TAT 2020 by a new ADVer

Really enjoyed your report and your attitude. Keep it up!

I read you loud and clear

Sorry for the long delay for anyone who was following my ride report. Can't believe that it's been almost 2 months since I finished and posted on here, apologies again for the long delay. I returned from my trip to be thrust into a family emergency that has taken up a lot of of time and even more energy, add this to working 12 hours most days and this ride report just slipped out of my mind. Luckily things have started to calm down and I am hopeful that I can finish relaying my journey in the next couple of days.

I got to Port Orford that evening and then made it up to Portland before calling it a night. Managed to avoid a lot of smoke and didn't get too bothered by it.

Glad that I'm not the only one who despises the deep silt. I was getting confident in my ability in the sand until I hit that stuff and it went downhill fast. There is an insane amount of public land with no one else on it around there but I've discovered that while it was a great experience I prefer my mountain riding to desert in most cases.

I was very worried for riders that may have been just behind me as the fires only got worse after I made it through, while not fun it's all part of the adventure. If I didn't want to deal with the fires or smoke I could've just stayed home but what fun would that be. Already planning to head back to Moab and ride some slickrock as it seems like that's some of the most well known type of riding around there and I completely missed out on it.

I think the only reason TKC80s are so popular is because nothing else will fit on those oversized adventure bikes. All jokes aside, while disappointing, they did get me where I needed to be in the end which couldn't be said for some other tires.

I think the biggest disappointment for me was tire life, after just over 3000 miles it was below the legal limit for tread depth. The traction was very noticeably worse than my previous tire off-road which was expected so not as disappointing, but I expected that to be the trade off for longer tire life but i was very much wrong. It could be personal preference but I liked the handling of the D606/MT21 better on road too, they felt as though they wanted to turn in faster and stay leaned over.

Good job! Thanks for the RR.

Come to Florida!

great report I'm in love it I'm always thinking of this trip some day soon I hope keep the info coming.

Its been 7 years since I did the TAT. Thanks for refreshing some very pleasant memories.

Great report, thanks for taking the time and effort to let us all live vicariously thru your travels. Planning my TAT for next year! Cool to see the picture from the parkway as live just down the hill from the "North Cove" overlook. Congrats on a safe journey and may you have many more.

Great story kid!! Really appreciate you taking the time to document the journey. I plan on doing the TAT next year if all works out. I have a couple of questions for you or anyone else that wants to add input.

Is an adventure bike (KTM 790) too much bike for this experience or is it better to stay on a smaller bike. (Husky 350 FE-S)
How big of tank is required? Whats the minimal range you need between fuel stops?
How were you handling bike maintenance? (air filter, oil, chain, etc...)

Thanks for any input and thanks again for the RR.

Great report, I enjoyed your POV.

Go to Sam's site. His FAQ answers a lot of this for you. https://www.transamtrail.com/

Good stuff, thank you!