Not ready to throw in the towel just yet, but not sure where to go from here.

[Jay81]

So I have a bit of a dilemma. Not sure what direction I want to go, and I'm not ready to give up yet, but getting a little discouraged.
I've accumulated some cool bikes, not as cool or as many as some of you have. You can see most of what I currently have listed in my signature. I really enjoy the prewar balloon tire bikes more than anything. I love getting one, taking it apart, cleaning (although not loving the cleaning part as much anymore) greasing, and otherwise getting them ridable again. Problem is actually riding them once I'm done.
I'm 37 and have had asthma for some time now. The garage is always damp, so I keep the nicer ones in the basement so they don't rust. But it's a chore getting these heavy bikes up and down the stairs, so they rarely get ridden.
There's a local "bicycle night" Tuesday evenings at a local pub, just an informal get together, bring whatever bike you have new or old, where I go and meet up with other local bike people and try to always take one of my bikes with me to display. I figure if I can't ride them much, I can at least get them out once in a while for other people to see, and they enjoy seeing them.
Again, difficult to get them up and down the stairs though. The next issue is I have a Ford F150. A few years ago I built my own bike rack out of 2x4 to haul bikes standing up in the bed. I have a cap on the bed which is even with the roof and have to tilt the bike to get it in, but can stand it up once the handlebars are clear. But at any rate it's a pain getting them in and out of the truck. I don't want to take the cap off, and I'm not ready to get what I consider an "old man truck cap" that is taller than the roof of the truck.
So, I paid $212 to have a receiver hitch put on, and another $210 to buy a nice Swagman 2 bike rack, the kind where it holds it by the wheels, with a hook over the frame. Great rack, still kind of a pain going through the process of getting it on and off the truck. Also noticed the rack blocks my license plate. Don't need to get pulled over for something stupid like that. Kind of feeling like I wasted my money.
Buying a different vehicle is not an option, as I'm still making payments on the truck, as well as taking out another loan to replace my wife's car.
My job was much more physical before, and I stayed somewhat in shape, but about a year ago I got a promotion and now sit at a desk all day. Not complaining, I love the job, but I've put on about 30lbs and it's not helping my situation.
I know exercise would help, but again, difficult for me and I have no energy. I'd love to get out and ride my bikes, but as you can see, that is an issue. Thought briefly about taking up a second hobby, like collecting some sort of small object but there's literally nothing else that interests me enough.
I just am at a point where I don't know what the hell to do. I have asked myself "should I just get rid of all my bikes and call it quits?" but I know I would regret it if I did.
Maybe someone out in CABE land has some advice?

 

[island schwinn]

Myself,I have physical issues that limit my ability to do many things,but once on my bikes,most issues fade temporarily.most my bikes are in an upstairs bedroom, so dragging them up and down can be a bummer,but the end result is always a positive one because I'm riding a bike. As far as the bike rack blocking your plate,most police can see you're not a criminal,just a bike guy.get out and ride as much as you can.

 

[Casual dreamer]

I feel your pain! I live with my girlfriend in her 1 bedroom upstairs apartment. Every time I want to take a ride I have to lug a heavy schwinn down those stairs, with my big hernia that's always fun! Transporting the bikes is a pain also, I have several cars, all classics, I won't own a modern car made after the 70s. My daily drivers are my 73 chevy monte carlo, and my 66 cadillac sedan deville. If I need to take a bike somewhere or pick one up it has to come apart, I just bought a vintage rear bike rack for my type of cars but where I live you have to be looking at the bike at all times or it will be gone! I'm 36 years old and this is my second time collecting vintage schwinns and it's great! So my advise is don't give it up, I collect other things as well and the bikes are the most fun and have the best people. Ride as much as possible and keep your head up!

 

[buickmike]

I have a few prewar bikes but they are heavy+ they strain my knees taking them up and down the stairs. But I have the alloy frame mtb late 80's Schwinn I keep hanging in garage. pulled it down last week to ride it to LBS cause someone asked me about presta. adapter. The old Schwinn store on Burnham in Cal city. Closed for good now. Anyway that modern bike is so easy to pedal I didn't mind the wasted trip and took the longest way back that I could.

 

[GTV]

First of all I’m 37 and I am genuinely shocked to find there are other guys on here my age!

Don’t worry about the license plate thing, I’ve driven thousands of miles with the same rack on my truck and my wife's car and have never had an issue.

Feel lucky that you’ve got that local bike night thing going on! There is nothing like that where I live, heavy vintage bikes are pretty useless here and therefore nearly extinct. My wife has an original 51 Monark that she has been on only twice in the last 3 years and I have a 60 Schwinn Jaguar custom (my avatar) that I haven’t mounted up in over a year because they live inside, are a real chore to ride around here, and there is nothing near by worth riding them to. Makes me sad to see them gather dust, boxes, clothes and get covered up by general crap. Luckily I built a couple other bikes since then that are better suited to the area, so I am able to get exercise commuting to work which is absolutely critical to mental health. If I stop riding for a little bit I start feeling crappy, as soon as I get back on that horse a lot of my problems go away. I’ve been trapped in the same cycle that you’re in now, you just have to force yourself out there and break the cycle.

You’ve got an impressive list of bikes there, but maybe you also need something slightly more modern that allows you to put some real miles down. That was the solution for me, and it came in the form of a fixed gear. It has become my favourite bike to ride and it’s hard to get me off of it now.

 

[the tinker]

You are just in a rut. It happens. You have to get the "weight thing]" under control. Stop the bread , the salty snacks, and No sweetened drinks, [diet soda included} I have the asthma thing myself.....hope you have no cats or birds in the house, if you do consider saying bye, bye to them. Asthma is nothing to fool with, it can kill you, out of the blue......I'm twice your age and have always had the majority of my bikes stuck in a basement, always at least 50-70 of them jammed everywhere. Real hassle. One other thing, Not to get religious here, but personally, I do take time everyday to thank God for what I have. So many of my buddies are dead, cancer getting them all..... Have fun, cause your're just overwhelmed a bit. .

 

[bike]

Thin the fleet and consider enjoying bikes one after another not all at one time- also collecting bike parts accessories badges and such is fun if you see the art in the part.
You can tell I am not a big rider o bikes I just like the art. One long time hobbiest told me he has a modern bike to RIDE and the others are to collect.
I live in an area with hills and poverty and no bike people, so it is not so fun going for a ride- no bike nights here... (once having lived in so cal- so much more action)
My 2 c

 

[saladshooter]

I'm 42 and married. Therefore I'm not trying to impress anybody with the size of my topper. My last truck had a cab height topper and it made me not love taking my bikes out to ride. I can't help with the stairs issue but I can tell you that the new topper makes transporting bikes a breeze and to me, that was the ultimate goal.

Chad

 

[Jay81]

I forgot to mention, I do have a modern Sun cruiser 7 speed I bought off craigslist last year. It's a nice bike and it rides nice, and it's much easier to ride. Just don't have the same appeal as the vintage bikes. There's also no good trails or places to ride to near me. I know of some good places to ride, but don't want to drive a half hour / 45 minutes to get there. This bike does have comfort going for it, it's one of the most comfortable modern bikes I've ridden in a while. I need to get out and ride it, even if it's around the neighborhood.
I do try to watch what I eat, smaller portions, try to avoid having seconds, etc. I don't eat that much bread anymore, bring a lunch to work every day and switched from sandwiches to salads almost a year ago. I barely drink any soda (we call it pop in MI) or other sweet drinks. I've been trying to drink more water, and that's all I bring to drink at work but I have a hard time drinking much of it. I just don't like water all that much. I drink coffee every morning, only with half and half, no sugar or sweetener.
I do need to cut back on the beer, and I have started to. I know it's not helping the situation any. Probably need to get up and do something other than spending so much time looking at the cabe, ebay, craigslist etc. But I'm kind of addicted to hunting for more bikes I can't ride lol. I have a bike taken apart in the garage that I bought at Ann Arbor that I was excited to clean up, but haven't had the energy or the drive to do anything with it in several weeks. Still, can't help myself from constantly looking for more.

 

[hoofhearted]

Because of prostate cancer and radiation treatment,
I elected to become dormant. That was in 2014.

Now I go to a sport's med place for therapy. Had to
learn to ride all over again. Bought a modern machine
from Scott Mc. .. it is wonderful. Still learning to
balance while riding. Had no idea what gets up and
leaves your body when you fail to keep it moving.

Down to 225, but muscles have atrophied. Am retrain-
ing them. Use food as fuel. Keep moving. Associate
with positive people, vow to stay positive. Do positive
things for other people. If certain bikes have become
anchors .. give them away. Give Them Away.

If anything in this hobby burdens you -- dump it like a
slice of bad pizza. Did you ever begin eating a slice of
pizza and decided, ''This is lousy pizza.'' (?)

Did you keep on eating it, anyway ? Why ? How did your
consumption of a lousy pie enhance your well-being ?

Same with bicycles. If you bought a piece of crap bike --
just to hopefully flip it .... you are wasting your life and money.
You are bringing an anchor home with you where it will
continue to deteriorate ... and you still have to find a buyer.
At night you think, ''Why did I buy that POS bicycle ?''

A few of us go out the next day and repeat the stupidity.

Avoid doing with bicycles what some of us continue to do
with a bad pizza.

Am looking to be comfortable with myself, at age 71 and a half.

I refuse to be burdened by anything on my deathbed ... and
believe me ... we will all .. each of us .. have a deathbed.

Love to all ... not bullshi#ing about anything .........

..... patric