Let’s face it. Anyone who’s ever been on a self-supported cycling tour knows that it is not always great. In fact, it often isn’t all that fun at all. There are lots of physically, mentally or emotionally difficult moments. When the wind is against you or the rain is harsh, you may curse the idea that brought you there. Want to give up when your bike breaks or a hill seems to much. Rise grumpy from an uncomfortable night spent sleeping on the ground or a sub-optimal campstove meal.

So why bother at all?

You can try to explain it by explaining the advantages of bike travel. These can be summarised simply as the perfect balance between getting places and going slow enough to experience them. But that’s intellectual and not what gets you hooked. It’s what you explain to people, not how you experience a tour. Not what makes all the bad moments worth it.

The real answer is magic. There’s the sheer joy of flying along a smooth road with a tailwind; the unexpected beauty of the sun reemerging after a storm; the bone-deep contentment that settles in as you lie staring up at the endless stars after a hard day’s riding.

They’re not often stories you can or want to share, but they’re magical; sometimes, they're everything.