Owning a bike store is hard. I spend on average 14 hours a day 6 days working at the store. I don't get any vacations and I only get a few holidays off each year. And to top it off I can't afford to pay myself. I sometimes (maybe too frequently) tell people this, but I really don't think they understand. Frequently people will say, "Yeah, but your living the dream!"
The truth is, this is not my dream. There are two main reasons I am doing a bike store: One, I'm trying to help people get out and ride bikes in the hope that it improves their health and helps them live longer and have a better quality of life. Two, I am trying to do something productive that I can make a living at. I think I am being productive, and I think eventually I'll get this to the point that I can pay myself a small wage.
But, again this is not my dream job. My dream job has always been to be out doing what I love and getting payed for it. Currently that is biking. Yes, working in a bike store is related, but the dream job would be getting payed to be riding a bike.
My fantasy job is to build a mountain bike trail on a Caribbean island, get a fleet of mountain bikes, and then take cruise passengers on a day shore excursion mountain biking in the tropical forrest. I've looked at Caribbean real estate, I've looked at suitable islands that are close to an island that has a port frequented by cruise ships. I could pick up the customers and take them by boat to my little island and have a fun day exploring, checking out the forest, and enjoying some time on sweet single track.
The Caribbean mountain bike business is probably not reasonably doable. Besides my family, for some strange reason that I can't quite figure out, does not want to move to the Caribbean.
Biking to the South Pole is clearly more extreme than my Caribbean mountain bike destination, but is doable. I have put a lot of time, thought and effort into this idea. My wife accuses me of having a one track mind. She says I am like Mr Toad in The Wind in the Willows moving from one mania to the next. The problem is, she is correct.
So the South Pole Epic isn't my dream, but for sure it is my mania.
The truth is, this is not my dream. There are two main reasons I am doing a bike store: One, I'm trying to help people get out and ride bikes in the hope that it improves their health and helps them live longer and have a better quality of life. Two, I am trying to do something productive that I can make a living at. I think I am being productive, and I think eventually I'll get this to the point that I can pay myself a small wage.
But, again this is not my dream job. My dream job has always been to be out doing what I love and getting payed for it. Currently that is biking. Yes, working in a bike store is related, but the dream job would be getting payed to be riding a bike.
The Caribbean mountain bike business is probably not reasonably doable. Besides my family, for some strange reason that I can't quite figure out, does not want to move to the Caribbean.
Biking to the South Pole is clearly more extreme than my Caribbean mountain bike destination, but is doable. I have put a lot of time, thought and effort into this idea. My wife accuses me of having a one track mind. She says I am like Mr Toad in The Wind in the Willows moving from one mania to the next. The problem is, she is correct.
So the South Pole Epic isn't my dream, but for sure it is my mania.
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