Midlife crisis purchase/investment

T5 and a Ti Hardtail! “that’s probably the last one….better be a good one”

Bought the cliche 911 a couple of years ago. Took it around Europe a couple of times with my road bike in the back (there’s a roof rack available for mtbs), put 5000 miles on it and sold it for more than I paid. Then bought a slightly better 911 with the money. I did consider a campervan but they didn’t seem as practical.

Foot shaped shoes. Don’t laugh!
Altra Running. Topo. Birkies. Vivobarefoot.
No more winkle pickers for me.
Got the speedy cars and scary motorcycles thing out of my system in my 20’s and 30’s.

I bought my menoporsche 944 S2 during my stag weekend so I had something nice to use as a wedding car. Brilliant, of course, but I had to sell it after a few years mainly because 944s are like greenhouses on wheels and with no air-con are unusable on sunny days.

Very practical in all other ways including carrying bike and kit with the back seats folded down.

I’ve got a milestone birthday this coming weekend. I keep looking at the Lego millennium falcon ucs. Does that count?

Sensible side of the brain keeps asking the other side what I’d do with it when I’d built it though.

I bought a fat bike….

in my early to mid 40s had a bit of a MLC run – did a one night in Ibiza ( flew in sat AM – went clubbing – flew back sunday AM, no hotel) bought a Rolex ( which since doubed in value) bouight Steve Peats Megatower off actual Steve Peat, spent about £15k on high end guitars and a drum kit and started wearing a biker jacket and going to tons of gigs again like I did when I was a student. Did test drive a porsche boxster and almost bought it but my senseible hat was on  that day!.

The guitars  have all mostly held their value so I guess that was almost a good investment as it stopped me splurging the cash on C+H!

Still going to gigs though so I suppose this is my life now.

Not even sure it counts as a crisis, but I have bought an Audi TT earlier in life. It was decently priced, well maintained and had space for the dogs or a Stumpy FSR with the wheels off. Kept it for a few years and then, when I knew I was moving to Sweden, tried to sell it to someone that would actually take care of it. No takers at the book price, so it went to WBAC and I took the loss.

Ended up driving my T5 around until I moved, with that, to Sweden. Sadly had to scrap the T5 when it came to the time for “import or get shot” time and no one wanted an RHD T5. Van owed me nothing though, but still miss it despite _eventually_ buying a Citroen Dispatch equivalent this year to make up for it.

I’m glad I did; since my partner broke up from me it is my only mode of transport.

Sold my new’ish L200 pickup (last 20+ years this has been my drive, so as I am office based you could class this as a midlife crisis?), and bought an older VW Caravelle.  For the first time in 35 years I got back on the tools and did all the work myself, except the new engine, and went through it top to bottom.  I now have a slightly dented, sort of Swamper and mint to drive old van.

Camp in it, take bikes on massive road trips to Corfu, Ventoux and skiing etc.  Now saving for my fun older vehicle.  Lancia Beta Coupe VX for the odd track day (I know Beta’s back to front so no need to tell me how bad they are).  All this instead of buying new and having big loans 🙂

I treated myself to a lovely Ti gravel bike when I was 50 (well nearly 51 by the time I got it due to COVID delays). I’ve been mostly injured since then so only done about 100 miles on it.