Malaysian Solo Bycycle Tour : Retiree braves coyotes and a tornado during US cycling tour

BUTTERWORTH: After “conquering” parts of the United States on a solo cycling tour, grandfather David Munusamy Reddie now feels like a full-fledged professional bicycle tourist.

The 59-year old retired Tenaga Nasional Bhd technician
 from Nibong Tebal, South Seberang Prai, said his 130-day
cycling trip covering 6,800km through 15 states,
was both challenging and exciting.

He said his previous cycling trips to Europe, China, India, Indonesia and many South-East Asian countries were not as adventurous as his trip to the United States between Aug 30 last year and Jan 8 this year.


David Munusamy Reddie



Tour of a lifetime: David at the entrance of the Yellow Stone National Park in Wyoming. He lists his tour of the United States as his most adventurous.

“In Texas, while I was sleeping in my little tent at a rest area, a pack of coyotes started circling and pawing my tent.

“I shivered in fear, but remained calm and prayed before dozing off from exhaustion,” he said in an interview.

He also survived a mini tornado in Arkansas and had a brush with an adult crocodile in Louisiana.

David said he also met many caring and loving families and individuals, who opened up their homes, offered warm meals and provided him free transportation to nearby destinations.

Not forget to bring along the Malaysia Flag
'Jalur Gemilang'

In New Mexico, a good Samaritan even paid for him to stay in a motel after seeing him shivering in the cold.

He also looked up six bicycle tourist friends whom he had hosted in his house during their visit to Malaysia.

Throughout his journey, David said he spent nearly RM16,000, including RM6,000 on the flight tickets, noting that he spent 30 days in campsites paying about RM40 per night, and 20 days in motels, paying between RM122 to RM240 per night.

The rest of the days he spent in the woods, under bridges, rest areas, church compounds and homes of new acquaintances.

He said he used local buses to travel through Oregon, California and Arizona due to the winter season.

Apart from visiting a few landmarks such as Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Arizona’s Montezuma Castle National Monument and Sandia Peak in Albuquerque, New Mexico, David said he was fortunate to meet the Houston mayor Annise Parker while in Texas.

While in Brownwood, Texas, he said, a journalist from local daily Brownwood Bulletin interviewed him on his travels and published a three-page story under the headline “Living the dream”.

David’s wife S. Kasturi, 54, said she prayed hard for her husband’s safety and health, but was confident that he would return home safely.

“I am especially grateful to all those strangers who treated my husband like their own family member,” she said.