The Gonzo Hunter - My View From The Road In A Heavily Fortified Vintage Camper - Chapter Seven - We Quit Our Jobs To Ride Our Bikes

After leaving Cassie & Melissa at Mugwumps, I crossed the street to the Adobe Cafe for lunch, per Cassie’s recommendation.  After being served some yummy quesadillas by someone who looked strangely like the Deliverance version of James Franco, I munched away and soon noticed a couple of cyclists packing up and getting ready to depart.  One of them had some sort of cow or horse skull strapped to the front of his bike, so I pulled out my camera and snapped a couple of pics.  Very Gonzo, I thought.

Now I’m sure that anyone on a long road trip have seen these people - riding their bicycles out in the middle of nowhere, and thought the same thing as I - why?  Surely they are are some sort of crazy fanatics with something to prove.  So I decided to ask.  The answer I received was simple - “why not?”, one of them asked.  Well I could think of about a thousand “why nots” but didn’t want to be rude so instead I switched gears (ha, pun intended) and asked questions like “how can they possibly carry everything they need with them”, “don’t you ever run out of water”, and “did you find the skull on this trip”?

They seemed bemused by my curiosity and indulged me with their whole story.  Jim and Shane, from Chico, CA, quite simply, quit their jobs to ride their bikes.  They like it.  A lot.  They even created a Facebook page by the same name if you want to follow their journey (I am).  They discovered, like me, that you really don’t need to take very much with you to make it do-able, although UNLIKE me THEY are the true minimalists here, have me beat by a long shot in fact.  They made me look like a hoarder. 

They found the skull (an elk skull) when they went through the Grand Canyon, and yes they did run out of water once - IN DEATH VALLEY of all places!  OK, so maybe these guys are a LITTLE insane after all, I decided.  My kinda people.  I asked them where they were headed next and they said Bryce Canyon, Moab, and Colorado.   After that, up the Rocky Mountains into Canada.  ON BICYCLES! 

They bid me adieu and I told them they had my undying respect and admiration.  As they pedaled away I sat and finished my lunch and contemplated what a great day I was already having so far.  I wondered when I began my trip if I would meet any Gonzo people AT ALL out in the world, living their version of a Gonzo life.  Here it was only 1 pm and already I had met 6 - Steve & Marla with their Bud can trailer, Melissa & Cassie at Mugwumps, and now Jim and Shane.  I knew I was on the right track.

Until next time, I am somewhere out here, living small and loving it largely.

Eli “The Gonzo” Hunter

Follow Jim & Shane here: https://www.facebook.com/quityourjob.rideyourbicycle