My first dual-sport motorcycle ride was a brutal 1,600 miles. The scrappy route started just below the Mexican border in the buzzing port of entry Tecaté, and ended with bald tires and dusty teeth in Canada’s tapestry of forests just north of the Idaho panhandle. At the time, the notorious Southern California District 37 race organization was planning annual rides as street-legal dirt bikes grew in popularity. These moto Magellans managed to stitch together a combination of single-track, checkerboard BLM land, bladed forest service roads and sometimes sketchy “private property” that came complete with a disgruntled landowner wielding a shotgun loaded with rock salt.
Since that maiden voyage twelve years ago, the popularity of dual-sport riding has skyrocketed with most manufacturers offering big touring bikes and more nimble plated racing machines. Just about every state offers green-sticker riding terrain, but the amount of shreddable acreage has exploded with options for street-legal bikes. While maps, traded tracks and websites abound with a treasure trove of rideable topography, Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDR) reign supreme as one of the most well-researched and dynamic ways to explore thousands of miles of terra firma. An added bonus? Land managers recognize this form of “managed travel,” adding value to roads designated as such, and therefore providing protection from closures, according to the non-profit, whose main focus is to establish and preserve off-highway routes.
The BDR organization has eight planned routes crisscrossing public lands in the western states and one on the east coast; California is the ninth, with its new Southern California route – which opens in January and runs right through many of our own backyards. After riding a portion of the trail just outside of LA, we reached out to BDR to give us a first look at what to expect.
“We started working with local volunteers four years ago on putting together the CABDR-South route,” BDR’s Director of Operations Inna Thorn tells ASN. “The Northern [California] route is still in the works and will be released in a couple of years,” she added, when asked if there were plans to access more of the Golden State’s web of public lands. What can riders expect?
“CABDR-South is a spectacular yet challenging off-pavement ride across the south-eastern region of California, starting in Yuma, Arizona, and ending in Benton, California,” offers Thorn. “Created for dual-sport and adventure motorcyclists, this 820-mile route primarily uses rugged two-track and remote dirt roads that lead riders through the majestic canyons, rocky riverbeds and sandy washes of California’s famous deserts and national preserves,” she continues. “Experience quirky desert enclaves and ghost towns, visit historic mines, see ancient petroglyphs and intaglios, dip in healing mineral hot springs and ride among the unique Joshua trees in the Mojave National preserve.”
While iron-assing from Mexico to Canada for two weeks might be out of reach for a lot of weekend warriors, many moto aficionados can get their fix on any portion of the BDR routes. Every track, trail and road can be accessed by large and small dual-sport bikes as well as high clearance four-by-four vehicles, giving you every reason to go rogue for a day or make a longer commitment to weeks of overland travel. All photos by Ely Woody.
The Kootenay Region Is British Columbia’s Best Undiscovered Outdoor Playground
Read article
Dispatches: Sailing the Puget Sound
Read article
These 7 Ski Areas Are Spinning Their Lifts Earliest This Season
Read article
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!
More News
4-Day Weekend in the Italian Riviera
Is a Club Med Ski Vacation Right for You?
10 Spotlights From the Prestigious Small Luxury Hotels Collection
The Best Value Golf Courses in America
Top Campervan-friendly Ski Resorts and Best Rental Outfitters
The Best Expedition Cruises for Unforgettable Adventures
All Stories
More Videos
The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More
Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey
Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City
My first dual-sport motorcycle ride was a brutal 1,600 miles. The scrappy route started just below the Mexican border in the buzzing port of entry Tecaté, and ended with bald tires and dusty teeth in Canada’s tapestry of forests just north of the Idaho panhandle. At the time, the notorious Southern California District 37 race organization was planning annual rides as street-legal dirt bikes grew in popularity. These moto Magellans managed to stitch together a combination of single-track, checkerboard BLM land, bladed forest service roads and sometimes sketchy “private property” that came complete with a disgruntled landowner wielding a shotgun loaded with rock salt.
Since that maiden voyage twelve years ago, the popularity of dual-sport riding has skyrocketed with most manufacturers offering big touring bikes and more nimble plated racing machines. Just about every state offers green-sticker riding terrain, but the amount of shreddable acreage has exploded with options for street-legal bikes.
While maps, traded tracks and websites abound with a treasure trove of rideable topography, Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDR) reign supreme as one of the most well-researched and dynamic ways to explore thousands of miles of terra firma. An added bonus? Land managers recognize this form of “managed travel,” adding value to roads designated as such, and therefore providing protection from closures, according to the non-profit, whose main focus is to establish and preserve off-highway routes.
The BDR organization has eight planned routes crisscrossing public lands in the western states and one on the east coast; California is the ninth, with its new Southern California route – which opens in January and runs right through many of our own backyards. After riding a portion of the trail just outside of LA, we reached out to BDR to give us a first look at what to expect.
“We started working with local volunteers four years ago on putting together the CABDR-South route,” BDR’s Director of Operations Inna Thorn tells ASN. “The Northern [California] route is still in the works and will be released in a couple of years,” she added, when asked if there were plans to access more of the Golden State’s web of public lands.
What can riders expect?
“CABDR-South is a spectacular yet challenging off-pavement ride across the south-eastern region of California, starting in Yuma, Arizona, and ending in Benton, California,” offers Thorn.
“Created for dual-sport and adventure motorcyclists, this 820-mile route primarily uses rugged two-track and remote dirt roads that lead riders through the majestic canyons, rocky riverbeds and sandy washes of California’s famous deserts and national preserves,” she continues. “Experience quirky desert enclaves and ghost towns, visit historic mines, see ancient petroglyphs and intaglios, dip in healing mineral hot springs and ride among the unique Joshua trees in the Mojave National preserve.”
While iron-assing from Mexico to Canada for two weeks might be out of reach for a lot of weekend warriors, many moto aficionados can get their fix on any portion of the BDR routes. Every track, trail and road can be accessed by large and small dual-sport bikes as well as high clearance four-by-four vehicles, giving you every reason to go rogue for a day or make a longer commitment to weeks of overland travel.
All photos by Ely Woody.
The Kootenay Region Is British Columbia’s Best Undiscovered Outdoor Playground
Read article
Dispatches: Sailing the Puget Sound
Read article
These 7 Ski Areas Are Spinning Their Lifts Earliest This Season
Read article
For access to exclusive gear videos, celebrity interviews, and more, subscribe on YouTube!
The Kootenay Region Is British Columbia’s Best Undiscovered Outdoor Playground
Read article
The Kootenay Region Is British Columbia’s Best Undiscovered Outdoor Playground
Dispatches: Sailing the Puget Sound
Read article
Dispatches: Sailing the Puget Sound
These 7 Ski Areas Are Spinning Their Lifts Earliest This Season
Read article
These 7 Ski Areas Are Spinning Their Lifts Earliest This Season
More News
4-Day Weekend in the Italian Riviera
Is a Club Med Ski Vacation Right for You?
10 Spotlights From the Prestigious Small Luxury Hotels Collection
The Best Value Golf Courses in America
Top Campervan-friendly Ski Resorts and Best Rental Outfitters
The Best Expedition Cruises for Unforgettable Adventures
All Stories
More Videos
The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More
Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey
Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City
More News
4-Day Weekend in the Italian Riviera
Is a Club Med Ski Vacation Right for You?
10 Spotlights From the Prestigious Small Luxury Hotels Collection
The Best Value Golf Courses in America
Top Campervan-friendly Ski Resorts and Best Rental Outfitters
The Best Expedition Cruises for Unforgettable Adventures
All Stories
More Videos
The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More
Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey
Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City
More News
4-Day Weekend in the Italian Riviera
Is a Club Med Ski Vacation Right for You?
10 Spotlights From the Prestigious Small Luxury Hotels Collection
The Best Value Golf Courses in America
Top Campervan-friendly Ski Resorts and Best Rental Outfitters
The Best Expedition Cruises for Unforgettable Adventures
All Stories
More Videos
The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More
Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey
Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City
More Videos
The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More
Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey
Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City
More Videos
The MJ5: Tony Hawk on His Favorite Gear, Why He Always Carries His Board, and More
Here's the Difference Between Bourbon and Whiskey
Young Guns and a Supercharged Catamaran: U.S. SailGP Team Takes on New York City
