Behind the Scenes

When I first decided more than 40 years ago that I was going to start an active travel company leading bike tours around the country, a lot of people thought I was crazy. But I knew that something special happens when you combine physical activity with exploring new and inspiring places.

Continuing with our series of videos specially made to bring a bit of the Backroads travel world right to your home, we asked former Trip Leader (and now Regional Manager) Pam Fritz to take us on a virtual trip to the land of "Pura Vida": Costa Rica!

In the spirit of traveling virtually from our homes, we asked Trip Leader Tommaso Spinelli to take us to his home country of Italy and one of its most famous treasures: the Cinque Terre.

We asked Trip Leader Elle Lichter to take us on a virtual trip to France’s world-famous Loire Valley to share her insights and behind-the-scenes info from this beautiful corner of Europe, and satisfy just a bit of your wanderlust!

There's no doubt about it—these are difficult times. As I write this, I'm at my home in the Bay Area with my wife Liz and the kids. Like everyone else in California and so many others worldwide, we are sheltering in place and learning to adapt to new realities that would have seemed hard to believe just a short time ago.

The moment we stepped out of the vans, we were absolutely swarmed with smiling, laughing and shouting children. Dani, one of the Backroads Trip Leaders, originally from Spain and one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met, swam through the sea of children to get to me and said, “Hey man, you’ve got to fly the drone, the kids will LOVE it.”

Looking through the window of the bus that was driving me from the airport through town, I understood this trip was going to be very different. I could see many people walking the dusty streets of the capital in oppressive heat, some of them carrying jugs of water on their head. For the first time of my life, I was in Africa.

As Backroads leaders, we wear many hats in a given day: concierge, mechanic, translator, chauffeur, navigator, motivator… the list is infinite. One of my favorites to don, however, has to be that of “chef,” because that’s when we get to perform the magic that results in the famous Backroads picnic lunch!

If the power of an engine can be measured by how fast it goes from 0 to 60, then a relationship with a Backroads co-leader runs at lightning speed. Meeting your co-leaders isn’t like meeting your average stranger. That first handshake says, “We are now friends, family, coworkers, confidants and sounding boards, and I have your back no matter what.” This is the best friend you just met.

It’s pretty wild that last year, between the end of April and the first week of December, I didn’t sleep in the same bed for more than three consecutive nights. Somehow seven months flew by since that spring day when I packed up my temporary home in Marin County, California, as did my time in about ten states, four countries and who knows how many cities. And at the end of it, I was just weeks away from going to South Africa— my first time in any African country! This year is already just as action-packed.