I was a Boy Scout, Troop 285. One of two Eagle Scouts in our small group of youngsters, I learned to love camping. I also love to ride. I should have been a cowboy, but my granddad sold my horse before that thought ever got the bit in its teeth. So, I bought a motorcycle instead. I never chased cattle, but I rode the range…still do, every chance I get. My bedroll consists of a North Face Blue Kazoo sleeping bag and a Big Agnes Seedhouse SL2 tent. My steed is a BMW R1200GS Adventure. Motel Six might as well save a few kilowatts and turn out the light. I’ll be somewhere under the stars, thank you.

The Rawhyde Adventure Ranch, deep in the heart of the Angeles National Forest north of Castaic, California, has become BMW’s west coast training center and host to the 2010 GS Trophy qualifier, “The Adventure Rider’s Challenge.” The event was held there at the end of April and first of May. I rode out with Adventure Rider Magazine’s publisher, James Pratt, primitive camping in some of the west’s magnificently remote but motor-accessible places.

Many times we find ourselves bound by urgency, flying down the highway, bent on making it to our destination in time to have a well planned bit of fun and then return home to the lawn, jobs and other obligations, a predictable experience when we attempt to schedule every moment. Not this time. Adventure, I have heard it said, is what happens when plans go awry. Sans any plans then, it’s all an adventure, right? Our only obligation was to make it to the Rawhyde Ranch in time to compete, six days travel away. Plenty of time to ride a motorcycle less than 2,000 miles. We barely made it with all our wanderings!

We burned the six days out to California and I continued my rambling, rolling explorations another three weeks and 5,000 miles after the competition before returning home. I will attempt to share more of that story later, but suffice it to say that we were successful at the Challenge and I will be representing the United States in the GS Trophy competition in Africa this November. As I prepare for the event, I am grateful to have a Backwoods store in my hometown of Norman, Oklahoma. It was a “fur piece” to north Oklahoma City back in the dust bowl days before they put in a store a mile from my house! Next week I will load my gear on my bike and head to the Great Northwest to meet my team mates for the trophy and ride the Oregon Back Country Discovery Route (OBDR), and to attend BMW’s National Rally in Redmond, Oregon. The OBDR, a 750-mile, mostly dirt trail from California to Washington, will serve as a training run. We will camp along the way, enjoying the outdoors and learning something about working together as a team.

Learn more about the Adventure Rider’s Challenge and the GS Trophy completion by checking out this link. Dragoo in center of opening slide and on red R1200GS, black and white shirt, gray helmet.

And more about the GS Trophy here:

About Bill Dragoo: Bill Dragoo takes to riding big motorcycles in the rough like a fish takes to water. Bill and his wife, Susan, of Norman, Oklahoma, are writing a book, “Ultimate Dual Sport Rides of North America.” Bill just finished a 7000-mile journey through the western United States, where he went to compete and to meet with contributors. Over the last three years Bill has competed in the Rawhyde Adventure Rider’s Challenge near Los Angeles, California, an amateur skills competition for dual sport motorcycles of 650cc and above. He has scored two first-place podium spots and a second during his three attempts at the ARC. Bill’s first success in 2008 caught the eye of BMW Motorrad of North America and put him in the running for a world class, dream come true event. BMW’s German parent company sponsors “The GS Trophy” every two years. Based on the popular “Camel Trophy” of years past, the GS Trophy showcases the R1200GS and F800GS instead of Land Rovers. Conditions are, otherwise, much the same.

In 2008 the contest was held in Tunisia, North Africa. Bill was one of six finalists, but missed the final cut in competition at BMW’s east coast training facility at Spartanburg, South Carolina. This year his second-place finish on Day One of the Adventure Rider’s Challenge earned him a place among the Top 20, who would compete the second day for one of the top three positions on the GS Trophy team. The 2010 GS Trophy will have teams from 14 countries taking on the terrain of South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique.

“Solidarity: Mutual agreement and support; harmony of interests and responsibilities among individuals in a group, especially as manifested in unanimous support and collective action for something.”

I began going on the Real Chicks Hike in Omaha about a year and a half ago. I started by thinking it would simply be nice to have other people to enjoy the outdoors with.  I never would have guessed that the Real Chicks would become my best friends and biggest supporters. 

You see, even though the Backwoods event is the Real Chicks Hike, hiking has very little to do with being a real chick.  Going on a hike is your ticket into the most empowering community I have ever witnessed.  Whatever your personal dream might be, the Real Chicks are going to give you the confidence and support to make it a reality.

For example, one member has wanted to climb Kilimanjaro all her life. You can find her hitting the local trails with other Real Chicks in preparation for her climb next month. A group of women decided they wanted to do a triathlon.  Did the fact that several of them can’t swim stop them? Heck no!  Swim lessons have commenced and plans are made to race the Omaha triathlon this fall. I am a kayak polo player (think hockey in a kayak) and my goal was to make the US team that would participate in the 2010 Kayak Polo World Championships.  The chicks not only helped me train for try-outs but also encouraged me along the way. Now that I am on the team, they are organizing my fundraising for me!

It is not only in athletic pursuits that the Real Chicks support each other. After being laid off from my job, I happened to meet a woman in my field on a Real Chick Hike.  We exchanged phone numbers and she insisted I give her a call to set up an interview at her office.  I just accepted the job!

A key piece in developing the Real Chicks into more than just a hiking group was their participation in the Backwoods Adventures Custom Trip to Colorado. A group of 8 women flew out to the mountains to spend the weekend hiking, cross country skiing, snowshoeing and taking in nature.  It was on this trip that we really got to know each other and became committed to supporting each other. The theme for our trip quickly became “Solidarity.”  It was a commitment that no one would be left behind; if one fell while skiing, we all went down. We insisted on an attitude of “give it a try- it’s okay if you aren’t a pro.”After Colorado we don’t just belong to the Real Chicks, we define ourselves as Real Chicks.

Not a day goes by that I don’t have some sort of communication with this group. As a result of participating in the Real Chicks Hike, I’ve been invited to join in on other hikes, 5K runs, mountain and road bike rides, adventure races, canoe races, and kayak polo games; not to mention endless coffee, lunch, and dinner plans. There is something for everyone.

Thanks to everyone at Backwoods for the opportunity to develop such great friendships. I hope that if you are in Omaha and love the outdoors you will join the Real Chicks on our next hike on June 19th.  

Marijo Bosiljevac works as an electrical designer in Omaha, NE.  She provides kayaking instruction for Nebraska Kayak Polo and is in training for competition at the ICF Canoe Polo World Championships held in Milan, Italy in September.

Alright you story tellers and adventure seekers – it’s a new month which means it’s time for you to submit your best “You Had to Be There” story. Almost every day, we hear great adventures from our friends, fans and customers, and we want you to share these stories with us (and each other) on “you had to be there,” our story sharing website.

During the month of May, we ‘re looking for your ultimate travel story. Get busy composing your best voyage memoir – be it a trip across the world or just in your own backyard.

Need some ideas to spark your creativity? Remember the time Bob watched the earth’s ice sheets shift while racing in the North Pole?  Or maybe you can relate with Sus’ experience that left her improvising to find shelter when her trail turned into a river during an ascent from the mountain top?    

We want to hear you successes, trials, and downright “You Had to Be There” moments for our May contest. The winner for best story will win a $300 prize! The top 5 finalists will have their stories published here . Don’t forget that there will be a grand prize at the end of the year for the #1 story and the winner will win a prize package valued at $1,000!

For story guidelines and more details, check out the “About YHTBT” section

The winner of our April “you had to be there” story is from Joe Grant in Omaha, NE. Joe faced tough competition with lots of great stories like the ones from finalists Carl Vieregger, Diane Bedell, Monica Wormington and Micah McGuire. Congrats Joe – you are now eligible for the $1,000 You Had to Be There grand prize. Check out the about page to post your stories:

NO HELP NEEDED
by Joe Grant

I entered a 10K fun run while living in England. This fun run just happens to be in the middle of winter and there were adult beverages available to participants “to warm the cockles”– of course the race was sponsored by a local pub. Before showing up to the race I ate a high protein bar, figuring the protein would help heat my body during the race. The temp outside was a bit below freezing and the course wound through the countryside…farmers fields etc.

After socializing and having a couple of pints, participants were called to the starting line and off we went into the even colder, rolling snow covered hills of beautiful England. About halfway into the race I was separated from the leaders and pretty much bringing up the rear feeling the effects of the British lager and that awful protein bar gurgling in my gut. The gurgling soon turned to the feeling of not trusting your body to pass gas while running in frigid temperatures and I soon stopped behind a snow bank (in the countryside – well off the race course) to partake in a “number two”. I was crouched behind the snow bank tending to the business at hand when to my surprise I heard a sound. I peeked up from behind the snow bank and there stood two very proper British women and they politely asked me if I needed help – YHTBT.

How many times have you returned from a day hike, a night on the town with friends, a weekend camping trip or a long vacation, and when someone asks you how it was, you start with a sigh or a laugh and say, “You had to be there!.” Of course, that quip summarizes the entire experience, but you inevitably launch into a detailed story about your latest adventure. Somehow, recapping our latest trip – whether it’s downtown or on the other side of the world– makes the excitement, relaxation, belly laughs and even the perils come to life, and we get to enjoy that experience all over again.

Well BACKWOODS fans, now’s your chance to relive and most importantly, TELL your favorite story … or four! This year, we are launching, you had to be there, a monthly contest where our BACKWOODS friends and customers can tell their favorite stories. Each month, we will give away a $300 prize for the winning story and a $1,000 grand prize at the end of the year.

So start thinking about your favorite stories and get writing. April’s theme is trail running. Did you find a new trail, a new product or just have a great day out running the trails? Tell us all about it by clicking here. Who knows a $300 prize pack and the joy of reliving that experience may be just a click away.

Here is a fun note we received from some Backwooders in Leavenworth, KS…

Dear Backwoods –

My husband recieved his birthday “Halo”  backpack from Osprey and we used it when we were hiking in the snow Christmas evening.  When we came home he hung it up… (see picture)  He said it is a woodsman’s Christmas stocking.  :-)
I hope it makes you smile.
Still hiking,
Tim and Rebecca Calhoun
Leavenworth, KS

Tim's Stocking was hung with care!

Thanks Tim and Rebecca!! It definitely made us smile!