By Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Erik Hubbard said that Back Roads of Appalachia started six years ago in the coal country of Lynch, Kentucky.
“The purpose was to have the ability to compete with North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia,” Hubbard said.
What is now a federally recognized 501c3 charity began out of Hubbard’s own pocket. An avid motorcyclist, Hubbard put together various motorcycle events to promote tourism. But that has since grown to include other events, and now Hubbard is bringing all of his organizational skills and the connections he has made along the way, together to help grow a similar brand of tourism in Grayson, Kentucky.
“I started Back Roads of Appalachia as a way to give back to the area where I’m from,” he said. “And then there was a snowball effect where other communities were reaching out to us to help them do something similar.”
The multiple connections and more communities getting involved couldn’t make him happier, Hubbard said on a recent visit to Grayson. And it is gratifying to him as well, he said, that it all started with the involvement and support of motorcycle groups and car clubs.
Hubbard’s commitment to promoting this type of tourism can be seen locally in his work with Grayson Tourism Director Lana Axtell on the Raider’s Run, a bike and car ‘mobile tourism’ route that leads enthusiasts throughout our area on the scenic roads and passed picturesque destinations. These driving routes ultimately bolster tourism in the form of meals, fuel, hotel stays, and even camping among other things.
“It’s about bringing outside dollars into our region.” Hubbard said.
It is also about offsetting what he sees as the various government entities ignoring and not giving much if any support to our region.
“They are ignoring Eastern Kentucky and our way of life, our culture, from the downturn of Covid,” he said.
It may have begun as a simple motorcycle rally, but Backroads of Appalachia has grown to multiple events that bring in rally groups from across the country, and with Raider’s Run Grayson will have the ability to draw those same groups into the area and all the benefits that entails. The draw from across the country into smaller cities such as Grayson is very simple, Hubbard said.
“What people want is Mayberry,” Hubbard said, referring to the town represented in the Andy Griffith Show.
“We have mayberry in every community and every town,” he continued. “And most importantly we have our Appalachian culture and our values.”
Hubbard said that in today’s world people crave that fundamental foundation more than ever.
“We are an economic driver,” Hubbard said on the business side of tourism. “We bring outside money back into the region – and that money is spent seven times before it leaves the region – but at the same time we want to build up our communities. We want to give our communities and kids inspiration and hope, and something to do as well.”
The ultimate goal, he said, is to preserve the existing culture and grow toward the future.
Hubbard said that while he deals with a lot of stuff in the ‘federal world’, Nick Sexton deals with things on the local level. Sexton and Grayson business owner and Tourism Board member Shadow Skaggs filmed a video to highlight the Raider’s Run route.
“It’s the newest trail on our mobile application,” Sexton said. “It’s based off the local high school mascot, and it takes you through three state parks (Carter Caves, Grayson Lake, and Greenbo), two covered bridges (Oldtown and Bennett’s Mill), and endless beautiful foothills scenery. “
Both Hubbard and Sexton said that they expect Raider’s Run will benefit not only the City of Grayson, but all the surrounding areas as well.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com