The Bikes of Wrath

In more news you can’t use—maybe—

Readers of this blog know, you must know by now, that I love to bicycle. In the past couple years I’ve logged several thousands of miles in long-distance touring. Which is why I was drawn to this news story: about a group of cyclists from Australia who fell in love with John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath and decided without a lot of prior training or experience to bicycle the distance between Oklahoma to California in the “tire treads” of the Joad family.

The 21^st Century twist is that they are attempting to do it via bikes using the same amount of money the Joad’s had when they migrated across the West to “the land o’plenty.” No sag wagon (support van). They are carrying their own video and audio equipment.

Oklahoma to California: 2600 kms, 420 dollars, 30 days, 5 bikes, 3 cameras, 2 guitars and one of the most influential novels of the 20th century

@MathiasSvalina =you would love this!

The documentary follows five novice (but very endearing) riders as they journey from Sallisaw, Oklahoma to Bakersfield, California. They do it in 30 days while relying on the kindness of strangers (and the current-day equivalent of $18; the amount the Joad family survived on).

The documentary explores the broader themes of poverty, self-reliance, community - in the modern day and in the Great Depression when the book is set. It draws explicit parallels between the 1930s and today, with passages from the novel being read aloud by people they meet along the journey. You can’t help but be struck by both the enduring power of Steinbeck’s characters and their insights as well as the strength and resilience of communities to both come together and also to welcome the strangers in their midst.