Bedrock
I’m sure someone’s thought of a better line than “once you go Bedrock you never go back” but that’s honestly all you really need to know. For bikepacking, bike touring, any kind of 99% outside sort of life it just makes sense to become a sandals person. Letting your feet BREATHE while riding feels OH so good and never having to wash socks is a huuuge added bonus. I put 32,000 miles (51,000km) into this pair before swapping to a fresh set when I got new pedals, but I’m sure they woulda kept going for another year or two nooo problem.
Central Valley to Tahoe
Central Valley Misc
LA to Fresno
Forms of Protest with True Marmalade
From Ope! Bikes:
In this episode, we’re venturing beyond the world of ultra distance racing and into something a little more poetic and a little more unconventional—with our guest, nomadic rider and storyteller, True Marmalade.
Erik Binggeser—better known by his rolling moniker, True Marmalade—has spent the past few years crisscrossing the U.S. by cargo bike, logging over 50,000 miles on a titanium Omnium as part of a slow, deliberate, and deeply intentional life on the road. Born and raised in Michigan, Erik’s journey winds through a former corporate career, a stretch of vanlife, and ultimately into a mode of travel that blends bikepacking, minimalism, food rescue, and a whole lot of human connection.
Last weekend I caught up with Erik right here in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was hunkered down for a bit—recharging, resupplying, and taking a short pause from the road. While in town, Erik joined a group ride with Matt and the crew over at HoboHubWorks, and showed up to soak in the action at Penrose Park Velodrome. It was a short stay, but a perfect opportunity to sit down and talk.
In this conversation, Erik and I talk about what it means to leave behind the idea of accumulation and lean into subtraction. We unpack his use of the Wandrer app, discuss life as a Type 1 diabetic on the road, and explore the mental and physical shifts that come with living from a bike. We also dig into the gear that keeps him moving—from custom bags by South City Stitchworks to a variety of collaborations with builders and bagmakers across the bike industry, turning his journey into a rolling canvas of creative partnerships.
And of course, we dive into Erik’s daily practice of dumpster diving and food rescue: how it began, why he continues to share it so openly, and what it’s revealed about waste, resourcefulness, and our connection to community.
There’s something gently radical about the way Erik moves through the world—what he’s doing feels like a form of protest, a kind of anarchist calisthenics, if you will. Erik challenges the status quo and invites us to rethink how we live, travel, and connect with others.
Listen to the interview here: https://opebikes.buzzsprout.com/2088510/episodes/17350817-forms-of-protest-with-true-marmalade
more of the best ones
Where to next? Honestly I need to know, gimme tips, where should I take this project next? It was one hellova grind rambling LA the way that I did so nearly aaanywhere else gotta be a breeze in comparison. Any city with 500k-1mil people should have enough dead ends to fill a month of rambling and raise a couple grand of fundraising for a new local org doing the same kinda great work that LABA does. All those donations y’all sent in have been put to use supporting their earn-a-bike program refurbing donations to get more kids out there riding, exploring their neighborhoods, and establishing a more empathetic POV than they’d get being ferried around in the back of a SUV eyes glued to an iPad instead of being a part of the world around them. Someone’s gotta know someone else doing good like this in a city and I’m hopeful that I can keep this everydeadend project going.
the best ones
I shot six thousand three hundred and ninety photos of dead ends while working on the LA project raising money for @labikeacademy. A LOT of them were boring copy paste repeats as most city sprawl ends up being, even in a city as varied as Los Angeles. Over the next SIX YEARS they will all be going up on @everydeadendproject (three per day, 9am noon and 3pm) but I’ve tried my best to narrow down some favorites. Some are simply very good lighting, others are lucky captures of small moments, but overall I hope these help illustrate a bit of what you can find if you ramble around your neighborhood a lil bit and poke around in places you normally wouldn’t.
can't stop won't stop
I’ve always tried my best to keep riding a bike from ever feeling like a job but this is the first time in years that I’d wake up and pull a “ughhh time to go to work...” before I get out of bed. The incredible support that y’all have thrown into this thing for @labikeacademy has done wonders, knowing that despite the insane capitalist world we live in I somehow managed to turn my DUMB way of riding a DUMB bike into a not-really-a-day-job that actually helps others. It feels impossible to go back to my life of career and house and stuff and XYZ whatever else I used to value. All I know to do now is this: keep riding bikes, keep helping people help people, and no matter what keep going.
paint isn't protection
Taken somewhere during @russetpeach and my tour down the west coast, never was there a better illustration of what it’s like to exist in 🇺🇸 outside of a 🚗. Yeah we’ll take a painted bike lane as wide as y’all are willing to give us but it doesn’t mean a goddamn when everyone is still rushing around in multi ton machines that can do zero to sixty in less time that it takes me to reach for my bidon.