Documentary filmmaker, Caleb Werntz, and his cat, "Marilyn Monroad," are bicycling across America for the sixth time, in five years, to promote the world premiere of two documentary films.
The bikepacking film chronicles the past four years that Marilyn and Caleb circumnaviated the country, by bicycle, and studies both the internal and external landscapes of territory the two pass through, as well as the world of living on a bicycle.
The skateboarding documentary picks up at the end of the bikepacking film to take a deep dive into the athletes who grew up at Venice Beach Skatepark and how they share the "wheel motif" with Caleb. The film goes on to observe how the pursuit of signifigance from a childhood of trauma can provide confidence through achievement in performance sports — set to the backdrop of a candid view inside of a guarded localism that Venice boasts.
Watch Trailers of the Films Below
Five Years on a Bicycle
The Road West
1Host Caleb and Marilyn
After riding all day, Caleb and Marilyn are seeking somewhere to call home, for the night, which does a wonder to recharge when covering so much ground and being exposed to the elements. Below, you will find references from others who have hosted the two over the years.
2Support
Whether you can provide work, purchase a copy of one of the many books Caleb — and Marilyn — have written, or make a donation: any amount of financial support will help the two complete their journey.
3Speaking
With lots of stories to tell from the road, experiences from pursuing an alternative lifestyle, and empathy for young people who are trying to find their way in life, Caleb loves to share his story with audiences to be an example and help inform those on their own journey.
Host Caleb and Marilyn
From years of traveling across America, Caleb and Marilyn developed an extensive list of references from places they've stayed along the way.
(Reviews taken from Warmshowers.org)
September 2024
Caleb and Marilyn stayed 2 nights with us at the end of their trip in Austin. They were both very respectful of our place. Marilyn is quite the trooper and is very adaptable to new situations. Caleb was great in communicating his schedule so we were ready for him. He was clean and and quite interesting to talk with. He knows how to be a great guest!! I wish them both well on their future adventures in Austin.
★★★★★
June 2024
Caleb and Marilyn stayed a couple nights with me and my kitten, though we didn't get to see much of Marilyn. Caleb was a self-reliant and easy guest, going over and above to be respectful of my home. I will be following his adventures through social media and welcome him back anytime.
★★★★★
August 2023
Caleb was very respectful of my home and took great care to ensure Marilyn was set up properly and we honestly wouldn’t had known she was even here as Marilyn stayed sleeping and to herself for the visit. My dog #echothesuperdog unaware she was even present! Caleb (East ->West) Marilyn’s caretaker/person/servant/keeper of the catnip/chauffeur/bodyguard was one of a kind. A brilliant mind & star!
★★★★★
June 2023
We hosted Caleb and Marilyn for several days in our spare bedroom, where Marilyn could have her own space away from our three cats. We were worried about having four cats in the apartment but there were no issues at all. Caleb is overwhelmingly humble, kind, and passionate about the life he has created for himself. We are so happy that we were able to host him and can now call him a lifelong best friend.
★★★★★
May 2023
We were glad to welcome Caleb and our first-ever feline Warmshowers traveler! Marilyn needed to stay out on the porch because of my allergies, but she seemed okay with that - you can tell that she is used to a wide variety of accommodations. We enjoyed some conversation over dinner and called it an early evening. Caleb is a polite guest who is very seasoned.
★★★★★
May 2023
We had a wonderful time meeting Caleb and Marilyn and hearing their fascinating story. They were very easy and respectful guests. We wish them the best on their continuing adventure.
★★★★★
May 2023
Caleb was a joy to have, so glad we crossed paths. Caleb is everything you hope for in a guest - courteous, appreciate, friendly, great sense of humor and has a great story to tell. Best of luck on your journeys Caleb, you’re always welcome back!
★★★★★
May 2023
Caleb was a great guest. We didn't interact a ton because of our busy schedule and my deathly cat allergy. He was super respectful though and hung out in the workshop space (where I don't go, so the cat could go). He was going to join my husband and the shop he works at on a shop ride, but the weather made that impossible. Caleb communicated well with us and was an easy guest.
★★★★★
April 2023
We really enjoyed hosting Caleb and his beautiful kitty, Marilyn, for a couple of days. They got trapped in a storm and reached out, and we were happy we could help out. We had some great conversations and enjoyed talking with Caleb about his experiences and his plans for the future. Caleb was very easy going and helpful, and Marilyn was no trouble at all. We wish them both well on all their future travels!
★★★★★
September 2022
It was nice to host Caleb and his furry lady again. We had some good talks and fun on the beach at sunset. Joey was respectful of having a cat in the house. I discovered that Caleb has a large appetite, at dinner anyway. Have a good birthday and know that you are missing a big storm coming this way. Safe travels Caleb and Marilyn.
★★★★★
September 2022
Caleb and Marilyn were some cool cats for sure! Enjoyed the company and Caleb even cooked us dinner. I wish them the best on their tour and hope to see them again some day.
★★★★★
September 2022
Caleb and Marilyn were some cool cats for sure! Enjoyed the company and Caleb even cooked us dinner. I wish them the best on their tour and hope to see them again some day.
★★★★★
September 2022
We had a super afternoon and evening with Caleb.
★★★★★
August 2022
Caleb was a joy to host and to spend time with! We had a lovely time chatting about life and all sorts of interesting topics. Lots of laughs and lots of good feels. Thanks bud.
★★★★★
June 2022
Caleb and Marilyn camped with us for one night. I'm lucky I was able spend a few hours after work conversing with Caleb. I enjoyed his stay considerably, he is truly a road warrior. He is a kind and gracious guest and know anyone would enjoy his company as well as I did. And who could be a better traveling companion than Marilyn!
★★★★★
June 2022
Caleb and Marilyn were one of our first guests of the season and I'm so glad they chose to find respite at our place during their adventure. I hope we get a chance to meet in the future!
★★★★★
January 2022
Caleb seems like a good guy, he stayed one night, he was pleasant.
★★★★★
January 2022
Wonderful guy and a great guest. He stayed with us two nights and we were lucky to get to host him!
★★★★★
January 2022
Caleb just left my humble abode in North Hollywood with his lil munchkin Marylin the kitty aka ‘miss America’ !!! Makes sense because she’s probably seen more of the US than most humans!! it was a real joy sharing stories over morning coffee with Caleb and snuggling a bit with Marylin … Caleb’s joy for touring is dangerously contagious!! I was about to leave my job and jump on the road with them !!
★★★★★
January 2022
What’s not to love about a man and a bike, and a cat! Caleb and Marilyn are a great team! It was very impressive to see oh well they do together, and it was such an honor to host them in my house!
★★★★★
December 2021
Great warm showers guest! Caleb is very kind, respectful, easy going and self sufficient. Highly recommend to all future hosts!
★★★★★
November 2021
Joey and I enjoyed having Caleb and his easy going buddy Marilyn although she was somewhat reclusive. His tent support was split so we spent time at Dick's to no avail. Interesting talk over dinner followed. Nice to have him here and it was our first cat experience too.
★★★★★
November 2021
Caleb and Marilyn were such awesome guests. We enjoyed cooking and getting to know Caleb for the couple days he stayed at our home. He's super helpful and fun, we loved learning about his passion for filmmaking. A wonderful guest to invite into your home! I'm sure we'll cross paths in the future!
★★★★★
November 2021
My husband and I really enjoyed the visit of Caleb and his (very mellow) cat Marilyn. Not only was he an interesting guest, and very appreciative, but he helped me out by installing a bike rack on my car. Recommended!
★★★★★
October 2021
My dogs and I had a great time with Caleb. He helped out a lot around the house as I'm recovering form a recent surgery. He's a standup gentleman and he's welcome back any time.
★★★★★
August 2021
It was great to host Caleb and his kitty Marilyn. He was fun to talk to and it reminded me of my trip last year talking about some of the western routes he was doing. Easy to deal with and little expectations would host him again! Safe travels Caleb!
★★★★★
August 2021
We hosted Caleb and his adventure cat Marilyn after a hot day of cycling through the flint hills of Kansas. We found them both quiet, engauging and self reliant. We enjoyed sitting out bu the fire, visiting with Caleb until late in the evening. If you have pets of your own, your pets are more likley to be a problem than Marilyn, she is very well behaved. Caleb is also well behaved and clean.
★★★★★
Put Caleb to Work
For additional cash along the way, Caleb can work a variety of odd jobs and landscape.
KATHRYN CHASE
"In October, a few people in the neighborhood recommended Caleb Werntz for yardwork. Caleb has been renting an apartment from me and I was happy to see he had taken initiative and made connections in the neighborhood to supplement income from his night job. Caleb has been a considerate and helpful tenant, and I hope there is neighborhood support for his next adventure."
V. Saundra Kirk
Caleb Werntz is a conscientious gardener. After our two big weather events, my landscape was in sad shape. I hired Caleb to work in my front yard all day yesterday. He prepared several beds and put in new plants. He commented that he really loved being able to create a final product. Last evening he rode his bicycle back over just to admire his work. Caleb is from New England, and his plan is to leave for the long bike ride to Maine in a few days. Those of us who were fortunate enough to get his service this past week, were among his final clients. I am proud of and happy with the work he did, and I’m grateful for your recommendations. He was exactly who I needed.
SHAKTI
"Caleb has been doing yard work for me. He has been doing a great job, on time and trustworthy, qualities that are hard to come by these days. Not sure what other things he can do, but he seems willing and available."
DANI
"If you are looking for some extra help with yard work, I highly recommend Caleb. He helped me clean up a yard over the last few days. He is reliable, fast, pays attention to detail, and is eager to work."
SUSAN
"I hired Caleb to do several hours of weed pulling this afternoon. As most of you know, very few persons are willing to do that and do it steadily and conscientiously — but if you need that or help with other chores Caleb’s great."
DONNA
"Caleb came here this morning & cleaned leaves off the roof & gutters. I can highly recommend him."
GAIL ARMSTRONG
"Had Caleb over this morning to help move tree debris around to the front. This is the second time he's helped around our place.
You hear the common complaint that 'good help is hard to find.' Caleb is good help if anyone needs an extra hand."
ROSINA MARIA
"We had Caleb come clean up our mess of a yard today and he did a great job. I highly recommend him. Thank you for the referral!"
CLAUDIA THOMPSON
"Hey everybody, just want to let you all know that Caleb Werntz worked in our yard last week, digging, trimming, raking, and bagging. He is a hard worker and did a great job! We recommend him."
LAUREN ARZBOW
"I reached out to Caleb to see if he could help with some yard work. He came over same day, did amazing, detailed work with just one hour's time, and was so very friendly! I highly recommend Caleb to anyone in the area!!"
John Moorman
I had Caleb do nearly 4 hours of weed pulling In a big flower bed and back yard. He is a very good worker. He gets with the project and does not dilly dally around. I will definitely hire him again for other projects
John Moorman
My name is Gabe Salvage and I own Wheeler County Trading Company, a small general grocery store in a small rural town in Oregon.
I would like to talk about Caleb Werntz and my connections to this man.
Caleb was passing thru on a trans-state bicycle ride and came through my town of Mitchell in rural eastern Oregon on an unseasonably wet stretch of early September. He was headed west in the rain. He deciding to wait out the rain before climbing into the mountains but ambitious enough to not sit idle and just read a book at the local hostel; he decided to contact me, the local proprietor.
After some brief introductions Caleb explained how he had worked at Fred Meyers (Kroger) before and had extensive knowledge about retail, so I decided to put him to work; even if it might be brief.
I initially had him take out boxes, and some other general tasks, but I quickly realized that Caleb was more than just a typical box boy. He ended up doing about all of the major daily task my store can entail, which is quite a bit.
An example?:
Our store uses price stickers and our hardware wholesaler sends these price stickers with the boxes of stuff we buy. Dozens of boxes have to be opened with numerous line items in each box (a typical order has over 300 line items) and the correct line items have to be matched up and stickers stuck on the right products; Caleb excelled at this. To the point that he could catch his own mistakes. Someone who can catch their own mistakes at this task has proven a level of mastery at this said task. And he had never done it before. And he was superbly fast at it. And he did the whole order with zero mistakes.
Another example of Caleb’s skills:
I set him loose in the produce department culling old produce and setting up for our incoming order of fresh produce. At first I had to show him that in our little store we don’t throw every 2nd place tomato away, we have to keep it and try to sell some of the very product Fred Meyer would cull out (this being due to our limited sales in a very rural setting). Then Caleb did something brilliant that I had never though of, instead of throwing away some of the seconds and thirds; he put them in a grab bag with other like fruits or veggies - and sold a big bag of otherwise ugly fruit or veggies nobody was going to buy anyways for a dollar. We now do that on a regular basis to get rid of food that would otherwise be wasted.
He is a very punctual orderly man who has an attention to detail, he’s an excellent shelf organizer and shelf facer, enjoys all aspects of work and enjoys making a store a better place for everybody.
In short I would love to have Caleb as an employee. In the few days he worked for me, he was a joy to have around.
This is very much a letter of recommendation because Caleb deserves to be recommended.
Sincerely, Gabe Salvage - proprietor
541-462-3585
Ennis, Montana Film Screening Interview
Full Interview on the Gulf of Florida
Calico Cycles Portland, Maine News Story
Marilyn's Viral News Story
Speaking at Youth Drop-in Center