GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – It’s certainly not a story you see every day, but for Caleb Werntz and his beloved Maryilyn Monroad, it’s just another day on his adventure.
Werntz, a documentary filmmaker, stopped by Green Bay as part of his epic bike ride across the United States, along with Marilyn Monroad, his cat. Marilyn Monroad sits inside a pouch/basket attached to his bike’s handlebars.
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Werntz says he’s documenting the trip from New Hampshire to California on his social media pages as well as through a book.
It’s the eighth time he’s done this kind of trip, and his stop in Green Bay was day No. 49 of the current trip, and this time feels different.
“It feels like I’m a lot more all-in on committing to my film journey and making episodes about my story,” Werntz said. “I don’t know when I’m going to get off the road, but for now I’m going to press into the gift that I have of traveling and the people I’ll meet along the way.”
Werntz said he’s going to challenge himself further this time, riding the winter wave.
“I’m going to make it more difficult on myself so that it’ll make good entertainment,” Werntz said. “I’m following a new route this time, going places I’ve never gone before, this is my first time in Green Bay.”
Werntz said he stopped by a Woodman’s for the first time and that his father grew up a Packers fan, so coming to Green Bay feels like a way to connect with his dad.
“I didn’t have a close relationship with my father, so coming here feels like I get to connect with my dad a little bit,” Werntz said.
Werntz added that his biking journeys started after film school, when he was homeless in 2013, the same year he rescued Marilyn, who was a kitten at the time.
“I did my first bicycle tour to evade homelessness and to not sit around, but to explore,” Werntz said. “I tried to live a normal life, like what most people were going after.”
Werntz said he was dissatisfied with that, and that he lost his job and house just after COVID-19 hit, and that’s when he decided to really step fully into the filmmaking side of him and travel with Marilyn.
“It gave me the chance to go full on with filmmaking and traveling with Marilyn Monroad,” Werntz said. “The past five years have been pressing into this project, and it’s just gotten better and better.
Werntz said that the community support encourages him that there’s a lot of love in the world.
