Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Alaska to Argentina Bike Ride
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Alaska to Argentina Bike Ride
Experiences You Should Have Show Notes: Biking from Alaska to Argentina with Guests Kristen and Ville Jokinen
Ville and Kristen Jokinen did the impossible. They went from Alaska to the tip of Argentina via bike while only spending (on average) $800 a month! This couple lives in Bend, Oregon and they decided they wanted to have an adventure of a lifetime, and boy did they find adventure. Click on the play button to listen to this episode, or listen to this episode wherever you listen to podcasts.
A Little About Ville and Kristen
Ville was born in Tampere, Finland. He grew up playing all kinds of sports and in his teenage years, he made the decision to focus on football (soccer). After graduating from high school he tried his wings in professional soccer in Finland and Algeria. After a few years of serious playing and several knee replacement surgeries later, he decided to hang the cleats and go to college. After college, Ville worked for 7 years as a financial analyst for Toyota.
In 2008, he decided to take off work and travel to South East Asia for 3 months. In Vietnam, Ville met a crazy, loud and beautiful American girl named Kristen. Listen to the episode above to get the behind the scenes on their first meeting. After that, they've been traveling the world together and he's very thankful for finding someone who loves the same adventures.
Get to Know Kristen
Kristen was originally from Bend, Oregon, born and raised. Because she grew up in such a beautiful place so connected to the outdoors, it drew her to explore the great big world we live in. She graduated from High School early to go backpacking around Central Europe alone and you could say that is where the travel lust began. Kristen moved to San Francisco to work as an AuPair for some big-named families, saved money, bought a house in Bend, worked as a wildland firefighter, nanny, waitress, teacher, tutor all while going to school. She signed on for an internship in Chiang Mai, Thailand and when she finished teaching, she met a handsome Scandinavian Stallion on a Scuba Diving boat in Vietnam. Again, listen to the episode above to hear about this meeting.
They traveled the world and when they ran out of visas to stay together, they hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) while dating, which was her first time sleeping in a tent. After that adventure, they got married.
Why Did Ville and Kristen Decide to Bike From Alaska to Argentina?
The adventure was an idea formed on the PCT and became a reality once they finished. They both know the importance of not wanting to live your life, and the planning began. The plan is to thoroughly wear out these crazy bodies and when they have no more get-up and go, they will have some incredible memories to share while they swing life away on their front porch somewhere.
This is a couple who knows how to live life.
Map of the Ride
How Did They Bike From Alaska to Argentina?
Kristen and Ville had their bikes shipped to Alaska. That's where their adventure began. Starting in Alaska, they saw over 60 polar bears and they had a fright of a lifetime when they scared away a mama bear who was charging at them by acting loud and big.
They then went to the Yukon, British Columbia then hit up the San Juan Islands. Just an FYI, Lopez Island is a fantastic island for bike riding and it's a very friendly island. They biked the 101 from the Pacific Northwest, down the coast of California, then into Baja. From there, they took a ferry over to the mainland then biked through Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica. They had to take a plane across some sketchy borders from Panama to Columbia, then went to Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
They chose to go over the Andes mountains in South America rather than the coast, which let them experience small towns (and very friendly people) off the grid.
Biking Huascaran National Park in Peru,
View all episodes
By Gail Lovelace MenascoExperiences You Should Have Show Notes: Biking from Alaska to Argentina with Guests Kristen and Ville Jokinen
Ville and Kristen Jokinen did the impossible. They went from Alaska to the tip of Argentina via bike while only spending (on average) $800 a month! This couple lives in Bend, Oregon and they decided they wanted to have an adventure of a lifetime, and boy did they find adventure. Click on the play button to listen to this episode, or listen to this episode wherever you listen to podcasts.
A Little About Ville and Kristen
Ville was born in Tampere, Finland. He grew up playing all kinds of sports and in his teenage years, he made the decision to focus on football (soccer). After graduating from high school he tried his wings in professional soccer in Finland and Algeria. After a few years of serious playing and several knee replacement surgeries later, he decided to hang the cleats and go to college. After college, Ville worked for 7 years as a financial analyst for Toyota.
In 2008, he decided to take off work and travel to South East Asia for 3 months. In Vietnam, Ville met a crazy, loud and beautiful American girl named Kristen. Listen to the episode above to get the behind the scenes on their first meeting. After that, they've been traveling the world together and he's very thankful for finding someone who loves the same adventures.
Get to Know Kristen
Kristen was originally from Bend, Oregon, born and raised. Because she grew up in such a beautiful place so connected to the outdoors, it drew her to explore the great big world we live in. She graduated from High School early to go backpacking around Central Europe alone and you could say that is where the travel lust began. Kristen moved to San Francisco to work as an AuPair for some big-named families, saved money, bought a house in Bend, worked as a wildland firefighter, nanny, waitress, teacher, tutor all while going to school. She signed on for an internship in Chiang Mai, Thailand and when she finished teaching, she met a handsome Scandinavian Stallion on a Scuba Diving boat in Vietnam. Again, listen to the episode above to hear about this meeting.
They traveled the world and when they ran out of visas to stay together, they hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) while dating, which was her first time sleeping in a tent. After that adventure, they got married.
Why Did Ville and Kristen Decide to Bike From Alaska to Argentina?
The adventure was an idea formed on the PCT and became a reality once they finished. They both know the importance of not wanting to live your life, and the planning began. The plan is to thoroughly wear out these crazy bodies and when they have no more get-up and go, they will have some incredible memories to share while they swing life away on their front porch somewhere.
This is a couple who knows how to live life.
Map of the Ride
How Did They Bike From Alaska to Argentina?
Kristen and Ville had their bikes shipped to Alaska. That's where their adventure began. Starting in Alaska, they saw over 60 polar bears and they had a fright of a lifetime when they scared away a mama bear who was charging at them by acting loud and big.
They then went to the Yukon, British Columbia then hit up the San Juan Islands. Just an FYI, Lopez Island is a fantastic island for bike riding and it's a very friendly island. They biked the 101 from the Pacific Northwest, down the coast of California, then into Baja. From there, they took a ferry over to the mainland then biked through Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica. They had to take a plane across some sketchy borders from Panama to Columbia, then went to Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
They chose to go over the Andes mountains in South America rather than the coast, which let them experience small towns (and very friendly people) off the grid.
Biking Huascaran National Park in Peru,