Tony Adams Bicycling Through Town

For those of you that know me, I’m quite curious most of the time. I received a call from a friend saying her and her family had just seen a man 2 miles west of Walters, riding his bike, pulling a trailer and had just seen him over the weekend in Bowie, Texas. So, of course I had to go see what this guy was all about, because it’s not everyday you see someone biking such a distance.

I headed west of Walters and sure enough, there he was pedeling down the highway. I must admit, I passed him twice before I mustard up the courage to stop and talk to this guy. Finally he stopped on the side of the road to rest, so I decided it was time to investigate! I parked on the side of the road in front of this guy and got out. He waited until I got close enough to chat and said, “Hello”.

I of course said, “Hello” and asked him where he was traveling to. He kind of smiled and said, “A little of everywhere”. I then asked his name and he said his name and he began to tell me his story.

Tony Adams, 56 years old, has been traveling on his bicycle for 26 years. He sets his goal as to where he wants to go and heads out. He first started traveling on his bike in 1995, when his father was very ill. His father asked him to find his brother that had not been in touch in many years. Tony decided to follow his dad’s wishes to find his brother. He did find him (I’m not sure how), and let him know his dad was ill and wanted to see him. From that day on, Tony has traveled over many states and plans to cover more.

Tony talked about he had worked as a “Carni” for 20 years and was used to moving around and even as a kid, his dad was in the military, so they moved quite often. Tony did say as he rides, he does think about a lot of things. He said he does get lonely sometimes, but knows he’s not the kind of guy anyone would want to marry, nor have children with. He says he is just a wanderer.

He seemed quite intelligent. He talked about how he had rebuilt his “trailer” 6 times and had designed parts of his bicycle to enable it to be able to pull the 600 lb. trailer with ease. He did allow me to look inside his trailer and I was quite shocked.

In his trailer, which is 7 feet and 1 inch long, for his 6 foot 2 stature, he has built in a stove to cook his meals, a bed which he sleeps in, has all kinds of wiring to run his trailer off of a 12 volt battery to cool his trailer and furnish light. He also keeps his phone charged with the 12 volt battery and a charger he found on the side of the road. He installed a stained glass window, which he made when he was a sophomore in high school, in the back of the trailer for light. On the outside of the trailer he had a solar panel to store energy.

Tony seemed delighted to talk. He said he had stayed the night in Temple on Friday night, beside a store and said the people were very friendly. He said a lot of people he meets give him water to drink along his ride and sometimes food or a little money. He said he does cook an egg and makes coffee each morning as he rises out of bed. He said he tries to find a place not too conspicuous to sleep at night, usually an underpass or an off road.

All in all, Tony seems to be content with his life just riding his bike and seeing whatever there is to see. He travels all seasons and keeps himself prepared for all kinds of weather. Tony doesn’t seem to fear much, but doesn’t try to bother anyone. He is just a guy with a bike and trailer enjoying each day, letting his mind wonder and see all that he can see. Tony said he plans his trips up to four years ahead. He has places he wants to see, so they make the list

You can learn more about Tony at Tonyadamscycling.com. People have made videos about his travels in different states he has ridden through.