one son of a bitch on any size bike. I am looking forward to reading your full report.

Jim in Sacramento

Everyone who has ridden the full TAT knows what hill you are refering to here. Glad you made it as it is one son of a bitch on any size bike.

Jim in Sacramento[/quote]





Not ANY bike. My 525 KTM (bored to 540) lugged up most the hill in 2nd gear barely spinning the tire. I went down to 1st in the middle of the turn. ---We couldn't make out the last word on the note on the tree.

nice vid. looks like a nice trail to. fun times, fun times!

very nice looking hill!

looking forward for some more

Oregon Coast, Port Orford, end of the TAT

We started the TAT from Cotopoxi, Colorado........first day, we got to Hancock Pass



Recommended route for big bikes was to Bypass Hancock and Tomichi passes.......we could not bypass, had to do it.



Here, Kevin, Mike and I wait for the rest of the group.



Then we saw Ron hit a rock, get loose and dump it off the side of the trail.......



We had to hike back down a ways to help Ron pick up his R100GS Airhead



No bike damage, no bodily harm.....No Problem !! Ron was able to ride a short way through the meadow to hook back up with the trail.

We waited for the rest of the group, figured they may have turned around. Later, we found out Terry had tipped over, hurt his elbow with an open wound and fracture......his ride was over on the first day, major bummer.

Kevin and Ron decided to turn back because the map said Tomichi Pass had the big rocks, it was getting late, and that was their decision. Maddog Mike and I kept going.

Mike and I at the top of Hancock Pass. From where the others turned around, it was only another 1/2 mile max of rough stuff, when they heard that the next day, they were bummed about turning around too early.





As we went over Tomichi Pass, we kept wondering where the tough section was. We later realized that Hancock was actually the tougher section.

Here is the infamous mudbog on Tomichi......wasn't bad at all.



Maddog going through the mudbog



That's it for now.....I'm leaving Oregon, going to hit the Lost Coast of NorCal for more exploration and dirt riding, then over to the Sierra on the way home south. Have a week to get home and will be off the internet until then.....

Later,
Rad

N

Ah, what a tease you are. Start the thread, post a few great pictures, then say bye for a week.

Have fun and looking forward to your return.

Sorry I missed your call Randy. I was traveling too.

Looks like you had a good run!

Congrats on the trip, looks like you had a blast. Enjoyed the video, the one with Elk is special.

Looking forward to the next installment.

Nick

Passing through San Francisco tonight (tuesday), anything happening, and/or anyone got tent space ? I'm sitting here with Csavargo on his trip, we're in Point Reyes.

My cell number is 619-818-8746......or we have wireless connection on his laptop for now.......let us know ASAP.....thanks !!