Dirty Dan: Falling in Love with Bikes (Video)

Seven years ago, I was trying to decide if it was more important to pack a full-sized guitar or a backgammon set on what would end up being a six-month bicycle journey from my home in Santa Barbara, California, down to Medellín, Colombia. I ended up bringing both, which is always the right decision. I had just graduated from university and picked up a well-loved 1980s mountain bike for $100, loaded it up with the essentials—various jars of honey, swim fins, a hand board for bodysurfing, cast iron cookware—and started riding south with my dear friend Quincy.

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I may not have known how to fix a flat tire at the time, but I did know that I was ready to see the great beauty of this world and its inhabitants with my own eyes along a unique path. Seeing the world by bicycle made me feel more alive than I had ever felt before, and the following year, I took off on a seven-month escapade from Egypt down to South Africa on two wheels.

Fast forward a few years, and I have now been fortunate enough to pedal some of the world’s most iconic bikepacking routes, such as the Tour Divide (four times), the Baja Divide, the Trans Ecuador Mountain Bike Route, and many more. In a short time, I went from not knowing the first thing about bikes to now being absolutely, unequivocally obsessed with the two-wheeled dream machines and everything that comes along with riding them.

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Dirty Dan explores my constantly evolving relationship with bicycles and focuses on what it means to be a human. It dives into some of the deeper aspects of riding. What is it like to be alone with nothing but your own thoughts in the wilderness for days on end? It also touches on some lighthearted topics, such as explaining the difference between bicycle touring and bikepack racing.

From roadside finds in Africa to sleep-deprived grizzly bear encounters along the Tour Divide and everything in between, Dirty Dan encompasses much of what I have learned and experienced in these last few years while dedicating my life to seeing the world by bike.

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The film was produced by director Max Garber along with a remarkably dedicated team of UC Santa Barbara Film and Media Studies majors. The team sifted through countless hours of footage from my various adventures and combined it all with stunning aerial and ground shots taken in the Santa Barbara/Carrizo Plains regions, as well as interviews with some of my loved ones. We hope that after watching the film, you feel encouraged to take a leap and chase your dream. Ride fast, ride slow, ride across a continent, ride around your neighborhood, or chase something exciting that has nothing to do with bicycles at all.

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For more from Daniel, find him on Instagram.

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