Why Me-Mover?

Determination to Change

Five years ago I embarked on a life-changing journey towards fitness. My forty year-old body had suffered from too many years of neglect, inactivity, and poor nutrition. I began with walking on the local rail trails which quickly inspired me to get back on my bicycle. But the bicycle came with an unfortunate level of pain and other discomforts, so I found a stand-up alternative called a Trikke which had the added benefit of providing a full-body workout.

The first three years of my journey were adventurous and successful. I lost 50 pounds, gained energy, strength, and stamina, and I felt younger than I had in a long while. My chronic aches and pains vanished, I enjoyed going out into the world more, and I made new friends to ride and explore with.

I swore my commitment to fitness would never waver, but then I found myself at one of those inevitable forks in the road. My career was stuck in a deep rut, and to get that moving forward again I made the big decision to return to college to change fields. You can probably guess what happened next . . . as work, school, and maintaining a household filled every waking minute, exercise faded to the background. Over the last two years, I gained all of the lost weight back and got reacquainted with all my old aches and pains as I hunched over a desk most hours of most days.

I recently graduated college, and although my career change remains a work-in-progress the time has come to put my fitness first again. Five years after my initial journey, I find myself starting down that same road all over again. Yet this time I knew the obstacles I would be facing, and I decided it was time to eliminate some of the bigger excuses that were preventing me from getting as much exercise as I should. This is how the Me-Mover caught my attention.

Turning Challenges into Opportunities

The two biggest challenges to outdoor exercise where I live in eastern Pennsylvania are the terrain and the weather. Despite that, this area also has one of the highest concentration of quality trails in the country. I live just two miles from a trailhead to one of the best and longest – the 165 mile D&L Trail which stretches from Mountain Top to Bristol. All but four or five miles of this scenic trail are packed-gravel though, which renders the Trikkes useless on it.

After talking with the Me-Mover’s inventor, Jonas Eliasson, and several other experienced riders, I was delighted to learn that the Me-Mover was well-suited to these packed gravel trails. A Me-Mover would let me ride closer to home on the days that I didn’t have the time to travel to a further away paved trail with a Trikke.

The next advantage came in the Me-Mover’s safety and stability on less-than-perfect trail conditions. The autumn months in Pennsylvania’s mountains are beautiful and the crisp, cool air is invigorating. But the falling debris on the trails makes for treacherous conditions for the Trikke’s carving motion. Add even slightly damp pavement to fallen leaves, and suddenly it’s like riding on ice. So staying off the trails if the Trikke didn’t feel sure-footed became another in my growing list of excuses not to exercise. The Me-Mover’s straight-line motion will give me the confidence to ride during the upcoming months.

A Good Fit for Me

Of course winter is coming . . . not just to Westeros, but to Pennsylvania and the rest of the northeast region. Although I don’t except to see any White Walkers coming down out of the mountains here, I can count on being cooped up indoors for four to five months out of each year. Unless I pay to join a gym, I do not have a lot of options for staying during our long winters. The Me-Mover again slays this excuse, as it offers a compact stationary trainer that I have been told is a more vigorous workout than a typical trail ride.

There are other perks of choosing this innovative 3-wheeled machine. It becomes one more way of cross-training, working different muscles than my bike and Trikke. People might wonder if I’m giving up the bike and Trikke for the Me-Mover, but I’m not; I’m just adding one more fitness option to my life.

Then there’s the social aspect. The Me-Mover community in the US is small but growing, and I found myself welcomed and encouraged there even before I purchased my Me-Mover. As with any niche sport or hobby, the camaraderie with those who share your passion makes it all that more worthwhile. I was particularly inspired earlier this year when Tom Case and Humberto Perez completed their epic 2-day Me-Mover ride from Key Largo to Key West! The Me-Mover is an ideal vehicle for that trip, and one of my goals is to become fit enough to do it one day as well.

Sharing my Journey

While it pains me that I have let my fitness lapse to the point I have to restart from the beginning, the silver lining is that I now have the opportunity to share my new fitness journey with you. In this modern age of hectic and unhealthy lifestyles, I know my struggles are all too common. I hope my experiences can inspire your own, and show you that fitness can be a whole lot of fun.

This blog and this website are my way of showcasing how the Me-Mover works, where it can be ridden, and how it can contribute towards a healthy lifestyle. But this is not just about me; I would love to hear from you too. Do you have a story you would like to share? Would you like to blog about your Me-Mover adventures on this site as well? Contact me if you do! And ask away if you have any questions about the Me-Mover or my journey.