BMXing with Popeye
Nick Garafola, Broke Bike Magazine 10/22/01
When you're riding a bike, it's about what's in front of you, not in back—but then, you gotta watch your back too, you know
The dilemma: the place to get a free lunch is downtown St. Paul at the Dorothy Day Center; the woman who will give you a free cup of coffee and a Big Cheddar Deluxe works at the Arby's in the Midway; and the best bridges to sleep under are clear on the other side of town. Getting to these various checkpoints on foot is a formidable challenge. People who cannot afford the luxury of motorized transportation have to call on their problem-solving techniques in order to get from point A to point B. Some people have an off-the-beaten-path way of going about this that might not make perfect sense, even when they explain it themselves.
"All you need is a gallon of water, a bar of soap and three tools," explains Popeye, a St. Paul celebrity who has been on the road for longer than he cares to remember. "You gotta get a fire going out by the tracks, throw the bike frame in there to take the paint off, then use the water to wash it off, and the bar of of soap to wash the soot off of your hads and face."
Popeye is no slave to fashion; he dons a hand-sewn together Pendalton shirt, a work boot on his left foor and a tennis shoe on his right (his other boot is being repaired because he has been using it as a rear brake) and his hair is slicked back with Brill Cream. No matter that he's not up on the current trends, he more than makes up for it with personal style. Popeye currently rides a chrome framed BMX dirt bike with high chrome 'ape hangers,' and everything on his bike is just the way he wants it.
Popeye says some of the best parts are made from aluminum. He gets his aluminun seat posts and rims from the scrap yard at Garelick Steel. He's upset today because he found out that his buddy Dave the welder is retiring and will no longer be able to weld off his bike cranks gratis. "For me it's free, everyone else pays $70 an hour," says Popeye, obviously happy with his ability to procure items and even labor for free. "It didn't really cost me anything to put this one together—maybe a lot of talk—I don't know how you do it, you just do it."
For Popeye, riding the bike is more than a mode of transportation; it's a way of life. From the comfort of his favorite coffee shop he sat and revealed his philosophy on riding, "I don't stop for nothing when I go, I just go," says Popeye. "You can't stop Popeye," said a young raver/hip-hop kid who was dancing and playing pool at the coffee shop. "You don't got no brakes." In fact, Popeye had just come from the Express Bike Shop, where he nabbed himself a handbrake for the rear wheel. The manager finally gave up trying to explain to Popeye that he couldn't just come in all the time taking whatever he wants, instead, he tries to persuade Popeye to only take what he needs. Usually Popeye's after something like a pedal or an innertube—whatever it takes to stay mobile. "When you're riding a bike, it's about what's in front of you, not in back—but then, you gotta watch your back too, you know," Popeye says you always have to watch out when you're on the road, it comes at you from every angle. He claims that earlier in the week a guy threw a rock at him and tried to take his head off. "But I used to be a pitcher, so I know how to play ball," Popeye says. I decided not to ask him about specifics—just like I don't ask where he gets his bikes. "There's plenty of bikes in the sea," says Popeye.
In any case he is a master in the fine art of getting by—getting over—whatever you want to call it. It's nice to know that some Americans are still doing it their way.