As the Magpie Flies

As the Magpie Flies The Adventures of Amanda Zito and her Motorcycles. Get Out and Do the Thing!

Amanda Zito was born and raised in Western Montana and spent her childhood on her family’s ranch.She moved to Portland, Oregon in 2010 to attend the Pacific Northwest College of Art where she earned a BFA in Illustration and finished her Tattoo Apprenticeship. She spends her free time driving as far away from the city as humanly possible and pining for home. She started riding in 2012, she current

ly owns two beautiful motorcycles; Lazarus, a 1980 Suzuki 850gl, and Hephaestus a 2005 Honda Shadow Spirit 750.

09/09/2026

📍The Dempster Highway... Or as far as we got 😅
Even though we got turned around because I caught a cold, and our weather window closed, it was still super cool to get to the Arctic Circle with my brother!

⛺ Check out Moto Camp Nerd - Outdoor Gear for all your camp gear needs!

09/07/2026

📍What to Do in Dawson City, Yukon

🛏️ The Bunkhouse - the most budget friendly lodging in town, rooms are small but clean and functional, each floor has a shared bathroom.

🥃 Sourdough Saloon - the home of the iconic Sourtoe Cocktail, which is almost a Yukon right of passage.

📍Dredge No 4 - The tour of this colossal eight story structure is worth it, the size is almost incomprehensible unless you visit in person. Each chain link tethering the monster is larger than a grown man.

📍Dawson City Museum - if you don’t have time for anything else don’t miss this Museum! So beautiful!

📍Best Viewpoint is on the “Sunnydale Lookout”

Spots to Eat:

🍽️Yukon Spa & Cafe - Vegan Options

🍽️Gold Village Chinese - Casual

🍽️Aurora Inn - More Fine Dining

🍽️Sourdough Joes - Fish and Chips

🍽️River West Bistro - Breakfast and Coffee

🛒 Dawson City General Store - for everything else

09/01/2026

Riding the Stewart Cassiar Highway with waypoints and tracks I made in onX Offroad | Off-Roading Navigation App
This is a route where it is very important to download your maps offline before you start!

Key Points:
▫️Fuel up at every opportunity, starting with the Kitwanga Junction or Watson Lake depending on your starting point.
▫️We got in the habit of taking breaks at every rest stop that had a pit toilet because they're a little spread out.
▫️The Milepost is like the go to manual for this route with mile markers for key points but we couldn't get ours to download offline, so if this sounds handy to you bring the physical copy.
▫️Lodging options are pretty limited, so we recommend having camping gear for this route.
▫️Service is also very very limited if you don't have satellite service or starlink, make sure you have a Garmin InReach or other satellite messenger for emergencies
▫️Very important pieces of gear; Bear Spray, Bug Spray, Rain Gear, an Umbrella was very handy, Bear Vault, Tools and Emergency Equipment, Tire Pump (someone had to borrowed mine because the pump was out at Dease Lake), battery banks.
▫️The road isn't in too rough condition for motorcycles but four wheel vehicles should be cautious of frost heaves and pot holes.


08/26/2026

📍 Barkerville, BC ( Barkerville, BC ) was an iconic stop, I could have spent three days there. Please add this to your Alaska Road Trip!

Ps. Sorry about the congestion, I picked up a cold a couple days ago and I'm still trying to kick it 🤧

08/20/2026

Our First Border Crossing into Canada 🇨🇦

Stay tuned for the rest of our adventures to Alaska!

Big thank you to our hosts
Age of Exploring
Teena
Dario Grasso
❣️

08/18/2026

My brother and I are riding to Alaska!! This is what's in my camping bag for this trip (not pictured are other things like my bearvault, bear spray, Thermacells for the mosquitos but those are in other bags!)

☑️ Exped Vega 2 Tent
☑️ Exped Megamat Ultra Sleeping Mat
☑️ Exped Winterlite Sleeping Bag
☑️ Exped Mega Pillow
☑️ Exped Ultra Pump
☑️ Exped Down Booties
☑️ Mini Rug
☑️ Exped Sit Pad
☑️ GEAR AID Balta Camp Hatchet
☑️ Gear Aid Repair Kit + Extra Patches & Zipper Lubricant
☑️ Wag Bags
☑️ Nomadix Travel Towel

All kept safe in my Wolfman Luggage Duffel

Stay tuned for more Alaska Trip Content coming soon!

08/14/2026

After riding the MTBDR these are our top tips, this just scratched the surface though!

Be sure to check out the new onX Offroad | Off-Roading Navigation App SOS powered by Overwatch X Rescue ! 🛟 It's important to have an emergency plan for backcountry travel BEFORE the emergency happens.


08/13/2026

This is your reminder to wash your gear!

08/12/2026

Our Budget Breakdown for the MTBDR 💰

Expense Tracking App;

Learn more about the Backcountry Discovery Route through ridebdr.com or

08/11/2026

Welp. Not how I thought Section 8 of the MTBDR would go...

I've got about 26 miles of the last section to make up in the future. But my phone kept welcoming me to Canada while we were in Rexford so I think that means I finished in my own way, right? 😅

Really enjoyed Section 8, this part of Montana is really special and I hope more people make the time to spend a little more time up here.

If you'd like to learn more about Backcountry Discovery Routes visit ridebdr.com or Backcountry Discovery Routes

Address

Red Lodge, MT
59068

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