Enlarge Photo

Founding a bike tour company was literally a dream come true for Backroads president and Berkeley native Tom Hale. One night in March 1979, he awoke with a midnight inspiration and began taking notes. “By breakfast-time, there was no way in hell that anybody could have talked me out of it,” Hale says. By the fall, the ambitious twenty six-year old was leading small tours throughout the American West, an area he had covered over the summer in a 5,000 mile solo bike trip. He was also manning the desks, repairing the bikes and working nights at a Berkeley restaurant called Fondue Fred’s in order to support the company through its infant stages.

Today, Backroads is one of the world’s largest active trip outfitters, with more than 400 trip leaders located throughout the world and 1,700 departures annually. Indagare recently caught up with (a still very busy) Hale.

What are some special experiences you can expect on a Backroads trip?

We provide a unique experience for our guests on every trip, regardless of the activity or destination, thanks to engaging leaders, local experts, and nearly three decades of active travel experience. For example, there will be no waiting in line to see the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza, recently named one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Instead, our guests will arrive early to beat the busloads of tourists coming from Cancun and proceed through a back entrance for a private tour of the grounds. Our Bhutan trip is enhanced by Namgay Tshering, a local whose world travels have given him a unique perspective on his country. The appreciation he has for his homeland brings Bhutan to life in a manner you’d be hard pressed to duplicate on your own—to say nothing of the dozens of doors that only an individual like Namgay can open for us.

Which trips would you recommend for serious foodies and oenophiles?

Our Piedmont Biking Trip would be a top pick. You start by biking in the heart of Moscato country, known for its sweet white sparkling (spumante) wine. The village’s 17th-century castle houses the Regional Museum of Moscato and a restaurant, where you can stop for lunch. You’ll also explore the wine towns of Asti, Barbaresco, Alba and Barolo, as well as Santo Stefano Belbo, where you’ll dine at Relais San Maurizio, a former monastery, that overlooks a beautiful forested park filled with olive trees, spruces, larches and beeches and has a Michelin -starred restaurant located in the wine cellar. Other trips for food and wine lovers include: Tuscany Cooking and Walking, Loire Valley Biking, Provence Biking and Walking, Wine Country Biking (Northern California), Bordeaux Biking and Burgundy Biking.

What is surprising is how the quality of food has really improved in the last 10 years. Even in places like the U.S. national parks. You can now get a great bottle of wine and a good meal in here-to-fore unlikely places.

What destinations are included in Backroads family trip roster? What sorts of child-friendly activities can parents expect?

We offer family trips throughout the world, including multisport trips to Bryce/Grand Canyon/Zion, San Juan Islands, Yellowstone/Tetons, Alaska, Switzerland, Italy’s Dolomites, Mexico’s Yucatan, Costa Rica, Ecuador and the Canadian Rockies. More distant possibilities include Ecuador, Peru, Australia, Vietnam and South Africa. Family biking trips include such destinations as Ireland, Brittany/Normandy, Denmark, France’s Loire Valley and even Thailand. Every family trip provides kid-friendly activities from a toboggan ride in Switzerland to an up-close-and-personal encounter with some loveable Alaskan huskies at a sled dog kennel on the Kenai Peninsula.

What trips are best for those seeking a little bit of romance?

Where isn’t this possible? But since you asked, France’s Loire Valley is the perfect backdrop for romance with its magnificent châteaux and vineyards. Our guests will enjoy a private tour of a wine cave, where grapes have been harvested since the first century. The final evening is reserved for a meal in Le Choiseul’s Michelin-starred restaurant. Other romantic destinations include: Napa and Sonoma, Tuscany, Burgundy, Italy’s Cinque Terre and the Italian Lakes region.

You still hold your high school’s record in the two mile (8:57.2). Unfortunately, we are not all so athletically inclined. What advice would you give to travelers interested in taking a relatively light (but still physically active) trip?

Consider starting with a multisport trip, which combines biking, hiking and other regionally appropriate activities like rafting or kayaking. The variety of activities will help you ease into active travel. For example, our Costa Rica multisport trips offer biking on remote roads that pass through small towns, where locals greet you from their porches with a friendly “hola.” There are guided hikes with naturalists who point out wildlife such as the white-faced monkey or colorful quetzal. Make sure to give surfing a try when you reach your beachfront accommodations. And if you’re traveling companion wants to take off and hike or bike to heart’s content, possibilities abound. Conversely, we have several bike trips in flat places like Denmark and Netherlands or easy walking trips such as Ireland and Yosemite National Park.

Other easygoing trips are in: Switzerland; Martha’s Vineyard; Loire Valley; Prince Edward Island; Ireland, and South Carolina/Georgia.

Which trips are best for really intrepid adventure-seekers or hard-core athletes like you?

Backroads’ Bryce/Grand Canyon/Zion biking trip is a nine-day tour of three of the most scenic national parks in the American Southwest. This trip will leave you breathless, literally, with the potential to log 378 miles by bike and another twenty-five miles via hiking and is the kind of epic adventure that can change your life. Other challenging bike trips are in: New Zealand; Australia; Canadian Rockies; New Mexico; Hawaii; Spain/Portugal and Glacier National Park. For more extreme hiking, head to the Dolomites, Norway, Mont Blanc (France and Switzerland), the Canadian Rockies, Peru and Glacier National Park

What are some really unique custom adventures Backroads has arranged?

Recently, a veteran Backroads traveler treated twenty friends to a ten-day trip in France to celebrate his sixtieth birthday. After crossing the Atlantic via private jet, the guests enjoyed sensational wine and food in Bordeaux and history and culture in Dordogne—both areas that Backroads has visited for years.

In terms of scenic tours, are there any standouts?

Our Patagonia walking trip visits one of the world’s most spellbinding landscapes, featuring glaciers, fjords and majestic mountains. We hike to Lake Azul in Los Glaciares National Park to view a stunning lake fed by a hanging glacier, and then make our way to Chile’s hiking mecca of Torres del Paine National Park. Equally stunning are our trips in Norway, New Zealand, Cinque Terra, Peru, Alaska, the Amalfi Coast, Glacier National Park, Ireland, Croatia and Canadian Rockies.

Do you lead any of the trips yourself?

I go on three or four Backroads trips each year as well as our annual staff trip. Last year 120 Backroads leaders and staff rode and hiked from Budapest to Krakow. This year 160 of us will travel to Northern Thailand and explore this amazing region by bike and by foot – a fitting celebration for a company whose culture embodies the active lifestyle. While I’m not leading these trips, I am able to really able to see things from a guest perspective. And we are all about the guests’ perspective.

What is Backroads’ “commitment to responsible travel”? Do you support local charities and causes in the regions you visit?

Responsible travel encompasses both green and philanthropic initiatives. On every trip, we calculate the fuel used by our van support and purchase “off-sets” to make each carbon-neutral. In terms of philanthropy, virtually all of our trips include donations to local museums, natural history centers, national park associations and indigenous peoples organizations including a local children’s bike club in Baja as well as local schools and community centers. Over the past few years we have donated more than $1 million to numerous worthwhile causes, many from the regions we visit on our trips. To see a full listing of the North American causes we support, visit www.backroads.com. Along the way, we keep guests abreast of the many ways they can give back on their own as well. For instance, in Bhutan we include a note in our travel Planners letting guests know that if they’d like to leave behind any “gently used” clothing it is very much appreciated. In Ollantaytambo, Peru, we facilitate collections from our travelers when touring the Divino Maestro, a local elementary school, or visiting the Sacred Valley’s indigenous weaving communities. Hopefully, these trips will also inspire people as they did for my thirteen-year old daughter Avery, who collected 150 pairs of shoes this summer and distributed them to needy children in Peru. (The name of her project is Step by Step.)

Which trip is the most popular?

The popularity of our trips varies with trends. Right now, Costa Rica is a hot spot and our departures over the winter and spring holidays book well in advance. Our popular Dalmatian Coast trip features a private yacht that sails guests from island to island in the Adriatic Sea and offers a sense of adventure that guests rave about. Then there are our perennially favorite regions of France, Italy, the Canadian Rockies, Yellowstone/Tetons and California Wine Country.

What are some of your upcoming trips?

In 2008, Backroads’ schedule will include 12 new “Insider Trips” designed for travelers who want the same enriching experiences we already offer, but at a slower pace. Instead of biking and hiking, there will be more cultural immersion and more time to soak in the ambience of the amazing regions where we travel.

We will also expand our active travel options with a biking trip to northwest Argentina, a biking trip from Venice through the northeast corner of Italy and on into Slovenia, and our first lodge-to-lodge hike in Peru, trekking from Cusco to Machu Picchu.