Part company meeting, part bike tour, part rave, Staff Ride is Backroads’ annual company gathering. Each fall, hundreds of Backroads staff (600+ this year) descend on some corner of the world—India, Croatia, Italy and this year, Valencia, Spain, for a week of cycling, reconnecting and unapologetic joy.
After two days of Quality Summit—meetings focused on dialing in the quality of our trips—this year’s Staff Ride kicked off in Valencia’s iconic Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts, a gleaming, futuristic structure reminiscent of the ribcage of some benevolent prehistoric bird. With its sweeping white curves and sense of forward motion, the building was the perfect setting as Tom and Avery Hale (seven months pregnant and glowing) reflected on the year’s wins and the path ahead for our company.
As the sun rose over Valencia behind them, the moment felt cinematic: a father and daughter addressing a room of 600 people from every corner of the world; all gathered for a week that would be a visceral reminder of the power of travel.
After a short bus ride to our bikes, we rolled up to a scene that nodded to the region’s Moorish heritage and hinted at the surreal week ahead—camels, horses, belly dancers, enough food for an army, and the start of our ride.
Once you clip into your pedals on Day 1, what follows is a riotous blur of beautiful climbs, cold plunges, tearful reunions, deep connections and late-night dance parties that defy the limits of human stamina. On the bike, one minute you’re climbing past ancient stone steeples; the next you’re being overtaken by a pack of sardines (Portugal), a kilted squad streaked in blue face paint (Scotland), or riders with conical Vietnamese hats bobbing on their helmets—costumes worn proudly for Regional Pride Day.
The riding felt carved from a cyclist’s dream—terra-cotta towns perched on hilltops, granite cliffs cut with switchbacks and long stretches of road perfumed with the sweet and slightly salty scent of orange blossoms and dust.
The evenings went from lively to legendary—particularly “Fire Night,” when a two-story beach club dissolved into a whirl of fire themed costumes- gold sequins, red wigs, red feather boas, multiple Guy Fieris and the pent-up affection of a 600-person family reunited.
But beyond the epic parties, the 70-mile rides and the meetings, Staff Ride is so much more than a company gathering. It’s Backroads culture distilled: active, communal, global, supportive, ambitious, creative. It’s a reminder that when you surround yourself with the right people, move your body through the world and allow yourself to step outside your comfort zone—even briefly—you start to see new possibilities for what life can be: wild, connected and joyful.
