STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG DREVENSTEDT
PAGE 72
FavoriteRidesandDestinations . com / ridermagazine . com
THE LONG WAY TO
WALLA WALLA
BORDER TO BORDER ON THE OREGON BACKCOUNTRY DISCOVERY ROUTE
STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG DREVENSTEDT
WHEN YOUR BIKE TOPPLES OVER in the middle of nowhere , when your bike and its week ’ s worth of gear weigh more than 600 pounds , when you ’ re hot and sweaty and tired , it ’ s good to have friends along to lend a hand . We were three days and nearly 300 miles into the 750-mile , California-to-Washington Route 5 of the Oregon Backcountry Discovery Routes ( OBDR ), a network of off-road routes crisscrossing the state ’ s vast national forests and other public lands . While struggling my way up a technical Jeep road full of embedded rocks , I high-centered the BMW ’ s skid plate , dabbed my left foot into a hole , lost my balance and toppled over in a big , dusty heap . Lead rider Paul was off in the distance , so sweep rider Marten rock-hopped around me , parked his bike on a level spot and came back to help . Other than some badge-of-honor scratches the only damage was to my pride , and I was soon making forward progress again .