Shrinking The Planet – One Ride At A Time

Archive for June, 2013

Traversing The TAT (Trans-America Trail) Chapter 10

Riding the TAT we’d been in rural areas for quite some time.  But the deeper we ventured into Mississippi, we began to notice that we’d entered another level of rural and got the feeling that we had really passed into an era where time may have stopped for a while.

On the gravel, we found remnants of old farms and homesteads.  It was a little mesmerizing riding through this part of the country.  You could really get the feeling of old-time farming and people scratching a living from farmland carved from the thickly wooded earth.  Each farmer cutting down trees by hand and pulling the stumps with horses or oxen.

By the way, if you don’t know, click on any one of the pictures in the gallery below and it will open that picture into a full size picture and then you can click your way through the remainder of the pictures in either direction in full size.

Then suddenly, the farms disappeared.  Fields gave way to forests once again.  Forests partially relented and gave way to water.  We were in the true wetlands of Mississippi.  When I was a kid, we called these places swamps.  We weren’t in a swamp, we were in the true definitions of wetlands.  The swamps of my childhood were a smelly, litter infested, mud and still water mess.  These were different.

Green and brown never mixed in such symmetry.   The brown water was tinged with green and rolled lazily past the shores.  Trees sprouted from the depths of the water on roots that gave the trees a “standing on tip-toes” look.  The roots arched from the water forming a triangular base from which the tree trunk sprouted.  Although they provided a platform out of the water for the tree trunk, the moss-covered roots reached away from the base and dove into the water.  A clear sign that the tree needed water to survive.  These rounded tubular roots were a natural straw, feeding the ever-growing trees life-giving nutrients and fluids.    It was a great example of the circle that is life, be it human or otherwise.

We stopped to take a few pictures of this natural wonder and in the 30 minutes that we were taking pictures, not a single soul passed by.  We were enjoying our frozen moments, but we had to get moving in order to make it to the Arkansas border for the day.

Before we knew it, we had transitioned into back onto hard surfaced roads and farms once again began made began dotting the landscape.  Most were fairly large and crossing from one to the next took some time.  We had passed several and as we rounded a corner and headed down a straight stretch of road, we came across a somewhat immovable object.  There was a very large animal standing in the middle of the road.

Tracy had already ridden by the large animal but the rest of us were stuck behind.  Kim saw it before I did and said into her communicator, “Oh look, there’s a cow in the road.”   I paid more attention than I had been and sure enough, there was a very large animal standing in the middle of the road.  I muttered into my comm back to Kim, “Um Kim, that’s not a cow, it’s a bull.”  “Oh” was the somewhat unimpressed response.  But the bull wasn’t going anywhere fast and he was in a somewhat testy mood.  He stood his ground and stared directly at us.

Somewhat surreal, in a fenced field beside the road, a group of cows and calves stood at rapt attention watching and waiting to see what might happen.  While the cows watched from the side of the road, the bull watched us and we watched the bull.  We yelled at him and revved our engines, but still he remained unmoved.  Now we were stuck.  What could we do to get this bull’s attention and make him move?  After a lot of shouting and revving of engines, I decided that we had to do something different.  What could we do?  There was only one thing left to do.  I reached over to my handlebar and gave my NH approved street legal horn a blast.  Said horn was of the rubber bulb type normally associated with little children’s bicycles.

After about the 6th “honk”, the bull slowly walked to the side of the road and stared into the brush.  MaryLee took off in a flash and was past.  Kim and I revved our engines, I engaged the clutch and…  stalled my bike.  Great!  I immediately pushed the starter button and… silence.  My battery was now dead, it had given up but we hadn’t.  I kick started the bike furiously and it caught on the fifth or sixth kick and we were off.

With the bull facing to the right we rushed to the left side of the road and we were quickly past.  Not happy with trespass, the bull immediately turned left and started chasing us!  He followed for about 50 yards and then stopped.  But in the end, I guess he felt had to show his bull chivalry and put on a show for the cows who had been watching.

With the bull dispatched, the next item on the agenda was to try to find a replacement battery for my KTM.  I thought to myself, “Oh great, we’re out in the wilds of Mississippi.  Where are we going to find a motorcycle shop and better still, one that is familiar with KTMs.   As we trundled on, I resigned myself to kick starting my little KTM each time we stopped.

We hadn’t been back on the road for more than an hour when Kim called through the communicator, “Look on your left!”  I didn’t see anything and motored on.  She said “Turn around, there’s a KTM shop on the left!”  Amazed, I said, “What?  Did you say that there was a KTM shop?”  “Yes!” somewhat loudly she responded, “turn around we’re going to pull in.”

I made a very rapid U-turn and sure enough, it was a combination farm store and motorcycle shop, complete with KTMs!  I couldn’t believe our luck.  I walked to the back of the store to the parts counter and asked them if they had a battery for a KTM 250XCF-w.  Sure as heck, they did.  They also had oil, filters and other miscellaneous parts that would come in handy.  While I waited for the other parts I wanted, little did I know that Tracy had taken the battery, had it installed and I was ready to go.  Wow, he had done that in the stifling heat and had never said a word about it.  I was so grateful, I didn’t know what to say other than thank you.  True friends are amazing.  With a new battery in place, the bike fired right up and we were back on the road and hightailing it to our rest stop for the evening, a moored riverboat that was also a casino.  The best part, only about $40 a night.

As we motored on towards the casino, we decided that the heat was too much and we needed to stop get into some air conditioning and quench our thirsts.  We found a small roadside market and went inside.  There we met some of the nicest people.  One gentleman came over and sat down at our table and asked us where we were from.  We told him a little about our trip and he told us about himself, his family and his farm.  I was a great little chat, and I think he wanted to invite us over to his house for dinner, but just couldn’t get that part out.

It was just as well, as we’d walked into the market, there on the counter were two large gallon jars filled with picked pigs lips and pickled pigs feet.  Help yourself.  We just couldn’t bring ourselves to try that delicacy.  But others had enjoyed it because both jars were only partially filled.

Having had a nice chat and cooled of in the air conditioning, we walked outside once again into the thick and muggy air.  Kim was just finishing off her Coke when she decided that her “cool vest” had dried out.  These vests are made to cool by being immersed in water and then as you move through the air, the water evaporates and cools you.  “No worries”, I said, and quickly readied my hydration system to cool Kim off.  One of the nice things about my hydration system is that it keeps the water fairly cold, especially when it had been filled to the brim with ice cubes that morning.

Before she could say anything, I had the hydration system going and ice cold water was shooting out at her.  At first I don’t think she knew what to do.  Be angry or be happy that she was being sprayed with ice cold water.  Luckily for me, she liked it more than the initial shock and ultimately asked me to spray her all over.  But I must tell you, when the water first hit her, her expression was priceless.  Surprise, dread and relief all at the same. I was a wonderful sight and one that Tracy caught on film.  It is one of my keepsakes from the trip that she and I now both enjoy.

A couple of hours later, we were pulling into the parking lot with our dusty and dirty little machines.  We parked in front and went inside to the front desk outside of the casino.  After about 15 minutes, we had our rooms and headed to the bikes to get our gear.  We asked the doorman where we should put our bikes and he said, “Leave them right there, We’ll keep an eye on them for you.”  Wow, we’d never been treated like that and after gathering our gear to go to our rooms, we left the filthy bikes next to the sparkling clean limousines.    What a great scene!

Even better was our walk to our rooms.  To get there, we had to walk through the casino.  With people sitting at tables and at slots, we “moseyed” our way though.  Some people were dressed to the nines and we had our own attire.  Dusty riding pants and pressure suits were our wardrobe and they created a bit of a surreal picture.  I just had to stop to take a picture of Kim.  It came out wonderfully with Kim’s bright smile and dusty gear providing an amazing contrast to the well dressed people, flashing lights and ringing bells.

We’d had a long day, and it was time to turn in for a good nights rest.  For tomorrow, we would make our way into Arkansas and start another hot humid day on the TAT.

June 30, 2013 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, adventure riders, Adventure Rides, aerostich, Alaska, Argentina, Chile, dual sport, enduro, hydration, KTM, Motorcycle, motorcycle gear, off road, Overland, people, photo, pictures, R2ADV, rally, Ride2Adventure, roadcrafter, Travel, Yukon | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Traversing The TAT (Trans-America Trail) Chapter 9

With Tracy’s pannier repaired we were once again underway on the TAT.  The day had been filled with enchantment and excitement and we wondered what other treats the TAT could drum up on this day.  It wasn’t long before we would get a taste of some of the twists and turns of the TAT.  Literally.

We found ourselves on a gravel road somewhere in Tennessee.   The joy of travel sort of overwhelmed us and we just decided to go the way we thought we should be going instead of taking the time to properly assess where we were.  What else could happen on this day’s journey?  As the TAT wandered and snaked its way westward, we found that it still had a few tricks.

As we made our way, I guess we zigged when we should have zagged.  Suddenly we seemed to be making a lot of turns when the route sheet said we should have been going straight.  We had become wanderers instead of travelers and that was ok with us.  Winding roads changed from gravel to asphalt and back to gravel.  Soon we were pretty much lost but we were having fun.

We guessed where we were and turned left onto a gravel road.  Shortly thereafter, we came upon a wooden bridge without guardrails of any kind and we decided it was worth a try.  Boards laterally placed on beams comprised the base with with three rows of boards running along its length for each tire track.  It was an easy crossing of a lazy stream and it sort of represented the kind of day we were now having.  Easy going.  We thought, what the heck let’s go and see where it led.

The road snaked through a short section of forest and then into an open field.  Soon we found ourselves at a farm house with a gate at the end of the road.  Wow, we had not been on a road, but we had been riding someone’s long driveway!  A woman came out of the house and made it clear that we were on her property and she’d like us to leave.

By the way, if you don’t know, click on any one of the pictures in the gallery below and it will open that picture into a full size picture and then you can click your way through the remainder of the pictures in either direction in full size.

We said we were sorry for trespassing on her property and soon she calmed down.  We told her we were riding the TAT and told her a little about it.  She said that we weren’t the only ones to ride down her driveway without permission and asked us to tell all those TAT riders that they should keep off her property.  Well I guess we weren’t that far off course then.  All those TAT riders on her property?   We must not be that far off course then.  We finalized our apologies and rode back the way from which we had come.

Soon we were back on the trail and going in the right direction.  The roads were good to excellent and we were once again having a lot of fun, wicking it up a bit through some pretty rural areas.  Tracy and Mary Lee had the need for speed more than Kim and I did and soon we had nothing but their dimming dust trail to follow.

But Kim and I were not worried, we knew they would stop and wait for us at some intersection ahead.  We were enjoying ourselves and took our time dawdling along.  The road was covered with a thin layer of pea gravel on top of some very hard dirt.  Not super challenging, but enough to make the bike move around underneath you a bit.  Kim was doing great and she was merrily chugging her way along and I was just as happy to follow in her wake and take in the sights.

About ten minutes after we lost sight of them, we once again found Tracy and Mary Lee.  Tracy’s bike was facing the wrong way, parked in a shallow ditch at the side of the road.  Mary Lee’s bike was on the correct side of the road but sat in the middle of her travel lane.  The two of them stood standing at the side of the road and they looked like they were in conference.  They stood shoulder to shoulder, looking across the road hands gesturing as if explaining some exciting event.

Kim pulled over and stopped beside them both.  I on the other hand went past them and pulled off to the side of the road and walked back towards them.  Now I could see that Kim was in discussion with Tracy and MaryLee.  All were animatedly chatting at a level that did not allow me to hear what was being said.  When I arrived at the group, they told me that MaryLee had just crashed but was OK.  That’s strange, I thought to myself.  Mary Lee’s bike is parked on the road and Tracy’s bike is in the ditch, but MaryLee crashed?  Hmm….

They proceeded to tell us the whole story.  It was a minor crash and Mary Lee’s bike had escaped mostly unscathed.  The bike and MaryLee had only picked up a few scratches in the incident.  The only remnants of her fall were some shallow gouges in the pea gravel.

I was amazed at Mary Lee’s enthusiasm.  She had just crashed and was relating the incident more like a war story than something that had just happened.  One thing we learned about MaryLee, she did not do anything half way.  She either went for it all out, or didn’t do it.

It turned out that she too had her own little secret (to me anyway).  MaryLee is the first Woman’s Downhill Bicycle World Champion and she knows how to ride bikes (obviously)!  She was also an Olympic Nordic skier and has retained her competitive spirit and drive throughout her life.  Every time Tracy wicked it up a bit, MaryLee was right on his tail, on all sorts of terrain.  Her spirit is indeed impressive, but she was fairly new to motorcycling and at the speeds she sometimes traveled at, I feared for her safety during parts of the ride.

But Mary Lee was unfazed from her little get off and she was raring to go. All that was left of her crash was a small spattering of pea gravel and some marks in the road.  She was ready to go and so were we.  So once again, we hopped aboard our little machines and headed toward new trails.

The TAT was once again going to deliver special sights, sounds and smells.  The trail squirmed and twisted its way southward leading us towards Mississippi.  With the southerly turn, the temperature started to soar even higher.  It was well over 100 degrees F, and the humidity was unbearable.  It became apparent that we would soon need to stop to hydrate and rest.

Passing through a small town, we arrived at the Olive Hill Store.  Inside it was cool so we purchased some drinks and decided to stay a while.  The proprietors for the day were a pair of 16-17 year olds talking about things that kids their age discuss, while apparently running the store.  Soon a friend of theirs came in and the two girls talked about their friends while their male acquaintance passed judgment on the girls friends.  It seems that small towns are the same the world over, people just being people.

After our brief respite, we returned to the bikes for some more heat, humidity and amazing sights.  Riding along, it soon became apparent we were getting to places where not many people go and time slows down.  It seemed we were going back in time and we were willing time travelers to this very special part of the TAT.

June 14, 2013 | Categories: Adventure, Adventure Motorcycling, adventure riders, Adventure Rides, aerostich, Alaska, Argentina, Chile, dual sport, enduro, hydration, KTM, Motorcycle, motorcycle gear, off road, Overland, people, photo, pictures, R2ADV, rally, Ride2Adventure, roadcrafter, Travel, Yukon | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments