8/29/2023- This May I met Karen Rusiniak at the Black Rock Rendezvous. She asked me if I would be interested in giving bike tours of the perimeter fence, aka “trash fence,” during Burning Man as a part of the Earth Guardians camp. I am not good at saying no, so I said yes. I had no idea what I was in for. What would the tours would entail? Other than I have spent significant time in the Black Rock over the last 5+ years, I am pretty good at adapting on the fly.

Karen, the Earth Guardian Activity Director, and I worked out a schedule, Tuesday-Friday with sunrise or sunset tours and one shift working the camp’s information desk. I would have space in the camp for my one-person tent and my bicycle, about 7’x7’. The camp would provide water, a bar, and port-a-potties. What more does a dirtbag like me need? I would get access to the commissary after my shifts. Bonus! Though I didn’t know what that meant. And Karen was going to provide me with a real pillow! Now that is glamping in the desert!

Burning Man is an event of radical self-reliance, inclusion, self-expression, and leave no trace (4 of the 10 guiding principles). It is a community of artists, musicians, creators, and organizers that create the temporary Black Rock City, yet its values last long after the Man burns (I am paraphrasing burningman.org, I found I needed help to best describe the event). It is kind of noisy, dusty, hot, smelly, but a whole lot of fun (no help needed for this description)!

The concept of temporary cities is particularly interesting. For more check out NPR’s TED Radio Hour interview with Rahul Mehrotra. Here is a quote that resonated with me about “permanent solutions for temporary problems”:

And so if we’d reflect about these questions – I mean, I think many come to mind. But an important one is, are we really, in our cities, in our imagination about urbanism, making permanent solutions for temporary problems? Are we locking resources into paradigms that we don’t even know will be relevant in a decade? This becomes, I think, an interesting question that arises from this research. I mean, look at the abandoned shopping malls in North America, suburban North America. Retail experts have predicted that in the next decade, of the 2,000 malls that exist today, 50% will be abandoned – massive amount of material capturing resources that will not be relevant soon.

– Rahul Mehrotra

I decided I would ride to Burning Man. But not from the house. I live about 150 miles from the Earth Guardian Camp at 5:30 and Esplanade. I would drive to Gerlach, park off the road away from traffic and bike in. This was all theoretical, I had no idea what traffic would be like. As the event grew near I followed Burning Man Traffic closely on Twitter (X, whatever?). I packed 3 days of food on my bike and ear plugs – don’t forget the ear plugs.

I was contacted by Katrin Tomanek who lives in San Francisco but was interested in taking the train to Reno and bikepacking to Black Rock City. She shared with me a proposed route and after a Zoom call we were confident she could do it. Her route was very adventurous. It was a mixture of paved and dirt tracks that by no means was the path of least resistance. It was exciting to see her social media posts along the way to her ultimate arrival and departure from Burning Man.

I parked just west of Gerlach off NV 447 and started my journey north passing the BLM’s Black Rock Field Station and connecting to Co Rd 34. It was about 8.5 miles on Co Rd 34 with “high traffic” for the area. It was much less traffic than I was expecting. But large RV’s, trailers, semi’s, and water trucks are a bit unnerving on the narrow paved road. It would be nice if Burners without Motors could be allowed to enter the playa at 3 Mile and ride to the Gate Road free of traffic. The other big presence on and off road were trucks labeled, “Law Enforcement.” Federal and county law enforcement were on the job.

At Mile 8 Playa Access I turned onto the Gate Road. Riding in to Burning Man was a bit of a disruption. The folks directing traffic weren’t sure how to instruct me on entering Black Rock City. This made me smile. Although only a handful of Burning Man participants bike into the event, if there was more of an awareness of it’s possibility, then maybe it could grow. I pedaled in on the 5? lane dirt road with a 10 mph speed limit. I felt very safe. Along the way there were great little signs for my entertainment and port-a-potties should I need to get rid of that last cup of coffee going through me.

Next stop was Will-Call to get my physical ticket and booklets about the event. I haven’t even opened my booklets yet. The theme for Burning Man this year was Animalia (insert furry joke here). Again the folks in charge weren’t sure how to direct bicycle traffic into Black Rock City. I felt like I was arriving by spaceship.

Next stop was the welcoming lanes into Black Rock City (BRC). But for some drivers their next stop was the flashing lights of Law Enforcement. I assume 10 mph means 10 mph on the Gate Rd. Also participants are warned not to start the party until you are inside the BRC perimeter. But I had a very enthusiastic welcome to BRC! They had never seen someone ride in. When I told them this was my first Burn I was encouraged to take the playa dust baptism. I graciously declined. This may be my first Burn but not my first experience on playa.

They directed me to my camp address and now I felt like I was lost in a new city. And I was. BRC is an arc around Center Camp, the spokes of the arc are named after positions on a clock face from 2:00 to 10:00. The arcing roads are named for the letters of the alphabet A-K for animals, real and imaginary. The innermost arc is the Esplanade. My address, Earth Guardians Camp, 5:30 and Esplanade. I wasn’t really lost, but it sure felt new.

I got to camp, found Karen, and was shown to my real estate. I was camped with other Friends of Black Rock High Rock’ers Damien Cooper and Stacey Wittek. And the Texans, friends of Damien’s and Stacey’s, Rebecca, Jeff, Nicky, and Steve Acker. I was in great company! I pitched my tent and went for a cruise. I rode down 5:30 to Jackalope (do you believe?). Then I headed to 2:00 and looped back to Esplanade. I followed Esplanade back to camp. I stopped at the BLM Interp Camp. My friends from Friends of Nevada Wilderness, Meg and Olivia, were a surprise! They were offering coffee to anyone and we got to chat a bit.

That evening I had a tour to give 5:30-7:30, a sunset ride to the “Trash Fence” or BRC perimeter and give a talk about everything you can see outside BRC. I dubbed it a natural history talk. I was planning on pointing out the physical features you can see, talk about public lands, and potential for tours in the area for anyone who wanted to return. I also gave the same tours at 6:30-8:30 in the morning. I was kind of winging it but I had spent so much time in the area I had plenty of material to draw from. The tours (four in all) went well. My favorite part were the questions I got; What lives on the playa? What are the opinions about Burning Man, from Reno’s, the Northern Paiute’s, and my personal perspective? What is the effect of BM on the playa? The most disturbing question started with, “Now that you are a Burner, blah blah blah.” Choke, I stopped listening contemplating that I was now a Burner.

Burning Man at night is a whole other beast. It is easy to get disoriented. But the artwork comes to life! I didn’t participate on climbing around on the huge sculptures but it was a treat to interact with lights, sound, motion, fire and scale.

Friday morning was my last tour. I was packed and ready to roll out by 9 am. That was exactly 72 hours in Black Rock City. There was a storm brewing, my campmates had been anxiously following the weather forecast. The wind was whipping up dust out of the southwest, the sky was dark with heavy clouds. Although I wasn’t leaving to try to beat the storm, I did. The rain came hours after I left and the rest is history. Meme worthy history.

My departure by bicycle was equally as disruptive as my arrival. Black Rock City prides itself on the bicycle traffic within the city. But Burning Man seems to do nothing to accommodate biking to and from the event. So let me help.

Burners without Motors – Every year I have met at least one person who bikes to the event. This year I met Katrin Tomanek who contacted me about a route she wanted to try from Reno to Burning Man. She would take the train to Reno from San Francisco then bike to Pyramid Lake, around the Smoke Creek Desert, and over the Granite Range to Black Rock City. The route was solid. Not only would there be opportunities for water and resupply but the scenery and adventure would be top notch. I could recommend the route because I had ridden it all and it is a bold route.

I was so pleased to see Katrin’s social media post of sunrise on the playa. Unfortunately we did not connect at the event. But we did get to chat recently. The route went well, especially once she was away from Reno/Sparks. She rode at night and early mornings and took midday siestas to avoid the heat.

We had similar experiences riding into the event. The folks working the gates and managing traffic had to make several calls to have a specific plan to direct bicycles. But everyone thought riding in was cool. So it begs the question, how do we (Katrin is also interested in helping folks ride into Burning Man) make biking into Burning Man a thing? What are the logistical hurdles for camping a week on playa? Fresh water and gray water are the two biggies. I was asked how I carry all my costumes on my bike. Hmmm, I am a one costume kind of Burner. Biking in and being a part of a bigger camp is a solution. What if there was a bikepackers theme camp? A single truck could bring in the critical supplies for a group of riders, and a fun camp could be created in the “walk-in” camp area.

If there is anything I can do to help you bike to Burning Man or any other Black Rock/Nevada adventure, please reach out.

There is a misconception that Burning Man will destroy your bike. If you bike with a Walmart Special then that is true. But modern bikes and camping equipment can handle exposure to the playa as long as you commit to taking care of your gear. A trip through the desert is less destructive than a trip on the coast. Biking through the desert is easier on your equipment than driving through the desert with your bike on the back of your vehicle. Either way everything is coated in dust. But everything cleaned up with soap and water.