Jonathan Brabrand (left) and Beau Waldrop. Photo by Ianne Salvosa
Two childhood friends have turned their love of touring Virginia’s backroads on their motorcycles into a business.
Jonathan Brabrand and Beau Waldrop last month launched Open Road Moto Tours, which offers guided motorcycle tours on routes from western Richmond through the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive.
Brabrand, who works as a managing director at local M&A advisory firm Transact Capital Partners, said he and Waldrop were driven to offer an enjoyable group tour experience to riders of varying styles and experience levels.
“We will take roads that best align with their skills, we’ll go at a pace that’s convenient for them, we’ll stop whenever they want to stop, more or less,” Brabrand said. “It puts them more into the driver’s seat rather than just tagging along to a group ride.”
Riders must provide their own bikes for the tours. Brabrand and Waldrop also guarantee a “100% pavement” route with no interstate highways.
Open Road currently offers six packages, with prices ranging from $175 to $250, each touring different sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive for about six to eight hours. The cost covers lunch for the day and the entrance fee for Shenandoah National Park. Brabrand said he hopes to expand the offerings to multiday trips and off-road tours.
Brabrand said one route starts at Hickory Haven Park and Ride near Interstate 64 and heads south on Patterson Avenue. The tour passes through Route 151, up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and ends at Afton Mountain. The group stops at the Blue Mountain Brewery for lunch and takes Route 250 through Charlottesville to get back to Richmond.
Brabrand and Waldrop take groups of up to eight riders on the tours, and Brabrand said the cap is to ensure that the group can go at a pace that is comfortable for all. He said he asks riders their level of experience and riding style when they check in for the tour so they can decide on a pace for the group.
“We just felt like beyond eight it would just start to get to be too large for people to have a good experience,” Brabrand said.
He said motorcycle riders have a wide array of skill levels because motorcycle riding has a large learning curve and it takes longer to get acquainted with a motorcycle than driving a car. He said Open Road looks to differentiate itself from existing motorcycle riding clubs and tour groups, which can sometimes exclude some less experienced riders.
“You have all these different mixtures of experience levels and levels of aggressiveness in riding that will make the people who are less experienced and less aggressive feel uncomfortable,” Brabrand said.
Brabrand and Waldrop, 48 and 49 respectively, conceived the idea for Open Road after traveling together on tours through TripAdvisor and Airbnb. The pair grew up together and attended Patrick Henry High School and started riding motorcycles in their 20s. Brabrand attended college at the University of Richmond and Waldrop attended Virginia Intermont College.
Brabrand rides a Triumph Tiger motorcycle and Waldrop drives a BMW GSA.
They’re operating Open Road as a side gig, with Brabrand continuing in his role at Transact Capital and Waldrop working as a territory sales manager at LDJ Manufacturing.
Waldrop formerly worked as a director of tennis at country clubs, which he said made him feel comfortable with the coaching aspect of the tours. He said that while the tours were geared toward novice riders, a lot of the current clients have been experienced riders, many of whom have not ridden through the Blue Ridge Parkway.
“This is geared towards having a good time, riding an awesome route,” Waldrop said.
Sounds like tremendous fun! Good luck to you in your endeavor!