Pan American bicycle tourist Sam Hagler just happened to have his camera running when he was attacked by a swarm of Africanized bees in Argentina recently.
The result is his gripping video posted on YouTube of him pedaling for his life.
Anyone on a long bicycle tour is bound to ride into some misfortune, but Sam had enough bad luck in that one day to last his entire 10,000-mile ride from Paraguay to Arizona.
The former Peace Corps volunteer supports the protection of endangered forests and is raising money through his Ride for the Trees to help fund two non-profits working to save the San Rafael Reserve in Paraguay.
But that bike tour nearly came to an abrupt end in northern Argentina in late January when he stopped at a bridge to take a break and look through the gear on his trailer to find a hammock. That's when a swarm of Africanized bees attacked.
Feeling something like needles stuck into his back, he ran down the road as fast as he could in cycling shoes. Some 25 to 50 bees were buzzing around or stinging him on his scalp, behind his ears, and on his neck and hands.
Return for gear
They stopped chasing him, and he returned to his bike to ride out of the area. He had just flipped on the camera hanging from his neck when he was attacked again:
“And suddenly there were hundreds of bees. In my jersey, on my mouth, all over my hands, and in my hair, of course in my hair, wow feel that? How they really get into your hair! I picked up my bag and threw it in in the back of my trailer, I think. I might have just left it in the grass. Nothing mattered except getting away from the bees …
“I considered jumping in the stream under the bridge, but the numbers of dead crocodiles and live snakes I had seen on the side of the road the past few days worried me more than the bees.”
No help
The first vehicle he saw was an ambulance, which didn't stop for him. Then it dawned on him that he didn't have his trailer bag anymore, which contained his tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, stove, cookset, clothes, shoes, tools, and replacement parts.
He found a police station, but the cop there wasn't interested in helping. Sam had to hitchhike back down the road, but his bag was gone. He says he returned to the police station where, full of toxins, he spent his time between the bathroom and the shade of a tree. He suffered from diarrhea, nausea and extreme exhaustion.
The ride
His mood seems to be improving as he continues his journey. He's ridden through Paraguay and Argentina and is currently in Bolivia. He'll continue through Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, take a boat around the Darien Gap to Panama, then travel through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Mexico and into Arizona.
He hopes to arrive back home in Arizona in October.
Donations
Sam's goal is to raise $100,000 for Guyra Paraguay and Procosara, two non-profits that are working to save the San Rafael forest preserve. The area is home to 27 Mbya Guarani indigenous communities that rely on the 173,000 acres of forestland, one of the last remaining primary forests in the world.
At the same time, Sam is struggling to raise money to keep his trip going. The thefts (his backpack was stolen near the start of the trip) have cut into his expenses. He doesn't want to abandon the Save the Trees bike tour, but he's afraid he'll hit a roadblock without support.
Visit the donation page to help fund Sam's trip or give money to the preservation of the San Rafael Reserve.
Photo of Sam Hagler pedaling past a logging truck from Ride for the Trees website.
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