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Road Magic

I’ve been in the USA for about a month now and have just under two months left before I head back to the UK.

There have been some wonderful bits, some difficult bits, and some disconcerting through to downright terrifying moments. Overall, I have met many interested, kind and thoughtful people who have really helped me get through and made this trip much less lonely.

In no particular order, here are some of the many instances of kindness that I’ve encountered in the last few weeks:

John, fellow Brit who was on the same flight to Austin and staying at the same hostel, who walked to an Amazon Locker with me to collect my maps and then had a few beers with, making my first evening in the USA more successful and convivial that I could have hoped.

Fanny, the excitable French taxi driver who got me from the airport to the hostel while telling me all the truck drivers secrets.

Everyone at Bicycle Sports Shop Austin who dealt with me delivering them a mechanical curve ball with absolute grace and whose hard work meant that I headed off on my tour on schedule with a fully functioning bicycle.

The member of staff at the Dairy Queen in Johnson City who gave me a massive ice cream for free. Literal manna from heaven on a hot and difficult second day of cycling.

The friendly old boy I met at the municipal campsite in Fredericksburg who told me it was headwind all the way West. I resented the information… but he was kinda right.

The friendly old boy I met riding into Brackettville who told me that it wasn’t headwind all the way West. I appreciated the information… but he was kinda wrong.

Antonio for buying me a beer in the Camp Wood biker bar.

The snowbirds of Fort Clark, Brackettville, for inviting me to their Valentine's Day chili cook off. A halfway proper dinner was most appreciated.

Jeanie and Coco, who I met in Seminole Canyon, introduced a different pace to my tour and reminded me that I don’t just have to slog long my planned route day after day. We enjoyed some excellent fireside meals and conversations, and they gave me a lift into Big Bend. If it wasn’t for Jeanie I wouldn’t have visited Big Bend, nor hiked to the Hot Springs and paddled in the Rio Grande. I hope to catch up with them in California before I head back to the UK.

Brandy and Ray who saw me riding into Sanderson after a tough 80 mile day and greeted me with a cold beer and a good chat.

Mike O’Connor, the rancher who insisted on giving me a lift to the next town when he saw me struggling up hill into the driving wind and rain between Sanderson and Marathon.

Maria, my Polish RV mum. She insisted on giving me breakfast on the morning I left Seminole Canyon, gave me a hug and told me “You need a hug everyday.” Bumping into her (twice!) in Big Bend, she came through on her declaration and gave me much needed hugs.

Freddy, a young guy who lives in his car, who used the hostel in Austin once a week to cook a good dinner and have a proper wash and sleep. He kindly invited me to eat a great meal with him and pointed out that the American coins I had brought with me were actually Euros.

Joe Pat Hennon, who I met standing round the fire in the Marathon Motel, and insisted on giving me one of his CDs. (Nevermind I’m on a cycle tour and didn’t know when I’d next be near a CD player. We ended up listening to it in Alpine.)

Lisa, the beautiful Park Ranger at Big Bend National Park, who told me *exactly* where the hills were in the next 30 miles out towards Terlingua and recommended La Kiva for a beer and burger.

The folk at La Kiva, Terlingua, - especially Dena and Deniro who adopted me and showed me round the ghost town, as well as how to handle the packs of desert dogs - for letting me camp out the back of the bar. I really liked Terlingua, though it's goat head thorns have killed my sleeping mat.

The classic Texan gentleman, complete with cowboy hat, who, remembering me from a previous campground and meeting me again at La Kiva, insisted on buying me a beer.

Chelsea and Sara who let me hitch a lift to Alpine from Terlingua, saving me a gruelling 80 miles of windy desert riding. Who would have thought strapping a bike to a car roof would be such a hilarious challenge.

Betsy in Alpine, as well as Shea and Lyndsey, who let me not only stay with them for a restful long weekend, but let me be part of their cool girl gang. Especially Lyndsey who drove us to the amazing Balmorhea spring - after getting over my trepidation at the overly friendly fish, this is the best swim I’ve had in the US - and for getting me to El Paso the next day.

Kirsty and Erin in El Paso for a good night’s sleep. I’m looking forward to coming back to see them in a few days.

Lisa in Las Cruces who has helped me so much I’m not sure where to begin. Lisa is an amazingly generous and chilled out host, if you are riding the Souther Tier you must send her a message via Warm Showers.

Pilar, who I have decided may actually be a saint. On Wednesday I was attacked by a bunch of farm dogs just outside Hatch. Pilar was the first person to stop and she quickly figured out what to do (call her boss to take me into town in his truck) and prayed for me. And of course her boss, Zane, who turned up so quickly and was the picture of practical concern and helpfulness.

Bill, the retired motorcycle mechanic I met at Percha Dam Campground, who took the time to true my wheel which was wildly out of tension. When the dogs attacked me, they managed to somehow rip a rear pannier from its rack, wedging it between the wheel and rear triangle. I rode to the campground, desperate to continue the tour, but quickly realised my wheel was borked beyond my capability to fix. My first plan was to see if anyone was going to a town with a bike shop, and Bill was the first person I asked.

Eric - another cycle tourist who is staying with Lisa - who borrowed a car and came to get me when I realised I was more shaken and upset by the dog attack that I first wanted to admit, and got me back to Las Cruces.

People like to share horror stories and make fateful predictions. In the same bar that I was bought a beer by Antonio (a young guy of Mexican descent), a woman told me that I was likely to be kidnapped by Mexicans and sold into sex slavery for daring to go so close to the border alone. I’ve been told to get a gun or a man or a whole new plan. There are cartels and rattlesnakes to fear.

The dog attack was terrifying and upsetting, and has caused me to change my plans for the next few weeks. But what I will remember is that when the thing that I’ve openly said I was most fearful about did happen, both strangers and new friends stepped up to help.

There is much I still need to beware of and be careful of on this cycle tour. Being alone in a different country is not a time to be naive. But I honestly believe - half through airy fairy hopefulness and half through actual experience - that people are good and if you need it, they will help you.

This is something Steve, former self confessed hobo and seriously canny cycle tourist I met staying in Las Cruces, calls Road Magic.

I’m removing a few hundred miles of New Mexico and Arizona from my itinerary. Tomorrow I’m heading back to El Paso and then on to the West Coast via train. My plans have changed so much in the last month that I’m uncertain what the next two will hold.But I’m confident that I will encounter enough kindness and Road Magic to outweigh the challenges and difficulties.

The best place to keep up with where I am and what I am up to is Twitter and Instagram.

#ACAsotier #road magic #kindness of strangers #cycle touring

Appearing like trenches dragged into the earth, sunken lanes, also called hollow-ways or holloways, are centuries-old thoroughfares worn down by the traffic...

#liminal spaces #road magic

Sometimes you've been on the road for too long and you're really tired and you're pushing the limits of what's comfortable cause you've gotten a bit desperate. And then sometimes a car full of puppies and hippies from Green Mountain picks you up, and they offer you beer and take you 50 miles closer to your destination. Oh yeah and the stereo is playing Talking Heads and David Bowie and the sun is shining and you realize how happy you are and that all the bullshit it took to get to here was ultimately worth it in that moment.

#summer adventure #road magic #traveling