Cyclist finds a nation’s essence
Cyclist finds a nation’s essence
By MIRIAM MOELLER, Journal Staff Writer
MARQUETTE — In the middle of a journey to get to know his country and its people, Nick Kleeman-Keller took a coffee break in Marquette this week.
This ambitious 26-year-old man has been traveling on his mountain bike — a bike he’s had since eighth grade and named Porter (short for transporter) — for the past 20 months across the United States.
“This being my country, it’s just a more authentic way to learn about the real essence of this country,” he said. “Everywhere I go I get perspective; I learn new ways of living.”
His journey started in November 2004 in Menlo Park, Cal. where he had been working as a wilderness guide, leaving behind his family, friends and girlfriend. His plan: to bike counter clockwise around the U.S.
“I spent the winter, spring and summer in the southern states,” he said. “I rode up through the Appalachian Mountains through the fall and made it to Washington D.C.”
There he took a long break at his grandparents’ house. Then he traveled through Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and finally arrived in a small town in Vermont.
“After a year on the road I took a six months break,” he said. “It was a really rainy October; I was soaked and exhausted.”
In Vermont, Kleeman-Keller — or Kermit as he said is his nickname — lived two weeks in a tree house until he rented a room and took a job as a bread baker. He left Vermont in the middle of May, heading West through Ontario, crossing back into the U.S. at Sault Ste. Marie last Friday.
On his way to Marquette, he stopped in Munising where he met a couple from Marquette who invited him to stay with them.
“This happens all the time,” he said.
Kleeman-Keller said people along the way have been very friendly, offering him space to pitch his tent, or use their shower. He has been invited to dinner and in return he does the dishes or chops wood.
Although he has no real itinerary, he hopes to arrive back in California next spring, but he said there’s no hurry.
“I think there are so many different ways to explore and to learn about the people and the landscape and the most important thing is to go slowly,” he said.
And to prove his point: his new friends in Marquette invited him to stay for another day, and he doesn’t mind staying.
“Marquette is a gem of a city,” he said. “You can really feel the sense of community.”
In every town where Kleeman-Keller stops, he visits the library to read up on the town’s history. He also makes sure to rest at a coffee shop or restaurant, so he can write in the journal that he sends to his parents when he’s out of pages. In Marquette, he chose the Dead River Coffee Shop to work on his seventh journal, but it didn’t take long until people started talking to him.
“I like to hear peoples’ stories,” he said. “And sometimes listening to peoples’ stories is all they want.
“They tell me their dreams, what they wanted to do, and so many people never make the time,” he said. “I think the better world we all dream of is right at our fingertips.”
Kleeman-Keller feels pretty lucky that he was able to make his dream come true, and when he returns to his home he hopes to settle down, become a pre-school teacher and welcome every traveler that passes through his town.
In the meantime, he’s pedaling 30 to 40 miles per day towards Minneapolis where his aunt lives — only two weeks away by bicycle.
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