ON THE ROAD

Our car is loaded with food, backpacks and boxes of books. We are on the road and headed to a town near you. Thank you, California, Arizona and Utah. Next stop, Colorado.

Jun 30, 2023

Hello Friends!

‘Tis time for an update from the road and what an adventurous route it has been. After the launch of ‘Joy Ride’ at Powell’s Books in Portland May 12^th, we were in Bend, Seattle, Bend, Seattle, Portland and back to Bend. Along the way, we were invited to speak at Nike World HQ and were interviewed by Adam Short for The Bend Magazine’s The Circling Podcast. Since we embody the mantra, ‘Just Do It’ it was surreal to be asked to share our story in the Serena Williams Building on Nike Campus to multiple teams. Thank you, Steve, Brad and Montse for the opportunity. And thank you Adam for such a well-researched deep dive into our lives and story behind ‘We Lost the Map’ and ‘Joy Ride’ on the Circling Podcast (download here or wherever you get your podcasts). I think he quite possibly knows more about us than we know about ourselves.

We headed south down California with our car loaded with food, backpacks, and boxes of books. We stopped in Medford on our way to San Francisco, where I signed a stack of books at Green Apple Bookstore before an event at Sunnyvale REI. With brief stops in Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo, we arrived in Pasadena just before an event at Vroman’s Bookstore. After being warned that author events typically have low turnout, I was thrilled when over thirty people showed up for my event! And more gathered as patrons in the store stopped to listen to my presentation. Irvine Spectrum Barnes & Noble and San Diego’s The Book Catapult yielded similar turnouts with over 40 and 50 people packed into their shops. We couldn’t have been more grateful and energized to keep going.

In Phoenix, AZ, I signed books at Changing Hands Bookstore (ahead of my event scheduled for Sept. 28^th at 6:30pm) and then spoke at the Paradise Valley REI to a full house. With a few days off, we spent time with Max (who I nannied for when he was a child) in Prescott and hiked in Kanab ahead of our Salt Lake City events this coming weekend. If you’re in the Salt Lake City area, tonight, Friday, June 30^th we will be at REI at 6-7:30pm and tomorrow (Saturday) at Barnes & Noble Sugarhouse at 2pm. Please come support us, we would love to see you!

Our Message

Whether you have been to a presentation or are still waiting to see us, we thought we would share some key takeaways from our talks. We hope these challenge you.

· Lose your map. Sometimes, ditching the known route for the unknown one, forces us to look to others to help us find a different way to get somewhere. And sometimes that turns out to be a more adventurous way to arrive.

· Working as a team. The dedication in Joy Ride reads: For all the people who helped, supported, followed, and loved us along the way. Without you we would never have made it. We are the collective of great things.

· Discomfort is a catalyst for change and growth. When the path becomes easy, we tend to turn on autopilot and cease to continue learning. Push yourself out of your comfort zone and there you will find your own personal growth.

· Just do it. Nike had it right. There is no better time than now.

Gratitude

We wanted to send you a ‘Thank You’, from the bottom of our hearts, for following our journey and your continued support. As adventurers, connecting with people along our journeys (whether cycling, hiking, sailing or on this book tour) is what we live for and we are grateful for all of you who have come out to support us at events, housed us, bought a copy of Joy Ride, or kept in touch with us along the way.

Finding each other has been our greatest discovery, and getting to do these adventures together brings us so much joy. When so much kindness and generosity has been shown to us along the way, we believe for it to continue, it must be shared. That is why we are committed to sharing our story in schools, community centers, businesses, bookstores and so on. It is why we are on this book tour. To give back. It was also the sole reason I wrote ‘Joy Ride’. To inspire others. So, thank you, everyone, for all your generosity and kindness. We are inspired by all of you and will do our best to continue to share the message of kindness.

How You Can Help

This ‘Book Tour’ and adventure is 100% self-supported. We need your help to share the message of kindness. Hearing what you think of the book means a lot to us, and does a lot to support us and the book. If you’ve read ‘Joy Ride’ and have a moment to share your thoughts, you can leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. If you enjoy the book, please tell others about it. Are you in a book club? Consider picking it as your month’s ‘pick’. We will be adding a Readers Guide to our website this week for Book Clubs. Do you write for a magazine, know someone who works in media, or host a podcast? Reach out to us! Please share the book on socials and tell others what you think. Small acts of kindness become big acts of greatness and we thank you for your help!