Marty Feely, the recumbent vagabond

Marty Feely, where to start?

In 1984 Marty wanted to find his passion. He was reading a magazine article which boasted about the excitement of Storm Chasing, that was it, he was sure of it. So, he loaded his belongings into his 1976 Ford Maverick and headed for Oklahoma.

He began writing articles about storm chasing, submitting them to a weather magazine. It wasn’t long before people began reaching out to him, wanting to go with him and see what it was all about. He started Whirlwind Tours, the first storm chasing touring company of its kind.

In May 1996 the movie Twister was released and storm chasing became the new thing to try. Marty was established by then and was recognized by “BBC, and National Geographic, among others, airing shows highlighting Whirlwind Tours.”

Left to right, photos courtesy of Marty Feely:

• Marty captures our amazing landscape showcasing a double rainbow.

• The Recumbent Vagabond in training for his cross-country adventure.

  
  

Marty went on to quote from this showing, “Here’s a guy who actually makes a living storm chasing.” Some of his clips can still be seen on You Tube, Savage Skies: Riders on the Storm, the entire sequence is well worth your time, Marty is towards the end.

In 2004, returning from his last tour , Marty stopped at the Paria Contact Station and asked if they had any job openings. They had a volunteer position; he went for an interview in the Kanab BLM office and got the job. A short time later the Ranger left, and Marty was awarded the Ranger position. He ran The Wave lottery from 2004-2007. “When I started exploring my new ranger territory, I realized Coyote Buttes and White Pockets were the most spectacular landscapes I had ever seen.”

Storm chasing gave Marty the opportunity to challenge and enhance his photography skills. Taking his talent of capturing the sky and combining it with the magnificence of our landscape, he ends up as a master weather photographer.

“I try to get the weather over scenery, and once in a while I actually get one people will buy,” Marty says.

Storm chasing gave him the key to finding his passion. Marty lives in Kanab, maybe you’ve seen him at Honey’s Market selling photographs around the holidays. Or perhaps you’ve seen him on his recumbent bicycle, or Gretta his trike as he likes to call her. Why a recumbent bike, according to Marty, “no back pain, no neck pain and no bum pain,” makes total sense to me. His lifestyle is different than most. He winters in a room he rents with his best friend Miss Kitty. She’s a lovely cat whose purr could be heard across the room during the interview. In the summer months he lives out of his totally electric car and brags, “no gas, no rent.” It suits his needs and his lifestyle. Living out of his car is not a great option for Miss Kitty so she maintains her winter address, allowing Marty the opportunity to train.

Yep, he’s in training for the Northern Teir Bicycle route, which begins in Anacortes Washington, cutting through 13 states landing in Bar Harbor, Maine. Whew, that’s 4,300 miles on a recumbent bike. He has been trying for six years and hoping this is the year he has all the kinks worked out of his weight limitations. Now all he must do is train hard enough that 50 miles a day becomes a daily event. As the recumbent vagabond, a self-assigned moniker, he’s working towards that goal, “It should take three and a half to four months to complete the journey.”

Marty supplements his earnings with pet sitting, house sitting and photography. He now offers his photos in both digital and metal prints. You can reach him by email at joewhirlwind53@yahoo.com.