Be honest with yourself regarding your trail riding skills before venturing off on multi-day off-road routes.

Everyone has their own reasons for riding a motorcycle. For some it’s the feeling they get when they cruise down a highway or country road unencumbered by a cage, satisfying the senses of sight, smell, feel and sound. Others love the competition and excitement of Motocross and/or Hard Enduro, or perhaps it’s for therapeutic reasons such as clearing the mind of daily stress and lifting your spirits. Regardless of one’s motivation to ride, it boils down to a common denominator of being involved in a life-fulfilling experience. As for myself, I ride for many of the reasons mentioned, with an emphasis on gravel and double track routes in order to explore the unknown, challenge my riding abilities and occasionally camp in the backcountry.

FAST GROWING SEGMENT

Over the past decade or so, getting off the beaten track and riding to more remote places has been growing in popularity. Various reasons for this include the success of the Ewan McGregor/Charley Boorman “Long Way” film series, YouTube adventure riding channels influencing an older demographic with disposable income, and a little thing called a global pandemic that made most of us want to get away from the rest of society. 

In turn, the motorcycle industry has responded by providing consumers with numerous adventure motorcycle choices of various size, weight and power along with an overabundance of options when it comes to riding and camping gear. As the adventure community has grown, so too has the demand for finding new and more challenging routes to ride. 

Cue the introduction to adventure motorcycle travel, tours and training. There is much demand for riders wanting to improve their off-road riding skills so they can conquer more aggressive tracks and fulfill that dream of completing an epic adventure ride to some exotic place, either solo or in a group.

BACKCOUNTRY DISCOVERY ROUTES 

As one who loves to plan and participate in off-highway adventures, I was excited when I stumbled upon the “Backcountry Discovery Routes” (BDR) website which provides riders with a variety of roads and trails for dual-sport and adventure motorcycle travel south of the border. To those who still don’t know about the BDR, it is a non-profit advocacy organization that started in 2010 with its first route located in Washington State. 

Over the past 15 years, the BDR staff and team of volunteers have expanded their completed route network to include 23 states — 10 in the west and 13 in the east — with more still in development. At the time of this article’s completion, the Montana Backcountry Discovery Route (MTBDR) will be ready to ride in 2026. There are also plans in the works to expand north of the border into Canada with the anticipated announcement of the Canadian Discovery Routes (CDR)…