Leader Profiles

I’m often asked how I found my job leading Backroads trips… Fate. Magic. Luck… Well, perhaps a combination of those things. It’s a unique story that involves a photography exposition, a small community in northern Chile and two random backpackers high in the Chilean mountains. And it’s a story that put me on a path to helping develop a brand new Backroads trip for this coming December in a corner of South American that is easily one of my favorite places in the world.

We're proud to announce that our very own leader Kelsey Tonner has made the short list for the Wanderlust World Guide Award, the only global award for tour leaders and guides. Wanderlust is a British travel magazine that focuses on intelligent and inspirational travel, and Kelsey helps provide just that. We caught up with Kelsey to learn more about him and the award.

"Tourism: Your everyday life is somebody else's adventure." Staša Kraljiĉ uses this quote from international free speech organization Loesje to rationalize her love for working in tourism, which she has done--to some extent--since she was in college. You could easily replace 'tourism' with 'Staša' in this quote, as this Backroads Leader is a fun-loving, globe-trotting polyglot who tirelessly lives life to the fullest.

We at Backroads know bikes. Those of you who travel with us know bikes. We are bike people. We love our world on two wheels. They give us great joy and take us behind the scenes. We speed through the countryside along quiet trails. We feel empowered with the wind in our hair and the strength of our pedals.

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...

My Facebook newsfeed of late is chock-full of photos and status updates from my Backroads colleagues residing in far-flung locations. I see gorgeous sunsets in Costa Rica. The hustle and bustle of city life in India. Tumbling Hawaiian waterfalls and spectacular New Zealand landscapes. Me? I spend my winters living in a boys' dorm in snow-covered Wisconsin. I find this rather humorous. In place of gregarious co-leaders, my building-mates are 120 teenage boys.