big-t Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Have you ever wondered where that dirt road went? I'm going to find out ,thanks to Sam Correro,founder of the Trans America trail.Sam charted this route which starts at the Tennesse/Kentucky border and runs to the Pacific ocean in Oregon. 4800 miles of dirt roads. I made the decision to blow off the initial part of Tennesse as many of the original dirt roads have been paved and start in lawrenceburg. Come along with me for the first two thousand miles.... Day 1 Roanoke to Lawrenceburg Easy ride to Nashville Dropped off the truck at DCBs house and rode to Lawrenceburg Day 1 (on the trail) Lawrenceburg to Helena Ark First dirt road First wooden bridge with guard puppies Most riders use knobbies for the trail and change out in Colorado,but since I had to ride back after finishing the first half,these were my choice, giving up some traction for longer wear. Rear Mefo...will they go the distance?? I recognized this crossing as soon as I topped the rise in the road from many pictures seen on the net,known as the slippery creek crossing or maybe “creek of shame”..I walked the creek three times picking out the best line.While I was in the creek a small pickup came thru and slid sideways.Hmmm The bottom was indeed slippery,almost hard to stand up in.No problem,I've been thru creeks before. Standing on the pegs,I start thru the creek,halfway I'm wondering what the big deal is?Coming out of the water on the other side things go bad quick,the rear end comes around like its on grease.Almost 180 degrees and about 100 degrees the front starts sliding with it.Ugg ...newest member of “I dropped the bike in the slippery creek crossing” Actually,I slid out of the water and ended up on one elbow and knee....Great...first 100 miles and already fell. In a way it was a good thing,because I was nervous about dropping this beast as I was traveling alone,got the drop out of the way,so now I can enjoy the trip. Minor damage,cracked mirror and some mud on the bags...thanks to the crash bars and my pads. Whats in the creek to make it so slippery...? More crossings .........not slippery Lots of old barns and wildlife Before long I was in the red /orange mud of Missippi ..and what I like to call “The Mississippi marbles” Lots of suck up time while riding on these Wondered where these folks were going in such a hurry.. ..found lots of this white fuzzy stuff rode the levees for a while...no GPS routes for these and finally......the bridge across the big muddy into Arkansas.I had planned on staying at the casino on this side,forgot it was a weekend,.$100 a night.I spent the night across the river in a sleepcheep Long day.........368 miles,but I was fresh and itching to go. Day 2 Helena Ark to Clinton Ark Flat lands to start although much of it has seen better days These guys will keep your attention Been riding awhile,needed a break and spotted this old cemetary on high bank,so I stopped to visit. Some of these folks have been here a while.I wondered if anyone even remembered them I'm getting hungry,lets ride off the trail and find some dinner Looks a little rough,but its all I see.Whats the Dinner special? Hmmmm Delicious........Deep fried catfish,one of the best meals of my trip.Most of the motels had a Mickey-Ds next door Eating dinner and looking out the window I see this.. Oh well,its a cheap bike.Later I would epoxy it back on.Only lasted 4 hours and the other side fell of at 800 miles.Tied them up with a piece of wire and moved on.........nobody is looking at them out in the boondocks. Back to the ride,not long before I hit a wet area,I guess it rained the day before.This stuff is like snot,slippery and sticky.Got of the bike to take a pic and had two inches of mud on the bottom of my boots in about 6 steps Finally the road gets better..the farmers even mow it,which presents more problems.Hard to see the ruts under the grass.Just a few small tankslappers,nothing to worry about. Wondering about the locals,haven't seen anyone for a while. See the orange wire along the bridge?There was miles and miles of it strung along the roads in this section.I believe its hooks to seismic recording equipment related to searching for oil.I was really impressesd with the amount of new Camel head pumpers and oil storage tanks on this trip. I thought this guy was funny...course he was probably thinkin the same about me Nice day Day 3 Clinton Ark to Alma Ark The day started like this,but I don't mind....not at work I like the old buildings.I try to visualize how life was when it was new. Moving out of the flat lands into the hills Down in the piney woods What was it like,living here 100 years ago. Anybody know what this is?Looked pretty The Ozarks Amazing...the sides of the roads are covered for miles with these,both flowers and friends.Neither paid any attention to me More questions...why is the water this shade of green.Never had time to think about things like this before. Obligatory Shot of big rock on WhiteRock mountain rd. Never occurred to me this rock was on a mountain side,all the other pics I have seen looked like its on flat land. The infamous Warlock rd.A bit steeper and rocker than it looks.I was concerned about this road after reading all the reports of it being tough,so I went in thinking if its real bad I'll turn around,don't want to break a leg or something and screwup the rest of the trip. Turned out to be a downhill washed out narrow trail,much like a mountain creek bed, with a mud hole at the bottom Piece of cake. Day 3 Link to comment
Twisties Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Sweeeeeet! Keep 'em coming.... That looks like fun. Link to comment
Chris K Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Todd, looks like a great trip! Can't wait for the next installment. Link to comment
OoPEZoO Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Awesome......I'm hooked. Keep um' coming Just out of curiousity...you wouldn't happen to have your GPS routes from this trip would you? I've been considering a similar trip in the distant future and would love to get a better feel for what the trails look like on mapsourse. Link to comment
Huzband Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 You're makin' me wish I hadn't sold the DR-Z. Guess I'll just have to get another one. Great trip so far, keep it up. Link to comment
Nice n Easy Rider Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Probably not my kind of riding but I really enjoyed the vicarious experience through your pics and commentary. Thanks for sharing. I look forward to more. Link to comment
SageRider Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Thanks for sharing! Looks like a really fun trip so far!!! Link to comment
tallman Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 You're makin' me wish I hadn't sold the DR-Z. Guess I'll just have to get another one. Great trip so far, keep it up. Great trip. Danny, know where there is ond for sale. Link to comment
David Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 A water crossing like the one you dumped your bike on is nothing to me. Link to comment
russell_bynum Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 A water crossing like the one you dumped your bike on is nothing to me. Would that be in your truck, or in your dreams? Link to comment
David Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Says the putz with the bad ankle from a demonstration of superior skill? Link to comment
russell_bynum Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Hey, I made it through all the water crossings. It was when I tried to thrown down with some Mike Metzger double-backflip freestyle madness that I got into trouble. I woulda stuck the landing, too, but Wurty reached over and hit my killswitch as I was just starting up the ramp for my launch. Link to comment
StretchMark Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Been out of pocket for a bit, so just catching up. I've been waiting for this tale :thumbsup: No, I have not a single hair on my arse big-t, you're a stud! Can you merge this all into one thread for me, my index finger is getting tired. Link to comment
skinny_tom (aka boney) Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 Noticed the threads the other day. I'm catching up! Link to comment
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