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Be Brave, Be Strong: A Journey Across the Great Divide by [Jill Homer]

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Jill Homer

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

by Jill Homer (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

235 ratings

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.

Print length

342 pages
Language

English
Publication date

May 5, 2011
File size

1516 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Beneath the stories of tire-sucking mud singletrack, of white-knuckle lightning storms on a barren plain, Homer weaves a tale of sorrow, heartbreak, growth and survival as she traverses the spine of the Great Divide on a mountain bike tour from Banff, Canada to the southern border of the United States." -- Abby Lowell, Juneau Empire

"I am in awe of this woman... not only can she write a good yarn, but her story is amazing. I mean how many of us would ride a mountain bike from Canada to Mexico in rain and over 11,000 foot mountains in just 24 days? With only two outfits and a bag of junk food and a sleeping bag?" -- Book Babe

"Out of all the adventure cycling books I've ever read this one is the best--once I started reading it I couldn't put it down! This book is a model of what adventure cycling books ought to be." -- All Seasons Cyclist

"Vivid images of the people and situations encountered are both profound and simple, just like life's own mysteries and realities. Courageous and astonishing, I believe this is one of the best personal testaments of its kind that I've read." -- Red Haircrow

"Jill Homer grants us plenty of personal insights into the background to her Tour Divide ride, and her feelings during the ride itself. This is a very open, female perspective on what I assume is normally the predominantly macho and insular world of extreme bike racing, and means the book is never just a dry account of a bike ride." -- Jim Speakman

From the Inside Flap

Each year on the second Friday in June, several dozen mountain bikers from around the world set out to challenge speed records on the world's longest off-pavement cycling route, the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Scouted and mapped by Adventure Cycling Association in 1998, the unmarked route features gravel roads, dirt tracks and jeep trails that wend along the edges of the Continental Divide.

The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route begins in Banff, Alberta, and travels 2,740 miles through the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, and the United States of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. By the time cyclists reach the Mexican border, they will have climbed nearly 200,000 feet over some of the highest and most remote passes in the Rocky Mountains.

Endurance legend John Stamstad became the first to set a speed record on the Great Divide, blitzing the route in eighteen days and five hours in 1998. In 2004, a handful of mountain bikers collaborated to challenge that time, organizing a self-supported race on the route. Mike Curiak established a new record at sixteen days. Since then, Divide racing has steadily grown and evolved. However, it maintains the same minimalist format: No entry fee, no course markings and no support. For many distance mountain bikers, completing the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route as fast as possible has become the ultimate challenge.

The following is the story of one woman's journey to do just that.

ASIN : B004ZMSCQ8
Publisher : Arctic Glass Press (May 5, 2011)
Publication date : May 5, 2011
Language : English
File size : 1516 KB
Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 342 pages
Lending : Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #294,516 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #75 in Cycling (Kindle Store)
- #354 in Cycling (Books)
- #427 in Adventurer & Explorer Biographies

Customer Reviews:
235 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		73%
4 star		19%
3 star		6%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Wendy

Even better the second reading

Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2019

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I originally bought and read this book sometime between 2012-2015 on my Kindle. Then my old Kindle crashed and when I received my new one all the old books uploaded, I was sorting through what I’ve read before and came across this book again a few weeks ago. I couldn’t put it down on the second reading. I recognized myself in many of Jill’s little anecdotes. It’s the way she tells her story that makes her so familiar and associate similar life lessons. I love that she still had the courage to take on the Divide bike race and initially started alone and finished alone. But she never really was truly alone with all the people she has to support and love her. She finds herself somewhere along those long dusty roads. She doesn’t sugar coat her low or emotional moments. She somehow always digs her way out of catastrophe and despair.
After finishing my second read of this book I’ve read another two of her books in the last week. She is my new adventuring hero; I hope to be like her some day.

One person found this helpful

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DesertReal

Years ago I followed her Up in Alaska blog (later named Jill Outside) and this is just as vivid, poignant, and beautiful.

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2020

Verified Purchase

Her words take you there.
Every thought, fear, worry, awe, and exquisitely detailed moment as she travels completely transports you. It's been years since I've read this and I think I've enjoyed it even more the second time around. The injuries, the setbacks, the crazy twists and turns, and changing relationships (and the possible beginnings of another) and everything in between- you share in it and feel every thoughtfully written word. Jill suffers an injury before the race even begins, she's contemplating whether or not to return to her job, she's reeling from a breakup with a self-absorbed partner, doesn't have a place of her own, and is seriously at an impasse. And THEN the race begins.
Seriously, this book is so good- you should've one-clicked it yesterday.
If you're cooped up in your house, long to feel the wind in your face, the chill of the rain as temperatures fall around you, mud on your legs, snow on your feet - this is the book for you.

One person found this helpful

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david mcewen

I derived strength from this read

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2019

Verified Purchase

She detailed overcoming obscene personal and physical obstacles. I just completed my first big ride and when I was in the suck I knew my pain was not even tangent to hers—I had no excuse but to ride through my pain because she did almost each day. I learned that I had more inside to push myself based on her experiences “to dig deep”. I am hooked now on journey rides of long miles in no small part due to her can-do/will-do words.

The book was beautifully written and placed the reader in “it”. I experienced what she experienced, albeit from the comfort of my reading chair or tent.

I would recommend this book to anyone confronted with doing something that evokes uncertainty or fear. Gratitude is what I felt as this great read terminated.

Helpful

twseid58

Vivid Experience of Endurance Cycling

Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2016

Verified Purchase

I buy many books that I often do not finish. I got this book as a Kindle with narration and went back and forth from Kindle reader to Audible app until I finished it in several days. Hers was an incredible journey and she made me feel like I traveled along. It was more than a cyclist's story; it was a human story of endurance both physical and emotional. As a male I had a bit of trouble sticking with the parts about her relationships, but I recognize that it's important for us to see life in this holistic way. The only real negative for me was the audio narration, but as bad as that was I still listened to it when I couldn't read so that I could find out what happened next.

3 people found this helpful

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Richard Runser

Actual Ultimate Adventure

Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2020

Verified Purchase

It's easy to imagine, 'well you just jump on your bike, travel a few days, and you're there.' The reality Jill reveals is a glimpse of the effort, the shocking struggles that crop up, the temptation to quit.
Jill is not a quitter! Whether travels at 40 degrees below zero in the Arctic, or throat drying heat, she surmounts what few others do. Most of her races/travails are alone. Partners, groups, and all add a huge benefit when problems occur, but she prefers the time alone.

Helpful

Len

Amazing

Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2018

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed Be Brave, Be Strong immensely. Some found her relationship story with Geoff as a waste though I find it a crucial part to understanding Jill and what she had to endure beyond the trail. Jill shows us human emotion mixed with the physical and mental demands to ride one of the most difficult races in the world. She helped us to not only know that she met people along her ride but, she shared the interaction with them.
I could never even imagine doing a ride like this. I can only admire the strength she had inside herself that even she didn’t know she had.

Helpful

Rev Jerry

A well-written account of riding the Divide

Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2018

Verified Purchase

The first 100 pages or so are almost pure chick flick material, so I tended to gloss over most of it; but after that, the book got pretty good. Good, that is, until John shows up, then back to chick flick mode. To be fair, I just ordered Homer's book on Tim Hewitt. She writes well. On top of that, anyone--male or female--with the grit and determination to complete the Tour Divide, let alone bike the Iditarod, has my unconditional admiration.

2 people found this helpful

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Beau Clark

I must like it. Jill is an Everywoman who simply excels ...

Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2017

Verified Purchase

Reading book for second time. I must like it. Jill is an Everywoman who simply excels as an ultra-endurance athlete. Try to get through the early chapters about Jill's breaking up with Geoff. Once she hits the trail, the book captured my attention. I think the reader can suffer with her, triumph with her, all from a much more comfortable vantage point than the seat of a bike on a 2,700 mile grueling journey. This book is more than a chronological accounting of days riding a book. Who would care about that, anyway? This book is about a journey on many levels which I am glad I took with Jill, although I am happy she was on the bike and I am in my recliner. When I am working out, I will remind myself of Jill's admonition to "be brave; be strong."

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Duncan Light

An American Classic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 2, 2014

Verified Purchase

Well written and genuinely engaging narrative non fiction account of Jill Homer's cycle ride on the Great Divide, starting in Canada and finishing at the border with Mexico 2700 miles later.
Best read after Jill's first book (Ghost Trails) which ends one year before this book starts this is a highly personalised account of an epic mountain bike journey through North America, detailing all the highs and lows of endurance cycling.
John Metcalfe has written a excellent book on the same subject (although Jill Homer is taking part in a race) but his is written from an English point of view whereas Jill is a native American. She provides a raw and real account of her journey along the Great Divide detailing all her emotions, pains and injuries throughout in a way that would be unusual for a British writer.
This book is better edited than her first (albeit she still calls her speedometer an odometer and seems to think a stallion is a female horse) and better written, and I read through the book quickly.
For anybody interested in non fiction adventure this is pretty much essential and the cost of a kindle purchase is only slightly more than that of a quality newspaper. Highly recommended.

David Bew

Very Brave and Very Strong

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 29, 2014

Verified Purchase

A good well written book detailing the struggles that Jill went through as she cycles the length (and more) of the Great Divide as well as her relationship break up. You really do feel her pain and her struggles that she endures during the race. Jill is amazingly driven and as the title of the book alludes to – very brave and strong – both braver and stronger than me. My only criticism is that as she suffers she makes sure you know that she suffers - it was her choice to do the race in the first place. The book could’ve been a little more descriptive of the landscape and mountains but that’s a small grumble.

Mr. K. Prior

Stick with it - it becomes addictive.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 20, 2013

Verified Purchase

When I first started it, I did not think I was going to like it. Jill seems a rather odd character. Odd, certainly. Not many sane people would even begin to contemplate some of the things she did and she is very candid about her private thoughts. She very soon grew on me and her writing style is compulsive reading. She is so matter of fact about such outrageous things. Before long it becomes very difficult to put the book down.
Will be looking for the sequel.

One person found this helpful

Tatakai Tony

stuff of dreams

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 22, 2014

Verified Purchase

I love jill she is so much like me but on a braver and grander scale, does things that 99.9% can only dream about whilst always understating how good she is, letting us think she us just that geeky girl next door door when in fact she is an athlete, she just doesn't believe it. Fantastic read and a real insight into doing this awesome race/ ride. Keep doing what you do jill.

L. Clark

Genuinely good writing about a genuine adventure experience

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 12, 2012

Verified Purchase

Unfortunately many adventure books suffer from either not being particularly brilliantly written or not having a particularly strong story to tell. This book however has both which puts it in a class with precious few other first-person adventure books. Just because somebody can do amazing things doesn't mean they can necessarily write about them but Jill is a writer as a 'day job' and is a cyclist in her leisure time, which makes for a great book about riding the Continental Divide on a mountain bike.
If you are looking to adventure vicariously through a book then this is a great choice.

2 people found this helpful

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