FJRiders.com

Ride report coming soon

I just got back from riding 7 days in Wyoming on the 1,000+ mile Backcountry Discovery Route that included the Main Route as well as the extra 130 mile BDRX Red Desert loop.

I want to thank BigJohn and our friend Scott for making the logistics work on this. Scott joined me for a bunch of the riding as well as solving his logistical challenges as he was using his truck to hop from hotel to hotel. I would not have been able to enjoy this nearly as much, let alone complete it without their help.

For those of you who don’t know BDR lingo, here is the website if you care to dig deeper. It has section descriptions and tons of details I won’t include.

https://ridebdr.com/wybdr/#toggle-id-8

If not, just grab a beverage and hopefully you will enjoy the pics and descriptions of the journey. There are plenty of characters in this report as I fortuitously joined up with another group of riders headed north. I will do my best to make it make sense; it might be hard though,. Why do you ask? well mostly because I was there and some of it didn’t make sense.

Here is a teaser pic with the usual disclaimer in that not a single picture of the nearly 500 I took can do the scenery justice to what my eyes were absorbing.


Here is my 2022 Honda 450 RL in the “No luggage” version out in the Red Desert BDRX on day .5.

I will try to complete a couple days in each post but with so many pics and characters, it might be difficult. Either way, it’s gonna be “Freakin Assume” as Scott says.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The title has the word “Time” in it for a multitude of reasons.

Most obviously because I have been talking about this ride for at least 3 years. It was about time I finally was able to knock it out. Last year I took the 450 out to the BHills to Johns event with the intention of riding it, but weather thwarted that attempt. The consolation prize was the Black Hills BDRX where I first met Scott and we rode some together.

The other reasons “Time” is quoted will come up throughout the report.

I took off from home on Friday June 27th about noon with the 450 and gear loaded in the back. I had fretted over what to bring multiple times as being prepared means being ready for anything between freezing and 105. But after looking at the forecast in multiple locations, I decided to go with the lighter sleeping bag- this proved to be a mistake.

It’s a full day trip out to BigJohns in Spearfish at 1,052 miles. The plan was to stop somewhere and get some sleep.
Ironically, Cabellas in Mitchell SD was where I stopped for the night. Ironic because it also was where, in
2014, on my first trip to the Black Hills where my friend Nick and I stopped. When he and I were here 11 years ago we set up the tents under this pavilion. This time I just threw the sleeping pad and bag out in the need of the truck for about 6hrs.

I got to John’s in the early evening after running some last min errands to be fully ready. His wife fed me a delicious meal of Chilli Rellenos


Sunday he would take me down to Baggs Wyoming and drop me off at the campground where I would ride the BDRX before starting north the next day.





Day .5 ( I am calling it this to prevent confusion) BDRX Red Desert Loop 130 miles solo. After John dropped me off, I set up camp and snapped a photo as he drove my truck away.



The loose plan was that he would pick me up in Burgess Junction in 6 or 7 days.


The BDRX has some long stretches of sand but I had no camping gear with me to weigh me down. Here are some photos of the route as I ride it clockwise starting at the bottom. It’s about 10 miles of paved roads before you get to the gravel and it starts out wide, smooth, and fast

Yeah, it’s pretty remote here. I saw a total of 3 people on the route after I got off the pavement. One was in a pickup looking at the wildlife sign, and the other two were bicycles on the gravel.

Not a single person was seen out on the trail.


This big hose stretched for miles to fill or empty reservoirs that likely had to do with the mining in the area. Here it was just blown by the wind into the road.


I heard there were wild mustangs out there, not wax fry the way I wanted to see them.


The smell was overwhelming and I did t stay long.


Plenty of antelope just a few miles in.


The cow population of Wyoming has to be more than the human based upon what I saw this week.


The road became less groomed as I dipped further back


Eventually even the cows and any assemblance of structure faded to remote high desert.


These mustangs were more of what I was hoping to see.

They were curios but not brazen


Every once in a while they would stop approaching and just study me.


Then retreat

Then return close enough to get more detailed pictures.


The antelope were more elusive and skittish.


Plenty of horses were out there. Only did you see them if they moved while you were looking in that direction.


The riding was easy for now with some sand and rock mixed in.


Weather was near perfect with only a little rain forecast. Some wind, but not raging here on the desert floor


More and more sand became the norm



Then came some longer sections of deeper sand.

The longest section was probably 6-7 miles where you had to be vigilantly ready for the front to sink.


The 450 can easily handle the sand, but you gotta convince yourself to lean back, let her rip, and steer by weighting the legs. Little to no bar input is the best way.




There are tracks but none are fresh and I would guess to say within the last couple of days.


To say that I was not a little nervous would be a lie. But I have a really reliable machine.

The track was easy to follow at this point and the GPX track was meaningful to what the terrain showed.




A whole lot of nothing out there. A few pop up clouds showed rain way off in the distance.



This area is known as Adobe town with the unique features. Oddly enough, there t was never a town or actually make of Adobe.

Here a few of the random tracks came together and it took some time to figure out which one was a “main” route compared to just off shoots the SxS people use.

Not having a GPS with tracks out here would be daunting to say the least.




I kept an eye out for the rain. I really wasn’t worried about the rain making the trail unridable given the amount of sand. Rather I was concerned for lighting. Very little cover existed anywhere out there.


The GPS indicated over 7K feet and that kept temps still pleasant anytime the bike was moving.


Many years ago a fort existed to support the stage coaches on their travels.





Gun port?


More in a few min.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Continue day .5.

I was careful to watch where I was walking as others warned the town of Baggs school mascot is the rattlers. I saw nor heard none.


Back out to the last feature on the loop. Sometimes the tracks were very faint through the brush and even sometimes the tracks from the GPS were flat out wrong.


Other times it was easy to follow as there was nothing else around.


Just an occasional herd of antelope watching from a small rise.



The Delaney Rim was the last feature.

Looking mostly north, Interstate 80 is out there about 5 miles.
The ride along the time was easy and scenic. Here is where I had my only tip over.



Soft dirt and a ripping wind blew me over.


No harm no foul. I just picked it up and went to the official lookout.


Yeah, this is one of the reasons we ride the places we do. It was a perfect time to be there. Remote, but accessible.



The drop off was legit. I got no closer than needed.


I turned back south east and followed the rain back to the gravel roads.
it was here that I was the most confused. The GPX line indicated to just drop off this ledge into the basin below.


I could see the track, but it was extremely steep. I would not be able to ride back up if needed. So I pulled my other paper maps out and did some sight recon.


Eventually I got down and made my way back to the entrance.


Stats for the day.


After I got back into town, I headed up to the local bar/ restaurant to just see what they had. Out in the parking lot a few other ADV bikes just pulled up and we started chatting. They were riding the BDR north starting tomorrow and were looking for a place to camp. I told them I was already set up and there was room for them. We ate dinner together and quickly became friends. I will introduce the guys from the Seattle area tomorrow.


Food was solid here. Good thing considering it’s the ONLY choice in Baggs.


Back at camp we talked until the sun set



More later. Day .5 done.

Section 1 Baggs to Centennial taking ALT harder route to Bridger Peak


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Day 1-(Sections 1 and 2 shown on the map.)
From bottom left Baggs heading east to Centennial bottom right. 160 miles total


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good stuff Josh!

That is some desolate country.

At the restaurant in Baggs I met up with 3 guys from the Seattle area on big bikes. Not sure of the exact models, but this is my best guess.

Curtis was on a KTM super adventure R 1290


KC was on a BMW GS


Matt was on another KTM Super adventure R.


All 3 were well kitted out and modified to fit their respective needs. Additionally all of them were/are superb riders. What each of them could do with those huge bikes was impressive.

We all packed up and were at breakfast back at the restaurant by 8:15am. I would recommend the Cowboy Inn to anyone needing food or beverage while in Baggs.


The campground was also decent enough for a quick stop over. It had a shower house, clean bathrooms, and enough grassy area for a decent group of tents.

After the guys got “supplies” we hit the trail and got after it. The track left Baggs to the north on pavement before turning East on fast gravel. And when I say fast gravel, I mean 60mph+. We stopped after about 45 minutes for a break and I grabbed a few pics while my adrenaline waned back to normal levels.



Stopping in the middle of the road was just fine out here.


Anything look odd about my bike? Other than it being about half the size of the others?


Pretty empty here.


The guys kicked off the ride in their style.



Curtis is the guy on the left and KC on the right.


Right after we took off, I felt some squirm under me. Curtis said over the Sena, your real is flat! Ugh, not the way to start a ride. Curtis took off to let the other 2 guys know about the flat. At least it was easy to find the problem.


I had the tire off by the time Curtis got back to help. We had the tube switched out in 30 min and back on the move in 45. I really appreciate Curtis and the help he provided. The other 2 guys were a little ways down the trail just waiting. Thankful for their understanding and not saying “see you later”.

I had a 3mil ultras heavy duty tub but it was no match for a 3 inch deck screw.


All fixed and ready roll with my back up rear tube. We would fix the damaged one at camp later that night.

Curtis says let’s go!



The riding here is wide open and fast.





We heard there was some pretty aggressive sheep dogs a the bottom of the hill. I let Curtis go first and as reported, he got chased a little.

I was surprised any animal would chase those big bikes with their exhaust growl!
As soon as he cleared the sheep, the dogs backed off. They knew their job well.


I had no issues and got clear quickly.

We stopped at the viewpoint before heading up the Alt Hard section to the top of Bridger Peak.

The stories of the pioneers out here are not for the faint hearted. Any mistakes get you and anyone you were with often got you killed.


We started to find ourselves picking our way through some drifts leftover from winter.


Matt and KC charges up first and left Curtis to watch over me.


We took a few quick breaks to scout parts of the trail.


Alpine lakes were crystal clear


The track got increasingly steep, rocky, and wet from snow melt. Picking the wrong line resulted in a downed bike. They watched me approach and pointed out the better line and the 450 kept chugging to the top.


We got Curtis stood back up and headed back up.


I might have been smarter to keep my helmet on while pushing from the back.



Cameras never show the actual steepness.


Let me tell you, this was expert only territory and it was dicey the whole way.

If it wasn’t the ruts, it was the water/snow, rocks, or mud.


But we all made it and made it to the next plateau.


The air is thin here over 10k feet.


The smell is a perfect combination of pine, moist dirt, and crisp mountain air.

Curtis letting the big KTM hunt!


Matt got crossed rutted and slid a little sideways in the very slimy mud up here due to melting snow. I chickened out and rode in the grass.

Getting near the top we had to Oren ride around big drifts.


Sometimes even the GPS knew we were off track.


Approaching 11K


The track is rugged but easy to follow.



End of the line just short of the top.




KC ripping up to the top.



Matt got his KTM back on the road after fixing his side case.


Pics from the top.




The peak is supposed to be 11,004 feet. Not sure my GPS was accurate. We were more than 31 feet below the top.

Even the 450 wouldn’t make it past the last snow drift.


Time to head down toward Encampment for lunch and gas.




The path down was much cleaner and devoid of snow.


Lunch in Encampment was a time to celebrate with a beverage.


The burger was good at 307 Pub and Grub.



2nd half of Section 1 tomorrow. Heading to Centennial.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Absolutely subscribed.

Those 3" dry wall screws seem to find tires in the middle of nowhere - makes you wonder how they got there. Did that warm Tusk just fall off the bead?

Love it, keep the photos coming.

Continue Sect 1 after Bridger Peak to Centennial.

After lunch we continued East toward Centennial. The gravel was still fast and easy. We made good time with a few quick breaks.



It’s not hard to find good places to drink in the scenery.


A well placed log for Curtis, KC, and Matt


This was about the only water crossing we had for the trip.


Someone easily made it across and then promptly dumbed their bike. But I won’t say who.


Not far out of Centennial we could see some civilization below.


While all the guys “tolerated” me as the “Stray”. Curtis and I rode together the most.



Down in Centenial, Matt had to get supplies for the evening. Mind you, a couple Canadians they had been in contact with were planning on meeting us at the campsite. Thus, the extra provisions. I will introduce the Jean and Eric a little later.


Meanwhile, Scott whom I have ridden with before on the BH BDRX was in town and we planned on meeting up in Centennial to ride the next section together. He was already there in his hotel and came down to coordinate plans in the morning.

With the plan set for the morning, we headed up to Libby Lake to camp.

You just gotta find a spot and throw your tent up in any flat spot you can find.


You should notice two more German Machines. Eric is on a F900 and Jean on the bigger GS. These 5 have done multiple BDRs and long rides together. They were also excellent riders.


We did our best to be Bear Aware.


As the night sky took over it was time for some repairs. I worked on patching my damaged tube.


Matt reached into his bag of parts and repaired his flip flop with a washer and zip tie.


It was time for a fire and the typical campfire shenanigans.


We all liked having the warmth while sitting around as the elevation kept things chilly.


The next morning we appreciated the toilet being close by. We all dried our tents in the sun and packed up slow. The boys hit the suds pretty hard.


Curtis is a solid 2nd amendment supporter. He had a small bear deterrent at the ready


Back in town, the 3 Seattle Boys and 2 Canadians got gas and supplies before heading out to the next section.



Centennial to Elk Mountain

The highlights on this section include some alpine lakes, a deep creek section, Kennaday Peak before it drops out of the mountains into some high desert.


I bundled up because at almost 10k, the air was still cold.


Today I was riding with Scott. He is from Rapid City as was leapfrogging in his truck to stay in hotels. Scott does not camp and thus was riding a svelt 701 Husky.


Right away we experienced some snow and mountain peaks.


Over 10k is not something we often get to experience around home.


Here is Scott on his 701. He also is an excellent rider and at 68yrs young, I hope to be riding near his level in 17 years. The dude is a soft spoken stud of a rider.


Yeah, the mountain lakes provide some decent background for pics.


It’s not an FJR, but if it was, I might have a calendar entry.

We skipped the optional Hard section of the deep creek as we assumed theirs would be too much water flowing with all the snow still present. Turned out to NOT be the case and some of the other guys rode it with no problem.


We decided to take the optional side trip up to Kennaday Peak. 7 miles each way and it was decently difficult.


At 10,810 feet, not much can be higher in these areas.


The fire tower is open to walk up.


Expansive views with snow still hanging on the faces


The road was a challenge coming up and since it’s an out and back, we get to ride it twice. Scott says he could have ridden it on his GS, but preferred his 701.


From the observation tower.


It was windy here and sometimes the birds would just take a break on the rocks.

Peeking inside the window of the tower, you can see it doesn’t get much use.


Maybe during fire season, it has a more important role.


From the observation deck looking north it’s along way to Elk Mountain


My 450 loaded down with almost 50 lbs in extra gear, fuel, tools, and food/water handled the whole trip exceptionally. Small enough to go almost anywhere but also big enough to run some lo n er highway sections.


I am glad we took the side trip up here.


Looking closely you can see Scott on his way down.


Zoomed just a bit.


Plenty of switchbacks on the way down, just leave it in 3rd gear and use the clutch to give some engine braking.


It didn’t take long to get back down and snap a pic from the main route
About 25 min elapsed between these two pics.


Back on trial we found some much needed easier roads.


As we got closer to the town of Elk Mountain, we came up behind a couple of ranchers moving about 10 bulls. He tried convincing us to ride around out in the brush, but we waited until they got off the road.



After a quick gas up in Elk Mountain up on I-80, we headed into section 3 to Alcova.




Coming into Medicine Bowl was one of the best parts of the ride. Some great 2 track with gates and no one around.


This seemed like a completely different ride than what we have been doing in the previous sections.


Carbon County Cemetery- hard to believe there ever was enough population here to have a significant cemetery.


Wide open spaces here.



Wyoming utilizes Coal, Oil, Gas, and Wind power.


Something very rare out here. Still didn’t stop at the sign though.

This was some of the best easy riding of the whole trip.

It was hot, but as long as you kept moving, it was tolerable.



More in a bit. We find the boys at the Historic Virginian Hotel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

"Scott" and I are in Red Lodge today. He says "Freaking Assume!"

Epic trip Josh. Guys on the big GS and KTM 1290 are badasses in that terrain! Curtis is my hero. S&W wheel gun for "Bar". No jams there!

Historic hotel/Bar/Restaurant in Medicine Bow is about the only place to stop and get some food. As a former History teacher, I love this kind of stuff. Westward expansion was one of my favorite things to teach.


I found a bunch of Dirty Bikers at the bar eating Mexican food and drinking beer.



You know back in the day, there must have been outlaws sitting at the same counter. Seems fitting. lol.








While I waited for my order, one of the ladies gave me a quick tour of the whole hotel property.







Common Rooms (read shared bathroom) are $48 per night and Suites with private bath are $124




Jet Properties has bought the hotel and is actively restoring and updating everything. I would love to come back and stay sometime.


I wasn’t really hungry, but I asked if they had anything homemade and the waitress lit up with

“Oh yeah, we have Blueberry cobbler Wanna try it?”.

“Yes Ma’am”

“Do you want ice cream?”

“Of course”


It was excellent. They popped the cobbler in the oven too.


After Scott saw mine, he jumped on the bandwagon and got his own.


The bar also was picture worthy also.


After dessert we loaded back up and headed into some lower foothills type roads before we started climbing into some great mountain roads.



We took plenty of breaks and enjoyed the scenery from the shade when available.




It was easy to stop and smell the roses. Scott indulged my every stop. It prob was a little boring for someone who has other good places to ride.




The views just kept coming at almost every corner




Heading North to Alcova we knew we didn’t need to hurry. Scott booked a cabin and I was thankful to get a shower.



The reservoir in Alcova was finally visible. It took us way down in elevation and the heat came on as we descended.


As soon as we got into town, we got gas and that was a good thing because the only station in town was having trouble with their pumps. It finally worked

We got cleaned up and headed over to the only place in town that was open still. It was a dive bar but the food was great.


Sunset Grill was close by. The AC was pumping and the service was good.


He made some suggestions s they were spot on. The mushrooms were amping the best I ever had.



He also recommended the Philly melt. Another hit with spicy Cajun fries.


Scott went with the Rocky Mountain oysters.


I gave it a try and it tasted pretty much like any fried food.


We hung there for a while and enjoyed the AC and avoided the heat.


Back at the cabin, we hung out with the boys who also stayed in another unit.



Tomorrow we run the Beaver Rim while Scott heads back to Centennial t get his truck and will meet us the next day to take on the next section.

The hurdle was the absence of any services on the Beaver Rim. It is very remote. I have a 3 gallon tank and get 50mpg but the stretch is over that. Especially when considering Fuel is. It a sure thing in Atlantic City. I always carry a MSR fuel bottle, but also took a giant loop fuel bag. Matt was confident I would make it and if not he could get me fuel out of his camel tank. So we went with just 1 gallon in the bag and had no issues.

More tomorrow.

Beaver Rim is no joke. It is only open after July 1st due to the Sage Grouse hatching season. We were there July 2nd.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

^^^^ This is dreams coming true kind of shit.

Enjoying the show.

Beaver rim is the Dotted line to the north. It used to be the main route but was changed last year. Mostly due to the remoteness and length with no real bail outs. The riding is not overly difficult, but you have some sandy sections and plenty of miles to eat up to get through.

Going right to left or East to West, you start in Alcova and head towards Atlantic City. Which sometimes has fuel. So we didn’t count on it. The only sure fuel is in Lander another 30 miles or so.

Highlights along the route are the overlooks, and endless 2 track.


The big bikes just rip off the miles. The only time I could outpace them was the really tight technical rocky places.


Choosing your track was important because ruts between the tracks essentially made some of the routes into single track.


A few cattle guards had enough erosion to make it difficult to navigate at speed.


My bike looks good all the time but especially in remote places.


KC set up his Tripod and got this pic of the 6 of us.


Lots of open desert shots because that’s all there is for about 90 miles.


Sandy 2 track is not the favorite of a couple of our travelers.


But out here, you get what you get.


Nothing for miles and miles.


Someone asked me if I would ride the Beaver Rim section again and it was a solid “yes”. It is just so different from what I have ridden before.


Also it was varied just enough to keep the interest going.


Sometimes Matt would slow down just enough to let us catch up before he zoomed off again.


There was fast open sections and tighter technical sections when the roadway dipped and rose off the standard elevation.


The dust was tolerable because you could ride far apart and still keep them in sight. Curtis and I linked our senas together most of the time. I really enjoyed that part. We kept each other aware of the right line or hazards on the trail.


Matt pulls up to the first lookout. You can tell you are close to the edge when the fence is present. Matt carries my fuel badder with the 1 gallon up to here.


I got some of the group as they approached the lookout.





KC on the GS.

You should not be shocked to see Matt on the other side of the fence.


It was beer time for the guys and apparently if you are Canadian like Jean, shirts are optional.


Just one more step and Matt is a goner.


Looking West behind me.


Looking East from where we came.




No matter how I tried, I couldn’t capture the vastness on film.


You have to just see how big it is out here.

We lingered here to rehydrate and transfer the fuel into my tank. All of us stopped at the next lookout.


No fence here made pictures and observations easier.




Looking out into the distance was futile to recognize landmarks. There just isn’t really anything discernible we could find. Highway 20 is out there but a later measurement says it’s 29 miles away straight north.


Then as we stared into the abyss we spotted wildlife. This elk had a little honey hole. Shade and nearby green which means water were close by.


From the lookout, you can see the riders on the horizon well.


I am so glad I went this way and didn’t chicken out.


All the guys on the trip were great people. I enjoyed hearing their past tales of riding and future plans.

Only a few places had water for cows.


Smiles behind the helmets was the norm.



Matt doing his best Marty imitation.


It got hot and taking breaks was a little hypocritical. There is zero, and I mean zero shade anywhere.


Soon we find some fast gravel and gather up to push through to Atlantic City.


Just the stats to ATL City. We still have 30 more to gas.


We stop in the historic town for a drink and some food.


Another frontier type place that I think “If only the wall could talk!”



More in a bit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great report, Josh....... I can't figure out how those guys call Pabst Blue ribbon beer.... did the Canadians bring some real beer?

raYzerman wrote: ↑Wed Jul 09, 2025 6:09 pm Great report, Josh....... I can't figure out how those guys call Pabst Blue ribbon beer.... did the Canadians bring some real beer?

The guys had a selective pallet. They talked about other more esteemed beer, but the options put in Boga Cheetah Wyoming seem to be rather limited.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that is a Mule Deer, not an Elk.

Elk -

Great report Josh, thanks for sharing the adventure!

~G

raYzerman wrote: ↑Wed Jul 09, 2025 6:09 pm Great report, Josh....... I can't figure out how those guys call Pabst Blue ribbon beer.... did the Canadians bring some real beer?

In the desert I have learned...Lower your expectations and you'll have a good time.