Wandering throught the country at 15 mph on his customized recumbent bike, Dave Boyd's home floats in cyberspace at his personal website and his permanent address is his e-mail.
A self-discribed "Technomad", a term coined by another recumbent cyclist, Steve Roberts, he meshes the life of a drifter with todays technology. His mission: to travel through every state in the U.S. and the Canadian providences with his bike and trailer.
He zipped through Bedford this week after traveling along Cape Cod, and will ride north to Nova Scotia. Boyd, 44, used the Bedford Free Public Library to answer his e-mail and update his website while passersby checked out his bike, outfitted with headlights, tail lights, turn signals, horns and mirrors.
He outfitted his Ryan Recumbent bicycle with trailer for his belongings, whom he refers to as his "home on wheels". A 2-liter Diet Barqs root beer fitted with a sports cap filled with water that sits in a holder at the front hydrates him during his trek
It's not the pedaling, it's not the beautiful scenery -- it's really the people", said the native of Los Angeles, California". People have been so wonderful. They've all got there own story, and I like listening. I've got my story and we share.
His nomadic lifestyle introduces him to so many people everyday, he couldn't begin to count them all, he said.
I think thats what makes the whole trip worthwhile -- the sharing of ideas between people", Boyd said. "So thats why I do it".
Boyd travels up to 100 miles a day and usually sleeps at campgrounds. "Of course if I can't find a campgound, then I find other creative ways -- youth hostels, motels or just pitch a tent", said Boyd. Some people are receptive to me camping out in their yard.
Boyd began his trip in 1990 after spending four years in the Navy, which allows him to use the Veterans Administration hospital services, so he made an appointment at the Edith Nourse Veterans Administration Hospital in Bedford during his brief stay in town
He discribes his trip as a "childhood dream" that he acted on when he was 35 years old. Now I'm 44 and still doing it", he said
Boyd has traveled through 35 states so far, and plans to ride his bike across Europe and Australia when he completes his mission.
He has been hit 10 times by a car,once by a Conch bus in Key West, on his journey, with his most recent accident in New York City.
Describing New York City as a "culture shock of his life", Boyd arrived in Manhattan, and said he was hit by a cabbie and his Compaq Presario 1610 laptop was stolen all in the same day.
Welcome to the "Big Apple".
"I have to go to the Libraries or VA hospitals to update now", said Boyd, who once used the laptop to do it.
A licenced Amateur Radio operator, Boyd operates several ham radios on his bike, and communicates with other amateur radio operators. On the back of his ride hangs a tag plate emblazoned with his radio call letters, "N3ICN".
While navigating the roads of America, Boyd listens to Jazz and Classic Rock on his walkman and has a compact disc collection including the Police, Molly Hatchet, and the Moody Blues.
His hazel eyes are steady, his sandy brown hair and beard are thick. The pedals have scratched his legs and the hours of sunshine beaming down tanned his skin, causing his sunburned nose to peel. When people see his bike, the come up and ask the same two questions: "Where ya goin' and where ya been".
"It's old hat to me, I guess", said Boyd. "If I could get a great big stadium and anounce it to 60,000 people all at once, that would be a great thing, for now I answer one at a time".
Wherever Boyd goes, an aire of awe and celebrity follows his unique transportation. He has been featured in the New York Village Voice, the New York Daily News and the Rhode Island Standard-Times.
A man drove by in the Bedford library parking lot this week and said he would check out Boyd's website. Minutes later, a mother then approached his bike with her son, and they assessed the four wheeled wonder.
Her son, Adam Joy, of Keene, New Hampshire said the bike was "awesome".
While Utahnah Joy tried to get into the closed library, Boyd oblidged to help her check to see if the library's side door was open to see a librarian. Meanwhile, fifth grader, Adam, stared at the bike, daydreaming, possibly about a bicycle trip across the country.
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