Who is ADVGuide

Who is ADVGuide?

ADVGuide is a group of riders who genuinely love adventure. We have been riding for a long time. In fact, when the oldest among us started riding, motorcycles were still commonly referred to as horses. Or at least that is how the stories are told now, and the older guys have stopped denying it.

We have done the racing, the long hauls, the short day rides, and the “this seemed like a good idea on the map” kind of trips. More than anything, though, we have loved the sights, sounds, places, and people that riding has brought into our lives.

Most of us have moved past the racing phase and ride at a slower pace now. I said most, not all. That leaves just enough room for friendly trash talk, questionable confidence, and the occasional reminder that somebody still thinks throttle control is a personality trait.

What we really enjoy is the whole experience. We like the planning, the roadside stops, the good lunches, the bad coffee, and sitting around a campfire at the end of the day talking about what we saw, what we learned, and what went sideways in a way that somehow becomes funny later. That is where a lot of the joy lives. So does a little bit of Type 2 fun, which is just another way of saying, “That was miserable at the time, but it makes a great story now.”

Knowing what to expect, seeing the things you hoped to see, and having enough context to appreciate them before, during, and after the ride adds a lot to the experience. Discovering something unexpected along the way adds even more. Being able to casually mention it later like you totally knew about it all along adds just a tiny bit of smug satisfaction too.

Why was ADVGuide developed?

We built ADVGuide for us, because we wanted it for ourselves.

We love to ride. We love to explore. We love to experience a place, not just pass through it. ADVGuide helps us do that. It lets us ride without missing the stories, people, places, history, and experiences that make a route memorable in the first place.

Because let's be honest, we have all been there.

We have been the one who carefully planned the route, picked out the must-see stops, and still managed to ride right past them without realizing it.

We have been the one who trusted the "experienced" friend to lead the ride, only to hear, "Oh yeah, I stopped there last time. Guess you didn't see it."

We have been the one who knew just enough of a story to bring it up at dinner, only to have somebody else know a little more and suddenly it is no longer your story at all.

We have been the one sitting around the campfire hearing what everybody else saw, did, and discovered, wondering how we somehow rode the exact same route and apparently missed half of it.

A lot of our riding takes us into wild country—forests, mountains, deserts, and the kind of places where cell service is usually not "spotty." It is simply a fond memory. ADVGuide brings the stories, knowledge, and location-based context with us, even when the bars disappear and the map starts feeling a little more personal.

It gives us the freedom to ride our own ride while still getting the benefit of a knowledgeable tour guide riding along with us—minus the clipboard, the matching polo shirt, and the part where somebody insists on calling a gas station a "visitor experience."

How is ADVGuide evolving?

We are building Route Tours for BDR, BDR-X, and Connector routes, one route at a time. Each one takes a mix of first-hand rider experience, local knowledge, rider feedback, research, editing, testing, and validation. In other words, it takes a lot of work and a lot of time to build something we are proud to put in front of the riding community.

Some routes are already released. Some are in development. Some are completed and going through final validation before release. Others are still in planning. We will keep releasing new tours as quickly as our process and standards allow, which is a polite way of saying we move as fast as we can without putting out something half-baked and calling it "good enough."

The BDR organization does a great job managing and growing the routes, which means new routes and updates come along regularly. That is exciting for riders, and honestly, it keeps us on our toes in the best possible way. We usually begin preparing well before an official release—organizing our team, doing early research, building relationships in the riding community, and reaching out to local experts, historians, and riders who know the area better than any map ever will.

Sometimes route development is a moving target. Roads change. Weather happens. Fires happen. Floods happen. Regulations change. Damage happens. And occasionally the route decides to remind everyone that nature still has the final vote. When the changes are significant and likely to last, we work to update our tours accordingly. We do not try to adjust for every single “tree down” report or one guy’s dramatic forum post, but when the route truly changes, our tours will adapt with it.

The goal is simple: build route tours that help riders get more out of the ride, miss less of what matters, and come home with better stories than “we made pretty good time.”