Riding the TET from MA to NC

We have been planing this trip for a while. I remember January 10 sending a text to "beemerjim" (Jim) and "hulkedup" (Keith) that we had only 4 months to go before we leave on our trip. This gave us the hope we needed to make it through the rest of the stinking winter !!

We are leaving this Friday May 10 and I am going to try to do a live RR as we travel. There will be lots of photos but the videos may have to wait until I get home to use the big computer.

Here is Keith, developer of the Trans Mass Trail on his trusty KLR.









Here is a video he did about the mods to his bike.

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Here is "beemerjim" Jim. If you every want to ride dirt roads in Western MA get a hold of Jim. He can lead you on a all day ride and never hit the same roads twice.



Here is his KLR ready for the adventure.




Here is yours truly , "spinalcracker" , (Mike) sporting the doo rag for when I get to Deals Gap later in the trip.



Some glamor shots of the 800GS








My sidekick



A quick video of me packing the bike. Espresso really makes the packing go faster.

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First stop is Mrs Murphy's donuts in Southwick MA Friday morning 8 am.

Don't know when you'll be in NC, but if you are here around the 16 th or so, stay at Kickstand Lodge in Stecoah and hang out with a bunch of Nighthawk riders. (Some if us have DS's too)

Good place. Just down the road from the Dragon and near the TET route. Rumors are that a Georgia rider will have some homemade peach "punch"

Wishing you gentlemen a wonderful trip - stay safe out there and have tons of fun. I'll be headed the other way up the Puppy Dog via the TMT while you guys head south. Quiet couple weeks for NDR - crickets . . .

Can't wait to exchange stories about our respective journeys and share our pics & videos.

Safe travels friends!

Best,

V

How long do you think it will take you guys to complete? Good luck with the journey and I'll be following along.

Keith here...we are going to cheat a bit and start our TET adventure near Front Royal. We don't have the time to ride the whole way down from Massachusetts on the dirt. Our plan is to do a two day trip over 2 lane backroads to get us into Virginia. From there it's 600 miles of dirt down to Damascus, NC. Then, Mike has to head east to a graduation and I have to figure out how to get a KLR 1,000 miles home. We should be on the road 9-14 days.

Thanks for the reply, Keith. Sounds like a good time. Safe travels!
Brent

Sounds good ! I put Stecoach in the gps.

I need to be in Salem-Winston for my stepdaughters graduation from Wake Forest PA school on Friday 17th.

It's 5 something in the morning, the day before we leave, and I can't sleep. Every day that passes I manage to load more crap on the poor KLR. If we hang around much longer, Mike & Keith are going to have a hard time picking it up for me.
I weighed it yesterday and using the bathroom scale, and came up with 518 lbs. Add the 200lbs of lard that goes on the seat, and we're going to have to start paying attention to the load limit signs on the bridges.
One more day, & we're on the road!

JIm

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Have a great trip, subscribed!

I am very envious. Have a great time!

As a Massachusetts expatriate, I am looking forward to following your adventures.
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We are all useless at work today, counting the hours now the minutes until we leave !! Next time I'm going on a trip I'm taking the day before I leave off !!

Here is my SPOT tracker. There is no info now but tomorrow 8 AM you should see it stopped at Mrs. Murphy's Donuts in Southwick MA

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0O3s3F4qJPkfkk10fZQSJTDZIrINk6Wp5

Have a great time and beware of banjo music.

This RR has KLR's. I'll follow.

All packed and ready to go!!

Some music to accompany you gents as you embark upon your TET Adventure! Enjoy:

</IFRAME>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMbATaj7Il8

Thanks Vic, I'll be following your own adventure.

Day 1 is in the books. The three of us are sitting in a hotel in White Haven, Penna. to ride out an overnight storm. We did almost 300 miles today, all on 2 lane blacktop. We're trying to get down to Front Royal in a reasonably quick time without relying on the interstate highway system.

Highs and lows for the day would be riding through the Delaware Water Gap and getting stuck in miles of stop and go traffic on Route 209 in PA.

We're trying to figure out a theme for this trip and hoping that one becomes obvious as we ride. The closest thing to that today was "The Walking Dead" tour. We passed so many towns that were in decline, with their industries gone, their busineses shuttered and the people that were left walking around, looking lost.

I only have a couple of pictures so far as the hotel's computer is extremely slow to upload.




We started the day at Mrs. Murphy's Donuts in Southwick, Mass.



A random stop on the road. Hot day today! It only gets better from here.

The plan tomorrow is to visit Centralia, PA (the town abandoned due to an underground coal fire still burning) and get to Front Royal.

More pics

We got a great start today. It was a little foggy when I left Springfield and by the time I got to Southwick the sun was out !!

Our first stop Mrs. Murphy's Dounuts



The best chocolate glazed donuts!!!




Jim and Keith getting ready to feed.







Feeding time over and it's time to ride.



Great back roads.



Making good time.




Nice stop near the Delaware Water Gap.







When we got to Hickory Run State Park in PA it was starting to rain a little and the radar and weather forecast didn't look good for camping so we decided to rough it at the Holiday Inn in White Haven.