etsisk, thanks so much for your info! To be honest, I hadn't even considered fire departments, that's a really great idea. If I can put up a tent in back and use a shower, that would be so awesome. Thank you for sharing about your heart attack and I'm so happy for you that you were able to recover to the point of being able to cycle! I personally know a couple of older guys who had them and it completely changed their lives due to the lasting loss of function. That's the thing you never seem to hear about, is that surviving a heart attack doesn't mean you passed a test or something - for many people they lose a huge amount of quality of life. This is my main motivation, in a nutshell. I don't want to work, work, work and then suddenly I keel over and die or end up barely living. I make a good living for an idiot like me, and everyone I know just keeps telling me to "go on a diet", "don't eat after 6 pm", "go for a walk after dinner" and just blah blah blah. They just don't get it. I have no real vices like gambling, drinking, smoking, drugs, womanizing, or whatever. But I DO have both an eating disorder (obviously) and I also have a WORK disorder! I work so hard all the time, and put work ahead of almost everything. I will get a call from my boss that he needs me to go to (name a place) and I'm on a plane. Or I will be gone for a week to attend a training, or I'll drive 5 hours to (name a place) to have a 2 hour meeting and then drive back home and end up eating dinner at 8PM right before passing out for the night. I need to break the mold and start fresh. And I'm not even getting into the relationship issues or into some of the reasons why RIGHT NOW is the sign from God (or if you choose to believe, Spaghetti Monster In The Sky
) that this is my moment, my chance to finally be FREE.
I was talking to a friend about this trip and he used the analogy of a dog getting free from his leash, and what that must feel like to truly be free to run anywhere you want....I have to say, that is EXACTLY what this is beginning to feel like. That bicycle and trailer are not just a mode of transportation, or a new althletic lifestyle, or a chance to meet new people with a similar outlook on being healthy... but it's all of that AND the opportunity to truly be free for the first time since I was home from school for summer break a million years ago.
I think this trip will make me cry, laugh, swear, and dance - but I also think (and hope) it's going to allow me to actually be a human being and not just a "resource".