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No, I didn’t spell that wrong in the title, that’s how he spells his name. His name happens to be Wonderous Mountain. He found me through a website called warmshowers and e-mailed me to see if he could crash at my place. The reason I signed up with warmshowers in the first place was because I plan on riding across the country in two years. I want to do it as cheaply as possible experiencing America, not just riding 4,250 miles. I would love to camp in your backyard or even on the floor of your basement if you are near my path. Meeting people is definitely going to be a highlight of this trip for my son and I. I figured I should also be open to house cyclists at my house if they need a place. Good Karma right?
I told Wonderous I would ride on HWY 50 and meet him and we could ride to my place together. That way I would have time to talk with him and make sure he wasn’t a serial killer or anything like that. He was definitely eccentric, but far from a serial killer, so I kept riding with him to Emporia. I figured if I had to, I could lose a touring cyclist with a fully packed bicycle weighing near 100 pounds, no problem. But that’s not quite what I found when I finally saw Wonderous Mountain coming towards me.
The first things that caught my eye where: Lots of curly red hair and a beard growing wild. A full suspension, Next bicycle from Wal-Mart that weighs almost as much as a fully loaded touring bike by itself. A hand built, wood rack bolted to the frame. No cycling clothing or gear. A chain with no lube. No camping gear. Sandals. No helmet. Gym shorts and a wind breaker. A shower curtain rod? And finally Wonderous Mountain himself with a big smile and in need of a shower.
We got to talking as I barraged him with question after question. Seems like he decided to ride across the country from Missouri to California to meet up with some other “free thinkers” at an outdoor training school. That was about as much planning as I could see. I have two years to plan my TransAm trip and am worried about all the stuff I should take. This 24 year old guy just got on a bike and started riding.
He seemed OK, yes a little different from us, but a pacifist, tree hugging sort of guy, and I felt OK about taking him home with me. He looked like he needed to eat.
A few things I found out about him:
He has a congenital heart condition and rides only around 35 miles per day. He had to take a break on the way to my house. He doesn’t have a job and a regular job doesn’t suit him much anyway. He is smart and know lots of things. He is a vegetarian and likes to eat salad dressing in his oatmeal. He wants to create a solar powered bike to help him up the hills. As a matter of fact he was carrying some of the parts in his bag.
Yes, that’s a soldering gun and a ceiling fan motor he’s carrying with him. That’s pretty heavy gear that won’t help him ride any faster, that’s for sure. He doesn’t have any real “set in stone” kind of life plans at all. He hopes to continue his journey ans someday get to Africa. I am not sure for what, but that doesn’t concern him any. What I had on my hands was a modern day hippie. He ended up being a very eccentric kid on an adventure. I planned on taking him to the bike shop to get that rear break fixed and at least the chain lubed before he left, but first a shower, wash the clothes and get some food.
It happened to be July 4th and we had a party to go to that we didn’t want to miss. Jen called our friend to make sure it was OK to bring Wonderous Mountain to the party. “I guess so,” was the tentative answer on the other line. We showed up with our guest and I do believe everyone was a bit surprised, amused or just downright uncomfortable with him. It was a little weird. He is a skinny guy, but I am not sure if he ever stopped eating at the party. I thought it was good for everyone to meet an interesting, free spirit like Wonderous once in their lives. But enough is enough and we did leave the party a bit early and ended up shooting some fireworks with him at our house. It was fun and he had a good time.
All in all it was uncomfortable having someone in our house that we didn’t know and that was, to be completely honest, a little weird. As I rode home with him that first day I kept hearing those words, “the least of mine,” and knew I should take him in. I felt I needed to give Wonderous Mountain food, shelter, and a break from the road at the very least. I needed to trust my gut and get out of my comfort zone to be able to do that. He was a nice kid and to be honest, I am a bit worried about him making it to his destination. His rear hub was not in good shape, the bike is not touring worthy and his physical condition is not that great. I wish him luck. I do believe by taking him in and getting to know this interesting character, it did enrich my life just a bit.
He slept over on the 4th and I had to go to work on the 6th, so I took him and his bike to High Gear to fix the brake and lube the chain. I got him a couple of thin rain pochos from Wal-Mart, gave him some extra food and sent him on his way. It was raining, but I had to get him on his journey. I couldn’t let him sleep another night and leave him there with my wife while I went to work, so I helped him pack up and bid him farewell. He waved goodbye as he rode off in the rain (without any rain gear BTW).
After he left, I realized how tired I was. I guess I was a little on edge the whole time. I crashed on the couch and deep inside hoped he’d be OK.
Feed Your Monkey!
Eric
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