eBike Boondocking : One man’s awesome cross-country adventure

Roger Golden is eBike boondocking his way across the United States, living, in his words, "home free, not homeless." He has a great story and some boondocking tips we can all take to heart. Out on the road I recently met into Roger, a "home-free" American with a dream to travel around the USA and raise awareness for Ostomates through his nomad lifestyle. I met Roger in a park off US 98 in Fort Walton Beach, FL a few weeks ago. When I checked in with him tonight as I wrote this post, he was in Texas, still headed west. Roger is on an eBike boondocking cross country trip, towing a customized trailer with two solar panels Roger rides a converted 26" mountain/eBike, pulling a trailer that houses his 200 Watts of solar power and a place to store his gear. He doesn't travel alone though... his cat Phideaux comes along on every trip. Roger's store of ebike boondocking is featured in Episode 342 of the RV Podcast. You can hear the whole podcast in the player below. Or scroll down for a video version of the interview, and a transcript of our conversation You can learn more about Roger, and follow him as he continues his mission here: https://www.facebook.com/diginomad3  Here's my video interview: Here's an edited transcript of our interview: Roger's story of eBike boondocking Mike Wendland:           Meet Roger. He is on an e-bike and he is on his way across the country from Florida to California, boondocking all the way. He wants you to know that he is not homeless, he's home-free. Having sold off his sticks and bricks home, he is towing a small homemade trailer with solar panels that charge the battery for his e-bike, his laptop, and cell phone. He is not alone. He travels with a very cool cat and he is the ultimate boondocker who's doing this for the adventure, despite some very serious health issues. Roger:              This will be my second trip across the country. My first trip was from Washington state to Florida, now I'm going from Florida to California. In 2019 we went from Jackson... That was the first trip my cat was with me, we went from Jacksonville, Florida to Calais, Maine at the border, turned around, and came back. I got about as far as Washington DC and started having problems. Roger is doing this eBike boondocking adventure despite a major health challenge Mike Wendland:           Chest problems? Roger:              No intestinal problems. I got as far as Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and I couldn't do it anymore. I called a friend in Jacksonville to come pick me up. That's the first time I've ever had to give up on a trip. I got back down to Jacksonville and I had surgery and I woke up and there were intestines sticking out of my belly. They told me I had to give up my biking lifestyle.                         He said, "You can't do that anymore." I told him, "That's not an option. That's what I do." So here I am doing the impossible with a cat, 200 watts, a solar panel and electric bike. Mike Wendland:           I want to just look at this. I ask you because we see down here, in Florida, there's probably a lot of homeless people. I said, "Are you homeless?" You had a great phrase for it. Don't call him homeless! Roger:              I am home free. There's a difference between being homeless and home free. A lot of times homeless people are at the mercy of their environment. I'm experienced in my environment. For a lot of homeless people, they don't have a choice in the matter, it was something that happened to them. In my case, I gave it all up to get rid of all of the time that I waste to give money to somebody else. Mike Wendland:           What do you mean by that? Roger:              We spend most of the waking hours of our adult lives working so that we can give our money to somebody else. Mike Wendland:           Taxes. Roger:              Taxes. Mike Wendland:           Mortgages. Credit Cards? Roger:              Mortgages, your car insurance, your tires, your maintenance,