BIKEPACKING BAJA CALIFORNIA – BAJA DIVIDE – BIKEPACKING GEAR

I was born in the mountains of Slovenia, which was part of former communist Yugoslavia. I came to America to ski, climb, and study psychology, bringing only a backpack and a pair of skis.

I now live in Lake Tahoe, California, with my second husband Jim, our four children, three grandchildren, and our Golden Retriever, Monty.

I’ve been a lifelong skier, cyclist, and climber. I worked as a ski coach and served as Director of Pedagogy for the Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows Ski Teams. I am also the founder of The Tahoe Tea Company.

At fifty-four, I felt like I was running out of time to follow through on a dream I had written down in my pocket-size Rumi book just after my first marriage crumbled. Years later, as I slowly rebuilt my life with my second husband, things started spiraling out of control. The only way I knew how to heal and connect all the painful parts of my life was by riding my bike, and I didn’t want to have regrets. But was I brave enough to embark on an unknown path and risk losing everything… perhaps even my own life?

Determined to awaken my dying spirit and heal my battered body, I loaded my mountain bike with 50 pounds of camping gear and set off on a 2,500-mile journey. Starting in Lake Tahoe, California, I hoped to ride along the Sierra Nevada Mountain range all the way to the tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, following remote mountain trails.

Alone.

What followed was an irrevocably transformational journey of love, hope, courage, and resilience. In my book, I share that story in a voice stripped of self-pity and infused with a good dose of humor.

She Rides is my story—a galvanizing wake-up call for anyone who wants to unearth and follow their own deeply buried dreams and reclaim their life. (Find the book in paperback or digital here.)