I am the luckiest guy in the world. Not just because I was able to travel around the world with my family and live to write a book about it, but also because of the people who helped along the way. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for the many people who contributed to making this book a reality.
I’d like to start with Chris MacAskill. If it hadn’t been for his enthusiasm and great connections the train never would have left the station.
A heart-felt thank you goes to my friends at Google, Mark Fuchs, John Hanke, and Melissa Crounse, for their support and encouragement of this project. A big muchas gracias also goes to the talent at Concept3D! Oliver Davis and Matt Brown took the odds and ends that made up all my Google Earth placemarks and turned them into a true work of art.
To Linda Cashdan, who read an early version of this manuscript and gave me encouragement at a critical time, thank you for your kind words and for giving me the drive I needed.
More than any one person, Larry Habegger helped me take what was essentially a pile of e-mails and journal entries and turn it into a book. His assessments were always accurate, insightful, and invaluable. Thanks for your friendship and help in making this project a reality.
If a writer ever needed a friend in the world, it would be his agent. It is impossible to describe how much Jason Ashlock did for this project. I can’t imagine going through this process without his guidance and friendship. I especially want to thank Richard Fumosa for recognizing the potential of this project.
I also owe a debt of gratitude to September’s parents, Dale and Marie Blanchard, for looking after our domestic affairs while we were on the road.
Thanks to the legions of people who helped us find our way around the world. There are simply too many to mention, and many whose names I simply do not know. We will take all the generosity we received during our year on the road and pay it forward.
Most important, thanks to my lovely wife, September. Without her, this book would have never happened. Not only because she let me off the hook for my half of the laundry and dishes all those months I was writing this book, but also because when I asked, “remind me why I’m doing this again?” she knew just what to say to keep me at the keyboard when I really wanted to be riding my bike. It is because of her that I truly am the luckiest guy in the world.