Van Life & The PLT
Van Life is all that it’s cracked up to be and more. I knew that buying the Sprinter (bucket-list mobile) was the right choice. When you know you know. 99.95% of the time my gut has lead me in the proper direction to or away from, people, places, things, opportunities, etc. I never had reservations about the Sprinter buildout and the overall purpose of the purchase… to live life while we (Pamela and I) can and not have any regrets. Plus semi-retiring at 38 is pretty cool. I’m not one to just sit around and watch TV, plant flowers or read books on the beach (that does sound nice). Being creative, strategic and challenged is something I can’t live without, hence why I say semi-retire. 🙂 as I’ll be back in the game again to challenge myself and to work with cool ass people. Van-life is great, the adjustment has been seamless, with the exception of getting a few things ironed out inside the van so it feels like home.
Making a little fresh coffee in the morning with our Aeropress and KoHi filter.
Penny Love doing what she does best with van life…relaxing and sunbathing.
Adjustment to van life. The biggest adjustment has been getting Penny Love all the proper quality time she has been used to while living in a home with a couch she loves to cuddle on. Sleeping in the van has been great. The mattress is super comfortable, the vent fan keeps the temperature ideal for sleeping and the working sink is a nice added bonus when brushing teeth and filling bottles for bike rides.
This past week Pamela, Penny Love and I took on van life, head-on. We rented our home during Ironman week to friends in from Japan. We figured it’d be a great way to get used to the van, but be close should we need to do anything major at the house and earn some money to pay for our mortgage. The flip side is that Pamela still had to work most days and we didn’t fully “move in” to the van. So we’ve felt a little discombobulated vs. just straight up hitting the road as if we were on vacation/camping. It has been a great experience and we’ve been able to tweak a few things here and there inside the van to make life easier on a daily basis, which was the goal at the outset. So Job well done for us! Yes that is a pat on the back I just gave myself, Pamela and Penny.
PLT: What’s the PLT? It’s magical and something I am very lucky to participate in. It’s sort of a dream job. It requires one to work less than one plays. So really playing more than one works! It’s like retirement but without fully being off the grid. It is the Pro Leisure Tour #PLT.
A nice ride down Lookout Mountain with friends from Rapha. This is what the PLT is about.
Pro athletes, painters, etc. get paid to play a sport and or do a specific job, which makes it work, Not that they don’t have fun, but it’s their lively hood. Being a member of the PLT allows one to work just enough (as much as one wants/needs) to pay bills if they wish or need, but play more. The work can be nothing overly vital or something important but brief…or nothing at all really. But the catch is that one’s Play to Work ratio is off the charts! It’s about having fun, creating lasting moments and doing what strikes you. Don’t be fooled. It’s NOT all play. Depending on what your situation is there are to-do list around the house, life chores (banking, book keeping), dog walking, these sorts of things that keep life moving also. But once all those items are check off, there’s the fun part. Meeting friends for mid morning rides on a week day followed by a coffee break and more riding home. Or a mid day movie just because you can. These are the small things that add up to being big things and the most rewarding things in the end.
Pamela being as pretty as always after a ride. Post PLT ride food with friends at Pizzeria Locale
Why did I join the PLT? That’s a common question and one I’ve gotten a lot of lately. I will save this for another post, later this week once I get settled back into my house and have a little fun with Penny Love and her new toy…the GoPro 4 Session Camera and Ruff harness. Dog POV footage coming to you soon.
New Camera gear to capture all moments Penny Love, Pamela and I can dream up. Thanks GoPro for the gear!
Thanks for reading and until next time
Jon R. running for president of the PLT.