Pop & Pax - West TAT 2009 - Page 4

Pax · 09-30-2009, 03:30 PM

I awoke hoping to feel like a new man, but it was not to be so. Foot still hurt and Dad had a Motrin ready for me at the start.

Dad got us loaded.

and he took a picture of me...

And off we rode into the scrub...

As we rode, we saw something really tall in the distance...it looked green and we discussed what it might be...until we got to a couple of trees in the middle of nowhere.

There was a sign on that cabin that said, "Keep Out" so I didn't mess with it.

We rode on a bit and started gaining elevation.

We took our picture...the old timer-trick where I setup the camera and then hobbled ridiculously over to take our picture. Dad said something like, "And why are we holding our arms again?"..."Why not?" was my response.

Sunblock = Good.

This packed road was really weird. It was like snow in winter that hardens on the surface but breaks as you walk on it. It was kind of annoying and I think I had an easier time with it since I weigh more.

Dad deploying the landing gear.

ATGATT Shadow Man

We started riding out of the valley we had been in and we rode on an unimproved road that was pretty junky. Dad was having a rough time and kept bailing. He asked to stop so we just parked the bikes here in the middle of the "road" and he laid down for 30 minutes and rested.

When he woke up, he was a new man again and his mind was right. He cleaned the rest of the day.

The sky was big here.

I have no idea how long that fence-row is, but wow...

Coming through the valley, we saw several enormous ranches. It was outstandingly beautiful.

We rode the switchbacks out of here and spent a lot of time just keeping moving. Today I was concerned about fuel and we tested my theory that we had enough...just. We arrived in Eureka thoroughly dehydrated as I ran out of water 3 hours before we got in. Gatorade never tasted so good. I made a point of coasting as much as possible today and wound up making up 14 miles of coasting by the end of the day!

Eureka wasn't particularly compelling to me and I'd likely skip it if I were riding through again. I'd probably just camp or bypass the town altogether except for supplies. But I may have just been grumpy.

End Day 6.

hvilla · 09-30-2009, 04:01 PM

Great RR!!

Thanks for taking the time to share it with us! Looking forward to the rest of the story!!

bash3r · 09-30-2009, 05:51 PM

Awesome..let me know when your next trip is! I don't think I'm ready for it yet, but I think I want to be ready...

HighFive · 09-30-2009, 08:20 PM

HF

Chadx · 09-30-2009, 09:12 PM

Good report, Pax. And now I don't have to image what my pictures will look like when I do the TAT since you and I rock the same bike, stormtrooper-white XD (not XD3) helmet and Koerta pressure suit. Ha.

DockingPilot · 10-01-2009, 04:37 AM

Excellent Pax !!!!!!!

LongCliff · 10-01-2009, 05:04 AM

Sorry about the foot. Really enjoying the report!

Pax · 10-01-2009, 12:45 PM

WARNING: SHORT RIDE REPORT DAY.

Today we got started about 7AM. Dad was still super sore and was asking (telling?) me to take it easy on him. I told him I thought the day would be easier than the last. We were scheduled to collapse 2 days into 1.

This was our first mistake because we were rushed and thinking about the 265 miles in front of us. Goofy. This was our first big trip and honestly, we went into it pretty soft. So, it is no surprise that while we were having a blast, our bodies were just plain tired. The days laid out on the TAT are there for a reason and are the right length when riding in a group. You might do it faster by yourself...

We got started well enough...

The road was pretty much like the other stuff we had ridden, but then it turned somewhat into talc in places. Just a little bit...

You can see it in this photo if you look at my tracks...

Dad came riding along and he was not sure what to do with his front wheel acting like a keel rather than a wheel.

I don't have a picture of what happened next, so I've done my best and drawn a series. Don't be alarmed at what you are about to see... These are actors portraying real events (sorry Pop!

).

Really, did you really draw that? Amazing there Da Vinci...

As the dust settled, Dad was laying in a heap under his bike. Not moving. Not talking. (don't worry, he is ok).

I jumped off my bike and ran (forgetting my foot entirely). This was a different sort of fall. No arms or legs flailed about to break his fall. He just flopped over the bars headfirst and took a hard digger. His tire caught a rut, he grabbed his bars hard (lesson here boys and girls) which ultimately drove the wheel perpendicular into the talc groove rather than floating across it, and the bike stopped...bike suspension absorbed the forward momentum.

Dad, on the other hand, was an object in motion...until he hit the ground, head-first. Argh.

He could move his toes and fingers. I him him stay still. He quietly said, "Thank you for getting the bike off me so fast." No cussing. No complaining. Just quiet and that bothered me. We got him up and dusted him off. He was limping and his left knee wouldn't take weight.

Expectation: the act or state of looking forward or anticipating.

When we planned this ride, I believe we tended to expect a LOT and that put a certain amount of pressure on us - unnecessarily. In my mind I knew we couldn't ride today on the trail. It was not going to work and I wasn't going to leave Dad alone with him hurting. So, expectations had to change.

"Ok, Dad, we are going to take a rest day. We are going to slab over to Winnemucca, grab a bite, change the oil and then drive on to Monticello."

I could hear him sigh relief. So we backtracked to the tarmac and I charted our course...off to Winnemucca we rode.

Most times, things have a way of working out. It was on this portion of the ride that we talked at length about Dad's life growing up. Things I never knew or would have heard about without today. It was fascinating.

We got into Winnemucca around lunch and we tripped across a Yamaha dealer who had 2 oil filters in stock. Bought 'em and rode on to the Radio Shack down the road to buy a power supply since I had absent-mindedly left mine back in Richfield (nice one, Pax). Radio Shack wanted $150 for the power supply. For a $300 netbook I declined and decided to store up my thoughts in my brain instead.

Leaving Radio Shack a guy named Terry pulled up on a little Ninja 250. We started talking and he invited us to his house to change our oil and rest a bit. I thanked him and told him I might take him up on it if Wal-Mart wouldn't dispose of our oil. We picked up oil at Wally world and they wouldn't allow us to use their bays or even change the oil there so we decided to go to Terry's house. We got there and found him working in his garage. He is a penny-tech expert and generous to boot. He set us up and we had the oil changed in an hour and Terry filled us up with cold Pepsi's. Turns out Terry works in the gold mine in Winnemucca and is married to a great Russian gal who was visiting her parents. Terry showed us around his yard and we talked for a while longer. He was a great guy and as we talked I realized I would have missed this had we stuck to our "expectations" that I had clung to so dearly early in the day...

Terry has a similar picture of me hanging out as his house...

Garage!

After hanging out a bit, we went ahead and got on the road to finish the day. The bikes were smooth and we felt great.

We got into Eureka and hung out at the "Say When Casino" where we met Paul Shriner who was also doing the TAT. He was a neat guy who had a ton of stories...Skierd, do you have any pics of Paul?

Dad had a really cool looking toe when we got in...it got better over the next few days.

Day 7 Ends.

10Cup · 10-01-2009, 03:02 PM

Great report Pax! Very sorry to hear about your foot however. Hope it wasn't too bad. Love the personal touch you give the report about you and your Dad. Just the best.

Ride safe!

Pax · 10-01-2009, 03:34 PM

Thanks man! No worries on the foot! I'm wobbling around just fine and this wheel can heal! The Sidi Crossfires absolutely saved my foot from serious damage.

Dad is going to physical therapy to work on his leg and perhaps they'll do a little glue and sew on his knee in the next few weeks. I've determined that his pants didn't have enough padding in the knee. I can't speak highly enough of my BMW Rallye II pants with their gooey armor.

I bet like everyone here, we'd both go riding again today if we had the opportunity!

-Pax

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10Cup

Great report Pax! Very sorry to hear about your foot however. Hope it wasn't too bad. Love the personal touch you give the report about you and your Dad. Just the best.

Ride safe!

LongCliff · 10-01-2009, 04:33 PM

Excellent cartoon work. Feels like I was there for the crash. Did you draw your avitar as well?

skierd · 10-01-2009, 05:06 PM

Pay no attention to the man on the big red KLR...

Women want him, men want to be him... or something like that.

Pax · 10-01-2009, 07:09 PM

HAH! The avatar was mocked up somewhere online and then I modified it in Photoshop. Being a goof.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LongCliff

Excellent cartoon work. Feels like I was there for the crash. Did you draw your avitar as well?

bash3r · 10-01-2009, 08:22 PM

Pax- from your report did you and your Pops have radio headsets to talk during the ride?? is this how you listened to his stories of his life?

man.. if so, those intercoms are priceless! can you imagine if the ride was mute without them, all that time with no communication with your dad, just that dumb little voice in your head.....

great RR!

Jedediah · 10-01-2009, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bash3r

Pax- from your report did you and your Pops have radio headsets to talk during the ride?? is this how you listened to his stories of his life?

man.. if so, those intercoms are priceless! can you imagine if the ride was mute without them, all that time with no communication with your dad, just that dumb little voice in your head.....

great RR!

I have so many questions for you. I hope at the end of your RR you will talk about your bikes and equipment. And field a few questions.

This is a great report and I look FWD to more. Thanks for posting.

Jed

09-30-2009, 03:30 PM	#46
Pax ^OP shazam. Joined: Jul 2006 Location: COMO Oddometer: 809	Day 6/9: Baker, NV to Eureka, NV I awoke hoping to feel like a new man, but it was not to be so. Foot still hurt and Dad had a Motrin ready for me at the start. Dad got us loaded. and he took a picture of me... And off we rode into the scrub... As we rode, we saw something really tall in the distance...it looked green and we discussed what it might be...until we got to a couple of trees in the middle of nowhere. There was a sign on that cabin that said, "Keep Out" so I didn't mess with it. We rode on a bit and started gaining elevation. We took our picture...the old timer-trick where I setup the camera and then hobbled ridiculously over to take our picture. Dad said something like, "And why are we holding our arms again?"..."Why not?" was my response. Sunblock = Good. This packed road was really weird. It was like snow in winter that hardens on the surface but breaks as you walk on it. It was kind of annoying and I think I had an easier time with it since I weigh more. Dad deploying the landing gear. ATGATT Shadow Man We started riding out of the valley we had been in and we rode on an unimproved road that was pretty junky. Dad was having a rough time and kept bailing. He asked to stop so we just parked the bikes here in the middle of the "road" and he laid down for 30 minutes and rested. When he woke up, he was a new man again and his mind was right. He cleaned the rest of the day. The sky was big here. I have no idea how long that fence-row is, but wow... Coming through the valley, we saw several enormous ranches. It was outstandingly beautiful. We rode the switchbacks out of here and spent a lot of time just keeping moving. Today I was concerned about fuel and we tested my theory that we had enough...just. We arrived in Eureka thoroughly dehydrated as I ran out of water 3 hours before we got in. Gatorade never tasted so good. I made a point of coasting as much as possible today and wound up making up 14 miles of coasting by the end of the day! Eureka wasn't particularly compelling to me and I'd likely skip it if I were riding through again. I'd probably just camp or bypass the town altogether except for supplies. But I may have just been grumpy. End Day 6. __________________ yamaha wr250r \| ktm 950se RIDES: Pop & Pax - West TAT 2009 \| The Dean of Adventure Routes “Character is much easier kept than recovered.” –Thomas Paine

09-30-2009, 04:01 PM	#47
hvilla Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Jun 2008 Location: Aztec, NM, USA Oddometer: 118	Great RR!! Thanks for taking the time to share it with us! Looking forward to the rest of the story!! __________________ Hiram V. "Off road, but still on track..."

09-30-2009, 05:51 PM	#48
bash3r Beastly Adventurer Joined: Aug 2009 Location: Wentzville, MO Oddometer: 1,608	Awesome..let me know when your next trip is! I don't think I'm ready for it yet, but I think I want to be ready... __________________ 08' Yamaha WR250R 08' Kawasaki Versys My ADV Website \| ADV Legends

09-30-2009, 08:20 PM	#49
HighFive Bike-aholic Joined: Nov 2006 Location: Okiehoma Oddometer: 2,103	HF __________________ '13 Husky TR650 Terra, '11 Husaberg FE390, '10 BMW F800GS, '71 Honda CL70 Bergs Over the Rainbow Texas or Bust! BigDog/Highfive--Fall Colors in Missouri 2011 Athena Big Bore Project The Other Side of Nowhere Highfive Goes Dragon Hunting WRRDualsport.com

09-30-2009, 09:12 PM	#50
Chadx Off the road again.. Joined: Oct 2007 Location: Bozeman, Montana Oddometer: 2,140	Good report, Pax. And now I don't have to image what my pictures will look like when I do the TAT since you and I rock the same bike, stormtrooper-white XD (not XD3) helmet and Koerta pressure suit. Ha. __________________ For Sale: Micatech V2 Panniers and SW Motech Racks for Yamaha Super Tenere.

10-01-2009, 04:37 AM	#51
DockingPilot Hooked Up and Hard Over Joined: Mar 2004 Location: Andover, N.J. Oddometer: 7,563	Excellent Pax !!!!!!! __________________ Frank Reinbold "Every bike I ever had, was the best bike I ever had, when I had it" *2010 FOREVER WEST* NEW ENGLAND AND CANADA OFFROAD F800GS 14 DAY IDAHO ADVENTURE KTM 950 TRANS AM TRAIL WEST TRANS AM TRAIL VID CLIP THE DEAN OF WESTERN ADVENTURE ROUTES

10-01-2009, 05:04 AM	#52
LongCliff Bagger Joined: May 2009 Location: Harrisburg, PA, USA Oddometer: 518	Sorry about the foot. Really enjoying the report! __________________ 2005 XT-225 (mine) 2003 TTR-125L (daughter's) 2008 TTR-110 (son's)

10-01-2009, 12:45 PM	#53
Pax ^OP shazam. Joined: Jul 2006 Location: COMO Oddometer: 809	Day 7/9: Eureka, NV to McDermitt, NV WARNING: SHORT RIDE REPORT DAY. Today we got started about 7AM. Dad was still super sore and was asking (telling?) me to take it easy on him. I told him I thought the day would be easier than the last. We were scheduled to collapse 2 days into 1. This was our first mistake because we were rushed and thinking about the 265 miles in front of us. Goofy. This was our first big trip and honestly, we went into it pretty soft. So, it is no surprise that while we were having a blast, our bodies were just plain tired. The days laid out on the TAT are there for a reason and are the right length when riding in a group. You might do it faster by yourself... We got started well enough... The road was pretty much like the other stuff we had ridden, but then it turned somewhat into talc in places. Just a little bit... You can see it in this photo if you look at my tracks... Dad came riding along and he was not sure what to do with his front wheel acting like a keel rather than a wheel. I don't have a picture of what happened next, so I've done my best and drawn a series. Don't be alarmed at what you are about to see... These are actors portraying real events (sorry Pop! ). Really, did you really draw that? Amazing there Da Vinci... As the dust settled, Dad was laying in a heap under his bike. Not moving. Not talking. (don't worry, he is ok). I jumped off my bike and ran (forgetting my foot entirely). This was a different sort of fall. No arms or legs flailed about to break his fall. He just flopped over the bars headfirst and took a hard digger. His tire caught a rut, he grabbed his bars hard (lesson here boys and girls) which ultimately drove the wheel perpendicular into the talc groove rather than floating across it, and the bike stopped...bike suspension absorbed the forward momentum. Dad, on the other hand, was an object in motion...until he hit the ground, head-first. Argh. He could move his toes and fingers. I him him stay still. He quietly said, "Thank you for getting the bike off me so fast." No cussing. No complaining. Just quiet and that bothered me. We got him up and dusted him off. He was limping and his left knee wouldn't take weight. Expectation: the act or state of looking forward or anticipating. When we planned this ride, I believe we tended to expect a LOT and that put a certain amount of pressure on us - unnecessarily. In my mind I knew we couldn't ride today on the trail. It was not going to work and I wasn't going to leave Dad alone with him hurting. So, expectations had to change. "Ok, Dad, we are going to take a rest day. We are going to slab over to Winnemucca, grab a bite, change the oil and then drive on to Monticello." I could hear him sigh relief. So we backtracked to the tarmac and I charted our course...off to Winnemucca we rode. Most times, things have a way of working out. It was on this portion of the ride that we talked at length about Dad's life growing up. Things I never knew or would have heard about without today. It was fascinating. We got into Winnemucca around lunch and we tripped across a Yamaha dealer who had 2 oil filters in stock. Bought 'em and rode on to the Radio Shack down the road to buy a power supply since I had absent-mindedly left mine back in Richfield (nice one, Pax). Radio Shack wanted $150 for the power supply. For a $300 netbook I declined and decided to store up my thoughts in my brain instead. Leaving Radio Shack a guy named Terry pulled up on a little Ninja 250. We started talking and he invited us to his house to change our oil and rest a bit. I thanked him and told him I might take him up on it if Wal-Mart wouldn't dispose of our oil. We picked up oil at Wally world and they wouldn't allow us to use their bays or even change the oil there so we decided to go to Terry's house. We got there and found him working in his garage. He is a penny-tech expert and generous to boot. He set us up and we had the oil changed in an hour and Terry filled us up with cold Pepsi's. Turns out Terry works in the gold mine in Winnemucca and is married to a great Russian gal who was visiting her parents. Terry showed us around his yard and we talked for a while longer. He was a great guy and as we talked I realized I would have missed this had we stuck to our "expectations" that I had clung to so dearly early in the day... Terry has a similar picture of me hanging out as his house... Garage! After hanging out a bit, we went ahead and got on the road to finish the day. The bikes were smooth and we felt great. We got into Eureka and hung out at the "Say When Casino" where we met Paul Shriner who was also doing the TAT. He was a neat guy who had a ton of stories...Skierd, do you have any pics of Paul? Dad had a really cool looking toe when we got in...it got better over the next few days. Day 7 Ends. __________________ yamaha wr250r \| ktm 950se RIDES: Pop & Pax - West TAT 2009 \| The Dean of Adventure Routes “Character is much easier kept than recovered.” –Thomas Paine

10-01-2009, 03:02 PM	#54
10Cup Beastly Adventurer Joined: Oct 2008 Location: NW Arkansas Oddometer: 2,289	Sorry to hear about your foot Great report Pax! Very sorry to hear about your foot however. Hope it wasn't too bad. Love the personal touch you give the report about you and your Dad. Just the best. Ride safe! __________________ 10Cup - WR250R - BMW R1200GS Trails of the West 2011 Moab/Western TAT 2010 Continental Divide Ride 09 Route 66 Ride SPOT Tracker SpearMotorSports, Inc. The cost of living's going up, and the chance of livin's going down.

10-01-2009, 04:33 PM	#56
LongCliff Bagger Joined: May 2009 Location: Harrisburg, PA, USA Oddometer: 518	Excellent cartoon work. Feels like I was there for the crash. Did you draw your avitar as well? __________________ 2005 XT-225 (mine) 2003 TTR-125L (daughter's) 2008 TTR-110 (son's)

10-01-2009, 05:06 PM	#57
skierd Wannabe Far-Rider Joined: Jan 2008 Location: Fairbanks, AK Oddometer: 2,703	Paul Pay no attention to the man on the big red KLR... Women want him, men want to be him... or something like that. __________________ "We wish your trail a long one" - Darlene "Sid" Dowd ~ Never run out of traction, ideas, and real estate at the same time. 2008 Yamaha WR250X - 1998 Honda Nighthawk CB750 Eastern TAT 8/2009 ~MD-Key West-Oklahoma 4/2011~Maryland to Alaska 3/2012

10-01-2009, 08:22 PM	#59
bash3r Beastly Adventurer Joined: Aug 2009 Location: Wentzville, MO Oddometer: 1,608	Pax- from your report did you and your Pops have radio headsets to talk during the ride?? is this how you listened to his stories of his life? man.. if so, those intercoms are priceless! can you imagine if the ride was mute without them, all that time with no communication with your dad, just that dumb little voice in your head..... great RR! __________________ 08' Yamaha WR250R 08' Kawasaki Versys My ADV Website \| ADV Legends

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