My 2026 Montana BDR Ride Report

[stratslingr77]

I've been wanting to do a big tour of British Columbia for a few years--Ice Fields Parkway and all that jazz. 2026 was another year to kick that can down the road; instead, we rode the newly-released Montana BDR. Montana is a long way from California, even though the BDR starts in Island Park, Idaho--also a long way from California. Good thing I have a BMW R1250 GS Adventure. That bike is ideally suited to munch big miles and still tackle a BDR route that doesn't seem to be too technical.

In the months leading up to this trip, I studied maps to figure out the best way to get to the BDR from the Bay. I maintain a mental checklist of roads/routes I really want to get around to riding "one of these days." Section 6 of the Nevada BDR, from Elko to Jarbridge has been on that checklist for several years now and it's always been just out of the way enough to keep me from doing it. Now, it appears it's on the way to the Montana BDR starting point in Island Park!

So Monte and I set out on Sunday, July 5, opting for the most direct route to Elko, I-80. Traffic was pretty light from the Bay all the way into Sparks, NV where we topped off on gas and snacks. From Sparks, we continued eastbound on I-80, setting our cruise control at 90mph and stopping only to pee at a rest stop somewhere in Bumfuck, NV (it's the county seat of Bumfuck County).


The big GSA gets thirsty at sustained 90mph so we stopped for gas in Battle Mountain and topped off our tanks again when we got to Elko. Fresh Tusk 2Track knobbies only gave the faintest of freeway front end wobble at those speeds and they withstood the mid 90s heat incredibly well. From Elko, we rode north on Hwy 225 for approximately 40 miles of 2 lane gently winding roads through ranchland before exiting right onto N. Fork Charleston Road, which is dirt all the way into Jarbridge. This is the last time my bike will be clean for a bit.


The dirt ride into Jarbridge is quite pretty. You gradually gain elevation and are rewarding with some pretty sweeping views.


Monte let his drone out for a breath of fresh air...


Continuing on, we got to the prettiest part of the ride, which of course is the part where I DIDN'T stop for pictures! We started seeing Aspen groves and as we got to the top of the pass, we all of a suddenly found ourselves in a lush alpine forest much more suited for the Rockies than somewhere in Nevada. The final stretch into Jarbridge, you do a long descent off the pass into a canyon, which is where you'll find the bustling metropolis of Jarbridge with its 17 full-time residents waiting for you.



We stopped at the Outdoor Inn for cold beer and burgers and chatted with a couple of dudes from LA who were wrapping up the NVBDR and continuing on to the ID BDR, which coincidentally starts in Jarbridge. It was 616 miles to Jarbridge from my house and it was getting dark so we camped right outside of town along the Jarbridge River. Since it was such a pleasant evening, we left the rain flies off our tents...

 

[stratslingr77]

It was around 5am, I was sound asleep when I felt a drop of water hit my face...then another...followed by several more. Monte got up to pee and grabbed our rain flies and hastily draped them over our respective tents but at this point, I was now awake (and had to pee as well). We both said "fuck it, might as well make coffee." From there, we decided to just pack up and hit the road early. We could stop for breakfast in Twin Falls.

Here, we're departing downtown Jarbridge in rush hour traffic.


Leaving Jarbridge, you follow the aptly named Jarbridge River through a canyon heading north into Idaho and continuing through ranch and farm country into Twin Falls. It was a very pretty ride on a nice, cool morning dodging the occasional rain sprinkle.

(I totally obeyed that 20mph speed limit)


At some point before Twin Falls, I saw cautionary signs advising of an upcoming 5mph speed limit. "WTF? I'd better slow down!" Next thing I know, I'm rounding a bend and crossing a VERY narrow Salmon Falls Dam! (Those black things on the pavement are Mormon Crickets, BTW)


Next is Twin Falls and a very hearty breakfast before a long slab into Island Park to catch the start of the MT BDR.

 

[stratslingr77]

@Provincial_sweater09 since you asked about gear in that other thread, here's my loadout for this trip anticipating a wide range of temperatures from the low 50s to the high 90s and prepared for rain.

The bike:
2019 BMW R1250 GS Adventure
Tires: Tusk 2Track Front/Rear set to 34 psi/38 psi (road) or 24 psi/28 psi (off-road)
Lights: Ruby Moto R4
Hard Protection: Black Dog Cycle Works skid plate and cylinder guards with crash bar reinforcements and Barkbuster VPS
Navigation: Thork Racing T865 tablet running DMD2 software
Luggage: Mosko Moto Backcountry 35 panniers, Scout 30 duffel, Gnat handlebar bag, Apecat harness (worn)

Riding gear:
Helmet: Arai XD-5
Eye protection: Alpinestars OTG goggles or prescription Oakley sunglasses
Jacket: Klim Marrakesh
Pants: Mosko Moto Woodsman IR
Boots: Sidi Crossfire 3 TA
Base Layers: Merino wool
Gloves: Rev'it Cayenne 2 (worn) and Klim Adventure GTX (packed with rain gear)
Sedici cooling vest (packed in rear duffel when not worn)

Left Pannier:
Big Agnes Mica Basin camp chair
Big Agnes Copper Spur tent
Nemo Disco 15 sleeping bag
Nemo Tensor pad
SAE pump, 19" inner tube, Motion Pro Beadbreaker Pro tire levers (packed in forward MOLLE pouch)
Green Chile Z-Drag (packed in rear "Aux Pox")

Right Pannier
Jetboil stove
Assorted backpacking meals
MSR Dromedary 2L bladder (packed in forward MOLLE pouch)
Rain layers: Mosko Moto Deluge rain jacket and Rev'it rain pants (packed in "Aux Pox")
Clean clothes and toiletries
Mosko Moto Ectotherm heated jacket

Rear Duffel:
Bear spray (attached to Scout 30 Duffel beavertail)
REI 12'x12' tarp with an expanding pole (never used this, but wanted it in case we were caught out in nasty weather)
Estra cargo straps
Electronics pack (charging cables, power pack, jump pack, etc)
Camp shoes

Apecat harness:
3L water bladder
Garmin InReach Mini 2 (w/helicopter insurance)
First Aid kit (Israeli bandage, tourniquet, trauma shears, a few other odds and ends)
Water Filter
Toilet paper
Snacks
Engduro Multi-tool
Petzl headlamp
baseball cap

I feel like I've got my kit pretty dialed at this point but I did take note to add extra TORX bolts to my toolkit and if I had to do it over again, I think I would've worn a different jacket. I'm still kicking myself for losing my Klim Dakar jacket on the WA BDR last year--that likely would've been my go-to for this trip if I still had it. I really ought to replace it. The Marrakesh flows some air but not like a mesh jacket and it doesn't have vents. So it lets in a draft when it's chilly and I didn't love it on the hot days. But the Marrakesh is a great jacket for around here on most days.

 

[budman]

Damn... 3 things to immediately say "Damn" about.

1. Jarbridge commuter traffic. Damn..!!! -- Lanes splitting legal there?
2. Mormon Crickets - Damn!!!!!! Reminds me a bit of Peach Tree and the big hairy beasts there at times!!
3. Kit.. Damn!!!!

Carry on!! Please.

 

[stratslingr77]

OK, back to the BDR...we got to Island Park in the early afternoon and set out on the route immediately with a goal of completing Section 1 and arriving in Virginia City before dark.

The route rewards with amazing scenery almost immediately.


But don't get lulled into a false sense of security too soon--there was a deep sandy section lasting a few miles around 20 miles into the route. Big BMWs and sand aren't the greatest bedfellows...


This happened a couple or three times before I made it through the sand and started a rocky climb up into the Gravelly Range where you spend the next several hours above 9,000'.

Just look at this place! Pics don't begin to tell the tale...



As you can see, the sky is getting dark. It was when we stopped for this selfie that we realized we'd better stop messing around--those clouds behind us were dropping rain and we saw a few lightning bolts. Being on an exposed ridgetop at 9,500' wasn't ideal. I hustled into my rain jacket and we proceeded very prudently along the route, hoping to outrun the storm, while also keeping a keen eye out for grizzlies, which are known to populate the Gravellys. The BDR organization even went so far as to drop a waypoint on their GPX track warning riders not to camp in a certain spot in this area due to grizzlies.


Needless to say, we didn't outrun the storm. As we got wet, I started to wonder how much of a window we had before the dirt road went from "fine" to "hero dirt" to "slick mud". The answer is roughly 20-30 minutes. But we managed to descend out of the Gravelly Range without incident other than being wet. The route takes you on a maze of dirt roads through a residential neighborhood, ensuring maximum dirt all the way into Virginia City. The last four miles proved challenging for us as we encountered several EXTREMELY slick mud spots.

Here, my bike swapped ends without warning and I just barely got stopped before going completely off the road. Even this proved to be a handful...enter the Green Chile Z-Drag to save my bacon! The road looks innocuous enough in the picture, but it was so slick, we struggled just to walk on it.


Monte had his own run-in with the mud just a few yards further down the road but we ultimately made it into Virginia City before dark and in time for dinner. We got a cabin at a KOA campground just outside of town and took advantage of hot showers and an opportunity to dry out our gear.

 

[stratslingr77]

Damn... 3 things to immediately say "Damn" about.

1. Jarbridge commuter traffic. Damn..!!! -- Lanes splitting legal there?
2. Mormon Crickets - Damn!!!!!! Reminds me a bit of Peach Tree and the big hairy beasts there at times!!
3. Kit.. Damn!!!!

Carry on!! Please.

I did a run to the Austin, NV area a couple of years ago where the Mormon crickets were so bad, NVDOT had their snowplows out scraping the guts off the highways....at least they don't fly!

 

[bikewanker]

Experienced the crickets on NV 722 a couple years ago without traction control.722

 

[needles]

@stratslingr77 - are you still out on the road? Curious how the smoke is up there in MT!

 

[Provincial_sweater09]

this is a m a z i n g... and looks like major endeavor! The gear list is sick too. Looking forward to next installments

 

[stratslingr77]

Experienced the crickets on NV 722 a couple years ago without traction control.722

722 is a fun little detour off 50! And Middlegate Station isn't to be missed.

@stratslingr77 - are you still out on the road? Curious how the smoke is up there in MT!

Nope, I'm back home. There was no smoke in MT while I was there.

...and a couple of shower thoughts after posting yesterday:

I think it was that night at the KOA campground when I saw that the BDR organization posted an alternate route for Section 1 bypassing the sand altogether as well as the rocky climb up to Gravelly Range Road. The new route gets you right to Gravelly Range. Probably for the best as I'm sure that sandy section will only get worse as the summer wears on and more overland rigs and bikes pass through. And on that rocky climb, I remember seeing an abandoned KLR on the side of the trail. It turned out the rider broke his leg and had to get airlifted out. There was a cut open Forma Adventure boot on top of his bike.

 

[stratslingr77]

Day 3 of the trip, we woke up to clear, sunny skies in Virginia City and the start of Section 2 (after cappuccinos and pastries in town, of course). There's an Alt. Harder section right out of town that loops up into the mountains on a dirt road that gets narrow, rutted, and rocky for approximately 200 yards or so. It actually wasn't too big a deal to get through on the big GS because that bike is such a tractor. But also, the dirt was at peak traction after drying out from yesterday's rain. Soon enough, that Alt. Harder section brought us back down to the town of Alder where the BDR GPX track told us there was gas. The map was wrong--no gas. We've both been limiting our gas fill-ups to just what we need to finish the section with a little extra. The big GSA holds 7.9 Gallons of gas...at 6 lbs a gallon, that starts to add up, so our fill-ups were typically only two gallons or so to keep the weight down. Now that we're in Alder with no gas, we had to come up with another plan. We got back on the route and made a short detour to Twin Bridges where we added a few more gallons.

After gassing up, we continued along the route, which took us through several scenic agricultural valleys before crossing the Big Hole River.

That water looked really inviting!

A little ways down the trail, we came across a couple of dudes from Alberta stuck with a dead battery but we were able to give them a jump start at get them on their way.


A little ways further, and we came upon the Canyon Creek Charcoal kilns.


The trail kept climbing beyond the charcoal kilns and we soon found ourselves on an alpine plateau. Views for days around here!


After dropping down off the plateau, we took the second Alt. Harder Section of the day, the highlight of which was a rather large water crossing. Except there was a go-around with a much smaller crossing so we did that instead and didn't bother taking pictures. After that Alt. Harder section, we stopped at the Highland City site, pulled out our camp chairs, and had lunch trailside.



While we were stopped here, a couple of overland rigs pulled up. They were two families from Pullman, WA out enjoying the BDR together--the drivers both ride motos too, but wives and kids were along for this ride. We ended up hop-scotching with them the rest of the afternoon. Towards the end of the day, one of the rigs suffered a broken shock mount...driver said he had welding kit on board and was good to go, so we pressed on a few more miles to the Whitehouse Campground where we set up shop for the evening, closing out the day with rinsing off in the Boulder River.



Our overland buddies with the broken shock mount rolled into camp about an hour later and got busy grinding and welding that shock mount into submission. Hard core!

 

[Provincial_sweater09]

Nice. Lots of new addition to the vocabulary for me - Mormon Crickets and Overland rigs (what are they?)

 

[stratslingr77]

Nice. Lots of new addition to the vocabulary for me - Mormon Crickets and Overland rigs (what are they?)

Mormon cricket:


Overland Rig

 

[berth]

what were some of the rough spots on the BDR?

 

[stratslingr77]

what were some of the rough spots on the BDR?

Up to this point, that short sandy segment about 20 miles into Section 1 and I guess that rocky climb up to Gravelly Range Road but there's a bypass for both of those now. The two Alt. Harder sections in Section 2 can be skipped if the rider chooses, but I didn't find either of them that bad.

 

[stratslingr77]

Day 4.

In camp last night, Monte helped me adjust my rear brake pedal to take some of the slop out. It had gotten to the point I could depress the pedal in its entirety before just barely getting some rear brake. When we were done, we spun the rear wheel to ensure no brake drag.

File that away for a moment...

We woke up to another beautiful sunny morning although the weather app suggested rain showers were in store today. We rode into the nearby town of Basin for coffee and the waitress talked us into fresh pie a la mode (how can you refuse that???). Today we'd ride Section 3 and take the Alt. harder section up to the Occidental Plateau.

About 20 minutes into Section 3, we approached the abandoned Comet Mine. I stopped to take this picture:




Walking back to my bike, I saw that my rear brake was smoking. WTF??? I bent down to take a closer look and the brake started emitting greenish flames. "OH FUCK!.....FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK" That was my mantra while I tried to suffocate the flames with my gloved hand. Flames came out of the brake bleed port and from around the brake pads. Obviously, my gloves weren't enough to stop the flames so I grabbed my 2L bladder from the front of my right pannier and thoroughly hosed down my entire rear brake and swingarm area, extinguishing the blaze.

Ok...helmet off, take a knee, and breathe for a minute...


Monte, who had ridden ahead when I stopped for the picture, came back and we set about figuring out what happened. A similar thing happened to him on his GS when we rode the Lost Coast BDR-X a few months ago. We think the culprit was a $20 Chineseum heat shield we had both installed to deflect heat coming off the catalytic converter.


That heat shield was pretty effective at deflecting the heat away from my right leg, but the rear master cylinder is behind there. Given Monte and I were both running the same heat shield and we each had similar problems with our rear brakes locking up, I can only assume the extra heat on the master cylinder caused the brake fluid to boil and expand, causing the brake pads to drag on the rotor. Remember how I adjusted the brake pedal last night to adjust for slop? I replaced the rear brake pads about 5k miles ago and they shouldn't have been that worn out that quickly, further adding to my theory.

So now what?

We rode a few minutes back down the trail towards the highway and got cell service. The nearest motorcycle shops were in Butte and Helena, each less than an hour away, but none of them would touch a BMW. The nearest BMW dealer was in Missoula, 2.5 hours away. So I called them and asked them to order me a new rear brake caliper and rotor (and pads, of course). They took my VIN over the phone and confirmed what I needed and suggested I bring the bike in as soon as prudently possible so they could get a look at it. I assumed the clock had started on getting my parts in by tomorrow (it was about 10am currently). We debated continuing Section 3 since it gets us closer to Missoula but on a hunch, I said I'd rather ride straight to the shop, make face-to-face contact so they know I'm for real and not some nameless person over the phone.

So we got on I-15 into Butte, riding through a hailstorm and temperatures that dropped down into the low 50s and then caught I-90 into Missoula, 10 minutes later we were riding in 90 degrees and were dried off in a matter of minutes. We rolled into Big Sky BMW after lunch and got checked in. Of course, they wanted to do a full inspection of my bike. We hadn't eaten yet so we walked next door to a Mexican restaurant for lunch while they looked at my bike. WHen we got back, the service tech stated I needed over $2k in parts. Mind you, the caliper alone is over $700 but they also wanted to replace EVERYTHING else even though all I actually needed was a new caliper, rotor, and pads. Oh, and they hadn't ordered those parts yet...and it was way too late to get those parts in overnight (from Stockton LOL) so they'd have to put in the order tomorrow in order for the parts to show up on Friday (today was Wednesday). After much back and forth and the dealer manager getting involved, we settled on them JUST ordering the parts I asked for and letting me take my bike back until Friday afternoon, when I'd return with the bike to (hopefully) a box of parts, and they'd replace my rear brake. Fuck me...

By now, it's pushing 6pm...a few years ago, I had ridden through the area and remembered Rock Creek Road being pretty awesome with camping options along the river, so we rode about 30 minutes up that road until we found a campground and settled in for the night. We'd figure out tomorrow, tomorrow.

 

[stratslingr77]

Day 5: Fuck it, we ball!

No point sitting around Missoula wasting an entire day waiting for parts, my front brakes still work. So we got up early and backtracked 2.5 hours of slab back to where we pulled off the route yesterday and made attempt #2 at Section 3, Alt. Harder segment. We figured we'd have enough time between now (Thursday morning) to ride Sections 3, 4 and part of 5 before pulling off at Arlee, which is only 35 minutes from Missoula. We could do that and still get back to Big Sky BMW in time for my rear brake install. In the meantime, I'd just take it a little easier on the downhills.

So back on the route, here we are at Comet Mine about a quarter mile up the road from where I flamed out yesterday. This time, no flames.



The trail gains some elevation along some power lines and tops out at this knoll with pretty expansive views.


Coming down off the knoll, I got a head start on Monte and waiting for him around a bend at the bottom....and waited...and waited...WTF? I rode back up to the top of the knoll, but no Monte. Well, fuck...maybe we somehow missed each other. I'll just keep going to the Occidental Plateau and wait for him there. Sure enough, he arrived about 10 minutes after I did; he'd turned the wrong way at the bottom of the knoll and went left on the main road instead of right.

Anyway, here we are at the Occidental Plateau


After the plateau, we rode several miles of flowy two-track through the woods before getting to a traffic jam. Two Jeeps and five bikes were stopped at the bottom of a short but steep off-camber, rocky climb with a right turn. Bike #1, a DR650 (I think) was already at the top; bike #2 (F750 GS) was having trouble. There was something going on mechanically with that bike and with its fuelling--its rider couldn't get the bike up the hill so Monte rode it up for him. Next were a father on an 890 with his two teenage boys, each on 390s. I bumped into that crew at the top of Occidental earlier and they were really cool. The boys had been racing dirt bikes since they were little and they railed those 390s up that climb making it look easy. Dad followed suit on his 890...then Monte was able to get his big GS up. Then it was my turn. I spent the last 30 minutes watching everyone else tackle this climb and mind-fucked myself. I dropped my bike on the run up to the hill. Reset, and made another attempt and dropped my bike AGAIN, this time tweaking my ankle a little. Goddammit! And thank God for good boots! The two Jeep guys from Idaho are looking at me (and scorning my CA plates). Meanwhile, Monte and the two teenagers walked back down the hill to see if the could help. I finally pulled my head out of my ass and got the bike moving uphill, but lost traction. After much huffing and puffing, and plenty of shoving, I finally hauled the big girl up to the top of that climb. It never occurred to me in the moment to take pictures.

@berth you asked about tough spots on this BDR? Definitely this. Although I can't help but think if it had just been Monte and I and we hit that climb without ever stopping and (me, at least) getting mindfucked, it probably would've been ok. Oh, and at some point, Monte's right pannier became a casualty.


Not sure how that happened, but he obviously tagged something pretty hard because Mosko Moto panniers are pretty robust. Anyway, the Alt. Harder section eventually rejoined the main route and we still had another 40 miles to Lincoln. It was past lunchtime now and our estimation of knocking out Sections 3 and 4 today were starting to evaporate in the face of reality. All good, let's keep riding.

We crossed the CDT on a high ridgeline and actually found cell service so I placed a call to my brother from another mother who works at Mosko Moto to see what we could do about Monte's pannier. To give you an idea about Mosko's customer service, here's the solution we worked out trailside in the middle of Montana: Mosko had a set of panniers someone had returned but was still in great shape. For $200, they would overnight the bags to Big Sky BMW and they'd be waiting for us when we got in tomorrow to get my brake fixed. On top of that, the replacement bags are the latest version--Monte's bags are probably 5 years old.

With that sorted, we continued to work our way into Lincoln. The main route was pretty and not very demanding. I'm an aviation geek so when I saw this old Huey in this pasture, I couldn't resist stopping for a picture.



More idyllic scenery on the run into Lincoln...


...and one last side quest before pulling into town for gas and a steak dinner: the Granite Butte Lookout was only a few miles off the main route.


It was late afternoon when we finally pulled into Lincoln and we were tired. Add steak and a couple rounds of beer, and we were done. There's a Forest Service campground about eight miles out of town along the route, and that was home for the night.

 

[Provincial_sweater09]

This part certainly lived up to "A" in ADV category for sure. Rad pictures and the wry humor in your writing makes it a fun read.

 

[MtnRider]

Fantastic write up, details and photos. I know that overthinking hillclimb struggle well. UGH

 

[stratslingr77]

Day 6 (Friday): So we closed out yesterday with a camp spot about 8 miles outside of Lincolns--that's 8 miles into a short 72 mile Section 4. I have a 2:30 appointment in Missoula to get my rear brake replaced. The plan is to finish Section 4 into Seeley Lake and ride Section 5, pulling off at Arlee for a short 35 mile paved run into Missoula. Section 4 crosses Huckleberry Pass and then traverses a few wide agricultural valleys before entering Seeley Lake.


We stopped for coffee in Seeley Lake and then set off on Section 5. About 30 minutes into Section 5, Monte is riding ahead of me...coming around a bend in the trail, my eye catches on a small rectangular shape that gave off a brief metallic glint as I rode past. "WTF was that??" I thought, stopping the bike to investigate. Lo and behold, it was a BMW key FOB. That's either Monte's FOB or someone else is having a real bad day. I picked it up figuring it was Monte's, in which case he'd be stopped a few miles up the road stressing about it. If it was someone else's, I figured I'd drop it off at Big Sky BMW and post up on the MTBDR Facebook page and ADVRider in hopes the owner would see it.

I spent the next 15 minutes catching up to Monte and mentally going through different ways I could mess with him to play this out (assuming the FOB was, in fact, his) but when I finally caught up to him, he looked so distraught, I didn't have the heart to mess with him. He practically melted into tears when I pulled up next to him with FOB in hand, asking "Did you lose something?" We took a few minutes to appreciate the sheer dumb luck that had to line up for me to glance in that section of trail at that exact time, to notice a key FOB laying in the middle of a gravel road while riding through at 35-ish mph. That could've been a LONG day!

We continued into Arlee and peeled off to Missoula without further incident. In the meantime, medical things were developing back home that necessitated me breaking off early and heading back (those medical things are being handled and are going to be ok). I discussed my predicament with Monte over lunch in Missoula. It's right at 1000 miles home--I could do a Saddle Sore 1k and get my Iron Butt certification...Monte decided he'd pull off the route and ride home with me instead of continuing on solo, but he didn't want to do a Saddle Sore, so we plotted a 2-day route home from Missoula and made plans to leave early the next morning.