TAT 2013, the "I’m Just Sayin…" tour

more please.

so, hows two middle aged guys (as you say) on the beefier side doing after lets say 1000 miles... i wanna know about hands? arms..... and especially your ass...... i'm not sure the bling seats (with eurorhythmic sensative posturpedic battery operated seats will do the trick) you purchased are up for the long haul.... i'm just sayin....... hows the middle of your back? maybe you should have installed ape hangers on them? it doesn't look like you guys did any extensive cardio or P90X before the trip? just sayin for anyone else that thinks they can just hang a leg over and do 4k miles... so, i'm askin this at the 1k mark... then the 2k mark. and 3 k mark... and 4 k mark.. good info on how much you spent per day. all this helps.. how much was spot tracker and gps stuff.????

my offer still stands... i'll fly in and finish...

almost forgot, i wanna know how much weight you guys lost too....

interested in the response to the "in-shape" part of this question. i've already locked in a personal trainer for sessions twice a week. with a focus on building up endurance, strength, and cardiovascular health.

and to respond to spot tracker/gps - even though this isn't my thread (but because i'm preparing for tat):
i just bought Spot Gen 3 - won't receive for another week because it hasn't really released. it was $150, the service will likely be 150 for the year (including the tracking service and the regular messaging)

gps - bought a garmin montana and a gps maps card for north america. then also bought the rugged mount - all this from gpscity.com for around $600.

I waited here



for 3 hours..they never showed..I suspect they still dealing with a fuel leak issue..darn it..

Naw, no trap! Thanks for signing the book.

why wait? head up the trail and chase them down!!...

Sorry we missed you. We are down in Clarksville we had to get some welding done... The fuel leak is going to stay till our tire stop in Colorado. Rally Raid is shipping me one there via DHL two day. The leak is not to bad and I have around a 200 mile range if I leave it empty and if I fill it I might loose a half pint before using that tank for the day...

Not a whole lot we can do about the middle age bit. I have been doing a bit of mountain biking prior to the trip. So my cardio was not total crap.

As far as what hurts, well a lot of me hurts from the tuck and roll on the asphalt but nothing too bad. The ass was sore for the first 3 days but was fine today. My fingers feel like summer sausages and my feet hurt a bit. So not too bad at 1300 miles from our drop off point in Bristol.

Someone else covered the cost of the spot and GPS. The Montana seems to be holding up well, it takes a few days of real use before you find out what settings you really like.

The Stock KTM 690 seat will break your ass so the seat was more of a necessity than bling, I did cheap out and went with a seat concepts seat and it works well enough.

It is tough getting the energy to post every night, but we are switching off days and it seems to be working. Bandwidth has been a challenge at some of the hotels which is why more video has not come out yet. We are trying to keep this as close to real time as we can as I think that works well with the audience as well as meeting up with people.

We are still trying to figure out tomorrow. We have a bit of backtracking to do so we don't miss out on any part of the (have to get back up to 123 to get back on the trail) TAT but we wanted to get somewhere to get things fixed before everything closed for the day.

Day 5- Ended in Clarksville, AR- ~196 miles

I woke up with a bit of a fever and coughing up green stuff instead of Mississippi dirt. I took two aspirin and prepared for some road therapy.

The day started out nice and proceeded to get hot. Very hot. I stripped off my jacket and rode with just the ballistic jersey.

This guy did not agree with me on the temperature.



We rode up into the Ozarks looking like this:



But feeling like this:



We had arrived:



The Ozark Mountains provided shade, cooler mountain air, wide smooth gravel roads, and stunning vistas:





After one of our stops I walked over to my bike, grabbed the handlebars, and started to mount up. SNAP! The POS Husky kickstand broke and I had 400 lbs of bike and gear leaning into me. I barely managed to hold the bike up. I’m sure my back will thank me later tonight.

So, at our next rest stop



Here was my improvised kickstand



I dismounted, took off my gear, walked back over to my bike and met one of the trees inhabitants



This guy literally slithered over my foot peg to get this perch.

The Ozarks are a beautiful ride. Highly recommended. It was sad to come off the mountain in search of shelter and a machine shop. Riding into Clarksville I saw this:



Clarksville Small Engine Repair. Mike was the owner. He looked at my broken parts, smiled and said he could fix it. While he welded and made sparks for an hour I played with his dog.



He not only welded the kickstand, he cut a hollow tube in half and welded that onto it. Then he welded a metal rod to the outside. Then he tapped the kickstand to put a bigger stronger bolt through it. I believe this guy invented engineering overkill.



May not be pretty (I don’t like pretty things on my Husky), but I bet it holds. It will be tested. BTW, Mike said he would be happy to help anyone in need passing by on the TAT.

Now some practical matters on riding the TAT, some people use goggles, some prefer face shields. This was my view for 60 miles in TN:



Choose wisely.

We are riding with both Montana GPS’s and Scala G9 communication systems. We can talk to each other from 300 feet in the mountains to over 900 feet in line of sight. You don’t “need” this gear, but it makes riding strange roads safer.

With the GPS you can see the curves coming up. We have been on many long straights that end at a sharp off camber turn. It’s really, really, nice having a heads up before you get there. Especially when you are hot and tired and maybe not paying 100 percent attention.

With the comm system, you can warn you buddies before they encounter: sharp turns, logs, stream crossing, branches, logs, rocks, road kill, deer, turtles, lizards, armadillos, road graders, cars, trucks, cows, potholes, attacking dogs, etc. Plus you can coordinate stops, photo ops, and generally harass their lack of riding prowess (and receive the same).

I’m sold on the value of both items. They cost far less than the potential hospital bills and the repairing of wrecked bikes.

hope you wait for me if i get a chance to ride out that way, Doc!


enjoying the blog.... must avoid

Hahah.... No fall over today, maybe tomorrow

We are going to slow down a bit now. Else we will get to our tire stop on Saturday night and they are closed on Sunday and Monday. We may still get there on Sunday and will use Monday to tour the area. Plus it might be time for a day off...

It's not like you were busy....

Did you have pie?

Thanks Vinnie. We should be passing by in two or three days. Nice to have a backup plan if SHTF.

Mike

count on it..if you come thru here Billy, I will be "lay'n in wait!"

in! you guys are 'bout to get into some FUN riding over the next week

Ill be here thru the week. Heading to Eureka Springs, Arkansas on Friday.......Ill hang loose in case.....

Stopped at Oark this morning about 10:30 and a couple of real nice gentlemen from Maryland were their and were riding the TAT.
Husky TE610 and KTM 690


We had breakfast and visited for a while then split. They said they were actually a day late and were supposed to meet some strange character from Drakes Creek:huh

Anyway they felt bad that they missed you Doc.

They were planning on staying in Siloam Springs, Ar. tonight, just North of the TAT.

Checked their spot just now and looks like they are around the Prairie Grove area currently. Kirkstir said they were going to slow the pace and enjoy more of the ride and surroundings. Sounded like a plan since they don't have to be back till the end of July. Hope you guys make it all the way to Oregon and the Pacific Ocean!

Great meeting you guys this morning. Hope you have the best trip ever. Especially taking into account the time you spent putting it all together.

Here are the lucky devils. Kirkstir on the left and ESP41 on the right.

Subscribed!!

Looks like a great time!!

JG