Be Brave, Be Strong: A Journey Across the Great Divide

Description

Jill is a newspaper editor from small-town Alaska who harbors an outlandish ambition: to compete in the "world's toughest mountain bike race," a 2,740-mile journey from Canada to Mexico along the rugged spine of the Rocky Mountains. Her timid nature and chronic lack of self-confidence defy her desire to face the world as an endurance athlete. As she launches preparations that will take her from the frozen Alaska wilderness to the parched Utah desert, Jill's fears become her fuel. She is fierce when she wants to flee, but every monster she faces only brings more setbacks. A mishap during a winter race in Alaska leaves her with serious frostbite. Her career also teeters on thin ice. Her long-term relationship starts to crumble. Does racing a mountain bike down the spine of the continent even matter anymore? Still, Jill senses that this journey carries deeper meaning — even at the likely expense of spectacular failure. As she explains to a skeptical friend, "The fact that something’s impossible has never been a good reason not to try." "Be Brave, Be Strong" is the true story of an adventure driven relentlessly forward as foundations crumble. This is an honest account of one woman's incredible journey and simple discovery: To take on the world's toughest mountain bike race, one doesn't have to be the world's toughest woman. Not even close.