Nelson man taking epic bike ride to Desert Trip concert

With a lineup that includes The Rolling Stones, Neil Young and The Who, next month's Desert Trip music festival will be an epic event for many music fans.

To mark the occasion, a Nelson man is taking an epic bike ride there.

Jon Langille has embarked on a 2,500-kilometre journey that will take him through the Western United States to the concert site in Indio, California.

Langille is riding his Pedego electric cargo bike, though he insists he's still biking and not just riding.

"I'm still gonna be cycling. It's still a bicycle," he said to the CBC's Bob Keating. "The motor is there to assist with the hills, and that is super by me."

Desert Trip will also feature performances by Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney and Roger Water. Every artist on the lineup is a musical icon.

"It's a historic event," said Langille. "It's a lot of the old bands that are simply huge."

Langille bought tickets to Desert Trip for him and his wife on a whim.

"We were in a bit of a quandary as to how to get there," he said, "and I couldn't figure out the timing with my wife's job and I had a bit more liberty with mine so in frustration I just said to her, 'well, I'll ride my bike down'."

"Old Chella"

Desert Trip is taking place on the same site where the Coachella Music and Arts Festival is held. That has some people referring to Desert Trip as "Old Chella".

But you won't hear Langille calling it that.

"There's obviously a demographic that the show is appealing to and I happen to be on the near side of that demographic," he said. "But you know people of a certain age start to get a little sensitive towards those silly notions of age."

So, is there an artist that Langille is most looking forward to seeing?

"Oh yeah," he said, "the first night is The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. I'm a long-time fan of The Rolling Stones."

With files from Daybreak South

To listen to the segment, click on the link labelled B.C. man making epic bike ride to 'historic' rock concert