Here’s a bunch more photos from the Dirt Devil 3 day trip because it was just that dang good of a time.
Singletrack Samurai
Next up on the perfect coincidence of planets aligning was a three day trip with Karlos Bernart and co around some BEA EEE AYY YOU TEE FUL florida “gravel” roads.
A+++ camping too at Gilchrist Blue Springs and Two Hawk Hammock (which has the coolest tree I’ve ever seen and an emu named Kahlua) so uhh yeah would definitely recommend signing up for a future event by Karlos or grabbing some of his routes off RWGPS and giving them a ramble on your own.
So many backyard future camp spots have been added to my world map after this trip that I’m gonna start scouting out weekend bikepacking tours along the way (send me your suggestions!) as a reliable method to meet my favorite kinda locals.
Gainesville
It seems I’ve adapted into a sorta game of touring for a week or two, then staying with friends (whether new or old) in a city for a week or two, then continuing on to the next spot that anchors my interest.
Even me being that basic pessimist realist misanthropic sadboi, I still seem to have a need for human connection and companionship that is slow roasting in these depths.
SOMEHOW I keep getting goddamn lucky ending up in very right places at very right times like Gainesville for this lil s24 with the Bikes and More crew which perfectly satisfies that requirement. Bit of wet weather, bit of throwing stuff at stuff, bit of donuts on pizza, bit of exploring abandoned houses, and a lotta everything coming together juuust right.
No Plans, Just Chaos
One of the foremost things a dirtbag riding across the country can do is to remain flexible and fluid.
Always prepared to rewrite the script at a moment's notice, whether it means detouring (or delaying) to avoid a storm, or spending an extra day in a town that wasn’t even on the original itinerary because the paths crossed with yours are the most goddamn interesting you’ve savored in a while.
Being open to new experiences means you’re more likely to find excuses to turn that rain day into something that’ll be treasured rather than reasons for regret.
Always Good Sleeps
Shelter is on that base pyramid level of what Maslow said individuals in a society need need NEED in order to I guess, function? This structure seems to be a logical theory to help explain motivations and how to prioritize certain goals as you / me / everyone goes about their day-to-day lives. Fulfilling all of a lower tier before attending to a higher set of needs is where the idea starts to crumble #atmo.
Blending the first few levels together feels a bit straightforward. Physiological, safety, and belongingness; each can be redefined and adjusted to rely on another to satisfy your own personal definition of completion. It’s a struggle to feel safe if someone doesn’t also feel they belong in a space. It’s difficult to feel full or fulfilled if both stomach and brain are empty (or filled with depressive thoughts).
Finding (dry, legal, comfortable) shelter while traveling by bicycle has been the most limiting element of this endeavor. I would ride for a solid 8 hours every single day if it was possible to stop _anywhere_ and set up my tent on the side of the road soon as my legs decided they were done spinning. Instead this method of travel feels more like a Math.floor(Math.random() * 80) + 30; sort of function where I want to do at least a few hours of riding, but oops might have to bang on until well after sunset to make it to the next camp spot or cut it waaay short early in the afternoon.
What if shelter was all around us? Wherever our own pyramid of needs suddenly required it to appear we could construct a little respite to recharge, then continue on the next days wrote of fulfilling the higher levels of esteem and self-actualization. What could be accomplished by society if everyones foundation of air, food, water, shelter, health, safety, friendship, trust, and love were bolstered by everyone else?
The Magic
At this point nothing should really arrive as a surprise to me but I’ll admit that my initial expectations for the people I’d meet during this midlife crisis adventure were (as they almost always are) lowww. There are enough stories about random hospitality for those on bicycle tours to fill libraries of books but surely that’s only for other countries, Greece / Mexico / Tajikistan / etc, rather than the good ol you ess of eyy?
Turns out nah most people are cool here too. Everyone either has a memory bank overflowing with stories to tell and / or plenty of room to gather whatever nonsense I felt like babbling on about while I scarfed down the leftover sandwich / pizza / apples they had just gifted me.
Occasionally uncomfortable but always refreshing, exchanging words with people aligned with the theory that traveling by bicycle is about being here rather than getting there. A safe place to stay or 50 miles worth of food may be the reward for allowing a right winged ramble instead of trying to explain to them wait but that’s literally fascism.
Engaging with life, accepting and tolerating all facets of it, is the entire point. The road and world is certainly a cruel teacher, tossing bad decisions back in my face without a shred of mercy. But time and time again patience and trust is rewarded with fuel for the legs / heart / soul.
Signs of Life
Warmshowers locations almost always have an impossibly unpredictable variety of little objects, eclectic decor, and often just stuff left behind from someone else who had blessed their own bit of warmth upon the bed I’m about to topple onto.
They really bolster the cornerstone of my ever growing theory that the optimal way to wander through life is spending more time on the side quests than the main storyline.
Follow the tip on that cool spot to stay because good odds it’ll branch off into a series of fresh ventures that no amount of butterfly wing scientific studies could’ve predicted.
Routine
Dots connecting dots connecting dots connecting. It’s been so many instances of meeting people who recommend a spot few hundred miles up leading to a perfectly warm little cabin instead of $$ cold tent state park that I should hardly be surprised. Let it happen and don’t overthink it.
Wake up. Take insulin. Make coffee. Forgot to stretch. Eat half a dozen donuts before quickly hopping on the bike praying I get the timing right to avoid a blood sugar spike. Don’t think about the end, just the next few miles.
Learn to love the momentum. Undeniably the best part of riding a bike, the decent after crawling up every single dumb climb at a speed barely matching what you’d be walking. Heavy bike. Heavy breaths.
Everything is to be treasured. There’s no simply pushing a button (or gas pedal) to get somewhere, telling yourself that the view you take in is something you earned, taking a picture and then heading home. People talk about loving road trips but I’d bet the world no one’s going to drive across the country at half the speed limit. Hurry hurry hurry, hurry up and wait.
P.s. Look in dumpsters.
Breaking Rules
Two detours deep into riding across Texas standing at the front desk at Panther Junction in Big Bend I’m explaining to the person that “No I promise I don’t mind I can totally just put my tent in the parking lot if there’s no sites I only have a handful of miles left in these legs…” and they would not let it go that there simply was not a single available spot remaining in the entire park and overnight parking was not allowed. Barely a minutes window of serendipitous timing dropped a group of gents in line next to me registering a river permit for a kayaking trip they had planned for the next few days, them overhearing my (admittedly amplified) frustrations, and offering to join them at their registered site. I was betting they half provided me an alibi if I wanted to then just go ⛺ off in the desert somewhere buuut I said fuck it; the five of us managed to get Omnium into the back of a truck and I rode with em downnn to their spot.
We chatted about what it means to adventure in these modern times, connected dots on numerous things I miss about Austin (where they all live, miss u Freebirds), watched the sun set and moon rise at the exact same moment, and (I’ve been debating sharing this or not) shared a few beers. Yeah whoops 1,027 days of sobriety and I fell off when a good Texas dude tossed me a Modelo as I’m sitting in the back of a pickup. They didn’t know and I never told them but it felt as if breaking my don’t-get-into-cars rule had already been discarded without any feelings of guilt and this was one more ehhhhfuckit let’s see where the night goes layer of frosting on this cake I’m baking.
Traveling by bicycle is a self administered gauntlet of challenging ups (and ups and ups and ups) with enough downs (wait are we talking about hills orrr) to level someone out. It persuades you to accept everything that shows up. Often there really are no other alternatives and yeah you gotta sleep in a baseball dugout, inside an abandoned ice cream shop, or with four guys you just met because overnight parking is not allowed.
Road Trips
I’ve been (slowly) pedaling across this country for two weeks now thinking about how to represent / show off / talk about this new part of my life. Random spur of the moment thoughts still get tossed into daily stories so if you’re into more frequent updates I’d suggest turning on notifications for those things. However, the stuff I post on main has been evolving into more relying on a narrative than just posting a pretty pic with some #hashtags and y’all seem to respond well to the words sooo I think I’ll try and keep that up.
It’s an often relayed thought that traveling by bicycle is the best way to see a place, best way to experience a city / state / country and I obviously would agree even before setting off on this ride. But now that I’m 700 miles or so into the damn thing it has solidified even more the notion that any other method of getting around is unintentionally (or maybe intentionally) avoiding what makes travel a thing worth.
When you travel by traditional means, car plane train bus, the time spend moving is something you want to reduce as much as possible. Your trip is planned and executed with the goal of arriving somewhere, then arriving at the next somewhere, then the final somewhere. Any delays along the way are frustrating wastes of time to be dispatched without remorse so that the journey can progress as expected, as planned.
