HadesOmega Return 2 TAT running BLOG

[HadesOmega]

HadesOmega is going on another adventure and is going to complete the TAT. If you remember a couples months ago I rode the TAT all the way to the start of the Idaho TAT and then booked it home. Now I'm going back to finish it and I'm going to throw the Nevada BDR and Mojave Road in with it. It surprisingly makes a good loop. So I had planned to ride through Death Valley and maybe do some of the dirt roads there but according to the website literally all the roads are closed because of a recent storm. So the first leg of the journey to the Mojave Road is going to be slab =/

I'll try to keep this page updated and throw some pictures in as I go along.

Track me here:
https://share.garmin.com/hadesomega

 

[Cabrito]

Go for it Merlin!

 

[1962siia]

Looks like another awesome ride.

 

[HadesOmega]

DAY 0

So here's a little something interesting. Yesterday my mom tells me my bike is leaking fuel. I have been prepping this bike for like 2 or 3 weeks so far from the last TAT adventure. So I check it out wow there is a huge puddle of fuel under my bike. There is fuel dripping down the head of the bike. I check the carb it looks dry. I start the bike up and its not flooded so its not leaking through the carb. I noticed I left the fuelvalve on and I noticed there is a fuel spurting out from it from like a pin hole.

So I turn the the fuel off and it stops leaking. I replace the fuel hose and all is well. All I can say is good thing this happened here and not on the road!

 

[HadesOmega]

DAY 01
San Jose to Mariposa (Horizon's Unlimited Travelers Meeting)
175 Miles

First on the road entry luckily I have good signal here and power! I am basically taking the same route I took on the KLR650 to Mariposa where the Travelers Meeting is.

First section up Mount Hamilton to Lick Observatory

Met one dude riding what looked like a Ninja. He came up from the other side and is going back down my way.

Panoramics

 

[HadesOmega]

View going down the backside

At the Junction couple riders here!

Down Del Puerto Canyon to Patterson stopped by Adobe Springs.

First watercrossing!

Passed near Lake Don Pedro. There's actually water where the GPS says there's water. I have been passing by the lake every year and it has always been dry at least where I am here. After this years torrential rain there was a good amount of water. I could tell the waterline was about 20 feet higher though. There water but there could be more.

 

[HadesOmega]

I rode on Hwy 49 the Golden Chain Highway. This is probably the 3rd time I rode it and it puts a smile on my face everytime!

 

[SFMCjohn]

yay, another epic HO RR! arty

 

[HadesOmega]

Some pictures from the Horizon's Unlimited Travelers Meeting
Also some bad news Tioga Pass is closed because of snow. First time I've ever seen it closed at this time =( Hopefully it clears up and they open it up or else I will have to find another way to cross the sierras.

Free beer and presentation about renting or buying bikes in developing countries. The presenter is the owners of Mosko luggage also!

10 year old boy presenting about his travels riding 2up

How to fix your bike class

Looks like I'm in the right place

Party Animal Camping

Pictures of some cool bikes

 

[HadesOmega]

More HU pics

I can't say I've never camped in a stable before!

The Mosko vendor booth they make some great stuff. My luggage system is getting old I might try to get something from them in the future. They showed a buncha examples why you don't want to use hard panniers off road

 

[HadesOmega]

More bike porn

Grey/Black and White/Black DR650s

These guys heading off to Argentina on these Ducati Elephant 900s

Grant's Tube and Tire patching class

This girl lives on the road, she's a motorcycle vagabond

 

[HadesOmega]

Tomorrow will be my 4th day of my Adventure but my 2nd day riding. Trying to save as much money as I can for this trip. I looked at the road conditions and it looks like Tioga pass is open so I will resume my original plan. Looks like the weather is only going to get warmer so that's a good thing because it's been pretty chilly the first couple days. Tomorrow I plan to find a sneaky way into Yosemite National Park, I tried to find it last year but took a wrong turn this year I think I know which way to go. So tomorrow will be the first dirt section! Hopefully I'll make it to Lee Vining tomorrow. There are some presentations till around noon, so I'm going to grab lunch and head for the hills after!

 

[HadesOmega]

Short update today almost time to sleep. So my plan to take a back road way into Yosemite NP worked. Got lost a couple times. Here's some pictures for that. It was a lot steeper dirt road than I remember it being. I guess that's why the KLR had trouble on it but the DR at it right up =P So here's the story. Last year I took the KLR to the HU meeting. I tried to find this road that takes you to Wawona by dirt roads and it skips the pay station. I"m not condoning not paying to get into the park but I didn't get it last year. I took a wrong turn and it spits you out rigt before the pay station. I told a buddy I meet at the meeting with an Africa Twin what I was doing and he found the road and he finds me hanging out at Half Dome Village and he says he found the road that goes to Wawona and just like I did got lost a couple time haha. So this time I found it!

Summit Campground free camping right next to Yosemite NP

Smells like victory! Wawona!

 

[HadesOmega]

Yosemite was beautiful as usual. This time was a little different it was COLD! I've been going to Yosemite around this time like almost every other year and because we had so much rain and snow here the water falls were flowing like crazy. Tioga pass has a good amount of snow along the roads too the most I've ever seen at this time. Did I mention it was COLD? Also don't forget the hordes of tourists...

 

[HadesOmega]

Ok an update here. It is now DAY 09 since I left on my adventure. I'm staying at a buddies house in Henderson, Nevada so I got some time to catch up on my BLOG here. I'll post some pictures to fill in the gaps from the last couple days.

Thus far I have ridden through Death Valley, Mojave Road, and the first section of the Nevada BDR. Can you say desert riding overload! HERE WE GO!

 

[HadesOmega]

From where we left off

After riding around Yosemite Valley I headed up Tioga Pass. Still very cold and to get colder the higher up in elevation I went. This was probably the most snow I've seen up here. Seems like every other year I ride through or around here and I've never seen this much snow at this time of year.

Olmsted Point

Tenaya Lake

Toulumne Meadows

Eventually I get to the entrance booth of Yosemite and the highest elevation of Tioga Pass

My favorite viewpoint on Tioga Pass

 

[HadesOmega]

Made it to Lee Vining before it got dark and had a BBQ Chicken sandwich at the Whoa Nelie Deli. Then I set off to find a campsite near Mono Lake. I manage to find one by wandering around the dirt roads a bit, I found a fire ring. Set up camp for the night and it was FREEZING here, 32F says my phone and the Trailtech not too far. The highway not too far from the distance means I could easily hope back on it.

In for a cold night it was hard for me to sleep because it was so cold and frost was forming on the bike. I thought I was in the desert now!?

 

[HadesOmega]

Wake up the next morning and waited till the sun comes out for it to warm up a bit. Last view of Mono Lake it time to head south to Death Valley where our desert adventure begins! I head over to the Whoa Nelie Deli gas station and fill up and get another picture of the lake.

Views from HWY 395 enroute to Death Valley

 

[HadesOmega]

Stopped for lunch in Bishop at an El Pollo Loco and then headed to Big Pine

To Death Valley we go. Death Valley is a kind of special place for me. It was a my first big adventure ride and my first experience riding in the desert time to ride it again! Good thing most of the roads are open, Death Valley was flooded not long ago.

 

[HadesOmega]

So I hadn't even hit the dirt yet and this happens.

I went to stop in a canyon to take a picture of the road and canyon. The road was cambered on way and the shoulder was cambered the other way and I failed to notice that. I get off the bike and then it tips over DOH. Then it slides over a little berm DOH and then it starts sliding off into a ditch DOH

So to get the bike to where it should be I needed to take all the luggage off and drag it down into the ditch first then get it rightside up. Then I needed to ride it out of the ditch somehow. This was the worst tip over I've ever had. It took me a whole hour to to accomplish this and I was exhausted. No1 showed up the whole time too until of course I already rode it out of the ditch. In the process I kinda broke my windscreen =( Had I had a lighter bike or someone else with me probably wouldn't have been such a big deal.

This was the easiest place I could find to ride up and it wasn't easy. Took me 2 tries and I had to paddle out the 2nd time.