The 390 Adventure Project – Adventure Practice!

Here are some suggestions for racking up some of those precious saddle hours before it’s time to put it all to the test on a long off-road trip.

Off-Highway Vehicle Parks and Trails

This country-wide program is managed through the US Forest Service, and there are currently 41 states with active OHV Programs. These parks are sometimes a part of the State Park systems, so be aware of any restrictions or use permits that you may need to adhere to while using the trails there. Most of these parks will have a map with trail ratings, so do some research before showing up. You can expect the easiest trails, like the route into the park, to be a wide gravel or dirt road with two lane traffic, and any off-shoots onto more technical trails will be clearly marked. A good trick to find easy forest-service routes or “fire-roads” as we call them in California, is to look for “Roads Open to All Vehicles” or “Roads Open to Highway Legal Vehicles Only” on the trail legend, and then find the matching designator on the map.

If you have a modern adventure bike, it is considered highway-legal and you can use it on any Forest Service road that permits motor vehicles. A perk of riding in an OHV area, especially in the active season, is it’s highly likely that you will encounter traffic both oncoming and moving in the same direction as you. Always ride to the right and be aware that riders coming up on you may try to pass you right away. Fairly often, larger OHV areas will have a large flat area for loading or unloading bikes, which is a perfect place to practice drills like braking or tight turns. Here in California, a few of our OHV parks have a designated technical course, a fantastic spot to practice all sorts of technical skills, while still being directly next to either the park entrance or staging area.

Here is another not-so-obvious tip to new adventure riders: Never ride alone! While this article is generally aimed at helping a new off-road rider find spaces to practice, I want to emphasize that if you can’t find someone who will ride with you, don’t try to tackle a new trail or level up by yourself. At minimum, find someone who can shadow you in a vehicle, or is willing to come by and hangout while you practice drills or do an out-and-back on a new dirt road.

Things can get very real, very quickly when riding in the wilderness, so we always suggest carrying some sort of GPS device that can alert someone of your location in an emergency. I personally have a Garmin InReach Mini 2 GPS device, and I make sure it’s on and charged before I even hit a gravel road on my bike.

OnX Offroad

Onx Offroad is a mapping app that you can use to find trails all over the world. While there is a subscription fee, this is an excellent resource for anyone who is planning to travel and ride in a new area, or looking to get more information about the routes in their local areas. There are trail suggestions with detailed descriptions, an in depth rating system with color coded trails, and the ability to save favorite routes or track what you’ve ridden.

I love Onx Offroad in particular because the trail descriptions have all sorts of useful information. It will let you know the total mileage of a trail, the elevation gain, it will include pictures of the trailhead, along with reviews from other riders who have tried it out. It will also let you sort through different settings when searching, filtering by difficulty or total miles. Keep in mind this is also used by ATV, UTV, and 4X4 owners as well, so while an ‘easy’ trail might be true for a Jeep, it may be closer to a ‘moderate’ trail for an adventure bike. If you’re not sure what your area might have as far as off-road trails, Onx Offroad offers a free-trial period, so you can scope it out and see what’s hiding nearby.

Adventure Rallies!

This is one of my absolute favorite places to rack up some seat time as well as test out my moto camping setup. There are dozens of adventure rallies all over the U.S. throughout the year, ranging from large brand-sponsored events like the Touratech Rally series, to smaller local rallies hosted by local riding clubs or even motorcycle dealers. You can find them by brand, like KTM’s Adventure Rider Rally, or by searching the ADV forums. We found that ADVRider.com has a pretty comprehensive list of the remaining events for the 2024 season, so I encourage you to check out what might be in your area.

This year, I attended the Touratech Rally West in Plain, Washington, and while I didn’t technically ride there on an adventure bike, I actually got plenty of seat time on a number of different small-to-mid sized off-road bikes offered by the OEMs in attendance. This rally makes a world of difference for those who are new to off-road riding; your ticket not only gets you access to dozens of motorcycles to test on the trails, it includes maps of the local trails, hosts guided rides for beginners all the way through ‘spirited’ experts, facilitates classes through a number of providers, and entertains you with moto-camp games and technical skills course races.

It’s even easy to find other beginners looking for a ‘less spirited’ ride, with a ‘single riders’ window to meet up with other solo attendees and align yourself with a few that match your riding experience. I’ve turned up to many a rally with less experience than I have now, and have always met the most patient and supportive people to ride with during my time there. I always suggest it for new riders who are looking to gain more confidence off-road. It’s impossible to attend a rally like this and not come away inspired to get out and level up your skills.

There’s an addition to the annual tried-and-true Touratech Rally lineup for 2024: the Toura-Texas Rally hosted by ATX Moto Adventures, just outside of Austin Texas. I attended an ADV training weekend there earlier this year, and have them to thank for a hefty portion of my off-road confidence. The local terrain has everything to offer, so don’t arrive thinking that Texas might be too flat for some seriously incredible adventure riding!

Gravel counts!

For those of us who may be landlocked in a more urban area, devoid of proper off-road trails like those on the west coast, I want to remind you that it doesn’t have to be an OHV trail to count as off-road! Gravel roads, dirt farm lanes, the gravel parking lot for the local county park, are all great ways to get some practice in. Of course, be aware of where your road might lead, and definitely don’t ride through private property, but don’t be afraid to get creative when trying to rack up some of that precious seat time.

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