SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Triathlon athlete Ulf Oesterle lives his life on wheels– from the bike he rides to the car he drives, to the place he lives in a recreational vehicle or RV.
“It’s amazing to me how little we need to actually live,” Oesterle said.
He said cold winters in Syracuse made living in his RV tough, but now that the weather is warmer, it’s more comfortable.
It is a tight space, though.
But it used to be tighter.
“I started off-grid RV living–it was actually in my Nissan X-terra even before I got the RV and that was October 2020,” Oesterle said.
Born and raised in Central New York, this 44-year-old said his RV is more suitable for his lifestyle.
It’s been a year and a half since Oesterle moved out of his apartment where he was barely home.
He said from traveling for his kids’ sports teams to working all the time, he could save more money staying in an RV.
Living off the grid is not the only part of Oesterle’s story that’s fascinating.
With almost 300,000 followers on Tik-Tok, Oesterle has made his claim to fame!
“Then you learn the platform, you learn the audience that you have, and you find what content really connects,” Oesterle said.
Oesterle found that making videos about having one hand made people smile.
He was born with one hand and never let that stop him. He seems to be handling life just well.
When he’s not on Tik-Tok, he trains to compete in triathlons.
A triathlon is a combination of three activities–swimming, biking, and running.
“I really enjoyed seeing what I could do with the swim bike run,” Oesterle said.
Oesterle starts his bike rides at Old Erie Canal State Historic Park, where he rides to train for competition.
He said he must train harder to beat his ranking from last year.
“This season is going to be a tough one,” Oesterle said. “Because last season, I finished ranked number 2 in the world for challenged athletes.”
Marathon runner Erin Rush says the overall goal for every race is to finish.
“You get to drop out now,” Rush said. “You’ve got to do everything in your power. I don’t care if you have to walk. I don’t care if you have to stop and stretch it out. I don’t care if you crawl.”
Oesterle is conditioning for his next triathlon race.
It doesn’t matter where, when, or how you start the race, what matters is that you finish.
