ORBDR 2023

During breakfast we got warned about drinking the water on trail, there is a lot of cattle in the area so the water is not very clean. The owner also told us stories about; people getting lost, running out of gas, barely making it to the junction and break into tears because they haven’t seen any sign of hope for the past 2 hours. That one hit home a bit, but you know different mindsets. I am on adventure mindset. I don’t welcome dangerous situations, but I am in the headspace to deal with them accordingly. Having to camp on the side of the road because we ran out of gas is not ideal, but I believe we were prepared enough to be ok.

The first day was rough; sand, rocks, dust, heat, locked gates, detours, bypasses, navigation, mosquitos, we got it all. I found the sand to be manageable, but I’m one of the few people who like sand on big bikes - my friend, not so much. It was hot the whole time, we were going through water pretty quick. We were able to find a natural spring about 3/4 of the way. We debated calling it a day and camping on trail or to keep pushing and stay at a state park. We should have called it a day. The park was filled with mosquitos from head to toe and the rest of the day did not get any easier. There was a section of the route that was not opened yet so we had to find a detour. It took us a couple of tries and a few cross-references between Gaia and on-x, but we were able to find a path. Turns out it was a cattle path full of loose rocks. At this point we’re both thinking that we should have called it a day and camped near the spring on the nice flat grass area, but we are here now and this is what we are doing. We pushed through and made it to our mosquito filled campsite. Sometimes you make the right call and sometimes you don’t . That is why we are not fortune tellers.

The rest of the sections went fairly well. We did not attempt any of the expert sections, but we did complete all of the standard sections. Unfortunately it has been a few years since this adventure and I did not document the sections very well, so I’ll talk about the things that stick out.

Obsidian rocks: These things are big, gnarly and sharp. I am very surprised we did not encounter a flat on this trip. Again-luck on our side.

Ruts in sand: I can hang with sand, but deep ruts covered by sand are another thing. The main issue is that in order to maneuver in sand you have to carry some speed, but hitting ruts at speed is not good. I know I went down once or twice, but I had too many close calls, specially for being in such a remote location.

Small towns: On these trips you will go through a lot of small towns, some are awesome and some are not, but the one thing they all have in common is that the people are always great. Christmas Valley stands out as one of the worst meals on these journeys-only second to the city of Detroit OR where I ended barfing my brains out in very hot, very small honey bucket while wearing all of my moto gear. If the BBQ joint gives you a whole chicken when you only paid for half, it’s for a reason, don’t eat it. On the other hand, Sisters coffee in Sisters OR is  

Snacks: Clams in a can! Not my thing, I’m more of a sardine man myself. Having healthy snacks on trail helps out so much. You are basically exercising most of the day, your body needs food with actual nutrients. Junk food will get you through the day, but if you want to stay focused and strong you should also have some healthy snacks to keep you going.