Kristen Jokinen’s Joy Ride is a memoir chronicling a 21-month cycling journey from Alaska to Argentina—the Americas from North to South, with her husband, Ville. Throughout the over 18,000 miles of their journey, they endured bad weather, rough roads, and dog attacks. Primarily living in their tent, on a limited budget, they met many people as they sought out places to place their tent at night.
As a writer crafting my own cycling memoir, I approach books in this genre with dual interest: both as a reader and as a writer studying craft. When reviewing books in your own genre, you tend to notice what resonates and what doesn’t quite work. In this case, I found myself focusing on elements that didn’t quite connect.
From a craft perspective, the narrative often lost me in its focus on moving from point A to point B. The story emphasized the bike journey’s logistics over the deeper human experience of place and transformation. While Jokinen shares challenging moments, the emotional vulnerability feels distant—more told than shown. For instance, when she writes about difficult stretches or encounters with locals, we get the facts but rarely feel immersed in the moment.
Near the book’s conclusion, Jokinen reflects, “The woman I had been when I started in Alaska was not the woman I’d become… My life would never be the same because I was no longer the same.” Yet as a reader, I struggled to see this transformation on the page. The personal growth gets somewhat buried under the weight of logged miles and technical details.
That said, Jokinen effectively portrays the people encountered along their route—an element I’m noting for my own writing. Her accounts of interactions with strangers and hosts add texture to the journey.
One concrete takeaway for travel writing: measuring journey segments in hours rather than distances creates more meaningful context for readers. Three hours in the saddle resonates more universally than “30 kilometres,” especially since cycling speeds and terrain vary so widely.
Overall, while Joy Ride offers a comprehensive look at a impressive cycling achievement, I found myself noting more differences than similarities with the author’s experience and perspective. The book succeeds as a documentary of an extraordinary journey but leaves me wanting more emotional depth and transformational storytelling.
Do you read adventure travel? What keeps you most interested in the story?
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