LTP and Pinkytiffy's 2013 TAT tour of the USA.

[Losttheplot]

We had a leisurely start to the following day, and on recommendations from the night before decided on visiting the distillery, originally started by an enterprising young man by the name of Jack Daniels (ring any bells?).

They were keen to share the process:

The original office:

After the tour (which was really informative), and revealed plenty of the history behind the place, we loaded up and turned off the TAT to head for Nashville....

 

[Losttheplot]

This should be a good RR... thinking about adding some or all of the TAT to my USA trip.

It's also worth checking out the backcountry discovery routes as well. Check them out on their facebook page, they have routes for around a dozen or so states so far, all on trails and suitably challenging for a big bike, and available as GPS routes free of charge

https://www.facebook.com/BackcountryDiscoveryRoutes

 

[stephen.stallebrass]

It's also worth checking out the backcountry discovery routes as well. Check them out on their facebook page, they have routes for around a dozen or so states so far, all on trails and suitably challenging for a big bike, and available as GPS routes free of charge

https://www.facebook.com/BackcountryDiscoveryRoutes

Yeah, I've seen something about the Backcountry Discovery Routes and the Butler motorcycle maps on YouTube.

Cheers

 

[Losttheplot]

And so to Nashville...

Apologies for the delay, photobucket was down for maintenance last night



Before leaving Lynchburg, Dave managed to get some tickets for the Saturday night performance at a venue called the "Grand 'Ole Opry" .

We left Lynchburg and rode into Nashville for late afternoon, a quick shit shower and shave and it was downstairs to get a taxi to the 'Opry.

Once inside it proved to be a very impressive venue, with a wide range of acts:

 

[Losttheplot]

The following day we decided to have a day off the bikes and have a look around Nashville.

First up was a visit here:

Walk inside and you are greeted with this in the shop:

Through into the museum. It's a good insight in the life of the great Mr Cash,

Having this playing in the background also gave the museum a real "feel" to it:

After soaking up some history and culture, it was decided that we should go on a bit of a bar crawl.

 

[Losttheplot]

It wasn't just about going on the lash, Nashville is stacked full of bars with live music.

We wandered around sampling a few, before settling in "tequila cowboy" for a light snack:

And spent a couple of hours talking shite and listening to this guy play:

After which we went and sampled a few more bars:

On reflection, the BB King bar should have been on the hit list of places to visit, but instead we ended up in Coyote ugly

Still, Dave enjoyed himself:

You can tell this is a classy place:

Later on Dave introduces me to Margheritas:

It was far to posh for me, and just made me feel like

 

[Losttheplot]

Back to Lynchburg, and back to the TAT.

The next morning we arose feeling much fresher despite consuming more than a few beers the day before. Funny how beer helps hit the reset switch

We loaded up, and headed back to Lynchburg and pick the TAT up where we left off.

Here the TAT route reverted quickly to gravel tracks.

Stop off to change the road book

It turned out to be the longest day in the saddle for the trip so far, covering just over 200 miles, finally arriving at the Boatel in Savannah TN.

We'd heard good things about the blackened catfish they serve at the boatel, and it would have been a welcome break from pizza, ribs or nachos.

Unfortunately the kitchen was shut early due to lack of trade. The local shop stocked chocolate and crisps and all manner of unhealthy crap, not what you want after a long day in the saddle.

Thankfully there was salvation:

 

[zoot]

more please, rain due again need cheering up

 

[Losttheplot]

Spot the ladies underwear

 

[Losttheplot]

Woke up the next morning and got to see the "Botel" in daylight, and it looked more impressive than the previous night.

The botel is located right on the banks of the Tennessee River:

Despite the inventive architecture and pleasant location, I was still slightly hacked off that we didn't get our blackened catfish.

Anyway, back on the road for a few miles we stopped off for breakfast at a local diner, before heading over to Sholih National Park.

Apparently this site is the location for one all-mighty ding-dong during the civil war, and the park stands as a lasting testament to the men that fell.

We stopped off to have a look around the museum (and make the most of the air-con), but outside the heat was pretty unbearable unless you were moving, so we got back on the bikes and headed off to get back on the TAT.

 

[Losttheplot]

Leaving Shiloh behind we headed along the TAT, and spent the day getting to a place called Ripley in Mississippi.

Getting of the tarmac always feels good, and after crossing the Tennessee river and covering a few road miles, we got back onto the trails to be welcomed with this view:

Most of the trails for the day were basic forestry roads:

The surface varied, from deep "pea gravel" to hard pack with a scattering of small stones that made cornering feel more of a case of luck over judgement.

The day wasn't getting any cooler, but riding through the trees offered occasional shade.

We also found the first bit of mud on the trip, as well as a few ruts just to keep dave happy- he just loves ruts .

We spent the night in Ripley, and the next morning headed out onto the Levee's of Mississippi.

Most of the day's trails weren't taxing, more of a pleasant ride away from the tarmac, and very few corners.

Around lunchtime we found this place:

It was brickabrac shop that had no one home, but while we were looking around some locals dropped by, shared some chilled water with us and pointed us in the direction of the TAT visitors book.

 

[Losttheplot]

We cracked on and spent the night in Batesville, MS and found another dry town with no beer.

Over the next few days we carried on with the TAT, and crossed into Arkansas, and into the Ozark mountains.

Dave have a minor issue with the fuel cap for his auxiliary tank. he'd forgotten to put it back on when he'd filled up that morning.

But we soon found a solution for keeping the dust and crap out

It would do until we found something better.

The Ozark's are Stunning, and offered some amazing views!

 

[Losttheplot]

Oark

Around lunchtime we found a little village called Oark.

And decided to head for the cafe for lunch.

It was clearly a notorious stop on the TAT, judging by the front door

inside was nice enough, and the cafe serve the most amazing pulled pork! it came as a very welcome break from pizza and ribs that seemed to be the norm. And it was "proper" food, not pre-prepped crap out of a packet.

We also saw our first bear

 

[Udders]

I'd love to do that trip one day! Great report so far.

 

[Nutty]

I'm enjoying this. Keep it coming

 

[yamonda1]

......

 

[ymfb]

Gutted as I have run out of the story so far, please make sure you spend a great deal of time on it today so when I wake up at five tomorrow I have at least 45 minutes of entertainment.

 

[(RIP) andrewgsadv]

Just got in from Tesco on me GS adventure, full pannier set. I thought I was living the dream as an adventure bike rider. Read through your post and well boys,good on yer it looks like so much more fun than in sunny Sheffield.

Keep it coming.

 

[Losttheplot]

Suitably refreshed In Oark, and bikes fueled from petrol pumps so old they had signs on them saying "pay double the indicated price", we headed on with the TAT.


We'd planned on getting to Van Bueren for the evening, but we had underestimated the distance and the trails involved, From Oark some we encountered some of the most technical trails so far as well as more of the usual.

War Loop road was a real wake up after everything else we had ridden so far, a steep descent with lots of large rocks, lumps of concrete and trees to navigate around, with the bash plates getting tested on more than a few occasions. It was so enjoyable we forgot to stop for photo's

do i? don't i?

Well we did.

Shortly after passing this sign, Dave and myself were treated to the sight of a bird of prey with a snake hanging from it's talons. An impressive sight to say the least, just a shame the bird was in such a hurry.

On the subject of snakes, i feel it worthy to note that Dave hate's snakes with a passion, and when going for a , would stomp on the ground in a manner that was similar to the New Zealand Rugby team performing their Haka. Only Dave would be chanting "F*ck off snakes, F*ck off snakes"

Never ceased to raise a smile

 

[Losttheplot]

One of the last locals we met in Akansas, before crossing into Oaklahoma:

Most of the day was spent away from civilisation, until we came across this place:

Now it was 3pm, on a sunday afternoon, and the little shop on site was still open. We headed in, inquiring if there was anywhere local we could get something to eat. One of the girls behind the counter disappeared out the back, and returned with "Captain Dave", the site manager.

Now nothing was to much hassle for Cpt Dave, he was keen to hear about our travels and opened the kitchen up especially for us, and went out of his way to make us feel welcome- a far cry from the experience with the Botel, TN!

The quick food stop that we had originally planned turned into a leisurely lunch of a couple of hours, as we got to know Cpt Dave a little better. The man himself was of Native Cherokee descent, and took great pleasure in telling Dave about all the dodgy snakes that lived in the area .

Back on the road, we landed at Bartlesville for the night.

The next morning Dave had an ingenius idea for "cruise control" :

Which was great until he tried it a few times in the motel car park and his throttle cable snapped

Not sure dave was in a very good mood when i took that last photo

Thankfully we were carrying spare clutch and thottle cables, so it wasn't that much of a drama, and half an hour later we were on our merry way.