BUILDING A BAND OF BROTHERS ON THE WAY BDP WA

BACKCOUNTRY DISCOVERY ROUTE

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"WOW," 99 I said over the intercom, "I'd pay good money for a ride like this in Disneyworld," as the three of us navigated a back-country USFS road, snaking through a starkly beautiful wildfire-scorched landscape on the Washington Backcountry Discovery Route. My two riding mates, AI Kitzman and Russ Born, laughingly agreed.

But only a few miles later loomed a huge trail collapse: an evil lower half of a 60-foot Ferris wheel mined with baby-heads, cabbage-sized loose rock, and something we lightheartedly called “puffy”—a powdery flour masquerading as dirt. So you just never know what’s around the corner. And little did we know of the frightening conclusion of our trip that was just a few days ahead.

All BDRs certainly aren’t the same, but they share a common element: unpredictability. They show us just how wide the word “adventure” can be in this challenging sport. But this eight-day journey also revealed new aspects of ourselves as we became a band of brothers. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

We all know that adventure riding can be a great equalizer, spurring random acts of kindness from strangers met on the trail. And it was no different for us.

How did we conquer that half-Ferris wheel from Hell? After I dropped my bike halfway up the exit of the washout, timely help arrived from a friendly ATV group catching up from behind. It was easy-peasy for the five young good Samaritans to push my loaded 500 lb. Ténéré up a 45° slope, only to reveal ANOTHER half-Ferris wheel—even worse—immediately ahead! But we all rode it through successfully, cheered on by our newly-found four-wheeled friends.

Fellow rider Al Kitzman on his