This site started out in 2019 as an SEO experiment. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the pseudo-science of maximizing your website's discoverability by placating the perceived desires of search engines (like the one that starts with G and rhymes with oogle). Basically, embed metadata in your page source the way they want to see it, format your website URLs in ways they like, and you'll be rewarded by showing up near the top of search results. Not a great origin story, but it's the truth! Note: recently, I've been experimenting with disallowing search engines to index this site. So ... full circle!
In addition to purpose, execution can be part of the story, too. So for originality, this site was, and still is, generated by a custom static site generator written specifically for Backroad City. I wanted the site to be static (no server-side component), and I didn't like the static site frameworks I had found at the time. They all supported flexibility and customization that I didn't feel like I needed. Or rather, I didn't want the flexibility to even exist until I needed it. Yeah, the technology behind this site is more end-of-day emotion than level-headed, practical software design.
I guess lastly, there's content. So what's the content here? It started out focused on motorcycling, expanded into multiple forms of two-wheeling, and let some car stuff leak in. But now, all bets are off. There's too much more going on and the reigns are coming off!
So what is Backroad City? It's my blog implemented with eccentric tech. If nothing else, it's a website that does not track its visitors in any way, so visit without fear!