First BDR trip alone and scared 🤪

Your first “necessary tool” should be a riding partner. The risks are too great.

If your traveling alone, I would put one of These at the very top of your list. Better to be safe than sorry.
Got the same one, and don’t leave home without it. No subscription.

Brother, I feel your pain - I always travel alone way out in the boonies and I don't have a cell phone, so I cannot get into a situation from which I cannot extricate myself (or the bike). Knowing that you're coming back from an injury, I would echo the advice of klr4evr and suggest you find a compadre for this trip. Personally, I just accept that I may die on any particular trip and prepare the best I can...

That said, I think that the anxiety you feel is well warranted but I feel that you are too smart to worry about something that might not happen; preparing for those unpleasant situations, however, is an entirely different thing. For instance, don't worry about flats - just be prepared to fix them when they happen. Being broken down in the boonies can really suck, but you're not going to be on Mars, so there will eventually be other folks around; I have broken down a few times, but have been lucky enough to find helpful people along the way.

Adventure beckons!

Just let your people know when, where you’re traveling and when to expect hearing from you.
I ride alone 99% of the time.
Have fun , relax and enjoy!

Six8five said:

Just let your people know when, where you’re traveling and when to expect hearing from you.
I ride alone 99% of the time.
Have fun , relax and enjoy!

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That too - there's nothing more important than filing flight plans and checking in, and you can always keep us updated on your progress/adventure.

KLR-Mule said:

If your traveling alone, I would put one of These at the very top of your list. Better to be safe than sorry.
Got the same one, and don’t leave home without it. No subscription.

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Another choice would be an InReach, 35/year activation, 15/ month while activated (I have the mini bout at a discount and have it activated only during the riding season). Allows to send text messages and uses a reliable satellite network to assure that messages get out.

blaustrom said:

Another choice would be an InReach, 35/year activation, i15/ month while activated (I have the mini bout at a discount and have it activated only during the riding season). Allows to send text messages and uses a reliable satellite network to assure that messages get out.

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Bought one. And bear spray and new tires that will give me tire changing practice before the trip. I am primarily worried about bike breakdown. I have done blue loctite on many but not all the bolts. Of course when i change tires i will loctite the pinch bolts.

When is the big trip?

July 19

Ive ridden all.over the world alone and in the boonies. You know where i almost died? Oklahoma on the TAT. Bike problems and mud and heat exhaustion amd my body started to shut down. I was losing functiom and couldnt walk out. God sent me an oil rig worker who was the only one who get get out there. And he saved me.

I had the spot gen 3 and was about to push the emergency button. I think those are important to have as at least my family will find the body if i crash hard. But, now i travel with the spot 2 way communicator so i can text pretty much anyplace in the world.

That peace of mind is worth it to me. It also has 100k of rescue insurance with it. But buying a local fishing license also typically provides that coverage.

Have a great ride and go for it. We regret the stuff we dont do in life, not the stuff we do.

If you’ve done proper maintenance in preparing to go, and you ride as smart as you can, you should be fine. Maybe an extra cable unless you’ve inspected and lubed them recently. A good/new battery. A way to charge devices without the bike running (power cell ). Just a few suggestions. Having someone know the where’s and when’s of your trip, and being able to check in is important. Read and watch what others take, and prepare as best you can, and roll with it. Learning what to/not to take is half of the adventure😉. Look forward to a trip report.

Think i will drill seat bolt holes in fairing. Its dumb to have to carry 8 and 10mm to get to battery. Bike is a 2016 but only 1500 miles on it. I should be good. And men do not stop playing cause they get old. We get old when we stop playing.

Carpediem said:

Think i will drill seat bolt holes in fairing. Its dumb to have to carry 8 and 10mm to get to battery. Bike is a 2016 but only 1500 miles on it. I should be good. And men do not stop playing cause they get old. We get old when we stop playing.

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It’s not the age, it’s the mileage🤣

Embrace the solo. Your on your schedule, your pace. Think before you leap and don't let bravado push you down a trail that your not comfortable with. Definitely a satellite communicator, Tools (Bike and tires), spare tubes plenty of water. You can't carry everything but if your not carrying camping gear you have a lot more room. Personally, camping gives me an added sense of security in that If the bike goes bad, I have shelter for a night

Does a person need special insurance in case of backcountry rescue in a national forest? Just in case they do something stupid and break a leg.lol Does the forest or park service charge for rescue? My last ambulance ride was about a mile and cost 1300. Of course they did give me pain meds. It was 400 out of pocket after insurance.

Ditto on the water. My last trip was on the KAT (remote but usually not far from a country store), and several times we got down a trail we had to really work our way out of, and it was hot. And several times we realized, oh crap, we forgot to get some water at the last fuel stop. We never ran out, but we just took for granted that we could get it at the next stop. We did carry life straws, but that’s not convenient.

Altitude - I just wanted to make sure that you take this into your thinking, and give yourself adequate time to acclimate.

My hearty, healthy 17 year old niece was visiting Denver a few years ago; after being here at 5k feet for a few weeks, I'd thought she was acclimated enough to go into the hills, so we camped for the night around 9200 feet, and the next day hiked up to about 12K feet. She got down to the car OK, but was very sick (like vomit in my car-sick) after that, and was totally out of it for the rest of the day. (Other than that, we had a fine time!)

Don't forget to take altitude into your planning, as getting sick when you're alone in the boonies really sucks.

Carpediem said:

July 19

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Hey there! When do you think you will be up ABQ way?
I will be getting back into the country around the 14th and will have some time off before going back to work. I too have also been wanting to run the NMBDR but wanted to do it with a riding buddy.
Just cus. . .
Well. . .
You know. . .

I normally do everything on my own (getting friends to commit and then follow through can be tough) but being remote for extended periods of time can be unnerving. I would love to take a trip with a fellow KLR enthusiast.

May I recommend a JUDGE or similar revolver. ABQ is bad AF and sometimes that spreads beyond its city limits.