Riding 2800km from Cape Reinga to Stewart Island on a bicycle is no easy feat. Throw in 24 live performances along the way and you have the kind of crazy adventure that Monty Bevins’ eyes light up for.
Monty, 28, is a singer songwriter originally from Auckland, who has called Dunedin home since his uni days. We met him in the carpark at Blackhead Beach as he prepared to have his last surf before heading north to start his tip to tail tour. With him is a shiny green bicycle and bright yellow bags in a bob trailer. He wheels the bike forward and casts a loving eye across it.
“A friend of mine, Patrick Crowe-Rishworth, hand-built it from a garage in Wellington,” he begins. “He’s been tinkering away for the past few years learning how to build bikes and this was his first deadline build. I just received it this morning.”
The bike is a complete custom-build – made from tubing measured to fit Monty’s athletic frame perfectly.
“It’s looking beautiful and it’s fully custom made,” he grins.
Latched to the rear axle is compact bob trailer with all Monty’s necessities.
“I’ve got a Compact 60 – a German-made tiny wee amp and a little Taylor GS Mini guitar, a mic stand and a loop pedal. The rest is just jocks and socks,” he laughs. “I don’t have a lot there. I’ll take a spare pair of bike shorts and maybe a little rain jacket … what else do I need? I’ll take some food from the Clean Paleo boys and that will be me.”
Monty has accommodation lined up for all the gigs, but otherwise intends to stay with friends and family along the way.
“I’ve got a good network of people from all the touring around that I’ve done so basically I don’t know where I’ll sleep, but I’m pretty confident it will all fall into place.”
Monty’s tour begins this Thursday from Cape Reinga.
“I’m finishing two months’ later in Stewart Island on the 25th of April. I planned that based on 60km a day with a rest day every 8-10 days to rest the pins a bit.”
He said he wanted the journey to be a challenge.
“Two months will be pretty full-on to do the length of the country with the route I am taking,” he laughs. “I knew it had to be sustainable in terms of having the energy to play the gigs at night, but I didn’t want to fart around over six months – the challenge gives it a bit of extra impetus and there’s an element of not knowing how that’s going to go, which is quite exciting.”
The gigs add a little extra pressure to his time on the road.
“I’ll get there, but I’m not always sure how much energy I will have to perform the gigs,” he laughs.
Monty said he loved cycling and touring around playing music so combining his passions was logical.
“I love the idea of travelling around doing something a bit crazy,” he shares. “I like the idea that it is more of a sustainable approach to music touring, but it’s not really the driver and there is no charity other than me trying to be a full-time musician in New Zealand.”
With a history in multi-sport events, Monty likes the process of testing himself.
“You do this to push your physical and mental capabilities beyond what you thought was possible. There are always a few moments where you wonder why you are doing it, but at the end of the day you stretch yourself and you become a better person because of that.”
Monty’s music is a fusion of folk, roots and soul.
“Most of my songs are written about experiences or feelings that are close to home and have really hit me. I can’t sing about things unless I am feeling them – it’s all pretty honest and personal. In that sense I do get lost in it and I try to put as much into it as I can when I am playing.”
For the past year, Monty has lived out of his car with "no fixed abode" – just playing and travelling and surfing. He surveys the lineup at Blackhead.
“Living on the road is hard for lots of people to fathom, but I feel really lucky to be doing what I am doing,” he smiles as he contemplates his last surf at a favourite beach.
You can find a gig during Monty Bevins New Zealand-wide Strings and Spokes Tour by checking in on his Facebook page here. You can buy his music at his live shows, or at www.montybevins.bandcamp.com
See you at the beach ... Derek
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