Western TAT on a Super Sherpa

Preface:

About a year and a half ago, I began wondering if I could cover more ground, get to more places and carry less weight on my back, if I had a Dual Sport motorcycle. I have been backpacking with friends for a couple years and while it is fun, healthy and we have a great time...it is sometimes difficult and depending on terrain/elevation gains etc., we certainly cant travel as far nor as quickly as we would sometimes like. I joined ADV after talking to another friend of mine about the possibility of getting a motorcycle. He was a member here and told me there was a great deal of information available here and that the community was great and the people here helpful. (I would find this out while planning this trip)

Long story short, after reading opinions from young and old (I am in the older group) regarding bike size, light vs heavier, distance and recreation etc...I picked up a 2009 Kawasaki Super Sherpa (250cc) late summer of 2011. (yeah I know..its a girls bike...whatever) I did this all the while fantasizing about the TAT, which I thought would be a great little adventure ride.

Longer story even shorter, I convinced two of my other friends to get bikes (One an XT225 the other a KLX300R) and one of them, Jim, (with the KLX) was able to get the ten days off we would need to ride the TAT from Salida, CO thru Oregon. Now it should be noted that Jim picked up the used KLX about 13 days before we needed to have the bikes shipped out to Colorado. More on that later.

So, after replacing two tires on the Sherpa and not having had much luck finding a rack that I liked for my gear, I gave a last minute call out to a gal named Kristen. (member here at ADV) her husband had made some racks for the Sherpa and I decided to see if I could get one before my trip...which was less than 12 days away at this point. Her husband Ken said that given that shipping time, he simply did not think he had enough time to make the rack and get it to me. I understood this, as I had given him virtually no notice. I sent an email back jokingly saying that he could simply just take his wife's off and send it out to me...haha. The next day I had an email saying that the rack was being shipped, and he had taken it off his wife's bike! Are you kidding me? Damn nice people..ADV Riders. Big thank you to Kristen and Ken.

My bike was squared away at this point. (got the rack on the day before my shipper arrived to pick up the bikes) Jim's bike had been dropped off at my house prior to him taking off on a camping trip. He had done a few things to get it ready, but it needed some attention. So, front and rear brakes, new front tire/tube, clutch adjustments, etc etc. The bike was ready to go...and the shipper is literally driving up to get the bikes..whew!

I had arranged for shipping about 3 weeks prior and had used U-Ship. (had never heard of this/done this before) We ended up paying 700.00 dollars to ship the bikes (and a large bag of gear/tools) to Colorado Springs, CO. I had been fortunate in getting a response back from several ADV Riders from Colorado, when I asked if someone could receive/babysit our bikes. Our very own ADV' Rider Onlead (Randy) ended up receiving the bikes, inspecting them upon arrival and handing off payment when they arrived. Thanks Randy!


THE JOURNEY BEGINS: Day 1


Jim and I left August 1st from Sea-Tac Airport in WA and arrived in Denver, CO around 11 am.





Randy had already volunteered to pick us up at the airport (90 minutes from his house) and after a couple cell phone calls, we were loading our carry-on stuff into Randy's trunk and heading back to his place. The fact that Randy drove three hours total to take us to our bikes was not as big a deal for him as it was us. All of these kind gestures are HUGE when you are planning a trip like this...thanks again Randy.

We get to Randy's place and frankly, it is hot as the dickens!! I don't remember the temp, but I know it was not less than 90 degrees. Randy points to the blackened area just north of his place...some 500 yard away or so...where the fires that had made national news, and forced he and his wife to evacuate their house had barely stopped before claiming their neighborhood. Crazy! It takes longer than we thought to get bags packed, gear on the bikes, changed into riding clothes etc...so it is a couple of hours before we can get on the bikes and finally head out. Jim will have the GPS mounted to his bike and I will have the Roll Map mounted to mine. (Along with the supporting TAT maps) Randy put together a route for us, that would get us to Salida via a scenic/dirt ride. He printed out a map for us as well. He warned us about the pink gravel that they have out there telling us not to go charging into any turns until we get a feel for the gravel there. (He was right, it was a bit slick)

We thank Randy and we head out, glad to feel some wind as we ride..it is freaking hot! We fumble with the directions a bit, but it isn't long before we are enjoying a nice ride along Shelf Road in the shadow of Pike's Peak. Beautiful mountains, dirt road..wind cooling us off, it was great!



As we roll into the small (dying) town of Victor, I notice Jim's rear tire looks lowwww. We check it and sure enough, flat tire. A flat already!!?? The rear tire was new when he bought the bike and I simply had not checked the tube before the bikes shipped. I replaced three tires, checked three tubes...just not this one!

We happen to be next to an old car repair shop of sorts...old...dark..no lights on...looked like it had not seen business in decades. There is an air hose hanging on a hook on the wall in front of the shop, right next to the sidewalk. Is it possible???? We check the hose...its hooked up to a compressor ready for use..just like the old gas stations of days gone by!! (You know, the ones that left the hose out even when they were closed at night, so people could air up their tires.) Nice! A lady sees us and steps out of the shop. She tells us they are closed, but she lets us use an old wheel as a jack stand, so we pull the wheel and get the tire off. We check the tube...stupid pinch flat...tiny little pinch hole on the side of the tube. Whoever had changed the tire, was not proficient. ( I am convinced after reading many ride reports that many of the flats experienced by folks during long trips are pinch flats This was the only flat tire we would get during the more than 2,100 mile trip.





We throw a new tube in, put the tire/wheel back on and setting the bead...was noooo problem! Haha, gotta love that air hose! The husband see's us and tells us we can use his sink/soap inside the shop to wash up after we had changed the tire. Nice! Thank you! We leave Victor, CO and head towards Salida. We comment to each other that Victor, CO could have been a tiny town you would see in a horror film...it was a bit odd.

It is getting dark by now, and we are just outside of Salida when I tell Jim, I am so tired I am getting sloppy in my riding. It is about 9:45 We had been up since 4:45 am to get to the Airport early etc. The flight, the heat, the 16+ hour day...all conspired to wear us out. We stopped and stayed in a motel just shy of Salida. We threw our gear on the floor, turned the A/C up all the way and after a hot shower we were ready to call it a night.

Tomorrow would be a longer day than we anticipated. It would literally be the start of the TAT for us. 3 passes over 10,000 feet, rain, lightning and just a lot of riding! (a lot more photos too!)

More to come

Ken

Best of luck to you on your journey. My wife and I have a new Sherpa and are planning a similar trip. Was the first part of your trip over the old railroad grade from Colorado Springs to Victor? The pic looked like it. If so you broke the rule that train tunnel pics are obligatory...

We thought Victor was really neat when we visited this spring--like going back in time. The old movie theater was for sale.

We will be reading every post. Here's hoping no more flats.

Sounds like a good start, keep us posted.

Thanks for posting this .


I cant wait to hear how the sherpa does for you for obvious reasons .

Keep it coming. I'm thinking about taking my 2002 Sherpa to the Alaska highway and starting to compile a spare parts list. Thanks

We started out the day at about 8 am. We headed west into and thru Salida after fueling up and having "breakfast". Breakfast on this trip (for me) consisted of 2 or 3 cans of V8 Hot and Spicy...or 2 or 3 bottles of V8 Fusion. These would also be my lunch for the most part as they were widely available at the places we gassed up. Thing is, it was hot out and the altitude/dry climate on this trip sucked moisture out of you, so it became a habit with me to simply "drink my breakfast/lunch" so I could hydrate and get some healthy stuff into my system at the same time. It became a habit for me to drink real juice or vegetable juice the entire trip and it really helped extend my 2 liters of water I carried in my backpack. But I digress.
We had great weather this day and enjoyed a very nice ride going up Marshall Pass. In fact, this 10 miles or so of climbing/descending Marshall Pass would be one of my favorite sections of the entire trip. I don't know if it was because it was a beautiful, clear day, or the fact that the climb was gentle and easy...or perhaps it was the dirt roads thickly lined with Aspen trees all the way up to the top. I could not help but say to myself, "This is cool"!...as we cruised past all those beautiful Aspen trees, winding our way gently up the pass. Before we knew it, we were at the top...whoa, that was quick! We stopped for the obligatory "Marshall Pass photo", and headed out...enjoying more of the same scenery.











We fueled up in Sargents, CO before heading out into some very open Ranch Country as we made our way west. There were a lot of scenic vistas with high distant mountains and huge puffy white clouds against a perfectly blue sky. We road more gravel than anything at this point and we passed plenty of Cattle. (and quite a few calves) It took me a little while to get used to running at 45-50 mph hour on this gravel that would move your bike around try as you might to carve a straight line. Certainly had to slow down in the corners! It was a bit different than the sharp edged gravel I am used to riding in WA.



After an hour or two of this we climbed a bit and found ourselves in one of those big puffy clouds. It got cold and wet, veryyyy quickly. Now, Randy had warned us that there had been Lightning/Thunder Storms in the forecast and he said, "you don't want to be up on top of a mountain during one of these storms". He mentioned someone had recently been killed after being struck by lightning in that very situation. At the time, I dismissed the possibility, thinking it would be rare to find yourself in that situation. Well, as we rode thru the rather drizzly, misty rain atop one of the tall hills/mountains, we saw a flash of light and an IMMEDIATE clap of thunder that was shockingly loud! This would occur a couple more times, and on one occasion we literally saw the lightning strike the ground not at all far from the road...I mean, it was like something out of a storm chaser video. I admit, it was scary. I pulled over, Jim rode up and said, "we need to get the hell out of here". I agreed and we headed down the mountain post haste. Strange thing about it, it wasn't as if this was a widespread storm etc. It was like a single dark cloud hanging over a single peak...and we would encounter a couple more of these isolated Thunder Storms as we rode up and down the different peaks in Colorado. In fact We would ride into and out of, a couple of these...in just a matter of 5 or 6 miles!?
We ended up hitting a Stagecoach checkpoint and stopped for a bit, reflecting on the storm(s) we had just gone thru. The old stagecoach road was pretty cool, and we could not help but think how easy we have it compared to the old miners/settlers that came over and thru that road. Geesh.
The terrain leveled out at this point and we made our way thru a wilderness area as we made our way towards Lake City. The sun was out, and we were back to blue skies and it felt good. We stopped along the road to check out a Moose that was wading in a small marshy area before we headed out down the road again, only to have the road blocked by a couple of deer/elk. We took a few pics, waited them out and were on our way again. We stopped at a lookout point and took a break from our torturous seats...ouch.







It was really a spectacular view into the Colorado Rockies. Tough to photograph the 270 degree view we took in as we hydrated and grabbed a snack. (my snack of choice was Lara Bars



We mounted up and descended into Lake City, where we fueled up and ran into more rain.



We were hoping for sunny weather for the ascent up Cinnamon pass, but this was not to be. We started out for Cinnamon Pass and found ourselves soaking wet from the rain after about ten minutes....went from hot and dry to wet and cold in about 15 minutes. We maintained a casual pace as we climbed toward the pass...alot of rocky bumps both loose and embedded stuff. Nothing crazy...just jostled you around a bit as you rode. We passed several folks descending in large ATV's...waved/said hi...kept motoring. The last part of the run up to Cinnamon Pass became a creek climb, as it was raining hard enough that there was a constant stream flowing down the trail that we literally rode all the way up to the top! It made it a bit slicker, but again, nothing too tough.

I should mention a couple things at this point. First, we had swapped out tires prior to this trip and our tire of choice was the Pirelli MT-21. I wont bore you with details, but this was an EXCELLENT choice! The tires were good in the gravel, great on this wet creek climb and just plain grippy throughout the trip. I recommend them highly. Second point, especially those of you with Super Sherpas, there is a significant power loss that seems to kick in at about 8,000 feet. It is a bit worse at 10,000 feet and above. I stayed with the 130/20 jet sizes (Up from the stock 127.5/17.5) as I wanted to make sure my air cooled motor wouldn't run too hot in the desert areas etc. I also figured that leaner jetting might keep the bike from loading up and fouling a plug, but it was NOT going to help the power situation as there is only so much air at 10,000 and 12,000 feet. So, I stayed with my jetting...the bike ran great, never fouled a plug...it just felt a bit anemic at altitude! If I had to characterize it...lets just say...it was tougher for me to get into 3rd gear and maintain power on a steep climb, unless I really got the rpm's up in second gear before I shifted to 3rd gear. Hope that makes sense.?! Otherwise, the little Sherpa handled the climbs at altitude no problem. Just don't think you are going to lug the bike in 3rd or 4th like you would at sea level. Lastly, as I write my observations about the Sherpa, keep in mind I am 5' 11, 205 lbs...220 lbs with riding gear on...with a bag on the back that weighs 25 lbs , a backpack that weighs 15 lbs and a spare fuel bottle that weighs 2.5 lbs. Again, I digress!

A couple more turns, several splashes and wet rocks later and we are at the top of Cinnamon Pass. It feels good to have made it. It is a bit surreal as I realize that 24 hours ago I was in Tacoma, WA?!?? Crazy. We take in the view..the cinnamon colored slopes that paint the surrounding mountains...the HUGE valley off to our west. We comment on not having brought rain gear..(nope, we didn't...I decided last minute to leave mine with Randy back in Colorado Springs) we take a few pics and I record on video (more for the sound than anything else) the threatening, rolling thunder that we have been hearing during the ride up. Lightning is out in the distance, not terribly near, but the thunder rolls thru and echoes throughout the surrounding mountains like a distant artillery barrage!








We ride west into an enormous valley, still getting pelted by rain. We curse the sky and try not to think about how cold we will be if this rain doesn't let up. Neither of us really complains about it, we just hope sun is around the next bend. It isn't long before we find ourselves descending into Animas Forks...a deserted old mining town that looks exactly like you would think an old, deserted mining town would look! We ride down into Animas Forks, and go into one of the small buildings to get out of the rain for a bit. As we take a break, the clouds move off, and the sun comes out! Nice!! Heck, we even get treated to a rainbow as we look west onto a picture perfect scene of the Rocky Mountains that moments before had been invisible!







We spend a little time exploring and looking thru the deserted town...we imagine what it might have been like there all those years ago. Everyone does this I suppose...these places just draw on your imagination, compelling you to contrast today with yesteryear. Jim loves this old stuff.

As much as we like checking this place out, reality soon hits you that you have a schedule of sorts to keep. We head out again towards California Pass. It isn't long before we find ourselves in a lush, green valley that you swear is Scotland! This valley is simply enormous. I slow down to take a photo or two, and when I catch up to Jim a few minutes later, he has a quizzical look on his face. I take off my helmet and I hear strange sounds..like a low moaning that I can't place. He says, "what is that"? We look out into the valley...and finally see a few sheep that are only about a hundred yards or so from us. We take another look out into the valley and we realize that the tiny little spots that we initially didn't think much of....are all moving. It was sheep...hundreds of sheep!? The entire valley echoed with their "baaaaaah's"! Jim tells me there is a guy standing on a rock a bit further up the trail. ( I look, I see him) He is whistling...we look a good ¾ mile into the valley below...there is a dog down there herding the sheep and responding to this guy's whistling!! I can barely even see the dog...how the heck can he even hear the whistling commands?! Crazy. I try to get a photo of the whole scene, but the sheep are like pinpoint dots! I record the sound so my daughter can hear it, lest she not believe what I am saying. We ride off thru the valley to the fading sound of hundred of sheep, it was awesome.



A few miles up the trail, and we see California pass. Its a gentle, yet steep climb and Jim has the KLX up top before I make the final turn to summit the pass. The air is so thin, that I have to wind out the Sherpa in 2nd to make 3rd gear work well enough to climb. I slow down and go with 2nd gear...there's no hurry... It is a nice, picturesque climb as I look back down to the valley on my right, and on my left is another mountain...Jim is already soaking in the 360 degree view at the top. As I roll up and dismount my bike, I see a group of 4 or 5 riders on big BMW adventure bikes starting up the last hill towards us. I wonder what they will think when they see my tiny Sherpa..haha.












We take a good long break at the top of California pass. We grab a few photos..and we contemplate where we will stop for the night etc. We figure we will head to Silverton, CO and get a motel for the night, as we are really tired again. We started the day 40 miles out of Salida, so we put in over 220 miles today, and we felt it. We were still wet and it rained off/on the whole way to California pass. We had some sun breaks to help us out though, so all in all, not bad. The Super Sherpa kicked butt all day...

We arrive in Silverton, CO about an hour later.



As we settle into our room (that had the heater stuck at 90 degrees.. I swear!!) we consider how much we had seen that day, it was amazing. We grabbed a bite to eat at a local tavern (great Burgers!) and headed back to our room. It was smoking hot in the room, the windows were all nailed shut...(Hotel California??!!?!?) and I have got the worst headache of my life. Did not have one all day, just now. I never get headaches. The other thing that was strange...my heart rate was unusually fast? I lay down to get some sleep. Jim had 2 beers at dinner, so he was out like a light. (the next day he would tell me he had a splitting headache as well) I just lay there..heart racing, with a pounding headache. I literally had to concentrate on getting my heart rate down by measured breathing and not moving. The damn sauna we were in did not help...It was pretty strange/spooky as I am in good shape/physically healthy. I chalk it up to the altitude?! After a couple of hours of this I fall asleep for an hour or two. Worst night of the trip.

More to come

Ken

like that minimalist approach - subscribed!

Me too! I'm in!

Cool report! Hiker to motorcyclist. Had you ridden motorcycles before? I tell a lot of non motorcyclists that they are great exploration tools.

PS - At altitude - I get the same things the first night or two - headaches, racing heart rate, can't sleep etc. By the second or third day, for me alpine Euphoria sets in.

Thanks for taking the time to write the RR - looking forward to seeing the rest of your trip!

Yeah, I have ridden bikes in the past...mostly street bikes. It had been quite a while since I had been off road on one though. I am a novice, but Im not afraid to give any terrain, hill climb, or trail a try. I have found the Sherpa to be just as willing!


Ken

We woke up today with no headache...feeling pretty good, though neither of us got the sleep we really needed. Oh well. As another member here commented, I think the altitude might have been a contributor to the headaches...who knows.

We packed our bags onto the bikes, fueled up at the end of town and I downed a few V8's and some fruit juice. It was relatively cool, so I threw on a sweatshirt I had bought in town the night before. It came in handy, but I knew it would be hot in a few hours. We headed out of Silverton, Co the wrong way...oops...and after 15 minutes we got turned around and headed towards Ophir Pass. The trail picks up just several minutes out of Silverton...so before we knew it we were heading uphill. Loose and in some cases, large gravel, lined the trail. It was a flat grey in color and seemed out of the ordinary, given the beautiful green of the forests and the shades of brown and tan that painted the mountains around us. After downing all that juice, it wasnt long before I needed a break...and Jim couldnt resist taking a scenic pic of me relieving myself!? Really??!




It was a pretty chill ride up to Ophir Pass. We had 8 or 9 Jeeps pass us on their way down...packed with wide eyed tourists that had just made a rather steep ascent up the pass from the other side. I imagine not being in control of the vehicle added to their anxiety! Haha. We crested Ophir Pass and took a break. There was no sign at the top, but you certainly knew you were there. The view west was fantastic! You could see the road/trail descend steeply down and into a very large valley surrounded by adjacent mountains.



We started down and I was almost immediately surprised by the steepness of the grade. Alot of loose gravel, so this might have added to the effect. After a steep descent into the woods we rode the ridge into the very small town of Ophir. It was an interesting little town, with speed bumps literally on dirt roads!? We kept our speed very low, as it seemed this was a sensitive issue with the residents of Ophir. (which I can understand)

We rode thru town and came to our next left turn which would put us onto some pavement for a few miles. We smell tar and asphalt...and we soon realize that there is an entire paving crew...huge paver machines and all...making their way west on the road we would need to take. We ask the guy flagging if we can make our way onto the road and head west, and he tells us, "No, we have a traffic escort with a line of cars coming e/b that needs to come thru first". He adds "once the paver machine gets to this point, it will be a few hours before you can even enter the road from here....it has to dry". We look e/b and the paving machine is literally 20 yards away....creeping forward. We cannot believe we might have to re-route because of this. A few minutes later, and I am not exaggerating...the escort car comes by and the traffic moves past us as the paving machine is literally 5 feet east of us. The flagger gives us, and 4 other cars behind us, the go ahead and we speed up the road/hill just as they close traffic down at the intersection. Whew...!

We take the soon to be paved road west for just a few miles until we see our turnoff, and we are back on the dirt. This section would take us thru an interesting off road section that was as close to single track as we would see. Twisty, bumpy, lots of standing mud holes and cows scattered throughout. As we rounded a few corners, I am not sure who was more surprised, the cows or us!? I will edit this and post the name of this area, as I cant remember it now for the life of me!?

We made our way west, steadily gaining on Utah. A few hours later we found ourselves slowly descending from an average of about 8,500-9,500 feet to around 5,000-6,000 feet elevation. We felt the temperature rise and enjoyed a bit more power from our bikes!! We also watched as the terrain went from the mountains we were used to, to a high desert terrain as we dropped out of the Rockies. As we entered CO, we found a small, self serve car wash so we sprayed down our bikes, getting rid of the dried mud that had accumulated over the past couple days. We did the usual pit stop...fueled the bikes, checked the oil level, and I sucked down 3 V8 Fusions and filled up my water bladder as did Jim. Not a lot of photos today. We seemed to have been more focused on the riding/getting to Utah, than taking in the views etc.

This is something that bears some consideration. I think 120 miles per day would offer a better chance to look around, and explore some things vs the 200 mile per day goal we set. (and is recommended) We had a time limit of 10 days, and we had to keep this in mind as a practical matter. It is something worth considering should you plan a trip like this. Re-routes and errors in navigating the Roll Maps etc., can easily chew up an hour or two per day in some cases. Again, I digress...

We rode miles of dirt roads thru eastern Colorado as we made our way toward Utah. Pretty easy to make good time on these roads, but they were NOT very well marked and even our GPS wasn't cooperating. In hindsight, it is often better to just go in the general direction of the TAT directions, vs following them to a "T". You wont miss anything by using a path ½ mile down the road to get to the next turn etc. In contrast, the dirt roads were unusually well marked in Utah!?

As we traveled down one of the many tan colored dirt roads....standing up off our seats to give our butts a rest...we found ourselves in Utah. (According to the Maps) No sign, no notice...no welcome. We had made it to Utah, and while the change in scenery and terrain had been gradual, there was no mistaking it for Utah. The almost burnt orange color of the mountains in the distance, the change in the texture of the dirt and the significant rise in temperature, (near 100 degrees) all told us we had arrived.

We stopped in the town of Monticello, completed our requisite pit stop and walked out of the air conditioned convenience store only to have the 100 degree heat smack us in the face and remind us it was still HOT OUTSIDE! We headed out toward Moab, Utah. We re-routed a bit to save some time, taking the pavement (Hwy 191) for about an hour to ensure we would get to Moab before sunset.




After almost 240 miles on the day, we turned onto the main drag and entered Moab, UT.

It had been a long day and Arches National Park was just up the road. The sun would be setting in about 40 minutes....we were tired. We stopped and got a motel room. We then walked out, got back on the bikes and rolled the throttle on as we headed to Arches National Park. We got there 30 minutes before sunset, but if we could take in even a bit of Arches tonight, we could ride a bit of Moab and not have to go back to Arches before we headed west.

We rolled up to the entrance and got ready to pay the entrance fee. No ranger there...all closed up with a sign that said "Open"! We win! We cruised into the park and enjoyed a very relaxing drive thru much of the park. As we sat in front of Balanced Rock, with the worst, overcast lighting for taking pics of this beautiful sight....the clouds moved away for a few minutes...just long enough for us to see and capture the beautiful colors of the massive stone structures! Wow! We continued on thru the park and we were able to snap a few photos of the sun setting behind Balanced Rock...and a massive Arch called "The North Window"! ...Until the the sun completely disapeared. We then enjoyed a leisurely and cool (as in temperature and view) ride back out of the park at twilight. It was an amazing 90 minutes of riding and scenic views.









Upon returning to the motel, we dumped our dusty gear, washed up a bit and headed to a Mexican Restaurant. I cant tell you how good the chips and salsa (and in Jim's case...the cold bottle of beer) tasted! We enjoyed a very good meal and returned to our room. We then did the nightly planning of the next days ride/reviewed the maps etc. We decided we would play in Moab for a bit before getting a late start...I mean..we are in Moab for crying out loud!!



I sent the nightly text update to those that wanted us to keep them in the loop on our adventure, and hit the sack. We had covered 260 miles for the day, 200 of that was on dirt. of that was dirt.

More to come.

Ken

Day 4

Moab!!! We headed straight out to Slick Rock Trail. We had been told by Randy (Onlead) that this was a must do trail, as it was non-technical and was unique given the sandpaper like rock surface. He had told us the trail was slow speed, but was a nice warm up. We hit it straight away and enjoyed the unusual terrain and the almost "trials" like low speed, as we wound along the trail. It was simple and very much a novice exercise, but fun nonetheless.





We then hit "Hell's Revenge", also a well known trail in Moab. This was a bit trickier, in that it contained some 1-2 feet...and in some cases, 3 feet vertical walls/shelves that one had to overcome, in a few cases...right out of some soft sand. There were a few steep hill climbs/descents and some drop-offs on either side at times...a few were 40 or more feet down. This was also a blast to ride as the surfaces were verrrry grippy....soft MT-21 tires on sandpaper...was certainly unlike anything I had ridden before!





After playing around a bit more on some other rocks and hills etc., we knew we needed to get moving to get our 200 miles in for the day.

We headed west again, and it wasn't long before we were climbing some dirt on our way to Gemini Bridges. As we climbed we were treated to a very nice view overlooking Moab and the surrounding area. The paprika color of the dirt, the rising monolithic structures and the deep valleys were an amazing sight. We stopped a few miles in, at the Gemini Bridges Trailhead. It was only a 300 yard walk, and we were curious. Soon We found ourselves atop two large formations that stood literally next to each other. They were about 100+ feet across and looking over the edge...one would be looking an equal distance down! We explored a few other ledges and overlooks, finding one that put you about 200 feet above the canyon floor to the west. We couldn't resist a few precarious pics of each other at the edge of this overlook!













We walked back to our bikes, sweating profusely as the temperature was already over 90 degrees! We rode out of Gemini Bridges and west thru the northernmost part of Canyonlands. We were able to move pretty quickly along most of the dirt roads we encountered and while we made a few wrong turns, none were more than a few minutes until we got straightened out.





We rode for a few hours until we again, re-routed along I-70 for about 40 minutes, to make up for some lost time. We got back on the dirt and hit it hard until we closed in on Swaysey's Cabin. We saw a few signs and before we knew it, there it was...the simple, one room cabin that serves as a landmark for all TAT Riders before and after us! Towering over the cabin was what appeared to be a giant stone...Eagle! The guardian of the Eagle Canyon Trail. While I did resist the urge to deface the cabin (as many others had) to leave "my mark"....I did hide/leave something very small (but findable) at the cabin, should my daughter ever make her way past this landmark in the future. We entered the trail and were immediately impressed with the towering canyon walls, as we rode what appeared to be almost a creek or river bed type of trail. Pretty easy going, but twisty, rocky and sandy.

















We rolled under the interstate bridges that appear in every Western TAT ride report and we stopped just before a left turn takes you up a gnarly hill that starts you off in deep sand before you must make an immediate and sharp left turn up the hill. Jim went first, telling me...You just have to hit it hard and commit...make the turn and head straight up! Jim, being the more skilled rider, would sometimes provide me with some wisdom prior to obstacles that required a little thought.

Jim takes off, hammers the KLX as he hits the bottom of the hill where there is a bump...or a "lip" of sorts that you need to get up/over. I see the rear tire of his bike literally hit the underside of his fender?!!? I was thinking..."did he mean to do that"??!! I also thought..."How the hell does 11 inches of wheel travel/suspension dissapear like that"!??? I mean, my Super Sherpa doesn't have that kind of suspension!! But....I took the advice and I follow Jim, hit the bottom hard, take the left and hammer the Sherpa up the loose rock hill in second gear. I get to the top and think.."hell yeah...no problem"! I see Jim off his bike....I tell him, man you bottomed that thing out down there!!! He says to me, "No way I should have bottomed this thing out...I almost bit it down there"...???!!





We look at the rear of the bike...something isn't right. A closer inspection reveals that the frame had broken clean in half, just past the rear-most weld. It seems filling up the 1 gallon fuel tank that morning and placing it beneath a 15 lb gear bag....mounted way rear of the last weld...in conjunction with a very thin walled, light, tubular steel frame....results in a BROKEN FRAME! We think Archimedes was smiling at us saying.."remember boys....if I had a long enough lever I could move the Earth"! We were like...um yeah...we understand NOWWWW!!

We take the gear off Jim's bike and remove what we have to, to get to the broken frame...with all the plastic off and the muffler out of the way, we take a look...yep, that frame is broke in half kid!!





We contemplate our options...and we soon determine we can use some of my recently modified/shortened (at a cost of 40 bucks) tent poles as internal splints. We shove a few into the tubular frame on both sides..these poles are stiff as can be due to their recently being shortened. We slide the rear fender portion of the frame over the poles and sure enough...excellent support! We throw everything back together, bolt everything up and are surprised at the strength of the tent pole repair.

We are not about to tempt fate and put the gear back in the same spot, so we fill his gas tank up to empty the fuel can and we secure the gear/can right behind where Jim normally sits on the bike...in front of the last solid weld on the frame that extends back to the fender. At this point it is getting dark and we know we will have to use the freeway to get to Salina, UT. What we did not realize is that the whole darn freeway would be completely fenced off! After considering cutting our way thru a fence to freedom, we take a dirt road on a hunch. A mile or two later we find ourselves on a ranch road. (the only one for many miles) that actually merges with e/b I-70! We are elated!! We do a quick and illegal U-Turn across the median...I mean...we ARE doing an off-road trip right??!!...and we are soon riding toward Salina, UT.

Even with the mishap and the obvious delay due to the repair etc., we find the very dark, star filled sky to be amazing. We are still able to appreciate where we are and the trip in general. As we see the Salina exit in the distance, we let out a sigh of relief and start looking for a Motel. It is 10 pm and we have still been able to cover 202 miles for the day.

We get a room, and head to a Denny's Restaurant to talk over our next steps....We talk about running with the repair as-is and re-configuring the load minus the fuel container. We consider finding a welder in the next town...(Ridgefield,UT) ...until we realize tomorrow is Sunday. We call my brother in law to see if he can find a UPS or Fed-Ex facility so we can ship Jim's gear and simply travel light/motel the rest of the trip, but he can't find anything open on Sunday and we really need to use Sunday as a travel day.

We decide to run with it repaired ...the way it is and consider our options come Monday. After wondering how the Super Sherpa was holding up under a loaded rack, I took a quick look at the frame/sub-frame and discovered that unlike the thin walled tubing on the KLX (made for light weight/performance) the Sherpa was robust, with a flat metal supporting structure welded to the main frame. Whew...I was having my doubts! No wonder they call it a Super "Sherpa"!

Lights out.

More to come...

Ken

Thanks for the latest fix .


The sherpa is more of an ag bike in my opinion , just look at the stockman , you could tow trailers with that frame .

Keep it coming.

Really enjoying it.

Go the Sherpa!

We wake up hoping the broken frame was just a bad dream. Nope, sure enough...it really happened!

We decide to simply ride and rely upon the tent pole repair we made the day before. It is actually quite sturdy and given the reduced weight of the fuel container, we feel that if we keep that weight forward and partially over the seat, the bike should be fine if we take it easy. Of course, Jim will be backing up against his gear all day, but, it should get us a couple hundered miles for the day.

We head out optimistic, though I am sure it is bugging Jim a bit. We make our way toward Richfield, UT. On the way, we ride next to a canal for quite a few miles. This takes us behind some peoples farms and even thru their backyards in a few cases! On the way, we see a man on horseback, leading another horse...it is such a western scene I feel compelled to snap a photo.



It isnt long before we are coming into Richfield, UT. We hit an ATM and ride down Main Street. Neither of us is saying it, but we are secretly looking for a welding shop or a UPS store that could at least lighten Jim's load. We pass one, then another Welding Shop! Can you believe two, in such a small town?! Both are closed obviously, as it is Sunday...in the middle of the country! We look at the buildings more closely, trying to spot a phone number thinking perhaps we could make a call??! No such luck.

We pull up to a McDonalds in a shopping area off Main Street. I say, “well, we are here...lets get some breakfast” (It is about 1030 am) As we get off the bikes, we look across the parking lot and see the UPS Store. It is, of course, closed. We shrug it off and go into McDonalds.

I see several people inside and I ask Jim, you want me to just ask someone if they will ship your stuff??...worst they can do is say no. He replies, nahhh... I walk up to the counter and see the Manager standing there. She is in her 30's and something made me feel like I could ask...soooooooooo...I ask her...."This is going to sound odd, but...is there someone you know here in town that might not mind shipping a few items for us at the UPS Store over there tomorrow"?! She initially looks at me with a puzzled.."did you just ask me that" kind of look. She then says, "well, my Mom and my daughter are sitting right over there". Then she says, "Mom, come over here please".

We tell her Mom, Judy, our tale of woe. She tells us she would be more than happy to ship our gear back home tomorrow! She asks what we are going to do about the broken bike? We tell her it really needs to be welded, but being that it is Sunday, we were out of luck until tomorrow...if we happened near a town with a welder. Judy tells us she knows the guys in town that run the Welding Shops. She says, "Let me try to get a hold of one, and see if he can fix your bike". Jim and I look at each other in disbelief! " Ok, that would be great"!

Long story short, a few minutes later she tells us that a friend of hers, Travis, said he will meet us and weld the bike if we left for his shop right away. We immediately toss what we are eating in the trash, and follow Judy up the road to Travis' Welding Shop. He pulls up a few minutes later and tells us to roll the bike inside. He tells us he is on his way to the mountains, and we barely caught him before he left!

We exchange information with Judy and we thank her, and after we give her both Jim's gear and my camping gear ,(I am not camping if Jim's not camping!) I give her a hug and thank her profusely again before she drives off.

We disassemble the rear fender area of the bike for Travis. His young son is with him in the shop, and I watch his son playing with a hydraulic press/sheet metal cutter that would scare me to even try to operate. That kid is terribly comfortable in this shop! Their dog is also in the shop, checking us out...wondering why his Master is in the shop on a Sunday no doubt!

Travis checks out the frame and gets right to it...arc here, sparks there...he comments on how thin the frame tubing is..."no wonder it broke"!! In no time at all he has the thing welded up/good as new!! Jim is elated!





Jim hands him a credit card, not caring what it costs...he is just happy that the bike is whole again! We get the bike re-assembled as Travis runs the credit card. He returns with the receipt and Jim's credit card. We thank Travis profusely...he tells us,"I was raised that way...help each other out". We get the bike outside and we see Judy has returned. She said she wanted to be sure that Travis was able to fix the bike etc. We tell her it all worked out perfect...and we thank her profusely again. She replies, "its ok, that is just how I was raised"! (See a trend here?)

We all part ways and we are literally...back on the road!!!...a bit lighter even!! We double check our gear and reconfigure my bag, which no longer contains a tent, poles, sleeping bag and mattress pad. Jim checks the receipt for the welding that Travis performed...and he looks at me and asks, "what do you think he charged me for coming in and welding the bike"? I reply, "I don't know...day off, comes in on no notice...100 bucks or so"? Jim looks almost angry...he says, "Nope...24 bucks". What????? He says it again, "24 buck". Wow. Jim tells me he is embarrassed that we would have only payed Travis 24 dollars for what was surely a repair and situation that would usually command a higher price. I chuckle and we agree we will be sending a few Thank You cards and a a few dollars upon our return home.

We head out of town and are back on the TAT! We head up some hills and find ourselves riding the "Paiute Trail"...a moderately difficult ATV trail with twists, turns and some climbs and downhills mixed in. This trail also had some of the deepest ruts we would see...some 10-14 inches deep!

Those things are treacherous should you get into one as I did on a downhill. It seems I overestimated my front tires ability as I found myself gaining a bit more speed than I wanted, as I braked down a steep hill lined with these ruts. I tried to turn up/out of this 12 inch deep rut and instead of grabbing, the tire just wedged into the rut and sent me head over heels off to the left of the bike, as the bike slid a few feet and stopped. I was not going very fast, so after I lay there for a second, I got up..brushed off some dirt and checked the bike. A scrape here and a slightly bent front turn signal there...otherwise the Sherpa was unharmed.

Jim comes down the hill laughing...though he was not treated to the spectacle in person, as he was a ways behind me when I bit it. He asks if I am ok...I say "yeah" and tell him what happened. He tells me...yeah, you get in a rut..you have to ride it out! Ummm yeah Jim, thanks!! We get moving and get down the hill, no worse for the wear. We take a break and grab a snack as we check the maps and see that we will be stopping in Kanosh, UT for fuel.



It isnt long before we are riding into Konosh and we see an old Sinclair (think green Dinosaur) service station. We pull in and observe 4 older guys sitting outside talking...the service station garage doors are open and it looks like there is stuff in there that hasnt been touched since the 60's! This place took me back to my Uncle's Mobil Station of the 1960's,,,the look, the feel...the guys hanging out...everything!



We get off the bikes and start pumping gas as a couple of the guys start asking us questions about the trip, the Paiute Trail, what kind of bikes we are riding etc. We take some time and talk to these nice guys and we learn that the Service Station belongs to "Bob".



We B.S. With these guys a while as they joke around and give each other a hard time. Friendly folks. Bob gives us a few pointers on our upcoming route and tells us he can save us some time if we follow his directions....ok!!....we take note and head out according to Bob's directions.






We find ourselves pretty much in the middle of nowhere. We were told that it would be over 120 miles until we saw another gas station etc. And we even saw a couple signs confirming this. It was simply hot, dry and desolate as we took some gravel west towards the mountains in the distance. The gravel was relentless...not much in the way of scenery...just put yor head down...making time...alone in your thoughts as you ride together...but apart. There is a whole lot of time to think as you ride this terrain!







After making our way up and over a small mountain range, that included a starkly white mountain, we take a rest break in an open area covered in amber colored grass with a few tiny cactus scattered throughout. The mountains we traversed are to our east and behind us. It is extraordinarily quiet out here...with a bit of a breeze that does nothing to cool the 100 degree heat that is inescapable.






We take a couple of pictures here. It is a pretty place, especially if you are simply looking at a photo and don't have to bear the heat! On a trip like this, I have occasion to remind myself that it is the diversity of climate, scenery and terrain that makes for a great adventure. This is one of those occasions. In the distance we can see a rain storm over another mountain to the north of us. I wonder how the cool rain might feel on my face, if I were there instead of some 20 miles to the south!









We get back on the bikes after a couple of Lara Bars; and some water. Taking time to pause like this on the TAT, even if but for a few minutes, cannot be over emphasized. It is too easy to get caught up in putting miles behind you and making the day's distance goals. I said it before, I will say it again...I wish we would have done 120-140 miles per day...it would have allowed us a bit more time to soak in the ride...the experience.

We are soon riding the gravel road again...as the sun moves lower in the western sky. We are making good time and hoping to get to Border, UT by days end. An hour or so later, the air begins to cool and the sky takes on the color that comes with the sun's exit. Jim and I have both commented each evening, how much we like riding at twilight...sunset..if you will. The temps are lower, the wide open skies are littered with clouds and color...it has been absolutely awesome riding late evening during each days ride(s). We agree to disagree with the "up at 7 and done for the day by 6" method of tackling the Western TAT. We prefer up/out at about 9am and done at about 9pm. Your mileage may vary, but this is what we came to prefer as we rode.

By this time we have exited the gravel and are riding a barely visible trail. The trail is old and winds thru the grass and sagebrush....very faint...easy to lose in the twilight, but fun due to the challenge of simply staying on it! We follow the roll map directions that thankfully include a few landmarks, lest we simply not see the trail as it turns! We are riding east and as I ride up a gentle rise in the path, I am suddenly intersecting a freshly paved, blacktop road!!?? I check the roll map and sure enough....we are on track! Never in a million years would I have imagined there was a road out here!! Haha, Sam(founder of the trail/route) tricked us!!

It is only a few miles and we are in sight of Border....it is dark by now and while we are ready to call it a day, we felt good...and had really enjoyed the days ride. Border was basically a Motel and gas station....but frankly, that is all we wanted or cared about! We checked into a room, and enjoyed a couple of great burgers in the adjoining restaurant, as we reviewed our photos for the day. The photo below was actually taken the next morning.



The room was small, and could have come right out of a 1960's movie...but it was very clean, air conditioned and had all the amenities. In short, a GREAT spot for an overnight on the TAT! I don't even remember laying down for the night...slept like a rock.




More to come,


Ken

After a good nights sleep in Border, UT, we take off westbound with a goal of making it to Battle Mountain, NV. We had just passed the small town of "Eli", when off to our left we see...and hear... an old coal powered locomotive train! Whoa..don't see that everyday! We stop to watch the train pass by, and it gives us a couple toots of the steam whistle as it passes by.



We head down the road to the City of Eureka, NV. It is late morning, so we figure we will fuel up and grab some lunch. We sit down at a table in the "Owl Club and Saloon" and look around at the locals that are taking their lunch breaks. We are a bit dirty/dusty and we certainly stand out in this crowd, but we can't help but notice a gentleman behind me. He is seated, but likely stands about 6 5 or 6 6...he is built sturdy and has the weathered face of a rancher that has spent more than a little time in the sun/wind. At a glance, he reminds me of John Wayne. We finish our burgers as we overhear him talking about some past experiences with cattle and the like.






I can't help but stop by his table after a trip to the restroom, and introduce myself. I tell he and his wife that we could not help but notice him seated in what looks like a small chair (its not) with his cowboy hat on. I ask his wife if anyone had ever told him that he looks a bit like John Wayne, both in features and especially in stature, and she replies, "oh yes...we have heard that before". He is a bit hard of hearing, so I am having to talk in a manner that allows most of the other guests in the restaurant to listen to our conversation. They ask us a bit about our trip etc and we give them a bit of background on what we are doing. I politely ask the man if he would allow me to take his photo, as he certainly looked like "Nevada"! He obliged me and we thanked he and his wife for the photo and the conversation.

The town of Eureka was interesting. It has retained much of its "turn of the century" charm and had a few old buildings that are still being used, but certainly date back almost 100 years. I think Jim could have spent the day looking around and checking out the old town...he loves old, unchanged towns. We get back on our bikes...our fuel tanks and belly's full.








We head out of town on Highway 50 and it isn't even 20 minutes later we see a Nevada State Trooper with his emergency lights on, fly past us westbound. We see him up the road, in the distance, pulling over a semi-truck that is going the opposite direction. We think this is a bit odd, as we see him do this several more times. It isn't long before the Trooper dissapears in the distance. We motor on and after about 40 minutes we see a VERY LARGE Oversize transport hauling a monster dump truck!! Apparently the Trooper had simply been moving vehicle off to the side to allow this gigantic vehicle to pass. It literally needed the entire paved surface of the roadway...and then some, to make it's way down the road.

We got off the pavement shortly thereafter and began our days ride in the dirt. We soon determined that Nevada would be a hot, dusty and in some cases challenging bit of geography. The dirt was sometimes solid and would quickly change to sandy and powdery. These changes would often take place within a few hundred yards. All in all, Nevada would have a "desolate" feel to it as we rode through open range, ranch roads and dry, hot desert. At 100 degrees, even cruising at 45-50 mph simply felt like someone was fanning hot coals in your direction...or blasting your face with a blow dryer!

We made our way towards Battle Mountain, NV. We pretty much put our heads down and rode for most of the day. We rode down into an enormous "valley" of sorts...it was a flat area of desert surrounded by scattered mountains. While riding into this wide open area, we found ourselves in the middle of another thunderstorm. We observed a few lightning strikes not far off. We could see clear skies in front of, and behind us...but we were under a several miles long/wide cloud that seemed intent on raining or throwing lightning bolts down upon us. As we pick up our pace to get out from under this sinister cloud, we come upon two wild horses, galloping along the road, apparently with the same thing in mind! We fall in behind the horses at about 15 mph and follow them for a good mile or two. Jim and I both have reached into our pockets and retrieved our cameras at this point, and we are riding one handed as we video the horses. We watch as the horses take to the open range and run off westward, likely a bit spooked by the two idiots following them.



We are happy for the distraction and we continue on. The "flour-like" consistency of the "sand" that we have been riding today, is strange. When you hit a patch of it, or find yourself entering a long stretch of of it..it behaves almost like water, splashing up at your legs as you run through it. It is less stable than regular sand and is no fun as far as I am concerned. After we pass a bunch of mines and mining operations, we find ourselves fueling up in the tiny town of Crescent Valley. We got off the TAT to get here so we could fuel up the bikes.

We decide to re-route through what should be a very nice valley that will link us back up to the TAT called Corral Canyon. This will prove to be an awesome ride between a few mountains, over some single/double track that winds us in and around some grazing cattle, a zillion rabbits scurrying across the trail and some very nice scenery. The sometimes rocky and twisty trail is a welcome change from the straight,part gravel/part "flour-ish" sand that we have been riding most of the day.



As we are just about to exit the trail that opens up onto some flatter terrain, off to our left we see the TAT trail that meets up with our re-route. Perfect! We ride some more gravel roads as the sun sets. Battle mountain lies ahead several miles and it is just getting dark as we roll into the parking lot of our nightly Motel.

For you Super Sherpa ADV'ers out there...you may have noticed a lack of any Sherpa specific details in most of these ride reports. I actually noticed this too! The biggest reason being...the Super Sherpa just has not given me any trouble, nor much in the way to comment on! I mean this in the best possible sense, as the bike just works. Power? Just fine, other than the lack of oxygen at higher than 6 to 8,000 feet. Dependability? Not so much as a loose bolt! Comfort? Well, other than my butt being a bit uneasy on the seat for ten hours a day, no big deal...and likely much better than some 250cc seats! The Super Sherpa seems to be happy doing whatever I ask of it. The tires (Pirelli MT-21's) are getting worn, as they are much softer than the stock Trailwings, but they perform fantastic. Havent checked the spark plug, because the bike is running fine. Great little adventure bike...just leave your ego at home.

We get some dinner and get back to the Motel to take a look at the next days route. We both agree that tomorrow may seem like Deja Vu, given the similar terrain we will be riding. It is Nevada after all!

More to come,

Ken

Thanks for the update .

Beautiful pics with an excellent report! I am enjoying the heck out of this report - The ride is on my bucket list and I am glad to see the Sherpa is performing flawlessly.
Can't wait for the next installment.

Ride safe and enjoy!