Crisis Response · Discretion · Composure Under Pressure

Guests rode at their own pace along a marked route, each with their own GPS, so riders spreading out was normal and built into how the day ran. At one checkpoint a guest didn't arrive. He'd stopped for photos and set off again alone without telling anyone, ten to fifteen minutes before we noticed the gap. He was riding without a phone, and with the side routes threading through the French countryside there was no quick way to know which way he'd gone. My co-leader searched by van, with local police and residents joining her. I called nearby businesses and hospitals and swept side roads when I could, while keeping the rest of the group's afternoon ride and cultural stops running as normal. We found him a few hours later, safe and happy, full of stories about his own detour and unaware anything had happened. Of the whole group, only his wife ever knew he was missing. The rest finished their afternoon and never learned anything had gone wrong.

Client Care · Resourcefulness · Quick Thinking

On a trip in Brittany, France, a guest fell into a WWII bunker and needed 21 stitches. I was leading the van that day, meant to sweep the trail and greet the group at the finish. I wrapped his wound, helped him into the van and drove him to hospital, then stayed for several hours to translate and keep him calm while he was being treated. With the rest of the group due to arrive without me, I called the hotel and talked them into an unscheduled wine and cheese welcome, something they'd never done before, to surprise and hold the guests until my co-leader got there. Ironically, some of the guests said that was their favourite surprise of the trip. Two other guests I've cared for through injuries on separate trips later sent me thank-you letters for the gentleness in how I looked after them.

Experience Design · Attention to Detail · Relationship Building

On a private trip for twelve couples, most of the wives hadn't really biked before. I marked milestones along the way like biggest climbs, distances ridden, a birthday, and one couple's wedding anniversary, for which I'd planned a special solo evening for them. Mornings started with small celebrations too, my team and I made up awards for things like biggest climb of the week, coolest outfit, best attitude, while decorating their bikes for fun. Once, we hid the husbands' bikes across the lunch venue to give the wives a head start, but everyone ended up laughing too hard to actually race each other. One guest said she felt like a kid again and that she hadn't had that much fun since she was young. This group was my favourite I've led to date, and planning the surprises was as much fun as watching them land. I'm still part of their group chat to this day. Relationships like this are part of why I stayed at Backroads as long as I did, not just with coworkers, but with many of the guests I served, staying in touch with several of them for years after our shared trips.

Adaptability · Fast Learning · Resilience

I hadn't biked since I was a kid when I became a cycling guide, and I arrived in France without knowing how to drive manual either. I trained intensely on the bike and taught myself to drive, trailer included, in two days. Yes, the clutch on that poor practice car is probably still recovering. A week later, on my first trip, a fire blocked the one-way street we were already halfway down, and I had to get the van and trailer out quickly, guests inside, with a five-point turn on a narrow European street built for one car. The guests were struck by how calm I was. I told them afterward it was my first time driving manual and they couldn't believe it.