Joy Ride A Bike Odyssey from Alaska to Argentina

A remarkable and wondrous ride that feels like it never happens anymore, as if Cheryl Strayed's Wild were mixed with dreams and love and a miraculous spirit of exploration.    Recommended By Doug C., Powells.com

Explorers Kristen and Ville Jokinen met scuba diving in Vietnam and fell in love. She was a real estate agent from Oregon, and he a financial analyst for Toyota in his native Finland. After hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from California to Canada they decided their next adventure would be a two year cycling trip covering 18,000 miles from Prudoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina, despite never having cycled other than around the block. Only their starting and ending points were planned, in between was navigated daily by their sense of adventure and intuition. Locals in Mexico, Central America, and South America allowed them to camp in their fields and farms, invited them into their homes and families and acted as tour guides. Kristen and Ville held babies, attended quinceañeras, drank pulque, played soccer, and visited schools. They persevered unrelenting, punishing rain and wind, altitude sickness, dog attacks, bike accidents, and countless flat tires to cycle between the ends of the earth.

Ville and Kristen Jokinen move through the world with a sense of curiosity while practicing kindness. They believe that creating a space of support and excitement make astonishing goals possible. Joy Ride is about the courage to follow your wildest dream and inspiring others to do the same.

Ville and Kristen are love on wheels.

Explorers Kristen and Ville Jokinen met and fell in love while scuba diving in Vietnam. Ville then left his native Finland to join Kristen in Oregon and together they embarked on a life-changing two-year cycling adventure covering 18,000 miles from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina. Despite never having cycled further than around the block, they persevered unrelenting, punishing rain and wind, altitude sickness, dog attacks, bike accidents, and countless flat tires to cycle between the ends of the earth. Kristen and Ville believe that kindness connects us to our shared humanity. They held babies, attended quincea eras, drank pulque, played soccer, and visited schools. People in Mexico, Central America, and South America invited them into their hearts and homes, allowed them to camp in their fields and farms, and acted as personal tour guides. Kristen and Ville are love on wheels, and who doesn't need a little more love in their lives?

Venturing from the farm to the great unknown, Kristen Jokinen set out to experience the world as a hungry, young nomad with nothing but a backpack and a solid pair of shoes. Traveling light and always on the move, she found time to study and learn new skills along the way, at one time working as a wild land firefighter, a teacher, a real estate agent, and eventually an international speaker and author.

Cheryl Strayed (introduction) is an American writer and podcast host. She has written four books: the novel Torch and the nonfiction books Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, Tiny Beautiful Things and Brave Enough.