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thank you

Thank you to all the people who have given me the help, support and encouragement which has made and continues to make this trip possible.

  • Melda and Jakub, in Prague, CZ, for being an important part of the very beginning of this trip, for putting me up when leaving Prague, for looking after sundry belongings to this day, for driving me and my bike to the airport, for ongoing technical support, on route, with all things digital.
  • Nic and Mike in Tabor, CZ for storing most of my Czech-based belongings in the attic of their house and extra thanks to Mike for hosting this blog and all his help with it.
  • Thomas, of Radspannerei, in Berlin, for building me a great bike.
  • Ron and Barb in Anchorage for being my first Warm Showers hosts – and exceptional ones, at that.
  • Dawn and Faith in Coldfoot for offering to look after a food package posted there and providing me with alternative food when it didn’t arrive in time. No thanks go to US Post.
  • Teresa and the truck drivers at her Hot Spot Cafe on the Dalton Highway just north of Yukon Crossing for organising to transport some of my gear to Fairbanks.
  • John Gimbel in Fairbanks for the extended use of his house.
  • Gary the bus driver in Denali National Park for a memorable bus ride.
  • Christine, in Talkeetna, for organising me a free seat in a small plane for a flight over Mount McKinley.
  • Johanna, of Anchorage, first for letting me sleep in the spare bed in her hotel room in Talkeetna and then for sending me onwards armed with her address in Anchorage.
  • Tom and Bridgette, in Palmer, for their warm spontaneous hospitality.
  • Johanna (again), Steve and Angela, for offering me refuge in Anchorage.
  • Adam, at Anchorage REI, for tuning up my bike after the rigours of the Dalton Highway free of charge.
  • Jay and Debbie. on the Tok Cutaway, for the maintaining the bike bus and offering it up to touring cyclists free of charge.
  • Renate and Gunter, at River Creek Campground, for giving me a new spoon, a truly essential camping item, when I needed one.
  • Tracy and Danusia (and all their various friends) in Whitehorse, for their warmth, hospitality and friendship.
  • The camp operators at Boya Lake Provincial Park, for a warm invitation to breakfast with them.
  • Richard, a fellow cyclist, for his company, which made Stewart a great place to be.
  • Heide and Andreas, of Austria, for feeding me very well on at least two occasions when our paths happened to cross in British Columbia.
  • Fred, in the Nisga’a Lava Bed Valley, for a hot cup of coffee on a rainy morning.
  • Penny and Ian, of Prince Rupert, for their hospitality and a great canoe adventure.
  • Sheila, of Lasqueti, for her friendship and conversation and letting me stay in her beautiful house over the water.
  • Chris, in Nanaimo, for rescuing a total stranger at dusk from a wet carkpark and providing a warm comfortable bed for the night.
  • Jane and Eric, migratory cyclists with a Salt Springs base, for their advice, friendship and hospitality.
  • Mark, on Whidbey Island, for feeding and entertaining me and providing me a place to pitch my tent on his expansive lawn.
  • Donna, of Seattle, for spontaneously offering me a bed for the night.
  • Tom and Jacky, of Seattle, for their hospitality.
  • Babs and Dennis, in Forks, Washington, for all sort of things: among them – good food, warm hospitality and showing me around the Olympic Penninsula.
  • Dave, in Beverly Beach Campground, for sharing his knowledge of mushrooms with me.
  • Bike Newport, in Newport, Oregon, for being a great bikeshop and ‘day hostel’ for touring cyclists.
  • The anonymous Fed-Ex Man who rescued me from a potentially scary dog incident.
  • Brian, at Jedidiah Smith National Park, California, for letting me use his fishing rod and not minding too much that I lost his lures.
  • Joe, who found me on the streets of Arcata, California, and put me up for the night, did my laundrey, fed me rubarb and strawberry pie and proved to be charming company.
  • Bill and Cheryle, of Ferndale, who spontaneously offered me dinner and a bed for the night.
  • Judy, Greg and Clare, of the San Fransico Bay Area, for their generosity in letting me be part of their busy lives and the help, support and advice they provided during an extended stay.
  • Stella, of the San Fransico Bay Area, for becoming a friend.
  • Doris and John, of June Lake, for their generous hospitality and excellent food and a great day around Mono Lake and Brodie.
  • Brain and Kathleen, of Bishop, for providing warmth and shelter on a couple of cold windy days.
  • Mike for sharing his knowledge of Death Valley.
  • The dirt-bike guys who stopped in the middle of the Mojave Desert to ask if I needed help when they saw I was repairing my bike.
  • George, at the Needles Inn, for doing my laundry and providing an idiosyncratic and unexpected refuge.
  • Jess and Tank, in Tuyasan, for giving me a warm comfortable base from which to explore the Grand Canyon and for some great late night conversations.
  • Josh and Melanie, of Flagstaff, for exceptional hospitality and support.
  • Bryce, of AZ Bikes, Flagstaff, for letting me use his workshop and supervising me while I tackled my bike repairs.
  • Nita, of Pie Town, who I never actually even met – a trail angel who provides an amazing refuge at the Toaster House for weary walkers and bikers on the Great Divide Route.
  • Cathy and Ron, of the Pie-o-Neer Cafe, for looking after four hungry cyclists on Thanksgiving and lavishing lots of pie on us for the duration of our stay in Pie Town.
  • George, who turned up just in time to alleviate our foodless plight in Pie Town, where there is plenty of pie but no grocery stores.
  • Klara, at the Gila Hot Springs, for giving us fresh elk meat and other goodies which saved us from a dinnerless night.
  • Jamie and his household in Silver City, for letting us colonise their lounge room floor for quite a long time.
  • Dave, at the Bike Works in Silver City, for creating such a great resource for cyclists and for helping me out with my bike.
  • Oscar, the Mexican border offical, for making our entry into Mexico an exceptional experience.
  • Carlos in Ejido el Largo, Chihuahua, Mexico, for giving us a place to lay our heads in his crowded work house and also to Soco, for feeding us.
  • Jesus, in Ejido el Largo, Chihuahua, Mexico, for the tamales and bunuelos.
  • Keith, of Entre Amigos, in Urique, for creating a magic garden and a great place to stay.
  • Pollo, in Guachochi, Chihuahua, for all the excellent food and entertaining stories in his seafood restaurant.
  • Abraham Garcia, in Tepehuanes, who sought us out to talk bike talk and hooked us up with the Durango mountain biking scene.
  • Jose Ramon, Jorge, Jaime, of the Cocono Salvajes Mountain Bike Club in Santiago Papasquiaro, for putting us up, feeding us, taking us for a ride and generally looking after us.
  • Genaro Garcia, in Canatlan, for his extra-ordinarily generous hospitality.
  • Panchito Garcia, for the use of his workshop in Durango.
  • Frida and Jorge Luis, for unquestioningly offering hospitality to four tired dirty cyclists at short notice.
  • Victor and his house mate in Zacatecas and Monica and Andrea in Guadalupe, for their hospitality – totally different in style but equally generous.
  • Jeff, Jason and Cass, fellow cyclists, for providing me with knowledgeable, challenging and extremely entertaining companionship for three months. Cass, in the first place, for inviting me to join them; Jeff, for teaching me names of the birds and the stars (or at least some of them); Jason, for providing a cool soundtrack in hotel rooms and by the camp fire; all of them for being fantastic company during many great adventures.
  • Angel Guytan Bautista, who insisted on guiding me through Guadalupe to the highway.
  • Ray, in San Miguel de Allende, for treating me to a lovely birthday dinner and putting me up for a couple of nights.
  • Meara, in Queretaro, for her hospitality.
  • The guy at Chincua Butterfly Sanctuary who gave me information and directions to the sanctuary at Mancheros.
  • Ruth and her family, who fed me and gave me a much needed place to sleep when no camping possibilities presented themselves to me.
  • Samuel, Cesar and Mikki, in Toluca, for looking after me.
  • Marco Antonio Gonzales, who generously dedicated an afternoon to riding with me as a guide from La Marquesa into Mexico City.
  • Alisa and her flat-mates, in Mexico City, for providing me a couch to sleep on and letting me (and all my belongings) stay for a such a long time that we became good friends.
  • Rose and her charming cat, Yumi, for putting me up for almost a week in Mexico City.
  • Kodiak, from Ciclovida in Mexico City, who gave me a new helmet to replace the one that was stolen in Guachochi.
  • Monica Wyszkowska, in Puebla, who lent me a pair of hiking boots for my ascent of Iztaccihuatl.
  • Grant Ferguson, of Mexico City, for letting me make his apartment my home during my second sojourn in DF.
  • Cheve Barojas, from Mexico City, for guiding me up Iztaccihuatl.
  • The Martinez family, in Chiapas, who, without hesitating, offered me hospitality and shared everything they had with me.
  • Elias, for letting me camp on the veranadah at Cueva de Tejon by a gorgeous river near Bonampak.
  • The French man and his son who invited me to dinner at Tikal.
  • Antonio, in Uaxactun, Guatemala, who took a serious interest in my jungle adventure and provided lots of information and guidance to help make it happen.
  • Cain and his workmate at the Dos Lagunas work camp in Peten, Gautemala, for letting me stay the night and use their kitchen.
  • Everybody at the Rio Azul work camp in Peten, Guatemala, where I stayed for two nights, for their help, advice and hospitality.
  • George, the ex-pat Hungarian in Belize, who let me camp behind his house.
  • Bruce, in Belize, who spent several hours of his time phoning around to find the right people to assist me cross a river which would have otherwise blocked my way.
  • The rangers at Hillbank, for sharing their lunch with me.
  • Nat and Katy, the ornithologists at Hillbank, Belize, who offered me a warm welcome where it was otherwise tepid and proved such interesting and entertaining company that I ended up staying two nights.
  • Ingrid, in San Felipe, Belize, who saw how crestfallen I looked when she told me she didn’t have any tamales for sale, fed me chicken, rice and beans instead, wouldn’t let me pay for it and insisted I must visit again when I next pass that way.
  • The guy who, when I asked if he knew where I could camp on the heavily developed Yucatan Peninsula coastline approaching Playa de Carmen, without saying a word, simply opened the gate to his property and showed me where I could set up my tent and plied me with a multitude of edible treats.
  • Hector and Vero, in Cancun, who provided accommodation and heaps of support while I to-ed and fro-ed in and out of Cancun while preparing to go to Cuba.
  • Reishee, on his floating island on the lagoon on Isla Mujeres, for letting me stay in that magic realm.
  • Tom, at the Marina Paraiso on Isla Mujeres, for offering me my second floating home on the Isla Mujeres and John, for making sure I was well fed while I was there.
  • Bernado, from Belgium, who I met on the flight to Cuba and who helped me with my boxed bike on the journey from Jose Marti Airport into Havana.
  • Silvia and Regis, a couple of French cyclists I met at Playa Jutias, who treated my hand after a minor bike accident.
  • Osmany, at the Ecological Station on Gunahabibicanes Peninsula, Cuba, for sharing his considerable knowledge of the area and for his genuine interest in me and my journey.
  • The Dutch couple I met on the beach at Las Tumlas, Cuba, who gave me some Bettadine to treat my hand.
  • Alejandro, Ramon and Yoanna, three biology students studying sea turtles on the Gunahabibicanes Peninsula, who welcomed me into their camp on a wild windy, rainy day and shared their dinner and dreams with me.
  • Mercerdes and Sofia, in La Bajada, Cuba, for welcoming me into their home and feeding me.
  • All the people in Cuba who refilled my water bottles.
  • Laurenca, in Guasana, who cooked a fine meal for me, with what little she had, and tried to refuse any payment for it.
  • Katarina and William, fellow cyclists that I met in Trinidad, Cuba, who improved the quality of my sleep by giving me one of their Thermarests when I mentioned that mine had recalcitrant punctures.
  • Lazaro, the caretaker at the monument to Antonio D., outside Trinidad, who let me camp there and gave me cold water and hot coffee.
  • Hector and Vero (again), for putting me up (again) in Cancun. These people are great!
  • Rodrigo, in Cancun, for letting me stay, longer and longer, and providing me with chilled out conversation and relaxed companionship.
  • The Manglares de Dzinitun project, in Celestun, for giving me a tour and a lovely place to camp.
  • Lea/Jodie, in Morales, for an extended stay in her mountain retreat where I could gorge myself on food, conversation and books and undertake the massive project of creating a set of framebags.
  • Micycle, a bikeshop in London, for providing me with the tools and support needed for me to build a new wheel.
  • Alissia and Raul, of Curnevaca, for lending me their sewing machine.
  • Noah, of Montecassino, Morales, who spontaneously stopped to offer me a lift into Cuernavaca when I was burdened by the sewing machine.
  • The family who let me camp in their yard on my first night in Guatemala.
  • All the guards at various archeological sites in the El Mirador basin, Peten Guatemala, who provided me with cups of coffee and shared their frijoles and tortillas with me.
  • Henri, from the Nakbe encampment in Peten, Guatemala, who accompanied me to Carmelita, after I was bitten by a fox and needed to get medical attention, and to Cameron (the horse’s name is Prawn in English), the long-suffering and valiant horse.
  • Conchita of Carmelita, Peten, Guatemala, who looked after my bike while I walked to El Mirador and exerted herself considerably to organise a lift for me to the health services of Santa Elena when I returned after being bitten by a fox.
  • The two drivers of Carmelita’s collective vehicle who drove me to San Benito Hospital and then to a hotel in Flores in the middle of the night.
  • The all the staff at the Santa Elena Health Centre, Peten, Guatemala who administered my rabies vaccines and especially to the nurse who came specially on Saturday morning when the Centre is not normally open to give me my second injection.
  • Claudia, in Guatemala City, who – never having met me before – picked me up from the bus station, drove me to the hospital, and generally went out of her to look after me when I arrived on extremely short notice to get yet another anti-rabies injection.
  • N., who would rather not be named, who extraordinarily generously sent me a package of quality parts to repair my limping bicycle.
  • Paula, of Bio Itza Spanish School, San Jose, Guatemala, for looking after me in San Jose and making sure that I was happy and comfortable.
  • Reginaldo, of Bio Itza Spanish School, San Jose, Guatemala, for two weeks of intelligent and inspiring conversations on any number of subjects during which he did not forget his role as my teacher and patiently corrected the errors of my Spanish. Special thanks for the parting gift of a book by Rigoberta Menchu.
  • Silke, a German cyclist who I travelled with for a month or so, for following me where she might not have bothered to go of her own accord.
  • Kevin, in Xela, for hard-core yoga classes and the odd meal at the Xela Yoga House and conversation about books and life at the Vrisa’s Bookstore.
  • Tank and Mike for inviting me to crash their scene in San Pedro, Guatemala.
  • All the crew at Maya Pedal, in San Andres, Guatemala, for a warm welcome and good food and especially to Bruce for his patience and expertise with my bike.
  • The girl, whose name I forget, who offered up the church next door to her house as a camp-site in a small town, whose name I also forget, near Guatemala’s border with El Salvador.
  • The family who offered me hospitality and food on my first night in El Salvador.
  • Lindsey, a friend from Prague, for making the time to hang out by the lake for a lazy week.
  • Kelly and Kurt, fellow cyclists, for excellent company and conversation while cycling, cooking, camping.
  • Lem and Veneranda, of Brus Laguna, in La Moskitia, Honduras, for  information, hospitality and friendship.
  • Alex for coconuts, prawns and a camp site in his back yard.
  • Bani Zalaya and his son for guiding me through the jungle when I lost the path between Brus Laguna and Ahuas.
  • Ignacio, who appeared like an angel on the banks of a nameless river in the middle of the jungle, and pushed my bike to the River Putuca where I wanted to be.
  • Javier and his brothers who ferried me across the Putuca and who, in mythological style, I paid with a zapote seed.
  • Yudinya and Carla, Ahuas for their hospitality and kindness while I regained energy for the second leg of my Moskitia adventure.
  • Geraldo and Norbel - doctors at the Ahuas Mission Hospital who let me use their internet
  • All the other people in La Moskitia, whose names I did not record, who helped me with much needed information and guidance in negotiating the areas roadless swamp, jungle and savannah, not to mention physical assistance in getting me and my bike across various rivers.
  • Chente and Ilona, on Little Corn, for introducing me to the world underwater.
  • Steph and Esmeralda, on Little Corn, for congenial company and conversation.

The list is incomplete – I have received help, support and advice from all sorts of people on my journey and my heartfelt thanks go to all of them.