Don’t bike routes just make us crave the comfort of home? At least that’s the feeling David Osterhout—the indie tearjerker and multi-instrumentalist behind the artist moniker Bike Routes—conjures so effortlessly. His dirt-path aesthetic is every bit as gritty as his lyrics, and nowhere is that more alive than on his latest album Prairie: an 11-track diary of a person who clearly stopped mid-ride, took in a breathtaking view, and had no choice but to write it all down. It’s an escape that meditates on isolation, heartbreak, and the kind of existential dread that somehow still leaves you pedaling toward your dreams—even when those dreams have relocated to a city you don’t yet call home.
We sat down with David to talk about the winding road to Prairie, what it meant to have Jake Clemons take the reins on saxophone for ‘Delicate,’ and what happens when even Jack Antonoff pulls up to your corner with nothing but praise.
Your dad came up with the name Bike Routes on the logic that bike route signs are essentially free advertising scattered across the world—and honestly, he’s not wrong. If your artistry were a bike route, which one would it be? Something like Australia’s Great Ocean Road or Japan’s Shimanami Kaido?
Honestly, I absolutely love nature and the great outdoors. So, some absolutely scenic route somewhere would probably be amazing. But, truly, I think the “bike route” that perfectly encapsulates me and this project is the one through my parents’ neighborhood. I grew up looking at that sign every day, never really realizing how important it would turn out to be. And I think that’s what this project has always been about for me: remembering where I’ve come from and where I’ve been.
Where did Prairie begin—was it a feeling, a moment, or a melody that arrived first?
I think Prairie started out as a feeling. A concept, really. I loved the idea of something representing this chapter of my life. These songs, these sounds, these melodies, these memories, these MOMENTS. They’re what makes up the Prairie that I’m talking about. The Prairie is a place that I can so easily go to in my head, and I think this album is my best take on explaining that place and visualizing that place.
‘Out On The Prairie’ carries the album’s name, which makes it feel like a centerpiece—so what was the thinking behind holding it back from the singles run?
I think it was held back from being a single because it needed the rest of the album surrounding it. To back it up. To help explain its existence. It certainly is one of the most unique-sounding songs on the discography also, and so I wanted it to find its own place in people’s hearts, instead of it being thrust upon them in the form of a ‘single.’
The video for ‘Homeward Bound’ opens on a postcard from New Jersey, where you’re based. The state has quietly produced some incredible acts—the Jonas Brothers among them. How does the scene there compare to the more obvious music capitals like LA or Nashville?
I think it is solely because of the local scene in New Jersey that Bike Routes even exists. I think the scene truly felt like a second family for me growing up. We all helped each other. They let me play shows when I barely even knew how to hold a guitar. I think places like LA and Nashville tend to take themselves a bit too seriously. I think they tend to forget that music is MUSIC because of the connection and the magic that it creates for a community. We were just a bunch of kids having fun in local VFW’s and coffee shops and basements. I think some places and some people are too quick to capitalize on these moments. They turn it into a business model instead of just letting it breathe and exist on its own for a second.
The blue rope in the video carries a serious red-string-of-fate energy—except yours frays the moment it hits a hotel sign, which reads like a quiet meditation on tour life. How do you make peace with a career that, by design, keeps pulling you away from home?
Honestly, it’s funny. Touring is truly the dream come true. The dream come to fruition. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. But it does make you miss a lot of things. Like your dogs, and your family, and your friends, and your bed. But touring has also given me a routine to live by, day in and day out. We wake up, we drive, we get to the venue, we load in, we set up, we sound check, we play, we sell merch, we load out, we drive, we sleep. Then we wake up and do it all again. Having a steady routine every single day for a month or two is amazing, honestly. And then getting home and losing that routine is sometimes pretty harsh. There’s definitely a lot of give and take and push and pull. But truly, I do love it. And I want to play as many shows as humanly possible.
As a Bruce Springsteen fan, having Jake Clemons—saxophone player for the E Street Band—feature on ‘Delicate’ must feel like a full-circle moment. How did that collaboration come about?
Honestly, I still cannot believe that it’s real. Truly, a dream come true, with the full entire sense of the phrase. We wrote ‘Delicate’ and had a placeholder saxophone solo in the bridge, and when the head of my label heard it, he immediately recommended trying to get Jake to play the part. And then lo and behold, Jake agreed to do it. And truly, it was the most full-circle moment in my life. For me and my entire family, honestly. I grew up listening to Springsteen daily because of my father, and hearing The Big Man’s sax all over those early records was a staple of my childhood. So, yeah, truly, I can’t believe how it all worked out.
Jack Antonoff was openly singing your praises after you opened for The Bleachers at The Stone Pony. What has that mentorship looked like since?
It’s been absolutely unreal! Truly, like I always say, these songs were written to be played in basements and VFW halls. So, to have one of the most influential producers and songwriters in the world right now enjoying the music means the entire world to me. It’s truly something I never could’ve expected in a million years.
You’re heading out on tour with Slow Joy—and given their name, we have to ask: what’s something about being on the road that brings you a quiet, unexpected kind of joy that fans might not think about?
I love traveling and long drives. And that’s what tour is all about. So, any chance we get to travel and play shows is always amazing. Especially when we get to go places we don’t usually get to play. Truly, it never gets old, from the 3 a.m. truckstop trips to playing the shows to going to new coffee shops every morning. It’s all a part of it.
You’re clearly a voracious reader—what have you picked up recently that’s found its way into your music or your head?
I’ve been doing a deep dive into Stephen King’s books! I’m currently reading book four of his series, The Dark Tower, and I’ve been loving it. But I’ve also read a ton of books this year so far, from The Count of Monte Cristo to Dungeon Crawler Carl to Wuthering Heights. So, I’ve been a little all over the place, but I love reading absolutely anything and everything.
If a fan came up to you asking for tattoo inspiration, which lyric from this album do you hope they’d choose?
Oooooooh, good question. I definitely have a few different favorites from the record, but they’re all a little long. “Maybe it’s just some fucked up bloodline or ancestral curse / And maybe everybody else dodged it, man, so I just got it worse.” Or: “I can’t explain it. It just keeps on changing / Just hand me my pill and I’ll John McClane it.” Or maybe all of ‘Homeward Bound.’ I don’t know. They might need a lot of space. Maybe just tattoo the lyrics in a paragraph on their back or something.
Bike Routes has officially handed down his lyrical tattoo decrees—and now the real question is: which one is earning a permanent residency on your skin? Or maybe you’re going rogue with another Prairie track—honestly, we respect the chaos. Either way, our brains are absolutely short-circuiting picturing it: a precious little sketch-style Bike Route etched into your flesh forever, the bike’s wheels rolling right over the lyrics like they’re just a cute little speed bump on the road to excellent taste.
Hit the red light for a sec and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter—then shift into top gear and loop Bike Route’s Prairie on repeat until the neighbors know every word too.
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