Ian's Ride | Portland Book Launch

Join Ian Mackay and author Karen Polinsky to celebrate the release of Ian's Ride: A Long-Distance Journey to Joy. Mackay and Polinsky will be joined in conversation by Ian Ruder, Editor-in-Chief of New Mobility.  This event is free and open to the public. 

While studying as a biology undergrad at UC Santa Cruz, Ian Mackay crashed his bike into a tree on campus. Paralyzed from the shoulders down, Mackay adapted to his new life with the help of his dedicated family, particularly his mother, Teena Woodward, and a group of quirky friends. After years of despair, and against all odds, he became an inspiring leader, an innovator with Apple, and a world-record-breaking athlete. In this intimate biography based on more than one hundred hours of interviews, journal entries, and more, writer Karen Polinsky recounts Ian’s accident and determined recovery, in which he discovered the healing power of nature and community. Ian’s Ride is both a personal journey and an adventure quest for nature lovers, endurance athletes, and anyone struggling with a life-changing loss or diagnosis. This deeply moving true story examines how we exist in our bodies, adapt to and overcome adversity, and what it means to push our limits.

Karen Polinsky, a former journalist and high school teacher, is a novelist and playwright. Like Ian’s Ride, her first book, Dungeness, is set on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Polinsky has written more than a dozen staged plays. Based in Portland, Oregon, she enjoys camping, biking, and hiking with her husband, Michael, and her border collie, Pearl.

Ian Mackay, a C2/3 quadriplegic, is a nature lover, mobility technology innovator, and endurance athlete. Mackay is the executive director of the nonprofit Ian’s Ride, which aims to increase accessibility to the outdoors; an ambassador for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy; and a proud board member of The Here and Now Project, a chapter of the United Spinal Association. He lives in Port Angeles, Washington.

Ian Ruder is the Editor-in-Chief of New Mobility.com, the longest-running, most-trusted web site and publication for active wheelchair users. When he is not working to promote authentic voices and stories from the disability community, he can likely be found trying new restaurants and eating his way around the Pacific Northwest, rooting for his San Francisco Giants or expanding his massive Lego city.