8 minute read
TAT continued
from TUG_WEB_AUG_2021
by chrisj1948
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(Continued from page 22)
in a museum, but slept better knowing it wasn’t just ‘gone’.
22nd July Found this during the ‘preflight’ this morning. Tread separated from the tyre. How it didn’t go pop during yesterday’s 450 mile ride I don’t know. My guardian angel is asking for a raise. My quest for a front tyre was a complete bust. No-one that was open in Vegas today (Sunday) had anything. Found a shop in San Bernardino, CA that has tkc80s, 225 miles away. However that’s 225 miles along the road to L.A, my route. So, I rented a uhaul, Strapped the bike in the back, and was back on the road, heading south. Bonus; air conditioning!
Sunday evening traffic out of Vegas was… as expected. Nose to tail, for miles. Clue should have come when I filled the Uhaul tank, at a southbound gas station that had 95 pumps! But, turned a bad day into a good day. Found a solution to finding a tyre, and still continuing on the way to L.A. And got to meet Dan Cole, presenter and owner of the 4×4 podcast, along with Stephanie and the various smaller Coles. And I got to have an In n Out burger, for the first time in years! Passed the solar energy power stations on the way south, which always remind me of ‘Helios 1’ from the video game “Fallout New Vegas”! Got into San Bernadino very late, found a “America’s Best Value” (it isn’t!) hotel, parked the Uhaul right in front of the room and was asleep in seconds.
23rd July ‘Operation bubble tyre’ started early this morning. Dropped the Uhaul off at the depot, which was an adventure in itself. The first depot marked on Google maps was still closed, so I
drove to the next one, only to find it was only a maintenance depot, and didn’t take customer returns. Which I found out AFTER offloading the bike! Fortunately they took pity on me after hearing my sob story and let me leave the truck with them. I rode, carefully, the couple of miles to Chaparral, the bike store, and waited for it to open.
The place is HUGE, but had the front tyre I needed. I took it to the counter, agreed to take the wheel off the bike myself (saving $ 50!) and ended up making a bet with the fitter who refused to believe the spoked wheel was tubeless. I won! So my fitting and balancing was free. I used my Rok Straps, the parking lot railings, and the sidestand, to pull the bike over enough to lift the front wheel and remove it, got the tyre fitted, and headed south to L.A, for a few days break.
28th July The plan, while in L.A, was to meet a friend of mine and ride The Mojave Road. However, the forecast was for 118f temperatures during the 3 days we would have been in the desert. Also, Chuck didn’t want to ride his 650lb BMW bike across 140+ miles of desert trail. He did want to drive his Land Cruiser instead, but I felt a 30 something year old truck in heat like that, miles from help, would be a bad move. So we wisely decided to ride the Pacific Coast Highway, up to Monterey instead. Big Sur had just reopened following the landslide a couple of years ago, so the timing was right. Had a great ride, even turned cold in places, which was a change to what I’d been used to, for weeks! When we arrived in Monterey, we were fortunate enough to crash for the night at a friends house.
29th July Leaving my friend behind, I set out alone again to head east and rejoin the TAT. Another long (400 miles) day of riding. Left Monterey early this morning and had to deal with multiple road closures getting onto the 120 through Yosemite, due to the fires. Once in, the view was… restricted. The smoke reducing visibility down to about 1/2 mile. So not so much scenic views. Only one of the lesser half domes was visible, and only as it was right next to the road. The upside was that the forest service had closed the gate booths, so no having to pay to look at smoke!
Exiting at Lee Vining/395, the haze was still thick enough to spoil the views across Mono Lake, so I headed south, to June Lake to find the hotel my Wife and I spent our first Xmas, 28 years ago. It was fully booked, as were all other hotels in the town centre, so I rode a little further and found a…. not so nice place down the road. Was going to wild camp, but need a shower and bed. Another long day tomorrow before I get to the TAT.
30th July Another long ‘slab’ today. Checked the bike out last night, and found that the ‘split link’ on the chain had done just that. Split! Only half of it was there. I found some wire and fixed the remaining half in place. But, There wasn’t a single bike shop along the whole, long, section of the route. So I had to big a big detour, north, to find a $ 2 item. The day ended up being a 480 mile slog from June Lake, CA to Ely, NV via Reno and US Route 50. Which is billed as “the loneliest road into America”. Probably because “400 miles of NOTHING to see” wouldn’t have had the same draw. Literally mile upon mile of nothing. I almost began to miss
the ‘scenery of Oklahoma!
Almost…..
There are about 3 small towns along the whole route. One at either end and one in the middle. All relying on the passing tourists to stay alive, so I stopped in Austin (the halfway point) and had lunch at the diner. BUT, this was probably the last long ‘slab’ (tarmac only) ride of the trip. As of tomorrow I’m back on the TAT! I was considering wild camping tonight, and had begun to check out potential sites by the side of the 50, until two decent sized coyotes strolled right through the most likely site. So, came into town instead! And stayed at the Hotel Nevada. One of the oldest hotels in the state, and also briefly the tallest building in Nevada (6 floors!).
31st July Back, on the TAT. From Baker to West Wendover, NV. Following the route of the Pony Express along its path on US Route 50
yesterday and now north on 180 miles of gravel road with just nothing out there. Definitely a sense of just how isolated you are, and how far from help. Signed the visitor book at canyon camp, but disappointed to see another TAT’er thought it would be OK to sign the box the book is kept in… Stopped in Gold Hill, but don’t think there’s much gold there…And found, by chance, a WWii German Panzer by the roadside!
From Wendover to Tremonton, UT. Trail north of Wendover was rough. So much washboard! But eventually smoothed out leaving a very pleasant gravel, mud and occasionally sandy ride. Watched the forest forest in hills to the north east, but far enough away not to be concerned.
Eventually reached Kelton. Originally a main line station for the Trans Pacific Railway, now almost nothing remains, except the ruins of the hotel and graveyard. Along the trail after leaving Kelton there are small placards showing where the smaller settlements along the rail-
road used to be. Finally reached tarmac, after about 300 miles of gravel, and showed the appropriate amount of joy! Got off the bike, and kissed the ground! Prematurely as it turned out, as the tarmac turned back into gravel a little way down the road. But eventually gave me what I needed. Found a empty campsite just over the Idaho border. Empty except for the camp host anyway. Didn’t mind giving him the $ 10. I’d free camped at plenty of other places along the way, so I was ahead on camp fees really.
1st August Hello, Idaho! Very nice ride up from near Holbrook this morning. Stopping at American Falls for fuel and coffee (and one of the huge cinnamon rolls they make at The Ranch gas station!). I’m surprised how picturesque Idaho is. I stuck to the tarmac to begin with as it was clear that the TAT route was just criss-crossing the valley road just for the sake of being on gravel. After I crossed The Great Rift and made it to Arco, ID, I decided to go and see Craters of the Moon national park. Definitely a good choice. A must see if you come through here on the TAT.
