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Lost Coast BDR-X

stratslingr77 said:
It was good to catch up and hang, and thanks for the coffee!
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My pleasure, but those cups were tiny!

When I fist rolled in I saw what looked like a Ducati Hyper, and thought @N4teTheGreat was there, but didn't see him. Then I saw this KTM 950SM and thought Nate might be there... No dice..



I also had a chance to say hi to Jocelin Snow :love: She was so cool and asked my name and shook my hand... I'll never wash this hand again...
 
Was not able to go as myself and a couple buddies went to Rich Oliver's place for some dirty classes and camping the night before but did watch the video while camping...good stuff! Talking to a few buds to do this one this upcoming year as they can take a short time off of work :)
 
Looks like a fun ride. :ride
 
I predict this will become one of their more popular routes. People from all over the world pilgrimage to ride that area already, and this adds to the appeal.
Well done BDR.

And some friends and I are already talking about a fall trip 👍

Mark
 
I've ridden 90% of this plenty, but the other 10% looks like nice additions. Specifically the hard split in the Kings Range and the out and back to the Kinsey Ridge lookout look neat.
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Backcountry Discovery Routes | Backtrack

BDR is a 501c(3) non-profit organization. We are here to help you plan adventure motorcycling trips. Plan your multi-day off-road motorcycle adventure with our free tracks, interactive maps, photos, video content as well as hotel, food & gas information. Be sure to check out the discovery...
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Cabrito said:
I've ridden 90% of this plenty, but the other 10% looks like nice additions. Specifically the hard split in the Kings Range and the out and back to the Kinsey Ridge lookout look neat.
www.backtrackmaps.com

Backcountry Discovery Routes | Backtrack

BDR is a 501c(3) non-profit organization. We are here to help you plan adventure motorcycling trips. Plan your multi-day off-road motorcycle adventure with our free tracks, interactive maps, photos, video content as well as hotel, food & gas information. Be sure to check out the discovery...
www.backtrackmaps.com www.backtrackmaps.com
Click to expand...
Same. And there’s a lot of good stuff that got left out, too. Great area to explore. I would expect a lot more traffic now…
 
I got out on the route this weekend.

Section 1: Usal Road between 101 and Usal Beach JUST reopened but the segment from Usal Beach north to Shelter Cove is still closed so we skipped Section 1, but I've ridden it before.

This, from October 2022
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Since we skipped section 1, we rode to Shelter Cove from the east bay via every back road we could find. Redwood/Skyline/Grizzly Peak/Wildcat Canyon/Bear Creek/Alhambra Valley then a short slab on 680 to Cordelia. From there, Suisun Valley/128/Silverado Trail/29 into Middletown, then Bottlerock and some other stuff into Calpella. Finally on 101, we took the direct route into Shelter Cove and camped there next to the airstrip and, more importantly, the brewpub. We enjoyed watching a line dancing class over beers and a really good Cajun fish sandwich.
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A warm breeze settled over the campground and we had a very nice evening.
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Section 2: Shelter Cove-Rio Dell

We departed Shelter Cove Friday morning and headed north on King Peak Road. It's just a dirt road through the woods.
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After a few miles, the route splits into an optional detour loop onto Saddle Mountain Road. I highly recommend taking this detour--here's the view you get rewarded with:
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We eventually rejoined King Peak and continued north. Shortly before Honeydew, there's an optional out and back to Kinsey Ridge on Smith-Etter Road. This was just ok. Once past the Bear Trap Road junction, Smith-Etter had been very recently scraped, as evidenced by fresh dozer tracks and very soft dirt.
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It wasn't much fun riding, honestly and the view at the end was meh, being mostly obstructed by trees. The juice isn't worth the squeeze for this segment.
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From here, it was a short ride into Honeydew, where we stopped for lunch and a batch of fresh tamales we'd keep for dinner.
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From Honeydew, we followed Mattole Road west , then Lighthouse Road to Punta Gorda. The final stretch to the lookout point is a steep downhill two track and it was the spiciest part of the route up to this point. And we lucked out--the BLM truck ahead of us had JUST unlocked the gate for the season, so we were the first ones through
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From there, we climbed back out and rejoined Mattole Road through Petrolia and along the coast...
1000017341.jpg...and eventually turned right onto Bear Ridge Road, taking us into Rio Dell. Bear Ridge Road is a gem!
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We gassed up in Rio Dell late-afternoon and started Section 3.
 
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Section 3: Rio Dell-Blue Lake
From Rio Dell, you ride a short stretch of 101, then 36 east before heading north on Redwood House Road. Then, right on Kneeland Rd onto Showers Pass Road. This area is one of the most surprising, and stunning parts of the route. It's what California must've been like 150 years ago.
1000017344.jpg1000017345.jpg It was getting late in the day so we took a short detour from the route, found a random hilltop, and set up camp in time to catch a spectacular sunset.
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We got an early start in the morning and rode into Blue Lake for brunch at the casino.
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The early morning ride into Blue Lake was magical...
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Section 4: Blue Lake-Ferndale

You climb out of Blue Lake along Maple Creek Road, then Bald Mountain Rd up--you guessed it--Bald Mountain. Along the way, there's a roadside couch with a view that's featured in the BDR-X movie.
1000017420.jpgThe stories this couch must have to tell...🤣

Then you're on 299 for a split second before heading north on Bair Road through the Hoopa Reservation.
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This is a fun stretch with changing environments and dirt. We scared a black bear crossing the road in here somewhere. Pretty soon we were on Bald Hills Road, which is a rip, snortin' section of pavement along a ridgeline with open views. There's a lookout at Schoolhouse Peak but it was gated off so we kept going, eventually landing on 101 in Orick. From there, the route meanders on and off 101, taking some paved side roads through Trinity, Manila, the cute downtown part of Eureka, and eventually landing in Ferndale.
 
Section 5: Ferndale-Fort Bragg

We passed through Ferndale and back into Rio Dell via Grizzly Bluff and Blue Slide Roads for gas in the late afternoon, then onto Section 5 which meanders into Shively Flats. The published route has you crossing the Eel River via a seasonal bridge that opens in June. It's March. The "road" to said seasonal bridge is deep sand and river rock. Figuring the bridge was out anyway, we skipped it and re-routed to Holmes Flat Road just to the south, figuring we could cross there.

The Holmes Flat Road bridge:
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We'd have to cross that rocky section of river, take the soft gravel ramp up to the bridge on the other side and up the soft, damp, silty bank on the other side. Not insurmountable, but given we had been on the bikes for about 12 hours and the fading daylight, we opted to set up camp right there on the river and make our crossing a tomorrow problem.
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We had a nice quiet night on the river and tackled the crossing after breakfast.
1000017430.jpgMonte needed a little help getting across the river (the bottom was soft)
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And I needed a push getting up the soft gravel ramp to the other side of the bridge. Monte did just fine on that part. We both got up the opposite bank drama-free.
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We rejoined the route at the Avenue of the Giants and then cut inland towards the Founders Grove, continuing along Dyerville Loop Road along the Eel River for awhile.

This is part of the Richardson Creative Exhibit.
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We eventually wound up on Bell Springs Road for quite a ways--all the way to 101, actually. It was a nice mix of dirt and twisty pavement.
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Monte had a problem with his rear brake that we got sorted at the bottom of Bell Springs, with help from another party riding the BDR-X in reverse.
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At this point, we're in 101 11 miles north of Laytonville. The route has you take Sherwood Road back to Fort Bragg but it's closed so our trip ended here. We had lunch in Laytonville and stabbed home.

Overall, we both REALLY enjoyed the route. It's a great ADV bike route--leave your little dual sports at home for this one.
 
Great write up and pictures!!!! I still have yet to do this and I live in Cloverdale!
 
Man! That Holmes Flat Road bridge bit of your report looks fun! Overall good stuff!
 
Great ride/trip report, Strat! Thank you. I’m looking at doing this in early June with some other riding buddies, all on GS’s, so reassuring words from you about it being big-bike friendly.
 
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