• A new solo motorcycle adventure on remote roads with scenic backcountry camping, cooking, and the stunning scenery of the American West.
• 53 days and 8,000 miles round-trip from Bisbee, Arizona to Bella Coola, B.C. Canada
• 30 new episodes filmed by Sterling Noren for the Motorcycle Travel Channel on YouTube.
Riding Solo – AZ to BC
About the Motorcycle Travel Channel
Highlights
- Arizona desert landscapes
- California Sierra Nevada Mountains
- Nevada Black Rock Desert
- Washington Olympic Peninsula
- Ferry from Port Angeles, WA to Victoria B.C.
- Vancouver Island including the North Island 1000
- Ferry from Port Hardy B.C. to Bella Coola B.C.
- Cariboo Chilcotin Coast B.C.
- Okanagan B.C.
- The Palouse in Washington State
Sterling Noren
I’m a motorcycle travel filmmaker and content creator for the Motorcycle Travel Channel on YouTube. I’ve been riding BMW GS motorcycles for 25 years and I’ve filmed motorcycle adventures in more than 60 countries. I’m also a founding member of Backcountry Discovery Routes and direct all of the BDR films. I also own and operate The Jonquil, a historic motel in Bisbee, Arizona.
BMW R1200 GS Motorcycle
My 2017 BMW R1200 GS began the trip with 53,000 miles on the odometer and ended with over 61,000 miles. I did not have a single mechanical issue with the motorcycle on the entire trip and I stopped at one BMW dealership along the way for a routine 6,000 mile service and new tires.
The motorcycle is equipped with luggage and protection parts from Touratech-USA.
I developed a custom monopod solution for mounting cameras to the motorcycle for filming.
Solo Adventure Riding
I ride alone on rugged, backcountry dirt roads and scenic paved roads through amazing landscapes, taking time to witness the natural world and film highlights along the way.
Motorcycle Camping
I look for camping locations that are remote, scenic, free and legal with few or no people in the vicinity which helps with the filmmaking because there are less distractions and noise pollution. I also try to find a campsites that are next to water which makes cooking and cleaning my dishes and myself much easier. I think it is important to show people how incredible motorcycle camping can be, but I also want to be realistic and show some of the challenges I face trying to find the perfect campsites.
Motorcycle Cooking
I try to prepare meals that are healthy, interesting and delicious while motorcycle camping in the backcountry. It is not always easy to find the right ingredients along the way. There were times on this trip when I had to resort to a can of soup or a package of noodles for dinner. In the end, however, I think was able to cook several good meals while showing the challenge of doing so.
Motorcycle Filmmaking
I have very high standards when it comes to the filmmaking. I want every one of my episodes to look fantastic but also be very realistic. I work very hard on the cinematography to get amazing motorcycling and camping footage from three different camera perspectives including:
- DJI Mavic Air 2 drone
- Fujifilm XT-4 and XT-3 mirrorless cameras
- GoPro Hero Black helmet cameras
Side Note : The ORBDR Challenge
I took a three-week break in the middle of my solo ride to film the new Oregon Backcountry Discovery Route (ORBDR) which was a challenge.
It was difficult to go from riding alone to being part of team on a larger project, and the ORBDR was a very technical route with a lot of hard riding. I rode the new ORBDR twice, once to scout it and once with the full team for the filming. It took a lot of perseverance and stamina to get back on my motorcycle and continue riding solo and filming every day for the next three weeks to finish the new Riding Solo series.
The ORBDR movie is not part of the new Riding Solo series although I will certainly mention my experience riding and filming this new route and how it affected my solo journey.
Sponsors
Images
Images are copyright © Sterling Noren and not be used without prior permission. Images can be downloaded by clicking on any of the thumbnails below. Higher resolution images are available for press and media. Please contact sterling@norenfilms.com
