this has been a fantastic day! started off with a visit to my dentist to have a few old fillings replaced with a temporary crown and a few other spots dialed in with new fillings. at least that got me on out of bed early and hammering to the old SW part of town to make my 8 o’clock appointment… nothing too exciting there, other than fix shredding around traffic with ice on the ground as the result of lawn sprinklers in the wee hours.
cuttin’ across town i pull up to a light on Keitzke and there’s a character there in a holding pattern, straddling a little bmx bike wearing some knee high horse riding boots, jeans, a baseball jacket, and a little kids ski helmet with a bashguard that covered his nose rather than his chin. fierce blue eyes gazed out. “ho there” i offered as i span to a stop. “single speed, eh?” was his reply. “yep, just like your bike there” i replied. the light turned green and i was off, riding away i noticed his gnarled hands adorned in prison lookin’ tat’s and rings. this dude was interesting, but i wasn’t about to wait around and get his story… a picture would’ve been worth a 10^3 words, at least.
then i stopped by REI to see about scoring some new tele bindings for my ski building project, but was a half hour early. while waitin outside, who should roll up but John, “the Dharma Biker!” i met John last June when Grizz and i drove US50 to Ely, NV for the Beers, Tears, and Fears mountain bike enduro. we were eastbound in Grizz’s truck crossing the Graben east of Eureka (i think) and were stoked to see so many tour bikers spinning away through the sagebrush ocean. actually, they must’ve been stoked to have finally cleared the cricket slicks that plagued the highways from Austin to Eureka that time of year. these tourists usually ride in pairs and are pretty well decked out in cycling gear.
then we passed some dude on an old Nishiki with low rider panniers on the front and a rack on the back with panniers and pack on the shelf. he had a head band on, scruffy knotty hair, some cut-off pants, a t-shirt, sneakers, and he was machin’! we pulled over in a safe spot and waited for him to pass. he slowed up to take a breather and see what we needed. my first inclination was to offer him a beer, which he declined, then we shared some trail food which he gladly partook in. he was heading to Colorado, travelin’ solo, and definately spartan. after wishing him well we got back on the road, riding high in the pickup and stoked on his adventure. we made it the remaining 125 miles to Ely, found the race venue and struck out for the Schell Creek Ridge Trail (which is now designated Wilderness and not legal to ride, gasp). that night we made it back to Ely, set camp in the grass of the park near downtown, and settled in for a few beers and rest. the next day the race went off and was a bunch of fun. the apres race party and awards were underway when who should roll up but John, the tourer we’d met the day before! he’d fired off 125 miles and was lookin’ for a place to camp and hangout. welcome! the man must’ve been chargin’ to have covered that distance with that load and that old road bike. he pitched camp near the racers’ tents and rolled right in with everyone. he even joined us for some dancing and bar hoppin’ in downtown Ely - though he declined the booze. coffee, it appeared with his addiction, and vagabonding. on our way back home i likened him to a character in Kerouac’s book Dharma Bums, and have since referred to him simply as “Dharma Biker” when recounting that weekend.
today, John the Dharma Biker told me he finished his tour to Colorado by heading to Steamboat in NW CO, then up to WY, and finally a bunch of backpacking in the Cascades of WA. well, Dharma Biker, good seeing you again. hope to hang out soon, do some riding, and talk about travel. best of luck with your upcoming big bike ride across the US of A!
“may the road rise to meet you and the wind be at your back”
Japhy rider
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