Brave Biltong started on a motorcycle.
Not in a kitchen, not as a business plan or scribbled on a whiteboard. It started in 2022, somewhere between Moab and Yellowstone, on a pair of KTM 790 Adventure Rs, with a bag of biltong in a tank bag because it was the only thing that kept without a cooler and didn't turn to paste in the heat. That's the whole origin - just two buddies on bikes dreaming of something different while traversing the most magnificent scenery in the USA.
Last week we finally got to bring Brave to the ADV motorcycle community at the DirtDayz Rally in beautiful New Hampshire and the story came full circle.
The Haul
We hitched up the '65 Streamline, loaded it out of Tyler Hill, and pointed northeast. Six hours and change to North Haverhill, New Hampshire, up through the Catskills, across the river, and into the White Mountains.
A polished aluminum trailer full of dried beef is a slower vehicle than a KTM 790 Adventure R, but that's the tradeoff. On this trip, we swapped the bikes for enough inventory to feed a field full of riders who've been eating gas station granola bars since Tuesday.
Totally worth it.
What is DirtDaze?
For anyone who hasn't been: DirtDaze is an adventure riding rally. Guided rides on real terrain, skills training, demo bikes, and about a thousand people who genuinely love this sport and the community it creates. Riders roll out in the morning, spend the day getting properly dirty, and roll back in the afternoon hungry, dusty, and grinning.
That last part is where Brave comes in.
In the 8 months since starting Brave Biltong, we've vended at farmers markets, street fairs and country fairs, and we're grateful for every one of them. But this was the first event where Brave was truly in it's element - fuel for a hard day on a dirty machine.
And boy, you could tell. There's a particular way a rider looks at a piece of biltong at four in the afternoon after ninety miles of gravel. Nobody needed the pitch. We mostly just said "here" and got out of the way.
The People
Christian Dutcher and Kurt Eisinger at Americade Events put this thing together and then made room for a two-person biltong outfit from Pennsylvania that nobody had heard of yet. That's not nothing. Small brands get told no constantly, usually politely. Getting a yes, and then being treated like we belonged there, is the difference between a vendor spot and a welcome. We can't thank them enough for the support.
Yamaha brought the demo fleet and the energy that comes with it, and were generous with their time and their space all weekend. They weren't alone out there. Suzuki, Royal Enfield, Triumph, and Honda all had bikes to try. There is something slightly unreal about a field where you can ride four manufacturers' adventure bikes before lunch.
The gear side was just as well stocked. Klim, Rev'it, and Leatt were on hand for everyone who arrived and immediately understood they were underdressed. Rigg Gear had the luggage, CruzTools had the one thing you forgot to pack, and between the two of them they probably saved a dozen weekends.
Long Haul Paul Pelland has been riding a million miles to fund multiple sclerosis research, which makes him roughly the most qualified person alive to evaluate adventure food. He gave us his honest opinion and we're sending him more.
Backcountry Discovery Routes were there doing what BDR does: mapping and documenting the routes that make adventure riding in this country possible, and then handing them to everyone for free. If you've ridden a BDR, you've benefited from work someone else did and didn't charge you for. Support them.
And the volunteers and guides. Dozens of them. The people running registration, sweeping the routes, standing at intersections in the sun, dragging bikes out of ruts, pointing riders the right way, and staying cheerful about all of it for five straight days. Thank you for doing what you do!
What We Took Home
A trailer that came home a lot lighter than it went out. A notebook full of names. A short list of things we'd do differently, most of which involve bringing more product.
And confirmation of something we suspected but hadn't tested: these are our people. Adventure riding is where Brave came from, and it turns out it's where Brave makes sense. Not as a novelty snack at a booth, but as the fuel in your tank bag that gets you through day three.
Points of Interest
DirtDaze Rally runs every August. 2026 was the tenth. If you ride and you've been meaning to go, make it happen.
Americade is in Lake George every June, and it is enormous.
Backcountry Discovery Routes is a 501(c)(3). They publish free GPS tracks, interactive maps, and route documentation for every BDR. Their Northeastern route (NEBDR) goes right through our shop in Callicoon, NY. Free to use, funded by people who choose to support it. Consider being one of them.
The Adventure Crown, a new US adventure motorcycle competition series, ran its pilot at DirtDaze this year.
WRADD, the Women Riders of DirtDaze program, is woman-led and built for riders who want to grow skills alongside other women. Worth knowing about if that's you or someone you ride with.
What Was on the Table
If you tried something in North Haverhill and want it again, or you missed us entirely:
- The Purist, 2oz ($10). Grass-fed beef, salt, pepper, coriander, tomato powder, apple cider vinegar. The one that started it.
- Brave Bold, 2oz ($10). Same base, with chipotle smoke behind it.
- The Purist Slab ($35). Eight ounces, uncut, fat cap intact. You slice it how you want it. This is the one for a tank bag.
- Slab + Stash ($45). A slab to carve and a pouch to grab. Purist or Bold.
- Brave Droëwors ($15). Dried sausage, coriander and nutmeg, coarse ground.
- The Brave Bandana ($15). Four colors. Dust is not optional out there.
Thanks DirtDaze, we'll be back. Bigger, better stocked, and next time - we'll bring the bikes...
Ride safe. Be Brave.
A & I
