We will provide you with a comprehensive packing list, but generally you’ll need the following:

Guides with wilderness first aid certifications and satellite communications

Delicious meals, except your first lunch and last dinner, provided by Overland Eats

Routes designed by our guides with first hand knowledge

50L of overnight gear will be shuttled from camp to camp

Sweet side trips like short hikes, slot canyons, overlooks, swims and aliens.  Just kidding on the aliens part…so far.  You like adventures, right?

We will transport ONE waterproof duffle bag no larger than 50 liters with your camping gear and camp clothes from camp to camp.  You will need to carry your riding gear, water, lunch, snacks, tubes/special tools, sunscreen, personal items, etc.

You can probably get by with a small backpack and tail pack.  However, if you choose to bring panniers, ONLY soft-sided panniers are allowed.  No hard-sided panniers will be permitted on any trip.  There are absolutely no exceptions to this policy.  (Hard panniers break legs in technical terrain.  Yes, we’ve had this happen.  No, you won’t change our mind.)

We have a discounted arrangement with Colorado Motorcycle Adventures for bike rental.  Reach out to us for more details.  Sorry, we do not have riding or camping gear to rent.

We recommend a minimum of 160 miles of fuel range.  Most bikes get between 35 and 55 miles per gallon.  Please make sure you have a good idea of your fuel range for your particular bike.  Reach out to us if you have questions and we can probably help you figure it out.  If you think you’ll be cutting it close we recommend you carry a RotopaX or an extra fuel bottle/bag.

Our guides will carry tools for most trailside repairs.  However, you must bring your own tubes and the required wrenches to remove both your front and rear wheel for flat repair.  Reach out to us if you need help figuring out what this means.  You also need to bring your own chain lube, if you plan to lube during the trip.  Note: While we recommend you carry one front and one rear tube, some folks choose to only carry ONE tube.  If you choose to only carry one tube, please make sure it is the larger tube.  For example, if you have an 18” rear and a 21” front wheel, please be sure to at least bring a 21” tube.  You cannot stretch an 18” tube to fit on a 21” rim, but a 21” tube will get you by on a smaller rim.  Please, just believe us on this one.

These trips are a mix of smooth dirt roads, more technical “jeep” roads, and pavement.  Most folks ride a 600-1,200 cc “adventure” bike, but we’ve seen folks be successful on smaller, “adventurized” four-stroke dirt bikes.  Note that these smaller bikes generally don’t have the needed fuel range, have no wind protection for the road, and can be extremely loud and buzzy on the pavement.  Please make sure you have knobby tires (see Tire FAQ, below). As part of the reservation process we will talk to you about your bike.

We would love to make each trip 100% dirt, but that is not truly feasible. These are dirt-oriented trips with pavement connections only where necessary.  Most of our trips are 60-80% dirt by mileage, and closer to 90-95% dirt by saddle time. And the pavement we do ride is generally some amazing mountain passes and iconic roads of the West, like the Million Dollar Hwy of Southwest Colorado or the famous Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.

We recommend a 60/40, 70/30, or 80/20 dirt/road tire.  You will need knobby tires.  The more street oriented your tires, the more difficulty you will have.  Today’s knobby adventure tires are surprisingly good on the pavement.  Pavement oriented “adventure-touring” tires are surprisingly terrible off-road.  Please reach out with questions.  DOT-approved tires are required.

Our guides carry tools for most trailside repairs but we can’t fix everything.  In 13 years of doing these trips we’ve only ever had to send two bikes out of the backcountry on trailers.  That said, your bike is your responsibility.  We will do everything we can reasonably do to get you out, but at the end of the day you might have to call a tow truck, at your expense.  We highly recommend having your local shop do a thorough check over on your bike before your trip.

Before you sign up for a trip we will have an in-depth conversation with you about skills and experience.  That said, you should generally be comfortable riding at 60+ mph on pavement, 45+ mph on a dirt road, riding through rough rocks and sand, riding “shelf” type roads with potentially significant exposure, and riding through small (up to 12” deep) streams.  If this sounds awesome, but you’re not quite there yet, maybe consider taking a motorcycle training class with our sister company, Redder Moto.  Ryan is an awesome instructor and can get you ready for one of our backcountry trips.  Note: the Red Rocks Country trip has one significant river crossing that could be up to two feet deep.  We will help get everyone across but there is always the potential for a drowned bike.

The awesome folks at Overland Eats will supply breakfast, sack lunch, dinner, snacks, and water each day (except first day’s breakfast/lunch and last day’s dinner).  You will need to carry your water, lunch, and snacks for each day.

We will have a portable toilet and a privacy tent at camp each night/morning.  We will also have a small trowel, TP, and DudeWipes for mid-day constitutionals.  We will stop for regular pee breaks along the trail.  Note: there is often not much “privacy” at these roadside pee breaks.

We ride/camp rain, snow, or shine.  Unless it is truly horrible, then we will figure out some alternatives. Please plan your gear accordingly.

We camp in the mountains/desert and it can easily get chilly at night.  A warm sleeping bag, insulated sleeping pad, hat, gloves, and a puffy are recommended.  We will have campfires when possible but some areas have burn restrictions or a lack of fuel.

We will provide .GPX “track” (not “route”) files one week prior to the trip.  We spend a lot of time putting these trips together, so please don’t share these files with others.  

You do not need to carry your own GPS.  You are more than welcome to use your own GPS to follow along, but your guides will do all the navigating and make sure the group sticks together.

Even if you’re the fastest guy around and have the GPS tracks, you’ll need to stay with the group.

No, you cannot invite a buddy to join us at camp or follow along our route.

Our guides carry two-way radios for communicating with each other, and satellite text/SAR capability (e.g. Garmin inReach) for emergencies.  If you want to communicate with your friends/family back home, you are responsible for bringing appropriate communication gear (A Garmin InReach or Spot type communicator works well.  The new iPhone or T-Mobile satellite capability is unreliable in the mountains/canyons.).  In addition, some folks like to utilize rider-to-rider bluetooth radios (like Sena or Cardo).  Feel free to bring these for use with your friends, but our guides will not be able to help you set them up or troubleshoot them.  Please make sure they are installed in your helmet prior to the trip.

Small musical instruments (like a harmonica or a travel guitar that fits in your camping duffle) are welcomed.  No speakers/radios are allowed at camp.

Sorry, but we don’t have the personnel to do airport pickups.  If you need help transporting a bike, we might be able to help depending on where the bike is located.

We don’t supply or advocate the use of drugs or alcohol on these trips.  While a beer around the campfire is nice, trying to ride hungover is not.  A small flask of your favorite Bourbon is probably okay, but these are not “party” trips.  Also, please recognize that other folks on the trip don’t want to smell your cigarette/vape/pot smoke.

We want to make sure we’re all on the same page so please call/email us to make a reservation.  We’ll talk through expectations, riding experience, motorcycles, gear, etc.

We require a 50% non-refundable deposit when you sign up and the remaining 50% four weeks prior to the trip.  If you cancel within 1-3 weeks of the trip you will forfeit 75% of the total trip cost.  Cancellations within a week of the trip will forfeit 100% of the trip cost.  If we can fill your spot we’ll try to cut you a deal on a refund (at our discretion).