The TAT Preparation Thread-the logistical side of it

Frank's idea sounds really good, especially with my recent experience on shipping. I sold my BMW RT to a buyer in Washington state and the cost was $600. BUT, the schedule was loose, to say the least. They must have been almost one month late vs. their original target. We had to wait until they came by this area, and the schedule continually changed, slipped, etc. It eventually happened though, and the bike arrived save and sound. Competent guys, but just not anywhere close to the original schedule. Allied sounds good in comparison.

As to time, Sam Correro plans 21 days, but I've read it being done in 19. Not sure if there were any bypasses in that time but I would guess so. You have to hit it hard every day, start early and ride late, to do it that fast I'm thinking. We did it maybe in an all time slow pace of 36, but that included quite a few days off for sight seeing/relaxing, and also for repairs that required mailing in parts or finding them along the trail. A few welding jobs in there too. Taking a month to do it if you have no problems would be a nice pace.

I plan to start on the ms. ak.border,already done tn. and ms.(believe me you aint missing nothing,mostly paved). So leaving around aug 1 and going hard for 3 weeks,maybe a few more days if needed. Im from al,but will be living in NC by then,my riding partner is from bham,weve already ridden the CDT togather, and have the camping and gear down pat. So we are looking for riding inmates,we can meet anywhere,were flexable,you wanna do TN.and MS we can adjust a few days. Docking Pilot is helping me with my gps,also SAM is offering the maps in an email version(betcha didnt know that) So anybody interested lets get intouch drop me a pm lets go

Also forgot to mention,we will renting small tk,uhaul or what ever to get back

Awesome Frank, I had been shopping by price for a carrier,but when I saw you guys use Allied in your Forever West ride report, and the fact that they allow you to ship your bike with all your gear-well in the long run I'll probably save $ by not having to separately ship my gear back via UPS. I think I will go Allied.

Few pics of some options I've wadded through for electric items: in my hand is Eastern Beaver's 3 circuit unit,and as you can see I went with the Fuze Block which is wired into my fairing. You can place the fuse to operate always on or with your ignition switch. I've got one on both bikes-works well.


Don't forget your battery tender connection,and connector for heated gear:)

Lefty,

A little confused. Did you not use the 3 circuit unit and use the 8 fuse block thingy they have? Where three fuses not enought for you or is there some other reason you did not use it? I am currently looking at some way to wire up all of my stuff. I would prefer to have one wire running to the battery and have a fuseblock behind the front mask. I plan on running heated grips,a GPS, and a 12v socket (to charge phone/ipad, etc). The first two would be switched and and the 12v would remained un switched to be able to keep charging. You think your the three circuit would work? Sorry to bomb on your thread asking but electrical stuff really confuses me!

I showed both because I mentioned in an earlier post that I made a lot of decisions -some right -some wrong when it came to what I purchased to get me and my bike ready. I originally purchased the 3 circuit,but then realized I would need more than 3 circuits(heated grips,gps,tank bag,heated gear,and odometer unit). I stink at electrical stuff-am clueless,as I had someone help me set that up. Both nice,I just wanted to give a picture of both for ya' all.

Ok, thanks! Trying avoid buying several different pieces of gear as I am going to be sorta tight on money. Want to buy the right part the first time whenever possible. I can always pick up extra shifts but pretty sure the girlfriend would not be happy! Thanks for posting this.

I live less than an hour from the Tellico starting point in TN. Am hoping to ride the TAT this august / September. If someone was coming east and wanted a van to drive back to oregon. We might be able to work something out. Just thinking about options at this time.

I was just reading through a TAT thread from 2010 tonight and came across this:

".Recently I sent an email to Sam to see what he thinks about people sharing GPS tracks of TAT...

> Hi Sam,
> Are you in favor of or against the free distribution of GPS tracks of TAT,
> that others have recorded while following your maps and roll charts?
> Thanks,
> Scott

And Sam's response...

I am against it. It is wrong and unfair.....there
is no way to prevent this from happening...Free distribution hurts future
developement of this project and this hurts ALL of the riders.........Sam

I'd say the same holds for distributing the paper maps and roll charts. If you ride TAT and don't pay Sam, you're cheaing him, and taking away the motivation for him and others like him to create new rides."

Just wanted to air that. Lefty

Interesting tidbit. Sam told me he has never ridden the trail end to end! I was a bit surprised about that.

Im liking the flow of this thread- lotta good tips here.

Others seem to really feel losing weight is crucial (of gear and self )- I notice extra weight and bulk a lot, and so Im being a pound-pincher. Any sage wisdom about a great lightweight tent that is 2 person? I would imagine for sandy, muddy, or rocky areas driving a spike might be tricky/impossible, so im thinking freestanding.. Currently torn between a REI Quarter Dome T2 plus and a Big Agnes Seedhouse 2L..

Im currently trying to really pare my load down to one 49L drybag and a tool bag on the front fender, and possibly a homemade tool tube down low on the bike.. Swapped exhaust and will get a Shorai battery prolly to combat some of the up-high weight from the (contents of the) drybag. How much weight you guys hauling along? I hear some of that TAT mud is pretty nasty

The BA Seedhouse SL2 (with foot print) is way better than the SL1, it's free standing, but should be staked in bad weather to keep the fly off the inner netting. adequate room for a 6'2" guy and gear, but doubtful for two guys and gear. The BA air mattress packs down small and fits in the BA sleeping bag.
The SL2 fits in a Small compression bag, store poles in tail pack. It's my tent of choice when space is critical. One mod is a small blue tarp which is cut down into a triangle shape for outside the entrance to help keep from tacking dirt into the tent, plus under the vestibule allows room for dirty boots and stuff.

TAT 2011- return trip Maybe probably Oregon, the return trip was kind of blurry.



Below at TAT picts from 2012, from TN to Oark.




The blue thing in the pict below is the "door mat" This shows also just the inner net for the tent.

Oh no, a tent conversation. That's right up there with oil I suspect. Regardless, a 2 person tent is a good choice, unless you spring for a high qualilty ultralight but relatively roomy 1 person job like the Big Agnes Copper Spur. I bid on one of those this evening on Ebay, but lost it. I'll keep looking and try to get one for under $300.

I'll opt for a room when available, but when camping I have enjoyed my Marmot Limelight 2. Easy to set up, and inexpensive. You can spend a lot more, but this is a pretty good tent and several friends have them as well. Huge number of choices in this size, and prices as well. A side opening tent is preferable to my way of thinking. No crawling over your sleeping bag. Just sit up, unzip the side, and away you go. Much easier to get things arranged in too.

Size and weight really count. The Copper Spur is less than half the weight of the Limellight 2, and packs much smaller. I'll be on the CAM1000 this summer and want to really condense and lighten my load. My Marmot and Exped mat are just too big and heavy, although they are very comfortable. Mat wise I will be using a Neo Air or my son's Klymit Static V, which pack into about 1/3 or less of my Exped Synmat 9. The former are 2.5" thick and the Exped is 3.5", very comfortable, but pretty heavy.

That's my 2 cents, and worth about that.....

Spent one 3 day trip trying "ultra-light" backpacking and found out it was definitely not for me! Just too much comfort was lost for me. The closed cell foam ruined my sleep, the light weight tarp allowed critters in with me, and the alcohol stove was great but slow. I now consider myself a "lightweight" hiker now. I am have done the "pack light, freeze at night" and I am over it. Instead of sacrifing comfort I throw down the money on better, more innovative gear that is lighter.

All of that being said I now have a Marmot limelight 2p to replace the tarp and carry my old jetboil over the alky stove. There are many good tents out there but I found the marmot tent on a helluva a steal so I got it. I believe it is around 4.5 lbs complete. Set up is super quick and quality seems good. I really like the Big Agnes stuff too. It is usually roomier and good quality.

Any issues with condensation on this tent? I think thats why youre mentioning staking the fly, as I understand some complain about the SL2 and condensation.

Also, how about sitting up in it? I plan to be sitting on a thermarest or Agnes sleeping pad with one of those nylon sleeves that turn it to a chair (so I will definitely be getting the footprint). I figure this will be good for doing picture and vid dumps from my cameras as well as writing some notes for the day. Well just say this process has been far less eloquent so far.. Spec sheets are great, but im not a conehead and some pictures make it look like my back would have to be facing the door and Id have to sit exactly at the center of the tent. I dont need some 3man tent palace, though I will say the SL3 is LIGHTER than the REI tent and pretty much all others. That has more than enough sitting room and its still fairly light.

Just tossing ideas out there to see what the experienced have for us..

Yes you do get condensation, but out West it's not much of an issue. Side entry tents are nice to roll out of bed instead of worming out. The tent sets up very quickly, about at easy as it gets. Only a front door for venting.

A good water proof tent, it's been thoroughly tested, drys out pretty quick too.

Lightweight, high quality, inexpensive. Choose two only.

Titanium cookware, for example.

Just picked up an Easton kilo 3p for the two of us on our Mobius trips, (and a kilo 2p for when i go solo).
Tiny vestibule, but big enough to stow gear inside, and lighter than the discontinued eureka pinnacle pass 2xt we're replacing (zipper dying, developing leaks).

carbon fiber poles. 2012 tent of the year. Not completely free standing but I'm not worried. 20% off + free footprint & shipping @ campsaver. Still expensive, but if it saves a few nights in a motel, then it's paid for itself.

Neoair + 1 or 2 summer weight down bags depending on the season. Toasty to high 20's F. cocoon pillow.

Check out the lithium battery thread, anti-gravity seems to test better than shorai.

Posting from the field; please excuse brevity & misspellings.

I don't know what you mean by the "front mask". But you want the wire from the battery to the first fuse to be as short as possible in case the wire shorts to ground from getting the insulation rubbed off. If it shorts, there is no fuse to limit current and you have a good chance of a fire and/or totally trashing the battery.

Headlight mask. The whole battery area around my husaberg 570 is very tight and I wanted to have a single cable run from the battery to area behind the front headlight assembly since I have some room there, it is easily accessible, and all of my powered add ons will be in that area.