Sometimes the best parts of an adventure aren't on the route at all.

Welcome to GO WEST — Part II: Detours Worth Taking via the New Mexico BDR. After arriving in Albuquerque for ADV training, we begin making our way south through New Mexico, riding portions of the New Mexico Backcountry Discovery Route while slowly working our way toward the Big Bend BDR-X in Texas.

Along the way, plans change. Routes change. Expectations change. Deep sand forces us to turn around in San Lorenzo Canyon. Technical terrain pushes us far beyond our comfort zones in Cibola National Forest. We discover a beautifully preserved ghost town in Chloride. We soak in remote hot springs. We follow the scenic North Star Road into the Gila region. And we arrive at White Sands National Park just as the evening light begins to transform the dunes.

This episode features:
🏍️ New Mexico BDR Section 4
🏍️ New Mexico BDR Section 2
🌲 Cibola National Forest riding
🌲 Gila National Forest and Gila Hot Springs
🛣️ North Star Road
👻 Chloride Ghost Town
♨️ Riverbend Hot Springs & Gila Hot Springs
🏕️ Moto camping in New Mexico
🏜️ White Sands National Park
☕ Black Bear Coffee in Cloudcroft
🌄 Cloudcroft, New Mexico
🧭 Planning and riding a connection between the NMBDR and Big Bend BDR-X

If you're researching the New Mexico BDR, looking for information on Section 2 or Section 4, considering North Star Road, planning a route through Cibola National Forest, visiting Gila, or trying to connect the NMBDR to the Big Bend BDR-X, I hope sharing our experience helps with your own planning. But more importantly, this chapter became a reminder that sometimes the roads we didn't plan to ride end up being the ones we remember most.