John (above right) loves to get his bike off his caravan and on the road!
When grey nomads John and Jenny Rodwell sold their family home in Canberra and hit the open road three years ago, they knew the good life beckoned … they just didn’t know how good!
The couple has criss-crossed the country in their LandCruiser 200 and 23’ Jayco Sterling Outback, meeting new friends, discovering new places, and having the time of their lives. However, they quickly became aware their new carefree lifestyle did come with some potential pitfalls.
“Like so many grey nomads we found trying to stay fit and healthy in retirement a challenge,” said John. “Particularly with all the Happy Hours, and perhaps a red wine or a beer or two.”
For John, the answer lay in cycling. Having had bikes most of his life, he started to make pedal power an integral part of his Big Lap enjoyment.
“A replacement right hip stopped me from running or jogging, so the bike is for fitness and controlling a slight cholesterol issue,” he said. “Unfortunately, my better half fell out of the caravan at Airlie Beach a few years ago and broke her leg, never to walk properly again … so the cycling is just me.”
John has a Thule Pro Ride Upright Roof Mount to accommodate his Giant Defy Road Bike on the roof of the ’Cruiser, and it is the one ‘toy’ he wouldn’t be without.
The sprightly 64-year-old who says he is a ‘mere spring chicken’ compared to some of the cyclists out there has already clocked up several thousand kilometres on roads everywhere from the Great Ocean Road and the mountains near Canberra to the country roads of Tasmania, Queensland and north east Victoria.
John sometimes rides on his own and sometimes as part of an organised event or with a local cycling club. While Jenny’s accident means she cannot join John on the rides he loves so much, she does share his passion for cycling and the pair closely follow events such as the ‘Tour Down Under’.
And when John is out riding, Jenny loves her ‘alone time’ as she indulges her talent for making greeting Page 2 cards, as well as her passion for reading, and doing crosswords and Sudoku puzzles.
John’s determination to work off any excesses of the ‘good life’ means he also loves to walk and, if the couple are dog sitting somewhere, he is always quick to grab the leash.
“I received a Garmin fitness tracker for Christmas and I regularly manage my 10,000 steps a day,” he said. “And I just love having the company of a dog walking the back roads of some rural area.”
John and Jenny plan to stop travelling in about two years, but John expects one thing at least to remain constant. “When we start the next chapter of our retirement, it will probably be in bricks and mortar with gardens and a dog and cat and all that,” he said. “But the caravan – and the ‘pushy’ – will definitely still play a prominent part in whatever we do.”
