Scenic Route
She's seeing profits showing drivers things they haven't seen before.
What: Maps that chart scenic
back roads
Who: Jenny Lefferts of MAD
(Motor Adventure Destinations) Maps Inc.
Where: San Francisco
When: Started in 1999
Jenny Lefferts' love for the open road began during her
childhood, when she'd spend summers traveling with her family
in their '72 VW van. After moving to San Francisco from
Montreal at age 21, she became an avid motorcyclist. "Every
weekend, I used to leave town and start finding back roads,"
says Lefferts, 36.
After calling motorcycle dealerships across the nation to find
out about more back roads, she discovered that maps charting such
off-the-beaten-path routes didn't even exist yet. So Lefferts
enlisted the help of Eureka Cartography (whose maps she licenses)
in Berkeley, California, and set out to chart the back roads in and
around the Bay area herself.
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Since then, she's enlisted leagues of motorists from
throughout California to help her scout out additional "more
scenic, less traveled" roads worth highlighting in her
company's maps, which target motorists with cars and
motorcycles alike and retail for $7.95 each. Plans for this year
include the release of a four-part California Dreamin' series
and a Southwest series--both expected to bring in cumulative sales
of $350,000. The rest of the country is next.
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