“The most difficult part ot traditional taekwondo is not learningthe first kick or punch. It is not struggling to remember themotions of a poomsae or becoming aquainted with Korean culture.Rather, it is taking the first step across the threshold of the dojangdoor. This is where roads diverge, where choices are made thatwill resonate throughout a lifetime.”

“Over the last decades, the travel industry and media have unwittingly teamed up to create the gap this book aspires to fill. I read a lot of travel sections, travel sites, and travel magazines, and I realized one day I was getting punch-drunk on how fantastic everything was. There s just so much Escape, Undiscovered, Quaint, Top 10 Most Amazing . . . , Secret Beaches, Incredible Islands, Savvy, Frugal, Best Ever. These adjectives just don t connect with most of my experiences on the road life, misadventure, and a dose of Murphy s Law often get in the way.”

“Sassy had worked in El Paso, Texas as a waitress in a small café, a toll-booth cashier in Houston, Texas, posed nude for magazine photos in Reno, Nevada and even was a ski instructor in Granby, Colorado for a few years. Sassy was always looking. She was looking for something that she couldn’t find. Sassy wanted to go where the road led. She walked past other people’s dreams and security and followed the twisting snake through deserts and mountains, big cities and cow towns. Sassy was on a quest and she didn’t even know it. She would take her small earnings and saddle-up, following fate or hope or desire into new horizons with new promises--a skinny green-eyed girl carrying a backpack full of her life, down the roads of America.”

“Organizations are not just places where people have jobs.”

“You should step out of the box more often. See what the world has to offer.”“I stepped out of the box the night I broke the statue, and look where that got me.”“Exactly! You had a chance to get to know me as a result. Talk about lucky. Think what could happen if you tried again.”

“Yes! Yes! There's the attitude. Where was that girl during the race? Off getting sushi?”

“Your bike is discovery; your bike is freedom. It doesn't matter where you are, when you're on the saddle, you're taken away.”