Wyoming BDR (WYBDR)

[Note: After I returned from my adventure, I sat down to write about it. I’m not done yet. (Writing takes time and none of us have extra time.) Rather than make y’all wait, I posted what I’d typed. Almost immediately a few “coffee donations” came through. THANKS! I’d still do stupid adventures even if nobody cared, but the donations make writing it up seem like I’m not just pissing into the wind. That’s a big deal to me.]

The BDR website for the Wyoming route says “[t]he Wyoming Backcountry Discovery Route is a multi-day off-pavement ride for dual-sport and adventure motorcycles through the most dramatic and rugged landscapes in Wyoming.” They weren’t exaggerating. It was all the dramatic and rugged I could handle.

(Note: The BDR people pair the state’s abbreviation with the suffix BDR. Thus, the Wyoming BDR is WYBDR. Colorado is COBDR. Etc…)

I had this weird idea that Wyoming is somehow tamer than Utah or some shit. Why? I dunno, I’ve been to most western states and they’ve all got plenty of opportunities and challenges. Yet, for some indefinable reason, Wyoming always seemed more approachable. It fits me. Of course, I can’t stand a few corners of the state. All states have “lost territories” like that. Jackson Hole has the snobbery of Vail Colorado and resides (like Vail) on my list of pretty places too infected with rich dweebs to enjoy. Also, as much as I like Yellowstone National Park, I wasn’t eager for anything “off road” in that locale. I don’t know if there are dirt roads near Yellowstone but if they did exist the Park Service would pile on rules until it was intolerable anyway. Luckily, WYBDR completely ignores Jackson Hole and Yellowstone. (It’s impressive that Wyoming has room for a multi-day “discovery route” totally independent of the huge and beautiful National Park.)

I laid the map on my table and pondered. “What am I getting myself into?” Challenges and logistical details weighed on my mind. The FAQ listed the mileage as 950 miles!

Nine hundred fifty miles. Great gibbering goose grease! I did not have time for a thousand miles of dirt… especially if I’d be doing it on a Yamaha TW200, which is a slow bike. I’d have to work on that.

Quoth the website: “[t]his is the most remote BDR, so plan ahead and be prepared to have a true backcountry adventure.”

OK, so now we’re looking at not only a thousand miles but tracks that happen to be “the most remote”. Talk about a wicked combination!

It’s hard to underestimate this; there’s “the middle of nowhere” and there’s “the middle of nowhere in Wyoming”. I would have to take that into account.

Most people, indeed great swaths of humanity, have never been in truly remote situations. Thus, they don’t have a good picture of how bad things can get and how quickly. There are people from Narobi Kenya who haven’t experienced Wyoming emptiness. Most residents of Paris or Manhattan or Los Angeles would cease to exist if teleported even for a single minute to Wyoming’s desolation. Never underestimate the desert!

The route’s logistics aren’t “twenty miles to the next Starbucks” it’s “how much spare gas do you have, and did you pack a tent”. There are less people in Wyoming than any other state. Including Rhode Island, which is about the size of one lawn in Wyoming. I think some of the BDRs will land you in a decent sized town most nights and some BDR riders plan for hotels. (I’m new at this so I’m not sure.) Such a thing is totally off the table on the WYBDR.

Next item up for analysis? I’d be going solo. This exponentially increases the importance of “remote”.

It’d be just me. Not me and five friends. Most (almost all!) riders travel BDRs with a gaggle of like minded people, meaning they have all the backup one could want, including multiple functioning motorcycles should one break. Not me. There would be no buddies to pick up a bike if I drop it. Nobody to help me up I break a leg. Not even a spare person to take a picture of me as I lay there dying.

Soloing 950 miles of “most remote” is serious.

That’s the best part!

Stay tuned for more…