Bend lies in the shadow of the Cascade Mountain Range and sits on the edge of the Deschutes River. She's quaint. She has a huge food scene, roasts amazing coffee, brews delicious beer, hosts live music on the river every week, and offers incredible hiking, biking and fly fishing within inches of her city center.

We're Leading a new revolution in Cuba! Backroads is the first active travel company with an official license to operate tours legally in Cuba – and we're the only US company to offer biking as part of our in-depth exploration of this fascinating and often misunderstood island nation. Our Trip Expert, an avid hiker and biker, has spent most of the past three decades living and working in Cuba. The inside knowledge she's gained while crisscrossing the island has allowed us to create a truly one-of-a-kind trip.

This year I had the honor of attending my first 100th birthday party. Actually, my Great Uncle Mike is the only 100-year-old I've ever met. But age is only half of this story... Uncle Mike's 100th birthday party was a bike ride! 100 years of age is a crazy thing to wrap your head around. But can you imagine being 100 and balancing on a bike, managing traffic, flying down hills?!

Provence rhymes with vacances ("vacations" in French). When I was a child, my family was renting every summer a mas (Provençal farm) in the Luberon. So when I came back to Provence years later with the mission of designing a new trip for Backroads, all my childhood memories came back to me!

It's the second winter that I'm spending in Copenhagen, the city that also happens to be the destination of Backroads' Stockholm to Copenhagen cycling voyage. Up here in the North, the winter days are short, sunrise is late and counting the hours to sunset does not require all fingers of both hands. Sometimes it seems as if the cold is not only freezing the lakes and ponds in the countless parks and city gardens, but it is also freezing time. The hands of the watch slow their pace, as if they want to save energy for the long awaited summer, when suddenly music festivals, foodie fairs and street galleries pop up at every corner as if they were tulips and Copenhagen was not a city, but a large, fertile field. While summer is the perfect time to explore Copenhagen's art and food scene, the slow winter is well-suited to chat up the locals and engage in some philosophizing, especially when a few sun rays manage to break through the cloudy sky.

What is the Backroads Experience? It’s the feeling of your body in motion, with the wind in your face and excitement as your experience unfolds. By bike or on foot, you explore hidden corners, meet locals and immerse yourself in the life of a region while traveling in the company of our expert leaders, the best in adventure travel. Since 1979 we’ve been exploring new places, dreaming up new adventures, and we never stop searching for the best, most inspiring ways to experience the world. We invite you to come and feel alive and engaged on your next adventure.

Back in 1996, I was tasked with a dream research assignment at Backroads. The mission, which I gladly accepted, was to create an all-new luxury hiking itinerary in Italy’s prized Dolomite region. Stunning mountain peaks, fairy-tale valleys, an abundance of cozy accommodations and, best of all, the comfort of Italian cuisine made me an instant fan of this compact alpine playground.

It is easy to express the beauty of Alaska in words but seemingly difficult to articulate the impression this place leaves on the soul. Some say, once you visit Alaska you will never be the same. Not always such a dramatic life change but often times a subtle shift. It is the encounter with the wild that often times brings you closer to your true self.

Let Backroads be your guide on the Amalfi Coast, where the views are stunning, the seafood is fresh, and the fragrant aromas of lemon trees and wildflowers may send your senses into full alert. We’ll wind our way through pastel-colored villages, along coastal trails, and on to golden pebble beaches. The friendly faces, fresh seafood, legendary Italian cuisine, and enchanting activities make this hiking tour one for the memory books.

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.