Jesse Pacht's 4-Week Motorcycle Adventure on the Trans-America Trail from North Carolina to Oregon
Jesse Pacht's ride was from North Carolina to Oregon. He started planning this adventure over 2.5 years ago. Overtime, the plan was revised as riders canceled, and here and there and the trip route was modified – Who goes on the ride, and what you want to see along the way was part of the planning.
Jesse presented a series of SLIDES
Jesse rode with a friend he described him as his brother from another mother. They named themselves Big Pig and Blue Ox – Ox and Pig was their tag.
His talk was split between what was considered prior to and during the trip; and lessons learned; and he finished his talk was slides that showed the changing beauty of the USA.
QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN PLANNING THE TRIP
- First, decide when to go – what time of year. Too early catches snow in the high passes. Summer, terrifically hot in some areas.
- Will you do it in sections over several years or try it all at once?
- How much time can I take off work and when would work for my employer?
- Make sure you have the right motorcycle, camping equipment, tools, food, spares, gas station cuisine or restaurants).
- Choose your level of luxury – “stealth camping” (camping on private land for free) or regular camping or motels.
- The easy part is getting from one place to the other; the trick is getting your motorcycle to the start and getting it back from thousands of miles away!
- Jesse’s son Simon drove a chase car with parts and tools and trailered the bikes back aft er the trip.
- Decide on other things you want to see on the trip – novelties, geography, anything that’s important to you.
- Do the research!
- Most importantly: Is my significant other OK with me leaving for so long?
ROUTES:
- It’s basically a GPS track, but there are politics between “Kevin” and “Sam”’s routes. We took Kevin’s with sections/daily manageable chunks; Sam’s was just a line. There are free tracks as well.
- Determine what is important to you, for example, The Tail of the Dragon – a section of road on which they chased a group of Miatas.
- [from the web: Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap with 318 curves in 11 miles: America’s number one motorcycle and sports car road. Designated US 129, the road is bordered by the Great Smoky Mountains and the Cherokee National Forest with no intersecting roads or driveways to hamper your travel. It is considered “the destination” for thousands of motorcycle and sports car fans throughout the spring, summer, and fall. Can you brave it? It’s best to be cautious as the turns are tight, but the Tail of the Dragon is guaranteed to be the ride of your life.]
MORE THINGS TO CONSIDER:
- Determine the rules you will follow: personal and trip (gates, signs, etc.). Off-road, what signs do we respect?
- How will you shared responsibility – with one other or more. Spread the weight evenly among the bikes. Fewer people means fewer agendas for the trip.
- What will be the plan for lodging? Combination 2/3 camping 1/3 hotels.
- Do I send spares along the way or hope for the best? – tires, oil change, chains and sprockets. Colorado is only HALF-WAY. Jesse did a full change of these things there with parts Simon carried.
- “Motorcycle camping” is between car camping and walking.
- Economy of packing: Lay out what you want, then ditch 1/3 of it. There are Walmart's and Dick’s all along the way to purchase what you need. Off-road, you’ll be bashing through woods with a lot of stuff.
- Have a rescue plan – I have a satellite tracker on my phone.
- Decide how much you want to tune out on a trip like this. Jesse chose a mid-way path. “The trip was about me and my friend Scotty and experiencing the trip itself.” Choose how much you interact with the outside world. Many times we were 25-30 miles from anything.
What to leave behind?
- We wanted to be I the middle of nowhere – left work, family expectations, huge amounts of stuff, electronics. Took cell phone, smart phone, camera.
WHILE YOU ARE ON THE TRIP
- Have a way of communicating among the riders about what is important.
- Need to trust each other .
- What time to get up? What to eat?
- What time to stop? How flexible are you?
- Am I taking advantage of the fact that I AM ON A CROSS-COUNTRY TRIP WITH A LOT TO SEE
- Stop AT roadside stands, talk to locals, take photos.
Jesse then showed us a variety of slides that highlight the varying beauty of the USA, and some of the challenges along the road less taken.