A story from the first grand depart of the Baja Divide, where a large group of riders set out across Baja California and quickly splintered into smaller stories, shifting alliances, hard-earned lessons, and unpredictable adventure. It is about the chaos, beauty, and shared mythology that form around a big route in its earliest days.

A vivid account of riding the Trans-America Trail by bicycle - a 5,000-mile dirt route across the United States that demanded water strategy, adaptability, and a willingness to embrace discomfort. More than a route story, it is a portrait of backcountry travel at its most immersive, where hardship, solitude, and human generosity all become part of the landscape.

After closing our bike shop, my husband and I set out across the United States on the Trans-America Trail, trading stability for uncertainty and dirt roads for the lives we thought we were supposed to want. This story traces how that journey reshaped our sense of work, freedom, and what it means to build a life around the bike.