Northern California BDR 2024

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Originally set to be ridden on a 2021 Triumph Tiger 900 Rally, this adventure was accomplished on the legendary DRZ400. 

Pre-Start:

Plan your trip, test your bike and your gear; never assume it is in working order until it has been tested. I failed to do so on this BDR. While loading the motorcycles onto the U-Haul, I grabbed a handful of front brakes and the bike kept moving. I checked the cables, bled the brakes, cleaned the calipers and nothing. I could pressurize the brakes when still, but once I rolled two feet the brakes would loose pressure and the front brakes were useless. Not a great way to start the trip. Once it was determined that there was no quick fix, plan B needed to be created along with a mid-shift and expectation of the trip. I spent about ten minutes looking at my fully loaded tiger with brand new Motoz tires and looking at my dirty DRZ in the garage. I knew with the timelines and plans in motion, I would not be able to take the tiger out on this trip. Every once in a while, I tell my riding buddies; It’s not about what gets you there, it’s how you get there. It was time to practice what I preach. I gave the DRZ a good check and of we went. Tiger and DRZ taking on the Northern California BDR. 

We did the long haul to Reno with a late pit stop in the Klamath Falls KOA. We pulled into Reno mid day and set out around town. This outing set the tone for the rest of the trip. Fancy drinks and good food whenever possible. The following day we took off on our three hour ride to the start of the BDR. The DRZ did great on the highway, except for the rutted parts, my front tire was moving like Jell-O on top a washing machine anytime a rutted section would pop up. I was full hard on the suspension and made it to Mammoth Lake. We lucked out and got the last spot at another KOA, this was also our first encounter with a bear. 

Section 1:

Three days in and we finally started riding offroad. The ride was fun enough, but what sticks out is the water crossing and the climb to Mt Patterson. Both sections were labeled expert and one definitely was. This was our first major water crossing and we were both excited. I usually do a bit of prep when I know that I will be doing something tricky or for the first time. I watched a couple of youtube videos and listened to the ARR podcast with Clinton Smout specifically for this water crossing. When we pulled up to the water section, I applied some of the information from my prep; I walked the area, scoped out a good line, determined how deep it was, how fast the water was flowing, it all looked good so off I went. I hit it in 2nd gear, probably not enough speed, but enough to get through with a little dab. I recall that you don’t really want to go whole hog when you hit water as the front end will most likely dive and that’s no good. My friend did not listen to that podcast or watch the videos. He went for it and made it across and it was awesome to watch. I got a good slow-motion video of him partying the water like Moses. Crossing this section had us feeling pretty badass about our riding. That quickly faded once we made our way up Mt Patterson. We crossed deeper water to get into “deeper waters” on our way up Mt Patterson. We made it about ¼ of the way up before deciding it was too much for a big bike to handle. I had a hard time staying of the deep ruts on the DRZ, I could only imagine how tough it was for my friend. I should also mention that my friend likes to ride fully loaded with large panniers, so that adds another level of difficulty that I don’t care to experience. The section was very tricky, not only did you have a steep incline, but there was very deep ruts on the inside line so if you didn’t have enough speed to ride the small berm, your back tire would slide down into the rut and then you were pretty much crawling out, falling over or getting stuck. Usually all of the above, but reverse the order. We got a good work out in that day, a fully loaded Tiger is not easy to pull out of a rut. Another good tip I picked up from the ARR podcast was to take my gear off anytime you have to work on your bike. This allowed me to cool off a bit while I was helping my buddy get his bike back in order. We made it down, tightened up a few parts and made out way to Bear Valley, the normal way. It was a fun fast ride to Bodie. The ghost town was a cool stop. I would prefer to see it at night but it made for good pictures non the less. 

Section 2:

They call it Bear Valley for a reason. We met Shawn the cool IT guy for “three cedars resort” and had some awesome pasta from the Creekside restaurant. He gave us the lowdown on places to camp for free but with the night creeping in, we opted for the closest campground. That night we ran into the campground manager for the area, he took my $50 dollar bill, the campground was $30, he warned us about bears, my friend then heard a bear while getting water, it made for an uneasy feeling. I do not mess around when it comes to wild animals. I know what they are capable of and I do not t want to take selfies with them or get mauled by them. We had no means of protecting ourselves so I made the call to pack up and find another spot. We ended up moving to the main campground a few minutes up the road which felt more secure. I bought bear mace the following day. $70 for mace is a price I am willing to pay to keep my limbs. My friend thinks he is immune to bear attacks. 

Section 3 & 4:

I recall these sections were just a fun ride through the woods.  Unfortunately, Uncle Tom’s Cabin was closed when we passed through. Section 4 did have some awesome windy pavement. I had a blast revving up the DRZ and carving through the roads. It’s really cool feeling the difference in motorcycles; the engines, the suspension, the handling. This was the first time I actually paid attention to the single cylinder engine feel. I love being able to use the engine to slow down into and out of a corner, the transition from stopping to accelerating is great. I can see why people put street tires on these bikes. They are extremely fun to ride, off-road and on the street. 

Truckee-like Sisters, will always have a place in my heart. Sometimes you come across towns and feel right at home. I won’t give details on the town, just go visit and experience it for yourself. We met great people, ate great food, had plenty of drinks, and had a hard time leaving. T-Club, Motorhead, Miles Davis, Baroness, Ween, whiskey and tequila. Enough said.

Section 5 take one:

We found that on this BDR, some sections labeled expert were spot on or a total miss. This is to be expected, the terrain changes every season for better or worse. We decided that we would give every section a shot and if it got to hairy, we would call it quits and go around it. Having the DRZ on this trip might have been a blessing in disguise. I was able to enjoy the scenery more than usual and I was able to scope out the trails before my friend hit them on the big bike. This is not to say that the sections were easy, they were pretty challenging compared to other BDRS, but there were a few moments that could have ended bad if I were also on a big bike.  Unfortunately, my friend found one of those moments during the Verdi Peak hill climb. Luckly nothing was broken but we stopped at the Emergency Room in Truckee for a quick check anyway. What’s the point of insurance if you don’t use it? This is one of those moments where you have to respect the wishes of your riding partner and go with the flow. I probably would have checked if my limbs still moved and called it good, but it’s not just my ride, it’s our ride, it’s also a health issue, I can’t make the call for how someone else feels. He ended up getting the ok to ride from the doc, but it was getting late and a goodnight sleep would do us both good, so we ended up staying in Truckee another night. There is definitely a lesson to be learned here, but it’s one that I have yet to put into practice. Don’t party before a hard day of riding. 

Section 5 take two:

With some Chinese food in our system and a few hours of sleep, we decided to skip some of this section and go straight to the Sierra Buttes look out. If there was any goal in mind for this trip, it was to try and make it to the top of this lookout. It is the coolest location on this BDR. We rode pavement to Sierraville the started the climb to the lookout. This is a very fun climb. It has a nice transition from medium to hard. It has plenty of spots to call it quits but the sections are short enough that you want to keep going. When it comes to riding on trail, I usually take off and check in occasionally, to make sure everything is still good and that we still have radio communication. This climb will test you for sure. I had to take a few mini breaks during the climb and stalled out once or twice. I was very impressed with my friend and how well he was doing. It must have been a tough go. There is a section in the climb that gets you to the base of the lookout where you can opt to hike up or keep going on trail. The terrain gets harder, the rocks get bigger, the incline gets steeper. It really makes you earn that last section to the top. I took a little break, checked in with my friend and then took of for the top, on my bike. I was sweating, my hands were starting to cramp, but I knew I could make it. I just had to adjust my strategy half way into this section. I couldn’t get enough momentum to make the turn and keep traction. I ended up lining up each turn and hitting it enduro style. Two turns from the top I heard “my clutch is out, my clutch is going out”.  The radio was loud and clear. I lined up my next turn, I killed the engine and checked in with my friend. I made sure he was ok, got the status on his situation, I let him know my status and we decided he should park the bike and hike up. (It’s not about what gets you there) We were so close, he had to make it up. I hit the start button and kept making my way up. There are a few turns on this climb that open like curtains on a movie theatre, to beautiful landscape that can only be found when you travel far and wide on a hot gnarly machine fueled by gas and determination. Making the last turn, seeing the gas cans and climbing the stairs is well worth the effort. There is no point in describing the view from the top, it wouldn’t do it justice, just make sure to take some time to take it all in and leave a little note in the stash box. 

We made it back to Sierraville thanks to the help from the big G. We also had an awesome burger from the general store. If the owner of the shop tells you they make a good burger, trust them. 

Pre-end:

The DRZ is a killer bike. It can handle almost all of the elements of nature minus one. Wind, wind is the enemy of the DRZ. I got lucky on the way down from Reno, but my luck ran out on the way down to South Lake Tahoe for a U-Haul. The most dangerous part of this trip for me was this last ride on pavement. I got close going down a few times. When you see the yellow flashing lights on the side of the highway, warning semi trucks about strong winds, that means it is time to get off the highway. If semitrucks have no chance, imagine a small bike. This is another good lesson learned. A-wind and DRZs don’t mix. B-check on your riding partner, specially if you are on a bigger bike and in charge of navigating. Normally this is where the radios would come into play, but if you’re listening to music and you have your radio volume down, it defeats the purpose. I was behind my friend for a solid 5 minutes trying to get his attention and nothing. Fortunately there was an area that slowed down a bit and I was able to get beside him to let him know that I needed to pull off the highway. We found a different route and got to our destination, but we both learned a good lesson from that situation. 

This is where motorcycle riding ends for this adventure. We did not complete the BDR, we had to change plans from the start, we had mechanical issues, we had injuries, but we met awesome people, had great rides and a few firsts. We both feel accomplished and more seasoned. We can’t wait to finish this BDR next year or take on a new one. Good times, always.

It only took two motorcycles and one broke bone to get here. The end of a long injury filled adventure That took two years to accomplish.…

-to be continued 

Don't let the bad picture deter you from attending the Touratech Rally event in Plain Washington. It's one of my favorite events of the year. The riding is great, for big bikes and small bikes. The vendors are pretty cool and the events are fun. I usually haul my bikes down and setup up a fun camp with a few friends. We like to meet new people, go riding for a few hours and have a few drinks. Sugar loaf and Chihuahua are my favorite rides, but there is plenty of other trails to explore.  They offer daily guided rides depending on skill level, but If you're not a people person this is also a great event for you. This is the perfect setup to go solo riding. They have rescue vehicles and medical personnel available, plus a few hundred riders in the area, help is close by. I know price is a bit steep, but I think it’s worth it. If you want to go cheap, there’s nothing from stopping you or a few friends from camping close by and hitting the trails. You won’t get access to the event, but you can still hang out with riders and get some of those safety elements I mentioned. If you are into ADV riding, you should definitely go at least once. Find people that you click with, have a fun time talking shop and go riding. 

Stigmatism, rain, fog, refraction, cold hands, anxiety; These things make for a very long ride, no matter the distance.  It’s like a shitty time warp. I can spend a day out in the woods riding tricky terrain without experiencing real fear of injury or death, but every time I get caught in bad weather at night, I find myself gripping the handlebars more than I should. 

Some of this can probably be minimize with better care for my gear. I never thought much about where I place my helmet. It usually ends up on my mirror or the right side of the handlebars, no big deal, that is until you need a nice seal from your visor on a rainy day. Turns out a handlebar is not the best option for hanging a helmet. The handlebar or the mirror would push on the visor creating a warp. That is very lame $60 lesson. 

Living in the Pacific Northwest you get used to being wet and cold. It’s either that or ride only a few months out of the year. That just wont do. Good gear helps, but sometimes the only thing you can do is to hold tight, stay alert and power through. I wouldn’t advise this. If you feel like you can’t ride safely, the best thing to do is to pull over and wait it out. I am able to ride in these conditions because like the Sherpas from Nepal, I have also adapted to my environment. I have developed a stronger cornea from years of riding into rain with my visor wide open. I also have a technique called squint goggles that kind of sucks and actually hurts more than trying to keep your eyes open. If you apply this technique you’ll notice that after a few seconds your teary eyes will blend into regular wet eyes. It’s almost like the whole world is crying with you; but fear not, no one will notice. You will just look like badass riding in the rain with your eyes open like a maniac. 

What is all this rant about? Definitely not that I cry when I ride. It’s about riding safe in the rain, knowing when to take a break and taking care of your gear. 

If you have a passion for anything, you will eventually suffer from this. It usually starts with an extra set of gloves, a spare pair of goggles, maybe your jacket isn’t as warm as you wanted so you buy the newer model and before you know it you end up with a pile of jackets, a bin full of goggles, and enough tools to arm a couple of shops. 

For me it started with trying to save money. I couldn’t afford nice gear so I would buy used or bottom of the line brands. I quickly found that this route leads to a lot of returns and gear causing more issues than they solved. You will get lucky every once in a while and score a sweet deal, but usually people sell things that didn’t cut it. I’m not a gear snob so I’m for whatever gets you riding and exploring, but after years of trying to make things work on the cheap, I’m realizing that “buy once, cry once” might be a better way to go. 

Motorcycle gear is pretty cool and who doesn’t like cool things? I definitely do. I can never have enough pocket knives or flashlights. On the other hand, for motorcycle gear I prefer to only have the things I really need and the things that will work while on my travels. The only thoughts I want floating in my head while riding are about technique and my surroundings. Everything else can be dormant until needed, but once it’s needed it has to function! 

Managing gear can be fun for some people, but I don’t want to think about it. I like to put effort into planning things once and moving on. Once I build a kit I try to leave it alone unless I see that something isn’t working. 

Gear is never going to stop evolving, it’s only going to get better and cooler. Having said that, there is a point of diminishing returns on investing in new gear. Investing money, investing time, investing effort in general, effort that could be used to practice technique or to read about properly setting your suspension. 

To elevate gas I recommend the following:

• Save and get the nicer gear. You will ride longer and better if you’re not soaking wet and freezing.
• Buy the nicer tool.  It will last longer and you’ll have less stripped bolts and nuts.
• Only add as needed. Spend a bit more time on the bike and really figure out what you need.
• Less time on the web and scrolling through videos. Use that time to read the manual. 
• Ride more! Can’t buy shit if you’re out riding.