The TAT

[boatman]

Sgt Bilco over on the UKGSER forum is your Man ,he has organised several trips on the TAT for UK riders

[SteveW]

Sgt Bilco over on the UKGSER forum is your Man ,he has organised several trips on the TAT for UK riders

I am aware of Sgt Bilco, I don't think he's got anything planned TAT-Wise in 2016.
Mud....may be the DRZ then.

[Nickw909]

I would take a close look at the gpsKevin tracks. As far as I'm aware they follow quite an old version of the tracks from Sam. There will be some sections that are far more technical than the current route and you may find some access problems.

Can you drag your GS800 out of a foot of mud?


Nick.

[Nickw909]

The first 2-3 days do cover a lot of tarmac and I also dropped of the route and headed further West but I'm glad I stayed on track. There are some great places to see even if the riding is easy.

Nick.

[akceller8]

There's a great write up on the TAT done by Jenny Morgan as a test of the Rally Raid CB500X.

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/t ... h.1061450/

Makes me want to go, if only I had the finances.

[Redmurty]

There's a great write up on the TAT done by Jenny Morgan as a test of the Rally Raid CB500X.

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/t ... h.1061450/

Makes me want to go, if only I had the finances.

Know the feeling got 2 trips planned for next year already one I really can't get out of (Mrs Birthday present) otherwise :pinch: this is very near the top of the bucket list

cheers Spud

[anagallis_arvensis]

The TAT is a great experience, nothing overly technical, but it can get very muddy in Mississippi/Arkansas/Oklahoma and Nevada has lots of fesh-fesh and rocks, lots and lots and lots of rocks. Its the journey as a whole that makes it 'epic' as our 'Merican cousins would say.

I did it last year, starting out from Tellico Plains in the middle of August. Here's my summary to give you an idea, it can be done in less that 3 weeks if you go light and fast.

Day 1 - 287 miles. Tellico Plains to Lawrenceburg
Day 2 - 249 miles. Lawrenceburg to Oxford
Day 3 - 229 miles. Oxford to Clarendon
Day 4 - 207 miles. Clarendon to TAT Shak
Day 5 - 211 miles. TAT Shak to Hanging Rock Campsite
Day 6 - 216 miles. Hanging Rock Campsite to Newkirk
Day 7 - 201 miles. Newkirk to Buffalo
Day 8 - 273 miles. Buffalo to Black Mesa State Park
Day 9 - 208 miles. Black Mesa State Park to La Veta
Day 10 - 180 miles. La Veta to Salida
Day 11 - 184 miles. Salida to Lake City
Day 12 - 55 miles. Lake City to Silverton
Day 13 - 150 miles. Silverton to 3 Step Hideaway.
Day 14 - 78 miles. 3 Step Hideaway to Moab
Day 15 - 144 miles. White Rim Trail
Day 16 - 80 miles. Moab to Green River
Day 17 - 0 miles. Day off
Day 18 - 142 miles. Green River to Salina
Day 19 - 184 miles. Salina to Border Inn
Day 20 - 142 miles. Border Inn to Preston
Day 21 - 211 miles. Preston to Battle Mountain
Day 22 - 212 miles. Battle Mountain to Denio Junction
Day 23 - 180 miles. Denio Junctio to Lakeview
Day 24 - 186 miles. Lakeview to Cresent
Day 25 - 217 miles. Cresent to Wolf Creek
Day 26 - 110 miles. Wolf Creek to Port Orford

Total : 4536 miles.

I was on a KTM 690, I personally wouldn't take anything bigger than a 650 single. The DRZ-400 is probably most common bike you will see on the TAT.

If you going to just do the TAT then I would travel very light, no camping gear. the TAT maps from Sam at transamtrail.com are based around staying in motels.

The route has had quite an update over the last year, it now starts in North Carolina and the Utah section is almost completely different, it no longer passes through the washes and canyons which is a shame as this was one of the highlights of my trip.

There are several side trips that can be done, the White Rim Trail in Moab is well worth it.

If you do consider a smaller bike then look at air-freight into Atlanta, your then only a short distance from the start of the TAT.




Have a great trip, it's well worth it!


Nick.

Thanks for that. I want to do it sometime and would be looking at about the same timescale. Any areas that are must do and any you would skip and take the road?

[Nickw909]

If you have the time to do all of it then I would stick to the trail, even the road sections are all back roads. You may feel like your going around in circles just to avoid the main drag, but its worth the time over the first few days.

New Mexico is where is starts to get into the mountains for the first time, although by the time your at the end ok Oklahoma your already at 1500m, but its dead flat.

Colorado/Utah/Nevada were the best for me. When I was reading about the TAT not many people mention Nevada, but I thought it was one of the highlights.


Nick.

[anagallis_arvensis]

I have an uncle in North Carolina so would start at his place on the beach and then take roads for a few days to get some miles in I think. I could go to 4 weeks maybe but your schedule looks pretty punishing to me. The new route starts in NC if I read it right but I might give that a miss..all a dream at the moment need to save the cash yet.

[SteveW]

Well, I've decided to do the TAT on my DRZ400e.
The bike's Being sent with James freight Services Manchester to NewYork and return five weeks later from LA to my front door.
I'll probably rent a van one way from NY to North Carolina, stick the bike in the back and pick up the trail.
I got a nice flight Manchester-NewYork for myself £ 380, that's with an upgrade to Priemium and extra legroom.
I've not booked a return flight from LA just yet as I will probably fly LA to Orlando and meet the family for a couple weeks in a villa.
Best get saving!