A year into my dual-sport / adventure riding experiment, I’ve done quite a bit of gravel, some forest service roads, and a bit of single track. Six of us – Terry, Matt, Brian, Guy, Grady, and me – wanted to take on the Mid Atlantic Backcountry Discovery Route (MABDR). Check out my Covid Time Warp Update for more information regarding the BDR organization.

The MABDR, considered the easiest BDR, is a 1050-mile route beginning in Damascus, VA and ending at the NY state line in Lawrenceville, PA. Between the time required to complete the route, plus the need to travel back home from NY, we decided to tackle sections 1 – 3, as the middle sections are mostly paved until you reach the PA Wilds, along with some bits of the Trans-America Trail.

I planned the routes (pretty simple this time, as the BDR routes are provided free of charge), and Stephanie secured accommodations for the trip. Due to time constraints, we opted to trailer the bikes to Penmerryl Farm in Greenville, VA, where our friends Blair and Laura (formerly of Eurosport Asheville) have a unique property that caters to both motorcycle and equestrian enthusiasts. We’d then ride MABDR sections 3 – 1, ending up in Damascus before parting ways to head home. We settled on the last week of October, hoping for good weather!

As we prepared for the trip – deciding who took which tools, practicing changing a tire roadside, packing and re-packing panniers (at least I did, as it was my first overnight trip on a small bike), Guy and Grady had to cancel. This left four riders, all on KTM 690 Enduro Rs.