WHATCHATHINKIN'

I used to be really good. I used to be what Brian calls a ‘Road Whisperer’. People would compliment me on the wonderful route I had given them. Riders came into our destinations with smiles on their faces, giddy from the day’s adventure. I was happy. I was confident. I was – key word…

There is a saying – ‘use it or lose it’ – and perhaps that applies to my ability to map out a route which begins and ends with pleasure, without a middle section of ‘OH MY F’ING GOD, WHERE THE HELL IS SHE TAKING US?!” Sure, I have also been known to put people on some questionable unpaved paths, perhaps a forest trail or two, but during this past Summer Solstice Rally, the ride I designed from Shippensburg to Staunton fell apart so incredibly and quickly that I was hitting my helmet on the tank in despair over what I was leading our ralliers into.

Yes, most people were pleasant, telling me it was okay, these things happen. There were no incidents (that I knew of, anyway) and all made it to the Blackburn unscathed from rabid dragons or bridge trolls. But that didn’t ease my angst or queasy stomach over my complete FUBAR to a task that is really pretty simple.

Many months ago, when Brian and I decided to put the onus of the routes on our travelling companions, NotSo Happy and Pepe the Monkey, I had no idea that poor Pepe would suffer such a horrific fate because of me. I put together what I thought was a really terrific ride on BaseCamp; checked it half a dozen times to make sure there were no broken lines which indicate unpaved roads and zoomed in on those which were questionable on Google maps to triple check on the surface of the road. I was pretty damn sure that what I was putting forth was acceptable to all riders, especially those who do not want to get on anything without asphalt. Pepe had nothing to fear.

There are several hats I wear for Backroads, Inc. – art department, bookkeeping, travel agent, resident chef and, probably the most questionable, proofreader. I will go over the stories which Brian pens and do my best to find the misspellings, errant periods and/or commas and decidedly unique ‘Brianisms’. We do okay, although we have been ‘gifted’ by a reader or two with returned clippings decorated with red pen corrections; funny how their subscriptions mysteriously lapsed.

The same method applies to most routes that we create. I will go through Brian’s, zoomed in to street level on BaseCamp, move what we call ‘hanging chads’ (misplaced waypoints), or question if he really wanted to put people on the interstate when there was a nice two-lane road running parallel, although this rarely happens, as he really is a ‘Road Whisperer’.

We’ve been asked a few times if we pre-ride our routes. The answer is pretty much a no, especially when the ride may be 250 or more miles away from us. Even before there were digital maps, we would cover the floor with the best paper maps money could buy (or gas stations and travel bureaus would give away) and make some pretty great routes. With the advent of digital maps, we were able to up the ante and find some smaller roads, with a little more finesse on the routing. We do hear quite often that people have trouble with BaseCamp usage, and it certainly did take a little bit to learn but, as said before – use it or lose it.

Now there are many other apps and mapping programs which can be used to create a .gpx file, as well as other ways to use that .gpx file on your motorcycle. While we still mount our Garmins, there are those who use their phones as a navigator. Yes, a new Garmin XT or XT 2 will run you from $250-$600 so not inexpensive, but a new iPhone 16 will set you back $800 and the Samsung Galaxy 25A a whopping $1200. I know I wouldn’t want that baking in the sun, soaking in the rain or bouncing down the road. The right tool for the job – another one of those sayings.

Whatever you use, you still have to create the route. That brings us back to the human factor and reading the maps, paper or digital. And that, my friends, is all the luck of the draw.

Pepe, you will be remembered forever……