Ep. 14 Silverton, CO to Monticello UT: Attempting the Trans America Trail / TAT Honda Trail CT125s

[@SomeGuyRides]

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[@terrymoore9185]

I have a BMW 1150 gs, and I am seriously not able to tell if this would be easier or harder on this trail than your Trail 125? Please let me know. I rode in the mountains of Costa Rica on a powerful 2 stroke 250KTM and it whipped my 55yr old butt!

[@SomeGuyRides]

​@@terrymoore9185 If you're a great rider and don't have much trouble with the weight - send it! I couldn't have handled a bike that heavy on the TAT. Especially coming down ophir pass. Sure woulda been more comfy though!

[@Fongpaay]

I don't know if you've heard of the 3 types of fun, but I think it's the best way to explain why you enjoyed the past couple of days. Type 1 is your standard fun experience where you're just having a blast, eg skiing. It's just fun. Type 2 fun, which I think is what you've experience here, is where it kinda sucks. It's not fun at the time. It's hard. It's tiring. You can't wait for it to be over. Often there's some element of risk. But when you reflect on it the next day, you can't help but smile and say, "That sucked! Let's do it again some time." And then there's type 3 fun which is just a terrible ordeal and you're not sure you're going to make it out alive, and you look back on it and say, "That sucked! Let's never do that again." But you also crack a sly smile

[@kevinkelley2313]

Best TAT video anywhere. Yes, show us the reality. The beauty but also the challenge. Your approach is what we need. Personally, I will not be able to do CO until 2023, but now it is higher on the bucket list.

[@bmountainboy]

Yo buddy what ya did is so inspirational to a lot of people. Note next time you choose to tackle my beloved rocket mountains please upgrade your bike 1 front shock spacer caps 2 big bore kit ( for more low end torque 3 upgrade your rear shocks for extra weight added and better riding I’m sure you have heard this before yet if you’re going to do these things in the mountains, it is a must thing to do. Thanks for your adventures!

[@Motoramblings]

The beauty there is just incredible!!!! I love how you’ve documented the roads, and the terrain. Perfect for anyone considering riding the TAT

[@kawarthahillbilly]

Hands down, the best tat video on KZbin.!! I've watched most of your videos and I love them. The reality, the commentary and your personal stories really do make for great videos! Thank you for sharing this with us brother.

[@stewtube1240]

Howard Cosell memoirs ....Thanks for dusting of the cobwebs in my mind and bringing back memories of Howard ...his voice and his era !

[@michaelbean8404]

I know others have said this but I must add my 2 cents. I can't thank you enough for doing all this filming and editing. Especially allowing us to see all the difficulties you had. No one has shown this level of detail. Kiwi Grom also did a great job, but you've shown the most real side of the TAT. Yes the views are nice but for someone who is planing a TAT trip soon this is invaluable. Thank you Thank you

[@SomeGuyRides]

Thank you for saying that! We really appreciate it...

[@rallye81]

YASSSS! Epic documentary of this section. This was one of my favorite parts of the TAT, along with the views. Completing it in late September, the foliage colors were amber, orange, and red instead of green, but the bright green is also spectacular. I would do this section again. I can’t imagine riding that loose, rocky section on anything smaller than 21/18” wheels. I made it to the eastern LaSal mountains at the end of this day; a couple hours beyond Monticello, where I camped in a grove of yellow quaking aspens. Beautiful day!

[@thecharliebravomotorcycler5335]

Ophir Pass is by far my favorite of the Colorado Passes; rode from Arkansas to Ophir to spread my buddy's ashes(Covid), what a great ride

[@ataugusta]

What a nice tribute. Sorry for your friend..

[@dbcooper9935]

This is like watching TV when I was a kid, waiting for next week's Batman episode. Thanks!

[@stephaniemusick171]

I can imagine riding down the back side of Ophir, (pronounced Oh-Fur), pass in that scree did kinda suck on bikes with 17” wheels and very little suspension travel. The four corners and San Juan mountains area of Colorado is epic in its natural beauty. I am so glad you got to ride through and see my home state. I can’t wait to see your reaction to Moab, such a different kind of beauty. Thanks again for sharing your adventure with us.

[@ccooper8785]

This episode deserves to be sponsored by the Colorado tourist board 👍👍👍👍 (oops, had to come back again as I forgot to give you a thumbs-up...)

[@NitwitMN]

Second Viewing Notes: I find your choices and broad range of musical accompaniments to be so perfectly suited to the shifts in settings and operating environments. Truly superb. My sincerest compliments. The artsy (meant in the warmest sincerest sense) break at about 21:00 to show scenery was epic in a no shit not kidding way. Disagreement - you apologized at the beginning for recounting the prior day's harrowing adventures and fortuitous alignment of circumstances that brought you wholly into the next day thanks to the aid and assistance of other wonderful kind souls. Don't apologize. I think that by verbalizing the incredible run of good fortune is good manners and there's always time to verbalize gratitude. I think that segment was classy and increased my admiration for you as a good man.

[@SomeGuyRides]

THANK YOU for noticing the work on the music. 150 songs so far in the series. Makes me feel great that someone noticed/appreciated. And thank you tons for the kind words!

[@evergeendata]

Agree. The music in this (and the SM500 series) is so good. Some of the tracks are original Ang works as well. Thank you for watching.

[@herberttl]

You're too self-deprecating when you say you were above your skill level and shouldn't have been there. Only SOME CO natives have done what you did, which means basically NO ONE is qualified. Well done, Ang. Taking the challenges, despite the fear and even ignorance of what you're about to face, is how you get better! Well done!!! Those of us who want to follow in your tire tracks need to see the unvarnished view of the TAT. Thanks for that.

[@tomd804]

"Epic'er and epic'er!" Glad you guys made it over Ophir safely and in one piece! Thanks again for posting your adventures - Cheers!

[@BugTheRoot]

Thanks for the "boring" recap of the previous episode, I was a bit drunk when I was watching and had forgotten all of that. LOL

[@jakepossinger222]

Your trip looked so awesome and your write up on ADVRider is amazing. Thank you for all your insight. I just moved to Asheville with my CT125, so I'm sure I'll see you around!

[@SomeGuyRides]

Thanks for reading the Ride Report!

[@stewtube1240]

The orange jeep around 5:40 was Venture4wd from youtube I think . He travels around North America in jeep with a roof top tent .

[@yonnyb01]

great video! I rode Ophir pass on my wr250 and you should be thankful you have a short bike ;-) good job!!!!

[@baisleyde]

I have a CT90 and 110 , I thought I would like to have one of the new 125s but I think ill pass unless they add the low range feature in the future, looks like you certainly could have used it.

[@SomeGuyRides]

Would have come in handy for sure...

[@markpospichal6529]

Am really enjoying the series. The scenery/riding are great and the honesty in narration is refreshing. Glad for your sake the loose rock was on the downhill side of the pass- still sucked but would have probably ended in you walking the bike the whole way if uphill.

[@steves6614]

@Route NRide - guessing you haven’t done this descent. I road 7,000 miles (MABDR and TAT) this summer. IMHO, going down Ophir was the most demanding section of the entire trip. Let one rock deflect you the wrong way and you’ll have a very bad day.

[@markpospichal6529]

@@RouteNRide My perspective in making the comment was about the bike's capability. Minimal power to begin with, a heavy load and gearing too tall for the incline. Throw in a very loose surface and I doubt the bike could build enough momentum to pull a rider up the hill. My first bike, a Honda 50, had to be walked out of deep sand a bigger one could easily ride over for the same reason.

[@darrellkeister8452]

I appreciate the way you narrate your trip. Thanks for the videos, looking forward to the next one.👍

[@jamesnewman7652]

Though they look like Birch trees, they are Aspen trees and they are all connected together by their root system. Supposedly they are he largest living organism.

[@bentellingsen7421]

Having mastered the Colorado passes must leave a lasting good feeling. A feeling of a kind that I will probably never achieve, as viewing these videos makes it clear that I lack the adventurous gene necessary to take on something like the Ophir. The riding conditions there is beyond belief, and must be an equally serious challenge to both riders and machines. So, all respect to the riders - and to the small Hondas.

[@SomeGuyRides]

Coming down Ophir was tough! But man - to get to see places like that is well worth the trouble.

[@SouthernEnduroRdr]

Dude, epic video! Been following your travels. Great format a video for each day! Your music is great, maybe its from your exposure to the film industry but you have a knack for matching music to the scene! Example: that music at 30 min into this vid was epic sounds for epic scenes! Thanks for sharing!

[@SomeGuyRides]

thanks for sticking with the series - it's.... alot!

[@axl449]

Type II fun, sucks during it but afterwards it was a great time

[@pcthayer]

Don't think I would survive with my fear of heights. Going up wouldn't bother me as much as going down, so I probably would still be stuck at the top of that mountain. Beautiful views though.

[@mikehammer4546]

Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.

[@TLH_BobCat]

Colocado was great in a Jeep, but I haven’t experienced gravel roads on a motorcycle.

[@Adventurist]

Fantastic videos, thanks for sharing! We used to use a mic with our GoPro but it always let us down. Nowadays we use the GoPro for video but a Sena C10 Evo for sound. Works much better.

[@gmay757112]

Another amazing Video, background music was pretty good to.

[@topher4251]

That descent looks gnarly on video can't imagine it in person. Epic footage.

[@Motoramblings]

I’m sure by now you’ve sorted the audio out, but I will add this anyway😂. My GoPro did the same thing for awhile, it was suggested I turn the cable over that plugs into the camera. It puts a bit more pressure on the cable, I’ve not had an audio issue since…. I hope Karma doesn’t bite me for that statement!!!!!

[@chivas123186]

Amazing video! Amazing scenery! I'm speechless 😎🤘

[@tpseeker3367]

Thank You so much for sharing this adventure with us Ang. Yeah you might have got you ass kicked on the downside of the pass butt you were rewarded with such Beautiful Sceneries. Was waiting for the call from Ass, butt I got the feeling Balls were telling Ass to STFU.

[@SomeGuyRides]

ha!

[@josephpotterf9459]

Thanks good stuff here very enjoyable seems like the 125 should be a 250 at times still got it done though.

[@Kathikas1]

You wouldn’t have made it down those dinner plates without my assistance … think I will give the gym a miss tomorrow I wonder what tyres and suspension John was riding? I might be wrong but the weight of your camera box over the front wheel must have made steering the effort it appeared to be? Outside of public and school holidays could your route have been done without camping equipment and did you have to carry extra fuel? Sorry about the questions but thanks for a terrific ride!

[@tpseeker3367]

Ang & John do carry extra gas & Ang has had to use his a few times.

[@SomeGuyRides]

Since the drone's been gone there's nothing but some pulverized crackers in the front box. I don't think it has much of an effect on anything (even when the drone was in there) - it's super light.

[@2dollarbill650]

I would certainly have to empty my bladder before hand because I would probably pee myself on that shelf road.

[@rockinpiano1]

I realize you guys have already completed this ride but I'm going to give you some tips to get over the steep inclines. Being as how Honda didn't put a low range on the 125 like they did on the Trail 90's and 110's, you could have stopped at a Honda shop and bought a front sprocket that had 2 or 3 teeth less on it than your stock counter sprocket. Something else we used to do 60 years ago when one of us had a bike that wasn't powerful enough to make it over the hill was tie a rope to the back of a more powerful bike,(Steve's bike) then take a couple of wraps around your handle bars and hold on to the lose end with your left hand. (Tie the rope to the side away from the chain and sprocket on the lead bike) The reason you hang on to the end of the rope on the rear bike is so you can let go of it if things go South. Another way we used to get back home after the bike wouldn't run anymore was to just join hands. If we were riding double, one or both took turns pushing ALL THE WAY HOME!(;>) Anyway guys, I'm really enjoying your videos.................But I have to say that "Itchy Boots" would clean up on you two with her 250!!!(;>).......Ya came out at Port Orford which is about 50 miles from me!.........Oh, those were Doug Firs not Redwoods up Elk River.

[@evergeendata]

Yeah I planned for us to have the 13T front sprocket but didn't get them purchased before I left for our trip (had to move my flight forward a few days - bad planning). On the other hand the hardship of the struggle kind of made it more memorable... Thanks for watching

[@BugTheRoot]

This is like watching someone try to go mountain biking on a Huffy with a banana seat. LOL totally wrong bike for that kind of riding but good on you for making it work!

[@TXH1138]

You were getting into Thunder Bolt and Lightfoot scenery there at the end.

[@SomeGuyRides]

People keep referencing stuff I've never in my life heard of. Going to check this out - I love me some 70's Clint Eastwood.

[@markflaugh2293]

Oklahoma calling……yeah how do you like me and all my flat ground now? Lol. Sorry couldn’t resist. Great views in Colorado for sure. If you ever did the TAT again what would be the perfect bike to do it on?

[@rallye81]

I did it in September 2021 on a 2020 Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro. I’m by no means a TAT expert, but I met a few riders on the trail and in my observation, I would say a Honda CRF300Rally (or similar) to a Yamaha Tenere 700 (or similar). My Triumph did great and I had no complaints, but there were times a lighter weight bike would have been easier to manage. It all depends on your riding experience and what you are comfortable with. From Ed Merch’s C90 to a BMW R1250GS, the TAT will accept them all.

[@markflaugh2293]

@@rallye81 Congratulations on making that trip. Thank you for your reply. Seems to be the age old question of balance of a light bike and one comfortable enough to do long hours on it.

[@evergeendata]

@@rallye81 I agree. I'm going back to explore more of CO and UT on my DR650

[@SomeGuyRides]

I love the lightness, but there were times when the slowness was a real pain. I'd like to try it on an XT250.

[@markflaugh2293]

@@SomeGuyRides Yeah the lighter the better for sure. Did Steve? The guy riding with you on the DR 650 have to re jet with the altitude changes?

[@donoliver3266]

Glad to see you ride within your skill level

[@SlotCarMisfitsofallscales]

Awesome videos thank you guys for sharing it! Honda should pay you guys for doing this on a Honda 125 !

[@mbell7860]

This is great and those views were stunning.

[@bigsloanful]

So realistically, would a bike with wider tires handle this better or worse? In your case, being a new rider, would an experienced rider take this faster to stay on plane over the rocks?

[@SomeGuyRides]

Yes - the REH handles stuff much better with the bigger tires. And with that bike - yup - faster would probably be a little better..

[@kor-romes]

Pure gold. Thanks! :)

[@BugTheRoot]

As I understand it, the older model CT125 used to have the ability to shift to a more powerful, lower torque gearing for times like these. Too bad they didn't keep that option with the new Trail.

[@ryan8779]

Every episode is a commercial for a separate audio recorder that you can sync in post.

[@notagain8661]

I've had two DR650's and know what's its like to ride with smaller bikes at qrt throttle. 🙃

[@SomeGuyRides]

I got on Johnny Pow's DR650 and couldn't believe the difference between that and even the REH.

[@notagain8661]

@@SomeGuyRides I do have a CT90 now and having fun with that as well!

[@charlesdowell4505]

It been nice if you had stopped at that donut shop in Denver

[@JaydubyaX]

Is the bike that weak,..that it wont pull up those hills in 1st gear? How much does your gear weigh?

[@SomeGuyRides]

Yup - just stopped at a certain steepness. I probably had 50lbs of gear...

[@NitwitMN]

Don’t feel bad “crying like a little baby in diapers” I’d be SHRIEKING LIKE A BIG BABY IN DIAPERS!!!

[@wandeproduction]

This is real world testing of that Honda Trail.

[@acoustictie8907]

How fast do you think you could do this trip on the 125 If you tried for speed?

[@srl9727]

An engaging, well produced bingeworthy series! Even though Howard Cosell sounds more like Walter Winchell.

[@SomeGuyRides]

Walter Winchell! That's it!!!

[@richardchampagne4395]

How does the bike fair at those steeper inclines/altitudes?

[@SomeGuyRides]

All good - except a couple of sections of Engineer and then we got killed by California Pass. I think that's in ep 13...

[@ttinc2067]

👍👍👍 good music around 33.30...

[@just.my.2cents]

Hey, just my 2 cents here…GoPro is piece of siht released many times before it was truly tested … just like Windows many versions!! What a scam… Gotta love that song from the Pet Shop Boys… “Let’s make lots of money”. Media mod or not, the GoPro bundle is bad….souvenir down the drain as reliability and good design was not in the initial blueprint…$$$ were, and hit the market asap! Happy trails & thx for sharing.

[@SomeGuyRides]

Yeah - I need to find another company to pour my money into for sure...

[@just.my.2cents]

@@SomeGuyRides I bought the insta 360 and enjoying it very much!!!!

[@marcoluoma3770]

Great video, thanks

[@BugTheRoot]

Those were NOT birch groves. That is Aspen.

[@SteveWildson]

31:10 oh god it’s beautiful

[@mikedenton6485]

But you got after it and it's done. Advancement on the skill level

[@Mpp31provo]

Yeah, but now that you did it....you do have business being there and have the skill level. Nice job. More riding ... less crying.

[@3goldfinger]

Another amazing video

[@billdirtadventures6321]

Re-affirmed my desire not to ride a 125, thanks.🙃 Just finished the video, really awesome…I can’t believe you guys missed out on staying at 3 Step Hideaway.

[@SomeGuyRides]

Don't let my complaining about it's few faults turn you off! On the slow back country lanes and on the dirt/trails - it's an amazingly fun and very competent machine.

[@steves6614]

3 Step Hideaway is where I stayed when I broke off from Ang and POW - lodging, breakfast and bike service. Top notch folks!

[@enfieldlover8145]

E P I C

[@praneelchavan]

What happened to himalyan

[@SomeGuyRides]

Himalayan will be back after the TAT!

[@Hhogar]

Poor CT125...

[@acoustictie8907]

First!

[@kennethcooley3445]

Tone the music down a bit. Like quite a bit please. Love the scenery.

[@evergeendata]

I love the music. me

[@jayzenitram9621]

My main takeaway from these videos is to choose your equipment carefully. Don't give into the romance of doing it on an underpowered bike for the sake of being different.

[@jamesadams2334]

Such a drama queen! I'll bet you're afraid to tie your own shoes. Just get over it and ride!

[@tpseeker3367]

Ehhhh yeah would LOVE to see You do the EXACT same route Ang has done & FILM as much as Ang has with Audio, with the Same Weight on the SAME Bike & upload it so we can see & Hear how such a great & wonderful time you'd have.