Adventure Bike Rider

Classic State-side cruising on routes like the 66 is one way to see the US by bike, but a new series of backcountry trail maps is looking to 'adventurise' the way riders explore America.

Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDR) is a new series of maps produced by American company Butler Motorcycle Maps in conjunction with Touratech USA. The series kicked off with the release of its Washington Back-Country Discovery Route (WABDR) route in early 2010 and the latest addition to the series is The Utah Backcountry Discovery Route (UTBDR), an 871 mile off-road route from Southern Utah to the Utah-Idaho border, which has just been released.

"The intent of the entire BDR project is to provide detailed information to the motorcycle and 4x4 community that makes backcountry travel more accessible." says Justin Bradshaw of Butler Motorcycle Maps. "More and more motorcyclists are ditching the pavement in search of adventure off-road, our maps help them feel more comfortable about that transition.”

Both maps in the BDR series are water-proof and specifically designed to cater to ABRs with the inclusion of vital information like elevation profiles, fuel stops, camping locations, and QR codes (Quick Response code is a type of bar code used with Android applications like smart phones and tablet computers) showing video from each section.

The maps cost $14.95 (£9.60) and are available at http://www.butlermaps.com.

The Backcountry Discover Routes also have a dedicated website where users can download free GPS tracks, watch video, and connect with other riders http://www.backcountrydiscoveryroutes.com.