Well we finally said goodbye to Rocklahoma and made our way to the place we would hook up with the TAT. Another hot morning, but not so bad if we kept moving. The morning started off in the treed area on the fringes of the Ozarks, but but midday we had made our way to the grasslands of the prairie. Wide open and beautiful and such a change from what we see back east. However the roads were extremely DUSTY. Not too bad if you are riding at the front of the pack, but I elected to run near the back with Jeff. Most of the time, we were in a clod of dust that prevented you from seeing the ground or anything greater than about 20 yards in front of you. After trying several different gaps, I sat back about 150 yards, but as there was little wind, it didn't make much difference. I settled into a line behind Jenn and trusted that she would pick a path that would keep me upright. At one stop Jenn was laughing so hard she couldn't speak. Seems unknown to us in the "Fog", Russ had gone over a bump in the Dust Bank" and met a big hole on the other side. According to Jenn Russ went airborne and left the seat but kept on keeping on, although he seemed a little tentative for a while. I on the other hand was not so lucky, after the 3rd of 5 water crossings, I was running a little hot when I hit the mud, and my Green Girl decided we both needed a mudbath!. Nothing hurt except my ego, but like the guy at the BMW offroad school told me, "If you don't fall down every now and again, you ain't trying hard enough". Russ came back and helped me get the bike upright and we pressed on. Aside from the fall down, we got to see some pretty cool stuff today. Horses in a pature next to Russ and Jenn decided they were challenging them and raced them to a draw for about 1/4 mile before the ran into a fence stopping their run. The trail often runs right thru 100's of acres of pasture and you find yourself shooing cows off the road. On topping a small hill we saw a couple of content buzzards sitting on top a recently deceased cow having a late afternoon lunch. Also local turtles seemed to be in some kind of migration as we passed dozens of them making their way somewhere. Then there was THE SNAKE. I didn't see it mind you, but according to Daniel it was huge and we were lucky to get past it without one of us being swallowed whole, bike and all! Anyway, this is the kind of day that makes you want to climb back on these KLR's and find a trail, beautiful scenery, plenty of challenges to test your riding skills, and good friends to help pick you up when you fall down. I can't wait for the next chance to do it again.
Well we finally said goodbye to Rocklahoma and made our way to the place we would hook up with the TAT. Another hot morning, but not so bad if we kept moving. The morning started off in the treed area on the fringes of the Ozarks, but but midday we had made our way to the grasslands of the prairie. Wide open and beautiful and such a change from what we see back east. However the roads were extremely DUSTY. Not too bad if you are riding at the front of the pack, but I elected to run near the back with Jeff. Most of the time, we were in a clod of dust that prevented you from seeing the ground or anything greater than about 20 yards in front of you. After trying several different gaps, I sat back about 150 yards, but as there was little wind, it didn't make much difference. I settled into a line behind Jenn and trusted that she would pick a path that would keep me upright. At one stop Jenn was laughing so hard she couldn't speak. Seems unknown to us in the "Fog", Russ had gone over a bump in the Dust Bank" and met a big hole on the other side. According to Jenn Russ went airborne and left the seat but kept on keeping on, although he seemed a little tentative for a while. I on the other hand was not so lucky, after the 3rd of 5 water crossings, I was running a little hot when I hit the mud, and my Green Girl decided we both needed a mudbath!. Nothing hurt except my ego, but like the guy at the BMW offroad school told me, "If you don't fall down every now and again, you ain't trying hard enough". Russ came back and helped me get the bike upright and we pressed on. Aside from the fall down, we got to see some pretty cool stuff today. Horses in a pature next to Russ and Jenn decided they were challenging them and raced them to a draw for about 1/4 mile before the ran into a fence stopping their run. The trail often runs right thru 100's of acres of pasture and you find yourself shooing cows off the road. On topping a small hill we saw a couple of content buzzards sitting on top a recently deceased cow having a late afternoon lunch. Also local turtles seemed to be in some kind of migration as we passed dozens of them making their way somewhere. Then there was THE SNAKE. I didn't see it mind you, but according to Daniel it was huge and we were lucky to get past it without one of us being swallowed whole, bike and all! Anyway, this is the kind of day that makes you want to climb back on these KLR's and find a trail, beautiful scenery, plenty of challenges to test your riding skills, and good friends to help pick you up when you fall down. I can't wait for the next chance to do it again.
