# Backroads: Tom Hale. How a desk worker became a trailblazer in active travel

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2025-11-10
- Length: 50m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-11-10-backroads-tom-hale-how-a-desk-worker-became-a-trailblazer-in-active-travel

## Summary

Tom Hale, founder and CEO of Backroads, explains how he quit a city planning job in Las Vegas in 1979 to launch a bike touring company after a midnight epiphany and a 5,000-mile solo ride. He details the company's early survival strategies, including a 'collect early, pay late' cash flow model that allowed growth without investors, and recounts overcoming major crises like a warehouse burglary, a van rollover in Nevada, 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, and the pandemic. Hale discusses the operational shift from camping to hotel-based trips, the importance of training full-time leaders, and how Backroads scaled to over 5,000 trips annually while avoiding the 'Instagram trap' of overtourism.

## Chapters

- [0:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-11-10-backroads-tom-hale-how-a-desk-worker-became-a-trailblazer-in-active-travel#t=30) Introduction: Tom Hale and Backroads
- [5:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-11-10-backroads-tom-hale-how-a-desk-worker-became-a-trailblazer-in-active-travel#t=301) The Epiphany and 5,000-Mile Reconnaissance Ride
- [10:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-11-10-backroads-tom-hale-how-a-desk-worker-became-a-trailblazer-in-active-travel#t=648) First Trip in Death Valley and Early Logistics
- [21:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-11-10-backroads-tom-hale-how-a-desk-worker-became-a-trailblazer-in-active-travel#t=1313) Warehouse Burglary and DIY Bike Recovery
- [26:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-11-10-backroads-tom-hale-how-a-desk-worker-became-a-trailblazer-in-active-travel#t=1574) Cash Flow Strategy: Collect Early, Pay Late
- [27:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-11-10-backroads-tom-hale-how-a-desk-worker-became-a-trailblazer-in-active-travel#t=1674) Nevada Van Rollover and Resilience
- [35:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-11-10-backroads-tom-hale-how-a-desk-worker-became-a-trailblazer-in-active-travel#t=2144) Surviving 9/11 and the 2008 Financial Crisis
- [39:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-11-10-backroads-tom-hale-how-a-desk-worker-became-a-trailblazer-in-active-travel#t=2356) Pandemic Impact and Post-COVID Surge
- [42:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2025-11-10-backroads-tom-hale-how-a-desk-worker-became-a-trailblazer-in-active-travel#t=2550) Avoiding the Instagram Trap and Future Outlook

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Backroads (company)
- U.S. Bank (company)
- Death Valley (other)
- New Zealand (other)
- Hawaii (other)
- Bali (other)
- Venice (other)
- Florence (other)
- Takeoff Luggage (company)

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## Citing this page

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