Cycletouring opens the heart and the mind; both of the person doing the touring and of those with whom the cycletourist interacts. The kindness of locals and others tourists directed toward me never ceases to amaze me. As a direct result of this generosity, I am always inspired to try and be a more kind and generous person. I’ve been planning to write this blogpost upon my return home for some time, but as often happens, situations change and perspective and priorities change. The current pandemic definitely has not change how much am inspired by the generosity of others, but instead it has inspired me to make this a two part post. First, to write about a sample of the acts of kindness to which I was a fortunate recipient during my recent travel. I hope for this to serve as an additional Thank You to those individuals. Secondly, I will consider the acts of sacrifice, kindness, and bravery in which many of my friends are currently involved.
During my first tour of New Zealand more than two years ago I met a group of guys bikepacking and primarily stayed in touch with one of them, Daniel. Upon my return to New Zealand Daniel was traversing the country on foot, hiking the Te Araroa Trail. However, through Daniel I connected with the others from the group: Wayne and Victor. Wayne was between jobs and hanging out down in the Rotarua area of the North Island. Once I was in the region Wayne and his girlfriend, Tatiana, made the decision to come camp with me for a night. On the way, Wayne and Tatiana picked up some supplies for me and we passed an enjoyable evening on the shore of Lake Maraetai. After being on my own for a couple weeks it was great to have company, the next day we all went for small ride, a swim, and then despite having three bikes and camping gear between us, Wayne got busy breaking their bikes down enough that we could fit everything and me in the back of his station wagon to give me a ride to Rotarua! This saved me from cycling a bunch of busy highway miles. Little did I know that this was only a hint at the abundance of kindness they would continue to shower me with for the next couple of weeks. Wayne and Tatiana were spending the weekend with Wayne’s brother in Rotorua and I was able to camp nearby because like most NZ towns, there were several Holiday Parks (glampgrounds) to choose from. His family proceeded to feed me amazing vegan food and most importantly sent me off with a tiny container of home-made habanero sauce! Hot sauce is tough to come by in New Zealand! Wayne and Tatiana also took me to the beautiful Blue Lake where we hiked and swam. (Actually they went running. I don’t run.)
After being spoiled in Rotorua for a couple of days I headed off on my solo pursuits to the Coromandel Peninsula. This ended up being an ill-conceived idea for several reasons (holiday weekend in that area, drought closing forest roads, traffic, crowded campsites etc…), but going up the peninsula allowed me to access Auckland (and my upcoming flight) via ferry instead of riding through endless suburbs, which was appreciated! Due to an intermittent ferry schedule I arrived in Auckland three days before my flight. Victor had kindly offered me a place to stay and I was able to ride to his place from the ferry. I spent three days sharing great food, as well as enjoying laughter and yoga, with a house full of vegan immigrants (mostly from South America). As much as I prefer the small quiet villages of the South Island, I do appreciate the greater cultural diversity of the North Island.
As I mentioned, Wayne’s generosity seems to know no bounds. He and Tatiana were back in Auckland where we met up for meals and hikes. But where Wayne really went over and above was by picking me up at 3:30am to take me to the airport! I really can’t stress enough how much these individuals went above and beyond sharing their time, friendship, and resources. This is where the inspiration comes in. I generally try and be a kind person, but I don’t always go out of my way to do so much for others, especially people I do not know well. I hold these memories with me as fuel for my desire to continue to be more generous in each day of my life. All of this is really the beginning and not the end of the wonderful human interactions during my four months of solo travel.
From Auckland I flew to Hobart, Tasmania, AUS. Cities are always the most overwhelming for me, rooms cost more and I tend to find the bustle and busy roads overwhelming. My Australian friends Brett and Natalie connected me with one of their dearest friends in Hobart. Jasmine and her family set me up in their extra room, giving up AirBnB income to do so; they fed me, loved me, and showered me with gifts — the greatest of which was being able to hang out with a precocious nine year old! Jasmine will probably kill me for sharing this picture of them in their pajamas, but I can’t help it; they all look so beautiful to me! As a pedaled away into the hills from their house I almost started crying from loneliness; they made me feel like part of the family in just two short days.
Who would think I have so many connections in Tasmania?! But it turns out my friend Shane (who I met at the same time as Richelle (below), when we were all bikepacking in Canada, just bought a wilderness block of land near Deloraine, Tas with his partner Jacqui). They picked me up in town, drove me to their cabin in the woods and let me spend the night in the mobile guest room (aka van), which was much appreciated on a very cold night in which rain was predicted! I completely dropped the ball on getting pictures of them, but it was so wonderful to reconnect with Shane and meet Jacqui. Thanks guys, I can’t wait to taste the wine that comes from your vines!
From Tasmania I took the ferry over to Melbourne, Australia where my friend Richelle picked me up and whisked me off to the local mountains where she was working a running race for the weekend. Richelle owns a fabulous body positive company called Escaping Your Comfort Zone that helps gets women and nonbinary folks moving in outdoor spaces; individuals who generally feel ostracised from the fancy and fit (code for skinny) outdoor industry. Thank you Richelle for the awesome and important work you are doing!! The weekend involved tons of foot races and adventures, but also super silly and fun events such as the Lilo Derby. Lilo is a term used in Australia to generally describe any water flotation device. First the derby participants run about 1km upstream and then float back to the finish line; shoes and helmets required! There were lots of creative Lilos and costumes. Yay for fun people!
Following a very full weekend we returned to Richelle’s place near the beach west of Melbourne and this sign was in the guest room.
This. From a woman I met once six years ago. The world is full of kind and amazing people who will lift you up. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. And be one of those people!
Next up, Western Australia! Via Airplane. Australia is a very large, hot, and empty place and I couldn’t just hop on my bicycle to go see friends in other parts of the country. I was so excited to see Brett and Natalie, Australians (and now also US citizens!) who had only recently returned to Fremantle after years of living in Santa Barbara. Brett fetched me from the airport and the next day we started a great road trip up the Western coast of Australia. They shared so many beautiful locations with me, we swam in the Indian Ocean, and caught up in the way that old friends do. Thank you for being such a loving and thoughtful family. And thanks to Samuel for the games of chess! Following my visit with them I returned to Richelle’s house to pack up my bike and race the pandemic home.
Part II
And here we are in the middle of a pandemic where I want to recognize heros all over the world, but particularly folks in the medical field putting their lives on the line. Once I recovered from the fog induced by international travel while ill I started to feel a sense of uselessness. Right now the burden in our society is being born so unevenly. On one end of the spectrum is individuals risking their lives each day and working themselves into exhaustion and at the other end are those like myself with no responsibilities at all. It especially came to head for me the day that two dear friends independently confided in me how much they were struggling, one a pathologist and the other a nurse. It broke my heart that my loved ones are carrying so much and I could not help them. First I want to restate a sincere thank you to the health care workers, garbage collectors, grocery store workers and every single person stepping up to work harder than ever to help others. And, of course, a special shout out to all the teachers in my life putting in the long hard hours to suddenly convert their courses for online education. In the intervening weeks since those texts and calls I have found ways to help and I encourage those with the time and resources to do the same. We CAN help shoulder this burden. If you need an idea of where to start, food banks are especially in need right now, both for supplies and volunteers.
Again, my heart is warmed by your words! Thank you for that, first and foremost. You do however need to remember this about your self and others of us who could feel useless at this time…we are NOT useless. Yes, perhaps we are not on the front lines fighting the good fight and being useful in a physical way, however our words, our spirit, our very being is important, useful and uplifting to our friends. Personally you have brought (and continue to being) great joy and love to one who is extremely important to me…for that, I will be forever grateful. I have still to physically meet you and yet I feel such love and gratitude in my heart for you. YOU ARE BEING USEFUL! Know it, believe it, live it.
Thank you for the sentiment and for making such a great point! Keep taking care and sharing love and positivity with your words!