She Rides: Chasing Dreams Across California and Mexico

AT FIFTY-FOUR, Alenka Vrecek’s life was spiraling out of control—and she was running out of time to follow through on a long-forgotten dream.

She Rides is Alenka’s deeply personal memoir of her 2,500-mile solo bikepacking pilgrimage along the spine of the snow-covered Sierra Nevada and into

the hostile desert mountains and plains of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. Stripped of self-pity and infused with a good dose of humor, her account of her journey

—a voyage across emotional, physical, and cultural boundaries—is a galvanizingwake-up call for anyone who wants to follow their own deeply buried

dreams . . .and reclaim their life.


A gripping account of small-scale adventure and self-discovery.”

—Kirkus reviews

“Alenka Vrecek invites us to sit side-saddle as she rides from Tahoe to the tip of Baja, battling headwinds and heartache, illness and injury, and others’ ideas of who and how a fifty-four-year-old woman should be. Gripping, wise, and snort-coffee-out-your-nose funny, She Rides will make you want to drop everything, get good and lost, and find your way back home.”

—Brian Benson, author of Going Somewhere

“A universal story of healing, hope, grit, and determination. Alenka’s bike trip from Tahoe to Baja is a heroine’s journey that will hold you in its grip. But it’s also a love story—about knowing what matters most and finding your way back home.”

—Valerie Andrews, editor of Reinventing Home and author of A Passion for this Earth