CAMDEN - You just never know who you might meet on Camden’s Public Landing. Such was the case Sunday, July 15, with Casey Zmich, who is riding his bike through Maine to Acadia Park and then into Canada. His story was fasinating and one of those adventures we would all love to live. 

“They call me Crazy Casey on a bike,” he said.

Casey is originally from Buffalo New York, but has lived most of his life in Florida.

“I'm a retired truck driver and I drove an 18-wheeler around the country for seven years,” he said. “I took a local job working for the Teamsters and I got a pension from them. That's what I use to travel on my bicycle.”

Zmich has been to all four corners of the United States.

“That includes Anchorage and Homer, Alaska. I have pictures of Land’s End in Homer and Land’s End in Key West, Florida,” he said. “I enjoy meeting people when I ride and ride my bike for the health of it.”

How many miles?

“I've logged on this bike a little more than 19,000 miles,” Zmich said. “I'm headed for Acadia National Park. I've heard it was a pretty place and figured I wanted to see it for myself. I'm going to camp up there for a week, hopefully do some fishing and just ride around and see the sites.”

Zmich said the best part is the people.

“They tell me I give them inspiration to get out and move, and get a bike,” he said. “They are absolutely great. I haven't had any problems with anybody. There's an internet network out here called warmshowers.org. I get to stay in people's homes. They welcome me in. I get to take a shower and they give me a warm meal.”

How long is he going to do this?

“I guess until I can't do it anymore,” Zmich said. “I turned 67 on June 13. My birthday was spent stuck in the mud on the Chesapeake/Ohio Canal. I was headed for D.C. and the next day was actually paradise. A lady  gave me a birthday dinner at a restaurant she owned in Shepherd's Town, West Virginia.”

Acadia, New Brunswick, where to from there?

“I'm not sure,” Zmich said. “Maybe Newfoundland. But I know I'm going to Quebec City, for sure, because my panniers are made in Quebec City and they said I've got a place to stay because they want to look at my bike and see what it looks like after 20,000 miles. On a previous trip I met friends in Toronto and Montreal, so I want to visit them. That was the trip I visited all four corners of the states, including up to Alaska.”

Is he a good bike mechanic?

“I'm not that great of a mechanic,” Zmich said. “But I don't have much trouble. it's a really good bike. It's a Surly Long Haul Trucker. It has 30 gears, three on the crank and 10 on the cassette on the rear wheel. Very little trouble, though I have gone through several chains and cassettes because they do wear out. I try to keep them well oiled. I try to keep my tires up to par, but I’m going to see how far I can get on these. They've already got 6,000 miles on them and that code blue is starting to show up.”

Crazy Casey summed it up in an interview he did for a West Teas radio station.

“At a time when the nation feels divided, sometimes the best thing can be to just see America, see the land, the people, and the magic of it all.”

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