TAT-2020
Post-1 12Feb2019
If the title isn’t a
giveaway, I’ve decided to do some if not all of the TAT again. There will be a
significant difference in my approach this time as described in this first post
of my new adventure. We are in the initial planning phase of this attempt so
anything I write here could change as circumstances dictate.
TAT
2016-2018 Summary
A
core of 4 riders (Mike, Terry, Steve, Woodrow) competed the coast to coast TAT
adventure in 4 sections starting in Mar of 2016 and finishing in Jul of 2018.
All the details for those sections are included in my previous BLOGs so I won’t
repeat them here. We had several riders join us on some of the later sections
so now they want to go back and do those sections they missed. They include my son,
Jeff and Woodrow’s son, Matty. In addition, several other riders now want to
join us.
TAT
2020
The
big difference is that I will be taking a Jeep Wrangler, with my wife, to be
not only the support vehicle for the motorcycle riders but to go on the actual
TAT for most if not all of the trip. Before I get jumped by all the hard core
motorcycle TAT riders I should say that I’ve paid my dues by riding it all on a
dual-sport. In addition, I’ll be 72 years old this coming Oct so give me a
little break.
Details
I
used two different dual-sports for my 2016-18 TAT ride; Honda CRF250L for the
East coast to the Rocky Mountains and a KTM 350EXC-F for the Rocky Mountains to
the West coast. Woodrow’s son Matty bought my Honda and used it on the West
coast side and will use it for the 2020 ride. I traded the KTM to my son Jeff
for his Yamaha WR250R and he will use the KTM for the 2020 ride. As for the WR I
decided that I need to be a little more conservative with my tired ole body so
decided to give up on adventure motorcycle riding. This was not an easy
decision since I’ve ridden motorcycles my whole life. What helped in my
decision was one of the four core riders, Steve, recently had a serious
accident on his dual-sport that fractured a leg and is now undergoing several
operations with the outcome still to be determined. He’s my son’s age so I
would be in much worse shape if that had been me. The WR250R is being parted
out by Jeff and will be used by many other adventure riders to meet their
riding goals. We decided to part out the WR because although it was in
excellent condition, the individual parts were worth more separately than the
whole bike sold alone. Contact Jeff if you need WR parts!
TAT
2020 Initial Plans
TAT
2020 will be from Charleston, SC (Atlantic Ocean) to Little Rock, AR. We can
complete this section in 10 days but are thinking of ways to reduce it
to 9 days so it would be a Saturday to Sunday ride; i.e. S-S-M-T-W-T-F-S-S.
This helps some of the folks with total vacation days. We are planning on a May
2020 time frame because of school break, etc. We will be using motels the whole
way as we did on the 2016-18 TAT ride. Call us soft but we like a little
comfort at the end of the day.
BTW we considered a late 2019 trip but too much going on this year and not everyone could commit therefore 2020.
As
always, the logistics of getting bikes and riders to the start/stop of the TAT
legs is more complex than the actual ride itself. I did all the planning for
the TAT 2016-18 so am very familiar with what has to be done. Because I am now
retired, we have lots of flexibility on
supporting the other participants (working people). Liz and I have even
considered doing some white water rafting/kayaking on the Nantahala and Ocoee
rivers since the TAT actually starts at Andrews, NC. We would drive the Jeep
out a few days early and meet up with the other participants at Andrews. The
motorcycle riders would all meet at Charleston, SC so they can make the run to
the Atlantic then proceed to Andrews, NC the next day.
Moving
the bikes from Arkansas to Charleston is still being worked and we have several
potential solutions. One being that I would use a U-Haul truck for the bikes
and pull the Jeep on a trailer behind the truck. Another is that since
Woodrow’s family lives in Charleston, he would take the bikes out on a trailer
prior to the start. All the motorcycle riders would fly into Charleston the
night before the start.
Participants
4X4s
Confirmed
– Mike/Liz - My wife and I will be in a 2006 Jeep Wrangler X 2-door soft top. I
purchased this Jeep a few weeks ago and have been driving it 100% of the time
ever since. It rides like a lumber wagon and doesn’t have a lot of luxuries but
it is so much fun to drive. Liz and I do a lot of adventure stuff together so
she is used to roughing it and is looking forward to the trip. Since I’ve
already ridden the East side of the TAT I know what to expect and I know the
Jeep can do all if not most of the trail.
Maybe
– Terry/Donna – Terry was one of the four core TAT 2016-18 riders but has said
he would also like to take his wife Donna on the trip. Hope they go because we
had so much fun last time. TBD what vehicle they would use.
Maybe
– Marty/Barb – Marty was our support truck driver on 2 of the 4 sections of TAT
2016-18. He had a great time even though he didn’t drive on the TAT but used
highways to hook up with us at pre-determined locations the whole way. I have
worked for 30 years with Barb and would love to share this experience with her
now that we are both retired. TBD what vehicle they would use.
Maybe
– Ashleigh/Mark – I’ve also worked with Ashleigh for many years so she has
heard all of our TAT 2016-18 riding stories many times. I think she now wants
to see it for herself. We really hope they get to join the trip. TBD what
vehicle they would use.
The
other 4X4 participants can decide if they want to meet the group at Andrews or
proceed all the way to Charleston. Liz and I will only drive to Andrews.
Motorcycles
Confirmed
- Jeff will ride his “new” KTM 350 EXC-F on this section. This will complete
his coast to coast ride since he joined the core 4 from Arkansas to Oregon on
the previous sections.
Confirmed
- Woodrow will ride this section again on his trusty Honda CRF250L.
Confirmed
- Matty will ride this section on the CRF he bought from me and this will also
complete his coast to coast TAT ride.
Maybe
– Jason who joined us on the last Leg of TAT 2016-18 from Salt Lake City to the
Pacific. I haven’t heard from him in a
while but he expressed interest on this ride.
Others
– Several other friends have shown interest but for all those who have actually
made this ride you know there are a lot of talkers but very few doers.
I
know this is an odd combination of TAT participants and there is still a lot of
planning and commitments yet to be made but the only thing I know for certain
is that Liz and I in our Jeep and Jeff, Woodrow and Matty on dual-sports will
be doing the TAT in 2020.
Ride
Safe!!
