I earned a bachelor’s degree in English and taught high school for a few years before pursuing a graduate education in communications. After grad school, I worked as a marketing manager for, of all things, a travel insurance company. In this position, I gained valuable experience in marketing, networking, connecting with the press, writing optimized copy, and creating buzz-worthy press releases on the stodgy topic of insurance.
Bored to tears by travel insurance, I decided to see if I could earn a living from writing. I’m happy to report that my writing has fed me for the past several years. I’ve created brochures, technical manuals, grant proposals, web copy, marketing materials, resumes, cover letters, dating profiles. You name it, I’ve written it. Except for erotic literature, but there’s still time. I’ve written over 600 articles for Livestrong, eHealth, AZCentral, and the Houston Chronicle, many of which were focused on cycling-related topics. In addition, I taught myself the basics of graphic design, web design, and web development. I manage all of my websites as well as several for my clients. My current business involves helping doctoral students through all phases of their dissertations, from identifying the research problem to the final defense, journal publication, and even ghostwriting books based on doctoral research. For more information, please visit Dissertation Angels. Through this work, I’ve become an expert researcher with connections to highly-educated and influential people all over the world (how’s that for highfalutin?). I’ve also created compelling presentations that have been used in front of prestigious audiences, including ballers like Bernie Sanders.
In terms of my personal background, I’ve long been a seeker of adventure. Several years before I bicycled the transamerica, I worked as a mermaid at Weeki Wachee Springs. I’ve driven back and forth across the country a number of times, floating from one city to the next to explore new places. Most recently, I bought an RV and equipped it with a composting toilet and enough solar to create an off-grid, portable tiny home that allows me to live and work from the most beautiful parts the country. I had never towed anything before I left Florida with my travel trailer last year, but I learned during the drive to Colorado. I’m always aiming to prove something new to myself, to see what I’m made of. To borrow from the words of Thoreau, I want to suck the marrow out of life. I maintain two blogs that document my travels (The Highway and I) and musings on life, society, and the experience of being a single woman in today’s world (The Bachelorette Diaries).
As a cyclist, I’ve ridden all over the country, participated in more century bike events than I can count, been clipped by cars, tumbled by paceline accidents, chased by dogs, and t-boned by an F-150. I own four bikes, including my first road bike (which has over 50,000 miles on it). I’ve climbed to the top of Trail Ridge Road (the highest continuous highway in the U.S.), twice. I’ve explored 30 states from the saddle of my bike. I also completed the 4,200 mile transam bike ride.