Kevin Wong: ‘a day without riding is not good for me’ so El Tour is a nice goal

For Kevin Wong, cycling is all about health, fun and a love for it.

He’s getting it all done now that he’s found something to do and enjoy during his recent retirement.

He admitted to being “addictive” with it, having picked it up after many years of not cycling. In fact, the native New Yorker hadn’t really ridden since his younger days in New York when it was a way of life for a teenager.

Now, just a few months in, he has his sights set on the 32-mile ride in El Tour de Tucson.

He’s 67 years old.

“Here I am,” he said, “excited about being in El Tour … a day without riding is not good for me.”

He purchased a Trek Verve Hybrid and is rolling. He’s also an adrenaline junkie, given he loves to go to the racetrack to race cars.

“That keeps me sharp,” he said.

Cycling keeps him healthy.

After two months of getting back into it – and with the help of his fantastic cycling coach Fonda Insley – he’s already 28-miles on the regular.

“For me, that’s a big accomplishment,” he said. “We go to the Loop, go to UA (University of Arizona) and go downtown and Oro Valley. We do it two, three times a week.”

His purpose is easy: keep busy, active and healthy, given he had a heart attack two years ago. He’s lost 27 pounds, through cycling and a “combination of stuff like eating better and no stress,” he said.

“Cycling is really what I like to do.”

Insley is gearing him up gradually, where 30-plus miles is next. He plans on taking a ride on the course soon to see how he’ll handle it in November.

“She’ll condition me to go up and down hills because it’s different than just riding on the Loop,” he said. “I have to get used to that.”

Another issue is his asthma and Tucson’s humidity. But he handles it with his inhaler – and “boom” he’s ready, he said.

“And (Insley) has helped me a lot, telling me what foods to bring and what drinks to have,” he said.

What’s his overall hope in his first El Tour?

“To finish,” he said, smiling. “I know I can.”

We know he can, too.