Joy Ride: A Bike Odyssey from Alaska to Argentina - by Kristen Jokinen (Paperback)

About the Book

"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."--

Book Synopsis

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 quinceañeras, 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?

Review Quotes

[Kristen Jokinen's] motivation for "Joy Ride" certainly shines through. "The whole reason I wrote it," she said, "was to inspire people."

BOOK REVIEW, Omaha World Herald

Portlander seeks to inspire with new book on 18,000 mile bike ride.

TAYLOR GRIGGS, Bike Portland

Throughout their travels and adventures, one theme has emerged -- the kindness of people.

MARK MORICAL, The Bulletin

If you are looking for inspiration to go on an epic, rollercoaster of an adventure, read this book. Kristen does a charismatic job of making a grueling bikepack trip seem like a casual walk in the park. The kind of park that is beautiful yet has torrential downpours, sickeningly steep hills and goes from one end of the globe to the other. It is in between these cyclical episodes that Kristen shares her and Ville's optimistic interactions with humanity.

Tommy Ford, U.S. Ski Team, Three-time Olympian, Nine-time National Champion, Team World Champion

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. Doug Chase, New Book Order Office, Powell's Books

Fasten your seatbelts, you are in for a ride of a lifetime. What is most remarkable about Kristen and Ville Jokinen's bike trip from the top of Alaska to the tip of Argentina is not only the two years on the road, 20,000 miles ridden, the salt deserts, or the many mountain passes over 16,000 feet, but how the couples' wide open hearts led them into homes, cafes, schools from big and small towns up and down the Americas. Beginning their travels during 2016 when relations between the US and its southern neighbors were strained, readers will quickly see past the news headlines into the best human kind has to offer. The Jokinen's commitment to a life of adventure traveling the world on bicycles is a gift to all. And lucky us, I suspect the Americas are just the beginning.

Lee Montgomery, The Things Between Us: A Memoir

Full of hijinks and heartbreak, Joy Ride is a celebration of the human spirit, an entertaining journey about the lengths we can and will go to live our lives fully, deeply, triumphantly. It takes a special kind of person to drop everything to ride your bike thousands of miles. It takes an extra special kind of person to then write about that journey with such humor, honesty, and humility.

Amanda Knox, Waiting to Be Heard: A Memoir

To read this spectacular book is to feel lucky that we, too, get to be propelled along with Kristen and Ville--two wild and kindred spirits, and what a joyous ride it is. Cheryl Strayed, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

You could be forgiven for thinking that Joy Ride is a novel. The characters, Kristen and Ville, are improbable. And their journey is the kind of tale of adventure that you might invent from your breakfast nook while remaining safe and warm and stationary. But this is no novel. It just might be the inspiration for you to drop everything and live the kind of life you've only dreamed of. Joy Ride is warm, vivid, and unforgettable.

Christopher Robinson, Deliver Us: A Novel