The BAT Tracks Story
Backroad Adventure Tracks (BAT Tracks) was founded by me, Jeremy Backer, aka “Backer the Biker” in 2024. After completing yet another rather long one-way adventure ride, I was left feeling a lack of accomplishment, tired of the long pavement ride back to my truck, and I was disappointed by the lack of good points of interest along the route. Adventure Riding should be more than difficult, endless backroads. It should include interesting landmarks, feats of engineering, historical places, cool things to see, and all the elements that bring true interest and adventure to a ride. The best rides are also loops, bringing you back to your haul vehicle. I had been hosting a yearly adventure ride for several years at this point, as well as organizing regular overlanding events, and I came to the conclusion I could possibly offer more interesting and more detailed rides to my fellow riding community. I’m creating BAT Tracks with the hope I can share great routes with all adventure riders and overlanders, and support this community we all love.
Continue below to learn a little about me, my riding background, and what led me to share my adventure riding knowledge with you and all riders.
I purchased my first dirt bike at the age of 13 years old. The last in the neighborhood to get a bike, I bought a 1991 KE 100 for $600 and rode the wheels off that thing. I also rode everything else off that bike, including the mirrors which broke pretty quickly, the stock steel handlebars didn’t last long, and a couple shift levers that passed through existence on the little KE. It wasn’t much of a woods bike, but it was all I had to keep up with the neighborhood.
My love of riding only grew over time, moving on to a 1986 KDX200 after a couple years, then into the sport bike scene in my early 20’s. I bought a 2003 CBR954RR as soon as I had a reliable job, before I had a reliable car. Rode it home from the dealership an hour away – the first street bike I had ever really operated outside of a parking lot. That was perhaps the scariest ride of my life – I had no business on that much motorcycle. I’m not sure how, but I survived my wild and reckless sport bike years. After the 954, I moved on to a 50th anniversary R6, then raced a 1969 Honda CB350 Twin in the WERA vintage classes for several years. Upon becoming a father though, it was time to slow down and enjoy the ride, rather than chase the wins and the speed.
In 2010 I picked up a 2003 KLX400SR, a Green DRZ if you will, and my adventure riding life began. I spent a year riding locally, but wanted to really get out and see the country, adventuring on 2 wheels. Turns out, I had a great mentor ready to show me how to travel the country by motorcycle. RoadDad on ADVRider was an adventure rider before adventure riding had a name, was one of the most accomplished adventure riders in the midwest in the 2000’s (and still is), and he just-so-happens to be my uncle. He was planning to do some ‘Continental Divide Ride’ that I had never heard of, and invited me to ride along with him and his son. The trap was set. After this experience, adventure riding would consume my life for the rest of my existence.
The Continental Divide Ride was amazing. It was my first time ever traveling west of the Mississippi, and I absolutely fell in love with that part of the country. By 2013 I was ready to, for the first time, create my own adventure route and get back out there. I spent months putting my first-ever GPS track together that a friend and I would follow, and we set out on the 4th of July in 2013 to complete a 3 week, 4,100 mile adventure winding from Steamboat Springs, CO south to New Mexico, over through Moab, down to the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Sequoia National Park, Yosemite, and on to San Francisco, CA, ending at the last MotoGP race to ever be held at Laguna Seca. The trip was so much fun, and an empowering journey that truly changed my life.
My riding ambition slowed slightly after the Great West Trip, while I raised my daughter and built a home. But I never quit riding. Over the years I have completed multiple BDR’s, done several multi-day ADV rides in locations across the country, and attended many regional rides. In 2020 I started organizing the Backer Adventure Tour, a yearly ride with a theme. Starting with the Tunnel Tour, then the Walking Giants, Iron Furnace, and Dam Kentucky River tours. The Backer Adventure Tour has and will continue to take place in early May each year, in a new location each year. Watch the main page here on BAT Tracks for details.
Thank you for taking the time to learn about my story, and what drives BAT Tracks. Please download a route, complete the BAT Tracks Challenge, buy a shirt or some stickers, and support us here to continue creating and sharing great routes for all to enjoy. It’s truly my passion, and brings a smile to my face to share.
– Backer