2008-TAT Vintage Ride - UT, NV, and OR

[DockingPilot]

Port Orford.

[bigequip]

It looks like they have about a 100+/- miles to go. I hope all is well and they have a great finish. Ride on!

[windburn]

Every worthy goal has adjustments and set back. You are great men and everyone of you should be filled with pride of accomplishment. you are on the stage doing your best. I stand to cheer for you. Ride on, ride on!!!

[makotosun]

OK - it's been a bit since my last post - I've been way too tired to do anything but hook up the gps and radio charger then hit the sack. I woke up today with all my cloths on, on top of the covers! Jeez.

I CAN'T GET THE PHOTOS UPLOADED RIGHT NOW, SO I WILL SUPPLEMENT THIS POST LATER.

A bit of a Recap:

We made it from Winnemucca to Denio Junction sometime after noon and had some lunch. Highly recommend the burger which consisted of about half a pound of prime beef hand formed an perfectly cooked. The milkshakes are also damn fine.

After that we caught the TAT off of 140 next to a dry lake. What is it with Sam - he has half a dozen nice county gravel roads to choose from and he picks the antelope trail you would miss without a GPS! Joe and I decided to brave the trail and there is really one rule of thumb - try not to hit any rocks bigger than your head! My 400 was tossed about like a rowboat in a hurricane, and Joe's 360 took it even worse. Great view if you make it, probably death if you mess up.

If you survive the hill climb (questionable) you are presented with some really nice backroad two track. We saw a couple of groups of wild Mules and numerous Antelope on the trail.

Due to time constraints, we have decided to hit the trail in sections and slab it on to make the coast on Sunday. Hence, the blacktop called us for a section on to Lakeview. Good road, and another state line crossing.

Met up with our support truck in Lakeview, and spent too short a night at the International 8 motel. Really nice folks and the most rotund mongrel dog I have ever seen. She said the only thing it ever bit was a donut, and I am thinking it never met a donut it didn't like!

After Lakeview it was off towards our goal of Crater Lake. We took the back roads out of Lakeview and got a nice mix of forest service roads and two track through some gorgeous woods. We found a bit of snow still, and ultimately, after a dozen downed trees, some marshy stuff, we met our daily nemisis - an impassable ford. Probably 5 feet deep and rushing from the melting snow.

Another backtrack and off to Crater Lake. Just an amazing national treasure. If you are in the area and don't stop, you are a fool!

Since my headlight had bit the dust before we left Lakeview, I needed to find shelter before dark, so we ended up in Shady Cove, OR, just minutes before dark. Great hotel at the Edgewater.

We leave in about 20 minutes for some more TAT on our final leg to Port Orford, and a hopefully successful end to our saga.

[fotobo]

Good luck guys.

[wachs]

HA! Crater Lake is worth the whole thing - nice work fellas. Keep grindin' the miles!

[brad21]

Bam!

[EnduroDoctor]

experience (ĭk-spîr'ē-əns)
n. The apprehension of an object, thought, or emotion through the senses or mind: a child's first experience of snow.
1. Active participation in events or activities, leading to the accumulation of knowledge or skill.
2. An event or a series of events participated in or lived through.
3. The totality of such events in the past of an individual or group.



You can read all about the trip,
You can listen to all the stories,
You can look at all of the pictures,
Of the TAT and all of her glory.

You can touch the dust we brought home,
You can smell the sagebrush wedged in the pegs.
You can feel the dents in the skid pans,
You can see the violet on our legs.

Empty cans of chain lube and oil,
Full hearts of adventure and toil.
Frozen hands warmed by exhaust pipes and fins,
Death filled canyons we dared to go in.

Steep climbs littered with rock,
Deep sand required you to stop.
Broken bones brought help from the stranger,
Wondering why you would risk such danger.

Engines being pushed to the limit,
Bodies being pushed to the limit,
Friendship being pushed to the limit,
Credit cards now over the limit.

Why would a group of cyberspace strangers risk everything?

Gas mixed with water,
Clothes washed in sweat,
We should stop today,
But we ain’t done yet.

Roads graveled with marbles,
Mud became rock as we shivered in snow,
The GPS gave pause to marvel,
But we still didn’t know where to go.

We brought spare parts and bikes,
Extra food and water,
Cash and clothes, Radios and phones,
But the trail had to end,
By the break of a bone.

Words could fill the land,
And books pour out of our hearts,
All trying to convey to you what only experience can tell.
And those of you who know,
It is only experience that speaks our language.

© Anthony Pack, ate Month="5" Day="19" Year="2008">May 19, 2008ate>
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[alpiv]

Well done!
You've got my mind spinning for this July !
Hope you left us some bread crumbs to follow!.....

[Kieth]

I guess they made it, where are the pictures ?????? My last GPS update shows them on the coast of Oregon........Well done. Vance get well soon. Kieth

[wachs]

Originally Posted by Kieth

I guess they made it, where are the pictures ?????? Vance get well soon. Kieth

ditto

[makotosun]

For those of you who have been following this story, and the GPS links on our website or in the forum link, Joe, Dman and myself arrived at the beach in Port Orford, Oregon at about 8:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon (Sunday). We attained the endgoal though the story is much more detailed than I can do tonight after an 8 hour day driving home.

I will post tons of pictures, a narrative of the final days of the Three Amigos (some say the Three Stooges) on our quest to reach the Pacific. I may even get some video of the Moab Canyons done for your enjoyment!

Please be patient, as my body is screaming, and I am operating in a mostly sleep deprived state!



Lots more to come in the next day or so!

[Motor 1]

Congrats! I know that feeling all too well Epic ride guys.

[alpiv]

Front Page Vote!

[D-man]

A more motley crew there has never been that made the coast. My TAT is done I am home. Now I need a vacation to rest from my vacation. Some tidbits that are fresh before my feeble memory has lost them forever.

TAT – the gift that keeps on taking, kicks your butt and comes back for more. Thanks Sam C.

TAT miles - twice as hard and twice as long as regular miles.

GPS - a high tech gadget that just gets you into trouble faster than conventional maps.

Friends – keyboard cowboys that follow your adventure by satellite.

Life long buddies – out there with you getting, muddy, cold, wet, hot, crashing, getting whipped and whipping back on the TAT. Thanks guys, will never will forget this one.

Plan “A” - forget planning, can’t plan the TAT just go and do it. Can do 300 miles one day and maybe 50 - 100 the next. Just don’t know what the TAT is going to dish out on any particular section.

Don’t go in Early May – anyone going this year before mid June will not get through 100% of the official route in Oregon, unless you plan on doing it with a snowmobile.

More notes to follow when I recover and can get some more pics downloaded



Dman