Behind the Scenes

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.

I write from the Provence leader house, amid a low murmur of convivial kitchen banter and stovetop smells. I've brought a bottle of wine to contribute to this homemade chicken soup dinner, so my hands are free from cooking tasks. And so I sit and I think... as another season winds down.

Recently, professional downhill mountain biker Finn Iles visited our Backroads office and wowed us all as we watched a short film highlighting his incredible talent. In 2015 at the age of 15, Finn was the youngest downhill mountain bike athlete to join a World Cup professional race team.

Mixed abilities, mixed interests, mixed goals, or maybe mixed inclinations. Whatever label we put on it, this is one of the key quality factors that differentiate Backroads: choice. You choose where you want to go, who you want to travel with, what activities you want to enjoy – and for how long or how far. The leaders are not there to decide your day, but to see what you want to do and help make it happen.

One of the best parts of a Backroads trip is the connection with a place and its locals, and one of the best parts of being a Backroads leader is creating our own connections and facilitating them for our guests. At the beginning of my first season leading trips in Italy, I was unsure about my ability to provide this connection.

Why is it that when some people are brought together, they end up falling in love? Is it similar personalities or shared interests that connect them? Perhaps it's purely chemical. Or maybe it's something more dramatic, like conquering a feat together...

Awaken to the smell of mountains–a mix of cold morning air, dew-laden grass and the faint, earthy smell of livestock. Tuck into your slippers and shuffle across the chilled tile floor, opening the shutters to look out onto a valley still encased in early-morning fog.

Since April, I’ve been in five countries, met hundreds of new people, and slept on more than 50 different mattresses. A full season of leading with Backroads is a whirlwind of new places and faces. After seven plus months full of nonstop travel, what do leaders do when it all comes to an end?

For the 35th anniversary of Backroads, we decided it was about time to get me out talking to the press, something I hadn’t done in ages. Everyone wanted to talk about e-bikes, electric assist bikes. All the editors and writers I met challenged my decision to offer them on trip.