Author: PNWTenere

Howdy y’all!

I hope to break down my plans in detail so this might be a bit of a read, I’ve done a lot of thinking over the past 6 years and to see the pieces falling into place is making me really happy! 😃 

The land I’ve purchased is a 10.26 acre parcel, just about a perfect 660x660x660x660 square, 1/2 mile or so off a State highway on a dead end road(Stagecoach Rd, Oxley, Searcy County, Arkansas). A survey was done before closing, so that helped a lot. There is a power pole at the SW corner,city water and phone lines at Stagecoach Rd that’s about 1000 feet away from the property line. It’s gently sloping to the south/southeast and at 1500’ elevation. The bottom (south)property line is about 50’+/- lower then the high(north) end. It’s heavily covered in hardwoods and a few pine with thick underbrush of briers in most places. A few dozen or more  large rocks (2’x3’x 4’)are scattered on the lower 1/3 of the property. I was able to walk a majority of the property, the ground was firm with no swampy areas.  Seeing pictures taken from the summer to winter, there is a huge difference on the distance you can see across the property.  I plan to keep a 100’-150’ border boundary  around the entire property that will be left “wild” where the briars are left in place. The center 4-5 acres will keep all its living trees but the brush ,briers and saplings 6”or less will be cut down periodically. The only trees to be removed are the ones for the pads, travelers  cabin, storage building and eventually the main cabin.  I’d like to route the driveways around the healthy trees and large rocks but  any dread or dying trees in the path can be removed. 

The MASTER PLAN

Phase 1

Develop the lower 1/3 of the property as a travelers rest area ( working names are the Stage Stop or Bunkhouse)with 2 power/water accessible tent camping spots and a small cabin (20’x 30’ +/-)with kitchen, laundry, bathroom and a bed.  The bathroom will have its own entrance for the tent campers but an interior door can be locked to restrict access to the rest of the cabin. The cabin will also have an outdoor shower on the east side porch. Exterior would be a rock face front ( gathered from the property) and 1/4 round live edge siding that is basically scrap from a wood mill. The cabin will be built under a 40′ x 40′ “pole barn” that will serve as the roof and patio area for the cabin. I’ve been playing around with a 10×20, 14×22 and 18×25 cabins with the exact same floor plans trying to see what was most efficient for what I wanted them filled with. Once it gets put in the computer, that may change +/- an foot or so. The build will be simple, conventional stud walls, insulation and mini split HVAC. No drywall so open to “rustic”options like corrugated tin, cedar fence boards or ??? I’m open to on-demand or 50 gallon water heater too. It will have a “shed roof” that’s south facing with windows to let in the winter sun. Passive house principals can be added where possible and within a budget.  A budget I have yet to figure out.

(below are examples I’ve found on the web or worked on in a CAD program)

A 300’ long driveway needs to be cut in thats 130’-150’ from the lower property line to a 50’x50’ pad for the travelers cabin. Working around healthy trees and large rocks will keep it looking natural. The two tent spots will be north and south of the driveway. The tent spots should be kept small, for motorcycle, van, SUV and jeep campers. No travel trailers or medium-large RV’s will be allowed. 

A large enough septic system will need to be put in for both cabins? There isn’t much regulation or building code requirements in the area so a simple system is the most efficient.

Phase 2

Driveway uphill to storage containers/pole barn/shed and eventually the main cabin. Cut in a driveway to a 40’x60’ pad in the Northwest corner of the brush cleared area .  Either a 20×40 pole barn or 2, 40’ containers with a shared roof large enough to park the van to also be used as storage and possibly small tractor parking. The pad will have power and water.

Phase 3

Pad and main cabin

100’ x 100’ pad for the main 20’x30’ cabin as close to this one as possIble and within budget.

Phase 3+ Gun range…. 

100yd rifle range with action pistol shooting bay. Either packed earth old tires, used railroad ties, all the tree root balls as a safe backstop. Not sure of placement on the property just yet…. but I’ll have one! 

The reason for the 3 phases is I’d like to pay as I go where possible.  I’m not worried if phase 3 isn’t finished in 6-8 or even 10 years from now.  This is recreational property for the time being, I’d only be on the property 3-5 months a year as it is, but would like to build it in such a way that travelers can access it year around. It will not be “ open to the public”, security gates with locks and combinations given out to the travelers upon direct contact with only me,  free of charge. If it can become a paid campground in the future, I’m open to that prospect. So I’d want it built like someone would be paying for it. 

Well, that’s about it. It’s a work in progress and this post will be updated as I go ( currently Nov 21) and plans cchange so stay tuned!

Jan 2022 update:

Bunkhouse timeline:
(as of now, because budget and many other factors will adjust or push this back)
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March-August 2022
-Driveway and pad finished
-Yamaha “briefcase” generator for use until power is run
-Spray for tick control
-Water tank/heater for simple shower
-Rent port a potty
-Fire pit location set up
-Plant Green giant arbavita x 10-12 along driveway
-Take out 1 big oak, get to local miller to slab (4”&3”x8’) and start drying.
-Forester inspection of property to get a forestry plan
-Start forestry plan
-Mulch brush undergrowth per the foresters recommendations
-Cut/ haul cedar trees for bunkhouse roof supports
-Deer buffet planted to reseed area between bunkhouse pad and brush pile/backstop
-Start cutting & removing a couple dead/dying trees for firewood per forestry plan
-Spray for tick control

• Set base and pad for new 20’ shipping container
  -Motorcycle dirt route to/from TAT(Map and GPS tracks)

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May 2022
-Washington for summer
-Buy new or used 6’x12’ or 14’ single axle cargo trailer and load contents of old shipping container in Chehalis (Super Tenere , spin bike, power tools and other stuff)
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September 2022 back to Arkansas on freeway with trailer
-Get new 20’ shipping container delivered and set up
-Spray for tick control
-Work forestry plan
-Mark driveway and pad for future main cabin
-Take out a few more dead & dying trees for firewood per forestry plan
-Plant more trees per forestry plan
-Spray for tick control
-Work with builder on roof/pole barn plan and septic system
———————————
February -June 2023
-Spray for tick control
-Roof/pole barn built, dig septic system
-Power& Water lines trenched
-Fixed outdoor shower
-Host for primitive campers
-Work with builder for concrete slab and Bunkhouse plans
-Spray for tick control
——————————
Short summer in Washington July-August, take cargo trailer

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September return to Arkansas with any remaining stuff from old shipping container in the cargo trailer

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February-May 2024 (or fall of 2024 )
Build Bunkhouse 🤞🤞🤞

Well, I’ve gone and done it! After 3 &1/2 laps around the US, I found a spot that checks off all the boxes for the “ideal” piece of land that’s been bouncing around in my head for the last 5 years. 

1. Great riding (on and off road) near by

2. Warmer more of the year then cold

3. Inexpensive land on a south facing hillside that’s fairly secluded. (don’t see any neighbors, little to no light pollution) 

4. Enough land for a potential main cabin and a few camping spots that can serve as a travelers (motorcycle/vanlife or overlanding) rest area. More on that in a bit….

I had also thought of Idaho, Kentucky, West Virginia and Northern New Mexico but nothing hit the sweet spot like North Arkansas.   I met up with realtor Glen Swafford of Diamond G Realty in Mountain View  to put some feelers out on any 8-15 acre parcels for sale.  It took a couple weeks of back and forth but we finally came to an agreement on this 10 acre patch on Stagecoach Rd, outside the small area known as Oxley just off state highway 66. And the price was just right too! Thanks Glen!

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Earlier this month I booked a stay at my friend Sandra’s Air B&B cabin in Mountain View to use as a base camp while I explored the area. I had also flown up with my Aunt and Uncle Kris and Jon Martin  in their private plane a couple times to join them as they looked for property. 

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While at Sandra’s cabin, I had put out in a few different  Tenere  groups on social media that I was looking for someone to join me.  DJ Suter from Memphis on his Super Tenere was able to join me for 3 great days of riding. He had been out this way a few times so he knew the general area which was great and we explored many new areas for him too! 

All while this was happening, Ken Doss, a Super Tenere rider from North Little Rock and the Adventure Riders of Arkansas reached out to invite me to a “Camp and Ride” he was planning in the Ozark NF later in the month. I met up with him and what turned out to be more than a dozen riders from all over the state and even a few from Missouri. We set out on a very scenic loop through the forest with several water crossings. Lunch was at the little Catalpa Cafe, WOW! those were huge burgers ! We then returned to the forest roads for another way back to camp stopping for a really cool pic under a waterfall. An epic day for sure, can’t wait to ride again with the Adventure Riders of Arkansas. A huge thanks to Ken for the invite! 🙏

Now back to the property…. For the last 5 years as I’ve traveled, finding hosts to “couch surf” or now “driveway surf” with has been a huge blessing. I want to return that hospitality afforded me with the purchase of this land. The lower 1/3 of the property will be a travelers rest area with camping spaces, water, power hook ups and a small cabin with a bathroom, shower, laundry and kitchen. It will cater to the Adventure Motorcycle, Moto Vanlife and overlanding communities, sorry but there won’t be enough space for travel trailers or Toy hauling motor homes. It also won’t be open to the public but remaining private property, restricting access somehow because I won’t be around all year to maintain it. Keeping it simple and minimal but unique. I also don’t plan to charge admission (but I will take donations to help keep the lights on) The rough timeline is to get a driveway with camping spots, utilities and a pad for the small cabin in before the end of the year. As for a cabin, it will be like these but updated a bit😉 That’s a year or more out though.

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When doing the research for the property, I realized that the Trans American Trail passes by just 35 miles south as it crosses over US 65 in Bee Branch, Arkansas. Sam and his community will hear of the property when it’s up and running. I’m looking forward to doing a few sections of the “TAT” myself! 😁

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This has all really been a blessing to find such a great place that will work for the plans I’ve had in my head for so long. I’m very thankful for the community that has supported me over the years. Now I hope to give back where I can. A huge thanks to everyone that follows me on my journey!🙏🙌🙏🙌

And one last thing as an FYI, beware of the green slime on the low water bridges that you will traverse if you are in the Arkansas backcountry. 🤭🙄🤣😂

What a great bike! Going through tires and oil way too fast though 🙄😉 Enjoy some of the pics since unpacking it out of a crate last June. Thank you all the friends and hosts that made my journey so special!

Yesterday I took off to meet up with Richard in Ragley La. on my way to get some BBQ is Jasper Tx. It was a chilly day, never breaking 60F. Burrrrr

I was able to make it 292 miles(469km) with the 5.5 gallons/20.8 L of regular unleaded 87 octane in the main tank and  #CamelADV Camel tank bolted on.  That’s about 20 more miles then my first attempt a few weeks ago. The differences between attempts were the octane of the fuel and average speed. I kept an average speed of about 55-60 (88-96 kph) keeping the ECO light on as I shifted through the gears.  With both the main and Camel tank full, the gauge will read full for a very long time. Yesterday it went like this. FULL to 140 miles (225km)then approximately every 15-17 miles a bar would go out. At the 228 mile (366km)mark, the last bar started blinking and it blinked for 64 miles (102km) when I ran out of gas. It was an actual 53MPG. I had a 1 gallon roto pax fuel can strapped to the seat to get me to the next gas station, which was only around the corner. As I’ve stated before, YOUR MILAGE WILL VARY! There were only small differences that got me 20 more miles but I’m glad I have the Camel tank so thanks Cory Hanson for another well thought out product from Camel ADV🙌

Oh and I almost forgot, I rolled 9000 miles (14,440 km) as I crossed back into Louisiana on my way back from lunch. Not bad since pulling it out of the crate in June. 😁

Great blog post Kane! Thanks for the mention!
Appalachian ADV

The plan for the experiment was to run to empty….for meat pies😋. I started the day with 4.2 gallons in the main tank and 1.3 in the Camel ADV Camel Tank for  5.5 total gallons. An extra rotopax with 1 gallon was packed for when I ran out of gas on the side of the road. My goal is to hopefully reach 300 miles on the main and Camel tank combined.  That was the plan, and as with most experiments that’s not exactly how the day turned out… it’s called science! 🤓

I met up with my cousin David and his lifelong friend Wayne who are both long distance Harley riders for a day loop up to Natchitoches Louisiana for their famed meat pies. Because finding out how far I can go on a tank just to eat is the perfect idea for ride! 

With the Camel tank installed, Cory at CamelADV did say that I’d show full for a long time as the fuel feeds from both tanks simultaneously. Well, it wasn’t until the 130 mile mark that the first of 6 bars went out on my dash.  Our route had been planned to take backroads all the way and to stay off the freeway but that didn’t happen. We had gotten on the road a few minutes later then planned so we needed to make up some time to meet up with LtCol Christopher Ritter in Natchitoches. Chris has ridden down from Ruston on his FULLY farkled T-700, complete with a Camel ADV wrap! 

Natchitoches was at the 177 mile mark and you’ll notice I’m down 3 bars on my gauge, Most likely from the 50 miles of  freeway riding in a headwind at 75-80MPH 

After lunch of meat pies and seafood gumbo we said good bye to Chris and headed back south on a mostly different route.  Thanks Chris for meeting us! 

The reserve light started blinking at the 211 mile mark and pleased to know that I can get 60 more miles on the tank before it starts to sputter. So many riders don’t know how far they can go on reserve, this is the way to actually find out! Some may call it extreme, but now I know! So, 273.3 miles on 5.5 gallons is a 49.7 MPG. While not terrible, I sure was hoping to hit 300. I quickly added the 1 gallon from the rotopax and found a gas station about 7 or 8 miles down the road and sure enough, it took 3.2 gallons. 

We made it back after dark for a total of 351 miles for the day.  Thanks David, Wayne and Chris for a fun day! 

Final thoughts….

After posting my results on social media, it was suggested by Longhaul Paul Pelland that I try using regular unleaded fuel to see if that makes a difference. He is getting about 45 MPG with regular 87 octane (on 6 gallons of fuel) then what I got on super 92 and he’s running much faster speeds(80MPH average) over the 25,000 miles now on his loaded T-700! So YOUR MILEAGE WILL VARY! All this adds up to GET OUT AND LEARN YOUR BIKE!

Check out Cory’s videos on the story of the 1.3 Gallon/ 5 Liter Camel tank for the Tenere 700 and it’s install.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qnxy5s2TVFg

With these instructions, I headed over to Monty’s garage where Whitney joined us to mount the Camel tank. Rolling up with 2 lbs of Billy’s Smoked boudin and a 6 pack of beer didn’t hurt either.😉 I got to work removing the R&G tail tidy that got taco’d( most likely from the taller 140/80/17 Heidenau Scout tire I’m running) while riding off-road and turn signals from Cyclops Adventure Sports.
I highly recommend using the Camel ADV tail tidy, it’s made for the Camel tank and keeps the license plate farther away from the tire. 

Monty and Whitney watched the install video and got to work soon thereafter.

The tank goes on really easily, it took me longer to get the tail tidy wired and on then it took Monty and Whitney to get the Camel tank mounted and plumbed. That goes to the simple design of Cory’s tank.  

While I was still fighting with the tail tidy swap, they also installed the R&G case cover from Twisted Throttle that protects the water pump. It was a pretty straight forward install also.

With the weather not the best this weekend and holidays next week, I’ll be postponing the long distance test ride. Expect another blog post when that’s done. It will either be a 300+ day up to North Louisiana and back or an IBA “Saddle Sore” 1000 “iron butt ride” Not quite sure yet, but it will be an adventure! Everyone have a Merry Christmas!
A huge thank you to Monty Chustz and Whitney Granger! That would have been a much longer install (with cussing and yelling, if not a few bloody knuckles) without the well equipped shop and tools. Monty, you have the shop I’d like to have one day! We will have to get out again soon for another ride like the last one. Hopefully with less mud! 😉

Feeling really thankful today 🙏🙌🙏for another great lap around the US! What a great year it’s been, meeting up with new and old friends! Dragon’s last ride, a loop around Idaho, Glacier NP, Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail , sections of the Kentucky Adventure Tour, Mid Atlantic Backcountry Discovery Route and even hiking a bit in Appalachia with Amanda. I’ve put about 25,000 miles on the van this year and 8,000 miles on the T-700 since unpacking it out of the crate in June. What a beautiful country! Get out and make your own adventure!
THANK YOU TO ALL THAT HELPED MAKE THIS YEAR AWESOME! (Even with the 😷)

I spent the last couple days riding 500+ miles across Virginia from the Tennessee border to the West Virginia state line. The route I mostly followed was the Mid Atlantic Backcountry Discovery Route ( <— click on the link for more info) It’s a mix of off-road sections and rural backcountry twisty pavement from the Damascus Virginia on the Tennessee line all the way up to the Pennsylvania/New York border. I say “mostly” because I only had a couple days to do legnth of Virginia so I skipped a few of the dirt sections that really slow down your pace and traveling alone in the back country isn’t what I normally do too. I covered 2.5 sections in 2 days doing day loops making my way back to the van “hopefully”(but not always)by dark. Thanks to Cyclopes Adventure Sports , I’m totally covered at night!

Joining me was a BDR ambassador (all be it, the flat version) Nathan Fant from the You Tube channel For the love of Knobs. I picked up “Flat Nathan” when staying at Nathan and Kris’s house earlier this year.

I was camped “down by the river” in Eggelston Va. right on the New River right across from a very active train tunnel. Luckily my van has pretty good sound deadening properties so it didn’t bother me that much. If tenting it, a good set of earplugs will come in handy. But, I will say the bathrooms were clean and showers were hot. Woke up to a couple chilly mornings, I waited until after 9 and it was above 40f to start my day.

Day 1 was from Eggelston south to Damascus , right on the Tennessee line. It was a 230 mile day by the time I got back to the van just before sunset.

Day 2 was more of the same😉….. beautiful single lane twisty pavement, nice gravel roads, scenic vistas, small towns, green hills with old family farms and even a few hot springs. It was a 300 mile day, having rolled past the 8000 mile mark on the bike as I was heading back from the West Virginia state line🙌 Man, I love this bike!

I ran into Russ Glass on and Africa Twin and Brian Chudzik on a VersysX, both fully kitted out with luggage from Mosko Moto. They were doing the Virginia/West Virginia/Maryland sections of the BDR but at a different pace. Having rented a U-Haul from Pennsylvania to Damascus then taking every dirt and gravel road the BDR Route has to offer, they tent camped along the trail. They had completed the Pennsylvania sections on previous adventures, so they were only going to the Maryland/Pennsylvania line before getting back on the pavement. That’s what’s great about all of the BDR’s, you can do as little or much as you want depending on time, budget and skill level. The non profit BDR Foundation does a great job of putting you on the roads less traveled!

All this adds up to GET UP, GET OUT AND GEAUX! Make your own adventure!