Dionysus on a Bike

by Justin Marquis

I am beyond grateful that my companion Zyzzy is out here on the bike trail with me. If she weren’t here by my side, this bike tour would be a lonely experience. Long distance biking is such a joy and brings so much healing and beauty to my life, I always expect there to be so many people out on these bike trails, doing what I am doing, exploring the world from a different perspective, by biking all day.

It doesn’t take an athlete to do this; you can start when you’re in not great shape. The equipment is not that expensive, and the trails where you can ride for days and barely see an automobile are accessible, beautiful, and really fun. Add to all of this ease of access, the fact that I know plenty of people who would enjoy riding bikes all day for days on end, and it always surprises me there aren’t hundreds of young and middle-aged people out here, camping, pushing their body or just enjoying taking it easy as they put in the miles.

Instead, the trails are empty. They aren’t literally empty, but they are empty of people using them for what we are. People certainly use these trails, but it is mostly people who live nearby going on a couple hour bike ride over the same trail that they have ridden a thousand times. We see these people all day, especially near towns. They are almost universally either children or the retired elderly. The trail is a place of play, exercise, and healing for many, but it is a local thing, part of the fabric of their everyday. So very few use these trails for covering long distances, for travel. And there is almost no one on these trails between the ages of 20 and 60 years old.

This reminds me precisely why the trails are so empty. The people I would recognize as my peers (in both age and purpose for biking) aren’t out here because they are at work, toiling away to make ends meet. Americans who must work to live get so little vacation, and living a fairly comfortable life requires so much time at work, so much “hustle,” for the average American worker that they don’t have time to do what I am doing. Bike touring takes time, and when one only has two weeks of vacation a year in which to fit in family visits, seeing friends, a trip here or there, and just some time to rest, biking 800 miles to see what’s between two cities seems undoable.

It’s not that people don’t do what Zyzzy and I are doing. There are plenty of people who pack up their things and live on their bikes for an extended period. What the empty trails out here are telling me is that there aren’t many of us, and that is understandable. As we are thrown into war, genocide, and sending people to concentration camps, my desire to protest against the power that is behind these injustices grows. We as a nation have recently experienced the largest protests in American history, and absolutely nothing changed. Public, one-day, in the streets protesting will change nothing. What will change things is not going to work anymore. Our lack of free time, our being chained to a job with no time for anything else is connected to unjust wars and deportations. What will get them to notice us who are in opposition is to stop giving them our labor. Our labor is our power, and that only collectively.

Much stands in the way of a collective refusal to give the system our labor. It’s hard out there, and quitting your job is scary, especially when existence in this society is so precarious and dependent on having money. I know that I am fortunate to have this opportunity to live on my bicycle outside the labor market for a little while. I sacrificed a lot and had the support of many to be able to do this. Now it is my desire that more get to experience it. I am not naive about the hurdles for many, but if you are considering trying this life for even a little while, let me tell you it’s worth it, and I will do what I am able to help you (feel free to reach out).

The trails are empty and a bit lonely. More people out here to make this a communal experience would be most welcome and has the possibility to change the way we think about work, transportation, and living among each other in community. Until then, I will enjoy the solitude because the spaces where there is no one are valuable too, and we all need a little time alone once in a while. Again, I invite you to the bike trails; they will change the way you experience the world, that I can promise.