Originally Posted by
Rowan
Yes agreed in many cases, but then...
My best riding buddy before Machka came on the scene, Tim, and his wife have been committed cycling, canoeing and hiking tourists for decades. When their first daughter was just months old, they were cycle trekking through the Himalayas with the child in a trailer. They have gone on many trips both locally and internationally with their kids. Their last one was in 2003 when the daughters were teenagers... they rode a tandem and their parents singles as they toured through France and Spain and England. The kids are now in their late teens/early 20s and independent. The eldest returned recently from a year of self-sufficient touring in Europe.
I know it doesn't help the OP with his question... however, Tim has never held down a full-time job in his life. Neither has his wife. They bought a beautiful bushland block ages ago, paid it off, lived in a shanty shed with the kids for 13 years while they built their home. And that is gorgeous... built of second-hand materials and with environmental friendliness in the forefront of Tim's mind.
Tim is my inspiration for some many things, incuding my understanding of cycling, and many other things in life. To many, especially Americans, he is probably regarded as a failure, but he is in fact the complete opposite.
You see, we are limited in our horizons by the social pressures that are imposed on us by our parents, partners, children, work colleagues, television, politicians, and a whole host of others.
It isn't money that drives cycle tourists, when it comes down to the nitty gritty. It's independence of mind.
Don't get me wrong, of course there are people who can do extended travel with families. Nancy on this forum is the obvious example and now so is your friend. I guess I just bristle a bit when I see people make statements like "chasing the dollar" as a way to explain why some act on their sense of adventure in one way and others in another way (or not at all). As much as I too admire Nancy and your friend Tim, that kind of lifestyle is extreme and isn't for me. I love to cycle and travel, but I also enjoy my local friends and community and none of it has anything to do with money. So, I guess what I'm saying is that I definitely agree about the difference in priorities, but not necessarily about the way the financial end of things has been expressed. That being said, I do think far too many Americans lead lives where they get jobs and follow other traditional social patterns more out of expectation than choice (you point this out as well above), and money can become a big problem. Machka makes a good point in another thread about trying to maintain a debt free existence - I think one of the most terrible feelings one can have is feeling like a slave to debt and feeling like you're forced to work in an unsatisfying job in an unsatisfying environment with unsatisfying people just to "survive."