My wife and I are fortunate to live in relative comfort and opportunity in a world beset with poverty, violence and misery. One modest home in a sparsely populated location in central Arizona is literal luxury.
Cycling has never been a form of recreation for me. Instead it has served as a method to maintain physical and emotional health while providing me with a continuing performance challenge. I don't `ride'. I `train'.
I've realized over the many years of running (marathons) and cycling that I simply don't enjoy doing either for `pleasure.' They aren't motivators for that.
I like doing cycling events as a personal challenge, rather than as a comparative competition.
I'm fortunate to have a resting heart rate of 43, perfect blood pressure, two fake knees, multiple dental implants, cataract surgery that returned me to almost 20/20 vision and 75 years of not uneventful living behind me.
That being said I also realize that without the physical aspect of challenging cycling ... I lack the ability to just sit, watch or be a spectator. I'm not that good `from the neck up'.
I purchased a Ford Transit Connect van in 2017. I use it for daily transportation and as an enclosed camper when I travel to train.
Eschewing the grim hours in my shed on the trainer during cold and/or inclement weather I recently purchased a trike. I can't fit the trike and a 2 wheel bent in my van and still have room enough to sleep when camping. (I won't put the bikes on an external rack when traveling due to past experience with theft).
I recently bought a humble 4' x 6' enclosed trailer. Now, when I travel to train I can put the bike(s) and gear in the trailer and `live/sleep' in the van.
Best of both worlds while accommodating my values.
