Backcountry Discovery Routes Launches Their International Outreach Program at EICMA
November 6, 2019
BDR’s dedicated multi-lingual web page offers specific advice and rider resources to help international riders plan their motorcycle adventures in the USA.
While the campaign is planned as a broad international initiative, the initial focus is on the European market, where the limited off-road riding opportunities present a significant potential demand from European riders who desire adventures in the U.S, beyond the well-known Route 66 offerings.
The organization has partnered with a PR firm in Germany, GoodSouls, to manage the outreach to European riders. BDR owns www.ridebdr.eu and www.ridebdr.de in Europe and has launched a dedicated European Facebook page at facebook.com/RideBDR.visitUSA.
BDR has also enlisted help from its corporate partners across the globe, including Touratech, SENA, and KLIM, who are helping promote the BDR initiative in Europe. They are distributing co-branded marketing collateral in their booths at major motorcycle shows in Europe, starting with the November EICMA show in Italy.
Touratech Germany has published a BDR story in their Travel Time magazine, which will be included in customer order shipments in Europe. KTM has also featured a BDR story on their European blog promoting the BDRs.
About the BDR
Since 2010, Backcountry Discovery Routes®, a non-profit organization created by a group of adventure motorcycling enthusiasts (many with industry connections), has been scouting and plotting remote off-highway adventure routes throughout the US using existing public roads.
The first was Washington state, the latest and tenth – is the North East BDR. There are several new routes in development, with many more to follow. BDRs are designed specifically to meet the capabilities of an average rider on dual-sport or adventure motorcycle packed for multi-day travel. Optional expert sections are included for more advanced riders.
Each route involves approximately a week-long ride, typically 800-1,400 miles (1,200-2,200 km) – ideal for the adventure rider with a career, family and limited holiday time. The routes are primarily off-highway on mixed surfaces such as dirt, gravel and sand and they always travel through the most spectacular scenery that the region has to offer.
The GPS tracks for the routes are free to the community and can be downloaded on the BDR website. Riders can also find recommendations on sights to see, places to eat and stay, as well as other helpful information. A stunning, feature-rich, waterproof paper map of each route is available for purchase to make planning a BDR adventure even easier. A feature length expedition documentary film about each route is available for purchase or streaming at RideBDR.com.
“BDR has to be the ultimate template for adventure riding development in the 21st century. The organization pours significant resources into scouting and developing their cross-state routes. They ensure the tracks are suitable for large capacity machines, they ensure the local communities are engaged and supportive, and they endorse models of sustainability and safety. In a world that is increasingly conscious of environmental degradation, BDR sets out to look after riders, people and place. But equally, these are routes that are simply spectacular and of a sweeping grand scale that Europeans have until now only dreamed of.”
“With ten existing routes, the BDR experience has become a staple of ADV riding in the US. In recent years, the BDR organization has seen an increasing number of riders coming from Europe, Asia and South America to enjoy the expansive riding areas in America. In support of this trend, the BDR organization has created a new program to make it easier for people to fly to the US and ride a Backcountry Discovery Route.”
“I’ve been involved with the BDRs since 2014 when I was invited to a BDR fundraiser and learned all about it. Over my career, I’ve raced all over Southern California, yet when I rode the recent SoCal BDR route I experienced the locations and the deserts in a completely different way. Riding through it on a motorcycle with your camping equipment, you simply spend more time in the environment, you stop earlier to set up camp, cook your dinner, in the morning you’re making coffee, breakfast and all the time you’re in the natural environment – the desert – not a motel room. And you’ll see the different colors of the day, feel the change in the temperatures, you could call it immersive.”
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