Backroads
company on 1 show · 15 statements across 1 episodes · said 30 times in 4 episodes since 2025
Mentions by year, every show
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How I Built This 30
2026 3 mentions in 3 episodes 1 per episode
2025 27 mentions in 1 episode
every mention on every show, scene by scene, with the transcript →
15 statements about Backroads, every show
Backroads launched non-electric bicycle trips following guest feedback
“In response to guest feedback, they started offering bike trips only for people who want to do it the old-fashioned way, with no electricity and just legs.”
Hale: Starting an active travel company as a side hustle is unfeasible
“And people that start this as a hobby and keep their day job, I can't even imagine. Oh, good luck.”
Hale: Backroads avoids or drops destinations compromised by overtourism
“We do our best to avoid those kinds of places. Sometimes we're able to go in the morning and miss something that negative aspect of a place. And sometimes we just don't go there anymore.”
Hale: Backroads will operate more than 5,000 active travel trips this year
“We'll do about a little over 5000 trips this year.”
Hale: Backroads suffered a 43% drop in business during the 2008 crisis
“We had a 43% drop in business that year.”
Hale: Backroads customer acquisition is one-third repeat, referral, and new
“We have a very high repeat and referral rate That's also about one third, repeat, referral, and new business.”
Hale: Early international Backroads tours likely ignored local regulations
“My guess is they probably did have rules and we probably weren't adhering to them.”
Hale: Trip leaders finished the summer season despite a vehicle rollover crash
“But they Bill and Kathy went on to lead the next two trips. I went back to get another van to meet them, and we finished it was a pretty rigorous, because we had to keep moving the seats in the van in and out, and they were heavy, and we had to move big, heavy…”
Backroads collects deposits 90 days early and pays hotels post-trip
“Our guests first of all are paying their deposit Maybe 90 days in advance or more on average. We are paying the hotel. Sometimes the balance due is paid after we have already finished the trip.”
Hale: Backroads remained family-owned without outside investors for 46 years
“Didn't have any investors, never, it's remained a hundred percent closely held family business for 46 years”
Hale: Backroads was burglarized in San Leandro, losing half its bikes
“The bikes were in our warehouse in San Leandro. We got burglarized, and they stole half of our bikes.”
Hale worked night shifts chipping cheese from pots to fund early ads
“Well, they didn't cost very much, and I worked on the side at night at Fondue Fred on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley. I chipped the cheese out of fondue pots.”
Hale: Active travel tour guests absolutely do not want to pitch tents
“In the very beginning, I believe we felt like it was a good thing to have people participate. I think that could not have been more ill-founded personally, but so they did actually Pitch their tent. And anyway, it didn't take us very long to realize that they …”
Hale: I rode a 5,000-mile western US solo loop to scout Backroads routes
“I thought the, you know, going around the loop in the western United States, I did about a 5000 mile loop. I started in San Francisco, took BART to the end of the line, and got out of BART, and rode down the coast, and Went counterclockwise around the country,…”