Am I Going about this the wrong way?

I do believe I'm going about this the wrong way. Yes the dieting is going well so far. I'm OK there. But the new bike/trike reward trip thing... Not so good.

First of all I don't have a clue where I want to go. Tons of places sound great. Many of the ones I've found that I would like are probably not what DH and DD would enjoy. That part is important to me too. That we all have fun. That's the whole idea, a vacation we all enjoy and no one gets left behind. So for now I'm going to concentrate less on where and more on getting there.

Second DH could well do any bike tour and rarely break a sweat. DD and I however just don't have bikers legs. And that is going to take some serious work. More than could be done during a few spring training rides. I don't think that summer 2010 sounds possible.

Third I still have almost 85 lbs to go. I theoretically could lose 85 lbs by then but it could also take me till winter 2010 too, or even longer. So if I don't get my bike/trike (still leaning towards trike but still not decided which I will get) till I lose the weight, and it takes me one riding season (or more) to get bike legs that would make it possible to ride and enjoy a tour. It could possibly take me till some time in 2012 before I was ready to take a tour. DD has to be ready too. So maybe sometimes 2011-2012 for a bike tour. The tour is sounding farther and farther away the more I think about it.

So lets forget about the tour for a while and just concentrate on the bike/trike aspect as a reward for losing the weight. The tour can be a reward for getting in shape for a tour. That would break the goals down to 2 distinct goals /rewards. Maybe that will make it easier to think about and not sound so far away, or quite so expensive.

So now to figure out just what I really want from a bike/trike... Lots to learn about there.

Bike/Trike thoughts... Lots of thoughts.

It's been brought to my attention that most people tour on Bikes not Trikes. Why? Is there a reason Bikes are better? What are the pros and cons of Regular bike vs Recumbent bike vs Recumbent Trike for touring.

I like the idea of a recumbent Trike for several reasons, one I hate most bike saddles. At my current weight most are painful to sit on and painful for days afterward. I can see that that could change after losing a significant amount of weight. Another is balance and fear I count this as one thing because the one leads to the other. I have a constant low level of vertigo with occasional increased levels that range from discomfort to need to touch something to walk upright due to visual issues. Normally I can ignore it and just keep going, when it's worse the thought of trying to balance on a bike is scary, especially if riding near traffic. Sometimes just going up or down stairs is scary. You would rarely see me climbing stairs without touching a hand rail or the Wall. The vertigo is believed to be allergy/ear related. That is NOT something that is likely to go away with losing weight, though clearly I would not be upset if I was proven wrong.

Now if there is a good reason why touring on a Bike is better than a Trike I'm open to suggestions. It does have to be enough better that it would out weigh the balance/fear and I hate saddles issues. I do a lot of things in a less than steady state, so I could do a tour on a bike unless the vertigo got really bad. I'm not saying I'd be able to enjoy it as much but I could do it. (It's hard to enjoy the scenery if it won't hold still and if it starts jumping around or spinning all bets are off.) DH says he's not sure you could set up a Trike to carry the things we might need on a bike tour as we are looking at not using a touring company that would carry our stuff in a van. Instead we would like to plot our own route and carry what we need, clothing etc.

Also there are recumbent bikes... That might take care of the saddle issue. (not sure as I've not tried one) but I am concerned that leaning back without that extra wheel for stability might be worse than riding a regular bike. Oh well. Lots of time to figure it all out I guess.