T7 on the TAT

[rd1myers]

Thought I'd share some ramblings about my experience acquiring, building, and riding my T7 on the TAT last month.  I saved up enough leave to take 5 weeks off work this year, along with two friends, and ride as much of the TAT as we could manage.  As you probably know, it's not been easy to find a T7 in dealerships.  In the months leading up to our planned departure I was on several wait lists for a T7 and was getting a bit nervous that I would not get one in time to outfit it how I wanted it for the trip.  Meanwhile my riding buddies, one on a R1250GSA and one on a WR250R, were putting the final touches on their bikes (smug bastards!).  Finally, a month before our planned roll date, I picked up my T7 from a dealership in TX.  I began frantically buying parts and accessories for it and putting them on as soon as they were delivered.  I also wanted to at least get my first break-in service completed before we left so I wouldn't have to stop early on the trail to change the oil, etc.  Long story short, I got everything that I ordered (except for the backordered rally seat) on the bike and changed the oil the day before we left, with exactly 500 miles on the odometer.  We loaded up the U-haul, said our goodbyes to family/friends, and headed East.

Our original plan was to begin at the outer banks in NC and ride the TAT (a mix of Sam's and Kevin's routes, along with a few detours of our own) to Port Orford, OR.  But, mother nature threw us a curve ball, in the form of Hurricane Ida, as we were driving our U-haul (coincidentally emblazoned with a natural disaster on its side!) East to begin riding.  We held up in Arkansas for a couple days to see what the storm would do and discuss our best options.  As much as we wanted to start on the Atlantic, we figured trying to get through NC and TN dirt after a Hurricane (and additional flooding from a few weeks prior) was a bad idea.  So, we opted to start on the Western edge of the storms path in Memphis, TN. 

 

We unloaded our bikes and gear in a shady spot at the U-haul drop-off near the TN-MS border.  We got geared up and rode down the Mississippi river to join the TAT before it crosses into Arkansas.  We started riding in the early afternoon and didn't know what the roads/trails would be like, and didn't know how far we would get or where we would stop on day 1.  But, with pretty fast riding conditions we made it to Beebe, AR and stayed in a cheap(ish) hotel since we didn't come across a good spot to camp.  Day 2 had some fun riding - a mix of fun, curvy paved roads and dirt - before camping along the Arkansas river in Russellville.  Day 3 was similar ... fun, mixed surface, rolling mountain roads, not challenging, and we camped at Devil's Den State Park - where, during the night, raccoons stole my tote bag with my coffee supply, coffee cup, spork, and a couple packs of oatmeal!  My fault for leaving it out, but I still will swerve to try to hit any raccoon I see near a road from now on!  It should be noted that there are many "dry" counties in AR ... so if you are like me, and enjoy a cold adult beverage while camping, make sure you plan accordingly.  We made 'beer runs' to the nearest county lines on nights 2 and 3 ... well worth the effort!

Day 4 we crossed the border into OK and rode about 240 miles of farm / county roads before deciding to hotel up in Bartlesville for some showers and laundry.  Day 5 brought us our first run-in with OK mud from a recent storm ... and it is no joke!!  That mud jammed up under my front fender in no time, which stopped my front wheel from turning ..... which isn't a good thing if you like being able to steer!  It was like being on ice as my bike and I started rotating to the right about 90-100 degrees before a low-speed high-side splat into the mud.  I almost stuck my unplanned dismount ... taking a few running steps before my boots became caked in the sloppy muck and I face-planted into it as well.  Unfortunately no GoPros were on this trip to capture it.  We detoured around a few more mud holes and found a car wash to un-cake some mud and ourselves.  The WR250R took a few diggers today too, but miraculously the 1250 GS stayed upright - no doubt due to strategically not leading through the muddy sections!  We camped at Alabaster Caverns which thankfully had nice free showers to clean ourselves up.

 

 

Day 6 we put in almost 300 miles and camped at Black Mesa state park, just short of the NM border.  A bit more scenery today as we climbed up into the grasslands and had a bit of a rain shower.  Black Mesa SP is a nice spot to camp if you find yourselves near it on the TAT.  Good campsites and not far off the trail.  Pretty canyons and the Cimarron river near the park.  Day 7 took us to NM and some pretty, high desert ranch land.  We dabbled with one of Kevin's red (difficult) routes and turned around after it turned into a very rocky cow trail.  It would've been fun on a dirt bike, but not so much on heavily loaded adv bikes.  Plus, we still wanted to cover quite a bit of ground before calling it a day, and this was slow going.  Back to the standard route and on to Lathrop State Park in CO.  This was a pretty campground, but relatively expensive.  They charged a fee for the campsite plus $9 per vehicle (it didn't matter if was an RV or a motorcycle) ... and our attempt at sweet-talking the nice lady at the park entrance didn't help.  Now that I think about it, she might've even upped the fee.

 

Day 8 was our first full day of riding in CO and had some fun roads.  We had a planned detour to my friend's cabin West of Denver where we met up with family for a couple days of good food, R&R and bike maintenance.  After a fun visit at the cabin, on Day 9 (of riding) we retraced our track South to re-join the TAT and head West towards the part of the trail I was most excited for - the high CO passes and Moab canyons.  We stopped for groceries and gas in Poncha Springs (near Salida) before climbing up into the San Isabel NF to look for a campsite.  Lake O'Haver campground was full, so we continued up towards Marshall Pass and found a nice, primitive campsite just off the road and close to the summit.  

Day 10 we rode through the Gunnison NF, and some beautiful canyon/rim country.  Made it to Lake City, CO for a late lunch, gas, and groceries.  Rode up the Engineer Pass road late in the day looking for a campsite before the pass.  Lots of Jeeps and side-by-sides on the road since this part of the state is very popular for off-road recreation.  We passed many occupied primitive camping sites before finally seeing a turnoff for one with nobody in it.  Enjoyed a quiet night in the woods where we were poised to tackle Engineer Pass and some of Colorado's most scenic country the next day.

Day 11 a relatively short but challenging day of riding in some of Colorado's most beautiful passes (plus a 14 mile detour into Telluride for gas and groceries).  We tackled Engineer Pass in the morning, which included some difficult, rocky terrain, and steep climbs/descents, plus a little rain shower.  We rode into Ouray just after 11 am and stopped for an early lunch - which was timely since we beat the lunch rush and sat on a covered balcony during a rain shower.  We opted to take Ophir Pass instead of Imogene or Black Bear pass into Telluride.  Ophir is the "easy" route according to Kevin, and the standard Sam route.  Ophir turned out to be quite challenging in spots due to the large, loose rocks and some big drops.  We ran into a young couple in a RAV 4 who had a flat tire on Ophir summit.  They didn't know how to change a flat (and had no business being there) so despite sleet coming down, we stopped and changed it for them.  My buddy and his 1250GSA finally tipped over while trying to get around a few riders who were struggling to get up a steep section, and the WR250 had a series of falls which put the final nail in the coffin of its doomed aftermarket windshield.  Once we finally made it down to Hwy 145 we opted to call it a day and look for a campground.  We stayed at Sunshine campground (nice, but no showers), just outside of Telluride, and went into town for gas, groceries, and beer.

 

Day 12 was a fun mix of Forest and BLM roads as we descended from the high mountains of Colorado into the high desert of Utah.  Stopped for lunch in Dove Creek, CO and decided to cut off a section of the trail that would have taken us to Monticello (we've all been there!) before looping back and heading North towards the Manti-La Sals.  More pavement than we anticipated, but pretty, desolate roads along ranch land and a large mine.  We passed through the town of La Sal before climbing up into the forest.  We decided to stay on Kevin's standard (blue) track  which took us up toward's Geyser Pass ... and past a "road closed ahead" sign, which surely wouldn't apply to us.  When we reached the summit around 5:30 pm, we discovered that a fire had burned up there recently and there was significant road work being done.  When we turned off our bikes we could hear chainsaws and trees falling up ahead, which didn't bode well for continuing. We decided to camp at a beautiful meadow just shy of the summit.... where we discovered a "fire restrictions in effect" sign sitting in the primitive site's fire ring.  Doh!  Day 13 was a short but scenic day of descending from 10,500 feet on top of the La Sals to 4,000 feet in Moab, from Aspen groves to canyons and red sand.  We ate a good lunch at Zax before checking into a hotel for some laundry and showers.  Day 14 we departed Moab and rode some fun canyon roads - some sand and rocks, but not too challenging - on the way to Green River, UT.  Stopped at a taco truck for lunch and then continued on Kevin's route (blue) instead of taking the big horseshoe in the desert offered by Sam.  We rode into Black Dragon canyon and a fun section of dry canyon wash with some rocky, sandy sections.  I was riding sweep during this section and was following a bit too close to the WR250R on a stair-step section.  I had to slow down in a less than ideal spot and put my leg out to keep the bike from tipping over, then   *** POP!! ***  my right hammy was not in good shape.  After trying to walk it off for a bit I realized that it wasn't getting any better.  I was able to ride out the rest of the trail and get to I-70 and back to Green River.  Lots of ice (and a few cold beers) later, I came to the realization that my trip on the TAT was finished for this year.  I wouldn't be able to stand up and move the bike around as needed until my hammy recovered.  Bummed that I couldn't finish this year, but it was an epic trip (about 3100 miles) nonetheless.  The next morning, after some high fives delivered to my two buddies (who continued as far as Western ID), I hit the tarmac and pointed South towards NM and home.

 

 

 

[Landshark]

Another great report on this forum.  Thanks for the super write up and pictures @rd1myers .  The raccoon taking your bag was priceless.  That was an adventure indeed.  Thanks for sharing your memories.  

[Wintersdark]

Oh, man, that sounds amazing.  Absolutely amazing.  Gotta love those times where you think you've stuck the landing, only stumble and faceplant anyways, and of course in the mud.  I guess that's a good point in favor of a high mounted fender!

 

Also: Great job writing it up and formatting; that's one of the best ride reports I've seen.  

[rd1myers]

@Wintersdark Hey, thanks for the compliment!  

 

Yes, a high fender kit will be on my T7 soon.  I was toying with the idea of putting one on before the trip.  But, looking at the clearance provided by the standard fender in the high setting, I didn't think it would be an issue.  Boy, was I wrong!  To be fair, the standard fender did great 99% of the time.  If I didn't plan to ride in mud occasionally, I would stick with the low fender.

 

Cheers!

[rd1myers]

@Landshark Those damn raccoons!  I must give credit to those sly little bastards ... they would have made off with anything not tied down if we didn't chase them out of camp at 1 a.m.!  I only wish they would've been considerate and removed the sugary oatmeal packets they were after, and left my good coffee and spork at the table.  At least they didn't take my Jetboil.

[Hibobb]

5 minutes ago, rd1myers said:

@Landshark

... they would have made off with anything not tied down

 

We had some orphaned raccoons we raised. Your statement doesn't do them justice. They can untie things, open latches on coolers, work zippers, open boxes of screws and nails... They are adorable, but mischievous.

[BikeBrother]

Well, if i see some raccoons drinking coffee, i will tell you...

[Macduncan]

Great report and super cool to read, along with nice documentation.  Hope you have healed up and are ready for new adventures. cheers

[Ol'crazy]

Great experience. And great fun to read and imagine.
A shame the size of the photos, which are barely visible.

[Hibobb]

Ditto on the picture sizes! 

[Idarex]

Nice write up and pics.  Thx for posting.  Hope your hammy is better. 

[Boondocker]

On 10/8/2021 at 7:58 AM, BikeBrother said:

Well, if i see some raccoons drinking coffee, i will tell you...

Drinking coffee. That's how racoons stay up all night to steal your stuff.

On 10/10/2021 at 4:09 AM, Ol'crazy said:

Great experience. And great fun to read and imagine.
A shame the size of the photos, which are barely visible.

Exactly what I was going to say but I enjoyed the report all the same. Glad you were able to ride home.

[thepointchris]

@rd1myersI too enjoyed the write-up, thank you for taking the time. Your story is so typical of our adventures, with measures of victory and failure, joy and heartbreak. I feel sorry for those who don't partake in life in its fullest.

Season's Greetings,

Chris