Simon the dog does the TAT

[piratemonkey 0]

Wow you are making very good time .So much for smelling the roses. 200 miles per day ??. How are you getting along with the route ? Sloppy sticky roads ? Nevada is incredible.

We've only been lost a couple of times. The riding is great when it hasn't been raining. Really hoping the roads are rideable tomorrow. The rain was endless tonight.

[Bagstr 287]

One inch recorded for the period. Good news is there is much gravel in central Nevada. Bad is there are also a few silt beds,,now lakes.

[piratemonkey 0]

The non-rain clouds are the best.

Pens = veal?

We hate mud. And it just so turns out it hates us, too.

Here comes an oceanic dose of sadness.

View of a Nevada valley from our BLM campsite.

Everyone loves ice cream. Those who don't are unamerican.

[dirt dame 559]

Kow KOA?

[wonderwoman 0]

Wow! It looks cold and wet. Are you staying warm and dry enough? Looking forward to your next post. Thanks for making the effort while you are out there. Sending good thoughts for better weather.

[piratemonkey 0]

Dry weather so far. Riding temp has been perfect -- hope our luck holds out. Currently at a motel because I needed a shower (refer to last photo).

We came across this public scale so we got the bikes weighed. My bike/load is 440 while Wayne's is 460. My Hypermotard weighs less than my loaded DRZ!

In-flight refreshment.

One of the ponds to dodge.

Someone was bold enough to name the two-track we were on the "Lincoln Highway"!

Wayne playing cowboy.

Crashing in silt = human powdered donut.

[Spyder 2]

Arrrrrgggghhhh!

NO more rum fer you..... poor lassie.

'Tis Talk Like A Pirate Day.

[dsfox 0]

Awesome Adventure so far...always Love your descriptions too, you should be a writer!!...

( I was recently a HUMAN POWDERED DONUT up in Owens vally, the "flour dust" as they call it up there is a pretty shade of pink...I learned you don't necessarily take BIG pits of it FASTER...like you might approach deeper sand ) soooo wish I had a picture of that

[piratemonkey 0]

Currently outside of Lakeview, OR at a killer RV park. RV parks don't always let tent campers take a space, but this one did.

We never want to see northern Nevada and its filthy silt motherrutted roads ever again. Other than that, we're enjoying this exercise in character building.

---

We were off course. We could see the path below so we fumbled our way down the progressively bush-filled hillside.

One particular sage brush pushed me over so I asked Wayne to get my bike off the @$#! hill while I did the Walk of Shame.

One of Wayne's side bags got torn off by brush and then sucked up by the rear wheel.

Fortunately we carried extra webbing and cobbled together an attractive solution.

Getting out of Battle Mountain was a PITA -- we kept running into fences.

This critter did not make it out of Battle Mountain and perished on one of those fences.

I pinned my foot under the bike. Couldn't go anywhere so why not memorialize the moment?

How that moment looked from farther away. I burned a hole in the other pant leg on the header pipe. I really should learn how to ride!

Wild horses in Nevada.

This is the abandoned ranch on the other side of the water crossing that caused a huge headache for some guys on ADVrider who tried crossing in spring...

...You have to drop down a steep embankment and then shove your way through the tree branches before crossing the makeshift plywood bridge. Took us a bit of effort to get the two bikes through.

Simon taking advantage of the only shade around.

Another critter that didn't survive the TAT. Hope we do!

[paulmbowers 236]

Loving these reports, and I'll bet you're damn tired.

Thank you for making the effort- much appreciated.

[dsfox 0]

soooo fun to be included on your trip...thank you!!......probably feels cool to have other people with you too....especially in the challenging moments ...(isn't it also funny that when we look BACK at those "challenges".... they become more enjoyable when reminisching later...)...ENJOY all those memories while you are making them...it's a great opportunity to be out there....

[kkug 146]

I bet you will never forget this ride.It looks a bit more chalanging than when we went in spring .

[piratemonkey 0]

I bet you will never forget this ride.It looks a bit more chalanging than when we went in spring .

I have done a bit of first gear-feathering to get up stuff. The clutch should be fried when we get home. Between all the water crossings and silt, at the end of the day the chains are squealing like piglets. Tthey've been getting lubed every morning.

The TAT should be renamed to WAOT: Work Ass Off Trail.

[Crawdaddy 96]

Good stuff Zina/Wayne!.......envious......silt and all.....

[tlking6 0]

Awesome stuff so far! I'm enjoying the ride from my climate controlled, but very dull and boring office!

[Beezzz 6]

Great report. Thanks for sharing. We are following it closely. Will your relationship survive the TAT? The "Tuff Ass Trail". Don't kill each other for food or serenity. You will need each other for directions on how to get home.

[Goat_locker 0]

Yeah, this is some good stuff. Keep it coming!

[piratemonkey 0]

Currently in Canyonville, OR which is a raging urban hub compared to the places we've been for the past week. I think the most populated place we were last at was Moab. We should make Port Orford today. Weather system allegedly moving in, but skies are blue as I type this.

This guy drew his Glock during our conversation. Details to come in full write-up.

Commuter gridlock in Oregon.

Did the loop around Crater Lake since we were there.

Simon appreciating the volcano that gave its life to make this deep blue beauty.

Stretch of road dropping down towards Tiller, OR.

Identical air filters, except one endured the American west.

[piratemonkey 0]

We made it!

Now for the second leg of the journey: making our way down California. It rained all last night, but the radar suggests the rain will be sporadic today.

We're glad to be off the Oregon dirt roads. We zigged-zagged so much yesterday it felt like we were in some sort of Logging Road Purgatory...don't tell any dirtbikers I said this, but it was awesome to hit pavement.

[TrophyHunter 15]

...don't tell any dirtbikers I said this, but it was awesome to hit pavement.

Secret's safe with us. Congrats and safe travels back.

[paulmbowers 236]

BRAVO!

[Crawdaddy 96]

We made it!

Congrats on a ride well done!

[rexr 0]

Congrats!!!

[wonderwoman 0]

Awesome!!! Zina and Wayne rock! Thanks for sharing Simon's adventure with us. It was doggone great!!! What does the TAT stand for? Tortured and troubled? How IS Simon? Does he seem to like being out there?

[dirt dame 559]

What does the TAT stand for? Tortured and troubled?

Gosh, it's been so long since anybody has bothered to write the whole thing out, I almost forgot that it stands for the Trans American Trail.