Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDR) is a nonprofit organization serving to promote education and safety for off-highway motorcyclists. It also creates backcountry and secondary-road routes for adventure and dual-sport riders. These routes take backcountry riders through some of America’s most incredible scenery and charming rural towns.
BDR has created backcountry routes for riders every year since 2010. To date, these routes include Washington, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, the Mid-Atlantic region, Southern California, the Northeast region, and Wyoming.
Oregon has been recently added to the growing list of BDR projects.
For every completed BDR, a film premier follows. If you’ve ever been to one of these live events, you’ll know the excitement in the room is palpable. Riders twitch in their seats watching those on the screen travel over remote mountain ranges, wipe out in sand traps, and sit laughing around campfires.
About the ORBDR
The Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route (ORBDR) documentary promises to entice — just like past BDR films. The route itself is hailed as one of the more difficult by the organization.
Riders will find technical terrains, like rubber-eating lava rock, puffing clouds of fine silt, and BDR’s ubiquitous steep, rocky, double track. (It seems the architects of every BDR must find at least one section like this to challenge even the best off-roader.)
“I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and have always been fascinated by volcanoes,” says Bryce Stevens, Oregon route architect and BDR co-founder, in a press release. “The ORBDR is a route filled with natural wonders of the volcanic kind. We designed the ORBDR to show off different regions of the state and keep the route ever-changing. Oregon has vast high desert in the southeast, sparse pine forests in the central part of the state, and densely forested mountains in the Cascade Range. It almost feels like three BDRs packed into one.”
The ORBDR starts in the high-desert south and ends north in the Cascade Range, traversing 750 miles. It highlights some of Oregon’s finest natural wonders, like hot springs, caverns, buttes, and glaciated volcanoes. These sights and experiences should help ease some of the route’s challenges.
BDR says the film will show “why traveling by motorcycle is one of the best ways to discover the backcountry of Oregon.”
Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route Premiere, Portland
The Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route premiere is on Feb. 4, at the Aladdin Theater in Portland. Tickets are $20 and doors open at 4 p.m. The screening will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Can’t make the event in person? BDR won’t be posting the ORBDR film on YouTube until the film tour is completed in mid-May. Keep an eye on the premiere site page for a schedule of ORBDR film showing dates and locations.
Those not at the Portland premiere, or at a participating dealer on Feb. 4, can watch the pre-show live on BDR’s YouTube channel. Note this will not include the film.
After Feb. 4, ORBDR route GPS tracks and travel resources will be available for free here. We have little doubt that this will be an amazing adventure opportunity for adventure riders, and can’t wait to tackle it ourselves.
