People say I’m crazy. Well, yes: I’m crazy about motorcycles and I’m crazy about riding back roads. I’ve been lucky enough to combine these strains of craziness into a stressful, fun career in the travel/map industry.

I come by my passion for maps, byways, and scenic routes honestly. When I was a kid, my dad took us on long family vacations in his ‘72 VW bus. We’d drive for days from our home in Québec, Canada. The summer I was 10, we were on the road to Mt. Rushmore and ended up surrounded by bikers; we had no idea why, but of course we were there during the Sturgis rally. I decided then and there that someday I’d own a bike.

Fast forward a few (ok, 10+) years from that fateful Mt. Rushmore trip. I was living in San Francisco, CA, and I wanted to explore. What better way to do that than on a bike? I started small, with a 50cc scooter that sounded like a lawn mower (my friend’s brother owned a scooter shop and thought it would be fun to put a high performance exhaust on it). I thought I was so cool. My friend and I would careen around town on it, zooming along at 60+ mph up and down hills—not safe. When my enthusiasm (quickly) exceeded the limits of the scooter, I moved up to a 250 Honda Rebel, which was soon followed by a 400 Yamaha Heritage Special, and then a Harley-Davidson 883 Sporty named Stella.

I rode those bikes into the ground, exploring back roads all over California. I covered hundreds of miles in search of the most fun, scenic roads, and I found quirky, off-beat places to stop along the way.  I’d pester other motorcyclists to tell me about their favorite roads and rides, and I’d share what I’d ridden, seen, and done. I kept wishing there was one easy-to-use place to find this information. Coincidentally, I’d just finished my undergraduate degree and needed a job. Since I was voted “Least Likely to be a Diplomat” by my classmates, I decided to combine my love of motorcycles with this need for information and MAD MAPS was born!

When I started the company with my best friend, Maggie Beaumier, in my basement in 1999, I had two small children (Kyra, now 11, and Leffy, now 9). My third, Max, was born in 2002.  That’s why, despite the fact that I own a Suzuki M109 1800 and a Kawasaki Mean Streak, my usual ride these days is a Honda Odyssey Minivan.

Maggie and I juggled diaper changes, school runs, route research and layout, and investor calls with equal aplomb (sometimes we dropped all of them!). We started with a six-route San Francisco Bay Area map; now the MAD MAPS product line includes 24 regional scenic touring maps with more than 750 routes all over the continental U.S.; “Get Outta Town™” day-trip maps with loops around 25 major U.S. cities; and specialty maps like “Adventure America”, with 9 of the best 1-2 week-long road trips you’ll find. We also produce co-branded maps for Harley-Davidson and special event maps for the IMS shows and big rallies. We recently inked a deal with Garmin and now all of our data is available for download to nüvi and zümo units.

It’s been a blast to build these maps and this company, but I still like to get out and escape it all on my bike. My favorite ride is north over the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County, through the Marin Headlands and along Hwy 1. I also love riding River Road and Route 116 in Guerneville and stopping at the River’s End restaurant, where the Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean in Jenner. Or I head south: you can see parts of a breathtakingly beautiful ride along the San Mateo county coast on this “Bay Area Backroads” episode, which features one of my favorite San Mateo county loops: http://youtube.com/watch?v=0ULas5IiCTY

One of my favorite trips was in 2006, when I rode with women from MAD MAPS to the 4^th AMA International Women & Motorcycling Conference in Athens, GA. (Click on story above or go to: http://youtube.com/watch?v=rHHVXn79zM4.) What a wonderful experience that was, to ride with four other women for 5 days to a place where we got to talk about being women and riding motorcycles! I was honored to be asked to MC the event and to speak at the “Inspire Me” session.  I’m looking forward to the next conference in Colorado in August, 2009; hope to see you there!  In the meantime, ride safely and ride MAD!