You're an inspiration Bill. I'm going to follow this advice and live healthy lifestyle also. Things are really progressing in the right direction

Thanks so much, this was a major milestone and opens the doors for so many cool future tours.

Background: I turned 78 end of Jan. 5'10" 135 pounds. I ride about 10-20 miles a day, limited by deteriorating knees. Resting heart rate usually around 45. I do pushups nightly for HIIT. Currently 2711 consecutive days of 100 or more. Started doing enough sets of 200 per night to total 1000 per night a little over 3 years ago. Currently able to do a set of 500 on most any night, but usually do 400 or less.

23 Sep 2010, I had a widowmaker heart attack, but it did not feel traumatic to me. My cardiologist said all the years of riding and running had built up collateral circulation as the LAD slowly narrowed before collapsing. The heart attack resulted in heart damage and the healing left cardiac scarring so that my ejection volume dropped by about 30%. One month before the heart attack, I ran a 5k in 21:20 and did the first mile in 5:50 which was about 40 seconds faster than intended and resulted in going anaerobic and finishing at a slogging pace. But it illustrates how fit I was while having a defective heart. They still talk about me... My cardiologist retired 3 years ago and the new one said "I've heard about you!" My cardiologist said I was the fittest patient he had ever had by far and I was the one in a million proof that a heart attack can overtake anyone. He also said I should expect another heart attack in 3 to 5 years, likely fatal... 13 1/2 years ago.

Since then, I have read tons of medical research journals and have seen post heart attack care change considerably as well as preventative strategies. I now eat primarily fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, etc. focusing on things that are: 1. high nutrition density 2. anti inflammatory 3. antioxidant. I totally avoid sugar and almost all processed flours and foods. I eat fish and rarely red meat. I take numerous vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements based on their specific effects on body physiology. I avoid most fats, but target omega 3 fats. I have eaten zero candy, cake, or sweets since the heart attack... Sugar and processed flour and processed meats are all closely linked to cardiac problems. I also abstain from all alcohol, after all, it is really metabolically a long chain sugar. Bad stuff despite what you read about limited beer or wine being good for the heart, but that is just my take on it.

Despite the above, I do travel. I have been to Europe a few times and Hawaii a few times and Trinidad a few times since the heart attack. It is possible to maintain a fanatical diet on travel.

I say all this so that you know you too can follow a healthy lifestyle. You just need to decide you will do it, and you should have a reason. My reason is so that I can benefit others. (Like following cycle journals to give assistance in nature ID or going fishing most days, and giving away fillets to friends and to less privileged folks, and fixing things and enjoying friends, family volunteering for Scouting and church and more.) Besides, I like bike riding and fishing and photographing interesting stuff and wood carving and more.

Congratulations!

Good luck, Steve. I hope your plans and dreams coalesce the way you want them to. We left Bangkok today too. Sooooooo hot 🥵!

Cycle tour till you die... or till, like me, your knees quit working. Then just cycle local unloaded as long as possible. I am 78 and just today got the ok to go off a statin drug I have been taking since my widowmaker 13 years ago.

Eat right and never quit exercising... Yeah, I also do pushups nightly. My streak of 100 or more is currently 2687 consecutive days. Hang in there, you will get it.

Thanks for that comment Bill, I greatly appreciate it. Yes that's pretty much the spirit

Status... "Keeping up appearances" Good you are learning to value your own status and not trying to impress anyone else... Not with money, not with accomplishments, not with talent, not with athletic ability.

Be comfortable in your own skin. You live in it, nobody else does. Do what is right, even when nobody is looking because character is what really counts. And to be clear, that will usually end up impressing those who would push you to do otherwise anyhow.

Not that my opinion actually matters, but I just thought it might encourage you to keep on keeping on.

So much weight on that "rack" -I suspect not designed for it and will eventually fatigue and break-

Perhaps some enterprising hack might be able to design some light fold down braces from the center of the rack to the hub?