2018 Solo New Mexico Backcountry Discovery Route

I've posted a few bits about this over on the advrider Next in the BDR series - NMBDR thread but that one is kind of a catchall so I thought I'd at least post here to inspire fellow 250R riders. There are already way better trip reports than I'd do so I won't be going into too much detail but I'm happy to answer any questions.

The trip had a bit everything, from heat and insane wind to two snowstorms, a hailstorm that turned to driven sleet, and a few rainstorms of varying intensity. Mostly though the weather was awesome and the trip beyond anything that can be described. I know they call Montana "Big Sky Country", and I've been there, but I don't know how that trumps the views I saw on this ride. The state is suffering from a very dry winter which meant no water crossings (including Chloride Canyon!), which was a bummer, and the fire season is already bad, but I nothing threatened the route.

Trip details: 4/29 - 5/4/18. Followed the official route mostly, using a Butler Map for the hard copy (invaluable). Rode out of Dell City, Texas and ended in Antonito, Colorado, then took tarmac (backroads) back to Dell City. Bike is a 2017 WR250R, basic protection, GoRace suspension, CamelTank, California emissions guts pulled out, flapper mod, that's about it. The bike was awesome on the 1200 mile BDR. The drive on the tarmac back to the trailer was long and increasingly hot but it did all I asked.

Here's a video of photos. I'll be doing a second version with some video snippets as well but wanted to get this much out for some friends.

Incredible ride. Amazing scenery. damn

Looks awesome! Can you go into some detail on your camping setup? Looks like you have the giant loop Moto Trekk. What was good/bad about your setup?

I’m hoping to get out and do some camping off the bike soon, just curious what others are doing. Thanks for creating and posting the video!

Potentate wrote:

Can you go into some detail on your camping setup? Looks like you have the giant loop Moto Trekk. What was good/bad about your setup?

Yeah, I had the Mototrekks for the sides and a 40L Firstgear Torrent and a 25L Firstgear Torrent duffel strapped on back to a Pro Moto Billet Rack-it rear fender rack using Rok straps. And then a Wolfman Enduro tank bag. I tried to take lessons from much backpacking and go as light as possible, but since I was riding alone I had to carry everything. It took a couple of days of moving things around but my system got better. Most of what I did is probably common sense, but I'm generally lacking in that so I have to get frustrated to discover it--heavier gear in the bottom of the Mototrekks for better stability, rarely or unused gear buried under other gear I need more access to. I put my tent, mat, sleeping bag and camp chair all in the big Firstgear which was awesome. When I hit camp I knew that was everything I needed to get set up, especially nice in the dark.

I see why so many riders overpack. There are many "luxuries" it would be nice to have. When i got home I inventoried everything to see how I did with usage, and really, other than tools/parts I used everything except my folding camp saw. What I guess I liked most was not having a lot of stuff hanging off or piled high. I went through heavy snow, rain and sleet and the gear never saw a drop of it.

What I didn't like: I hated having to unstrap one of the duffels to quickly add or get something. Sounds minor but it was just a pain. If I stopped at a store for some water, beer, a bag of chips, I had to fuss around. Each duffel only had two straps so that's probably more my impatience than anything. I also struggled with how to carry water. I brought two 6-liter Dromedarys, thinking they'd be great. They are flexible and collapse to nothing when empty. But I couldn't figure out where to strap them, precisely because they are so flexible, and I didn't want to risk putting them in with gear in case one leaked. I ended up putting one in each duffel inside a trash bag. That kind of worked but it also meant I didn't drink as often as I should because of the hassle of getting one out. Eventually I cured that by filling a Nalgene during my breaks and keeping that at the top of the smaller duffel. Rotopax looks cool and my racks have holes for them but a) I'm not sure how the Motrekks would mount over them and b) I really hate carrying empty space-takers. So still need to work on that. Finally, if I had wanted to do any kind of serious campsite cooking, meaning more ingredients, etc, I would have run out of space. I was maxed out as it was, just taking one-bag meals mostly. As I've said elsewhere, if you are getting a motel some or all nights and eating at restaurants you could get pretty damn light, it's just not what I go for. And with other riders you could split up some gear, like tools, parts, tubes, etc.

As for the Mototrekks, the more I got used to them the better they got, but they have a lot of straps and when it's cold while you're packing or unpacking they can be less than easy to work with. They do quite well when full but don't really collapse down to small loads too well. And there are lots of straps with extra length you have to tuck away. Their advice has been to cut your straps once you know the lengths you need but that doesn't make sense since you'll use more strap on larger payloads. Still, they are rugged as can be, stay put on the bike and are totally waterproof (so far). Like anything else, you learn how to work with them.

I hope that helps. I'm constantly reading what other riders are doing, trying to get smarter. Still, I'm feeling like I have most of what I'll use on this bike for years.

Great photos, looks like a very scenic route with a lot of solitude!

Great ride report, looks beautiful

Awesome trip report and stunning photos!

Great video. I enjoyed reading the thread as well.