Author Topic: older riders  (Read 82086 times)

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Offline icejan

older riders
« on: May 10, 2009, 06:21:37 pm »
Hi, I'm new here, too.....want to connect with older people over 50-ish, talk about various riding places etc.  Never have done a tour, but someday would like to.....mostly ride around local recreational trails. 

Offline johnsondasw

Re: older riders
« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2009, 08:06:24 pm »
Well, I qualify--I'm 60 and still riding, despite 3 knee operations, and a pacemaker.  I love day rides and touring.  I've had to adjust my expectations some, as per miles per day and speed going uphill. I'm also realizing the importance of rest more now, too.

Welcome aboard!
May the wind be at your back!

Offline trooper2899

Re: older riders
« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2009, 08:16:35 pm »
             Just joined today....I'll be 68 in November and ride just about every day.....I've ridden around NY City and crossed all their bridges (the Triboro when it was 96 degrees), I've ridden around Seattle and Portland and the Seattle area....never did a "tour"...done 2 centuries and probably will do one this Sept .....more people over 60 ought to try it, they'd be surprised how quickly they start to enjoy it. 

Offline fredlonas

Re: older riders
« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2009, 08:57:26 pm »

    I'm 69 and leaving next Sat. to ride the Northern tier to Astoria, Or. solo and self supported CELEBRATING MY 70TH BD in Dec. Have done 2 and 3 week tours in the New England states and into Quebec over the last 4 year's and will be thinking about my next 2 or 3 week tour soon and haven't even started my latest journey. Right now there is a man who just turned 82 the 24 of April and riding the Southern tier solo and is journaling on Crazyguy.

    DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THE GOOD NIGHT
    OLD AGE SHOULD BURN AND RAVE AT THE CLOSE OF DAY
    RAGE, RAGE AGAINST THE DYING OF THE LIGHT.
    DYLAN THOMAS

    HAPPY TRAILS, FRED

   

    HAPPY TRAILS, FRED

Offline scott.laughlin

Re: older riders
« Reply #4 on: May 10, 2009, 10:25:07 pm »
I'm 71 and i still have three bikes.  I've toured quite a lot.  I still ride everyday, but I don't ride very fast anymore.

Scott in Texas 

Offline johnsondasw

Re: older riders
« Reply #5 on: May 11, 2009, 10:12:59 pm »
This thread would be a good place to discuss modifications we make as we get older.  I have to be sure the bike fit is accurate, unlike in the past when I didn't know there was any such thing as bike fit.  You just hopped on and rode!  I also ride a carbon bike and buy good shorts and try to be aware when my body feels like it needs a rest or an easy day.  I actually ride more miles/year than  I used to because my kids are grown and I have more time.  I'm slower now and don't race up the hills, but try to get in a steady, moderate pace and just keep at it.  And I sure like drafting, but then, I always did!     
May the wind be at your back!

Offline DaveB

Re: older riders
« Reply #6 on: May 12, 2009, 12:47:16 pm »
I'm 66 and also ride nearly every day, ice and snow permitting.  I've riden over 70 centuries (the last two were this past weekend on TOSRV).  I've also taken a bunch of week long suported tours and a couple of week long credit card tours. 

Age does have it's effects and there is no getting around it but you can slow the deterioration dramatically by keeping fit and riding as much as time permits.  I'm certainly not as fast as I was 20 years ago, and I wasn't that fast then, but I still can ride with and pass many, many riders significantly younger.

Keep riding.

 

Offline cwd123

Re: older riders
« Reply #7 on: May 12, 2009, 01:13:52 pm »
Hi. I have never posted on this forum before but this thread hits home. I'm 62 years old and my passion is mountain biking. I also ride on the road to maintain fitness. Last year I build a Surly Long Haul Trucker touring bike with hopes to do a tour but haven't realized that dream yet. All my riding buddies are at least 20 years younger than I,so I have to work really hard to maintain the pace but ocassionally I still have my moments when I get in the "zone" and have an outstanding ride. It is theese times when I feel that I have turned back the clock at least for a day! I gotta go take a nap now..... riding an offroad time trial this evening...... need all the strength that I can muster.....maybe today's ride will be one of those magic moments!!!!!

Offline RansRider61

Re: older riders
« Reply #8 on: May 12, 2009, 09:37:41 pm »
I qualify seeing as how I am 66 yrs. old . I rode over 3000 miles on my recumbent last year plus almost 2000 on my mountain bike . I still do many week long supported tours plus try get in a couple of self supported tours . Still do one MTB race each year called the Iceman cometh . My goal this year is to do 100 miles for each year of my life for a total of 6600 miles . 10 of us are doing a self supported tour of Door county this year which should be fun as most are near 60 or over . I got a scare 3 years ago when they had remove half of my colon and I swore then to enjoy the rest of my life .
« Last Edit: May 14, 2009, 09:37:45 am by RansRider61 »

Offline Westinghouse

Re: older riders
« Reply #9 on: May 14, 2009, 05:28:41 am »
I am 59. I am not cycling at all these days. I have pedaled a loaded touring bike about 34,000 miles(54,000 kilometers) through nineteen countries. My last lengthy tour was from east coastal Florida to El Paso, Texas in April and May of 2007. My strength has decreased over the years, of course, but I can usually get in 60-70 miles a day over moderate hills, sometimes less. I do intend to do at least one more transcontinental bicycle tour again some time, but I don't know when.

Offline whittierider

Re: older riders
« Reply #10 on: May 14, 2009, 04:11:27 pm »
I'm 49 and just starting to get interested in fast, light, credit-card touring, where you use only a large seat bag and carry just enough to stay in hotels and eat in restaurants instead of camping.  I got Jandd Mountaineering's Mountain Wedge III seat bag which has almost two gallons' worth of room.  (There are seat bags with nearly four times that much, kind like having a small duffel bag back there!)  The idea is to stay light and aerodynamic so you can still go fast and burn up the road and have fun but don't need a support vehicle to do it for a ride of a few days.  My bike is set up like a time-trial bike, and I'm comfortable on it all day.

I've been considerably faster in recent years than at any previous time in my life, mostly from better knowledge of training and nutrition.  Last summer I climbed a local canyon faster than I ever have in my life, over 3mph faster than I could 25 years ago.  If it's any inspiration, French pro women's racer Jeannie Longo just won the Climber's Trophy at age 50, beating women who are easily young enough to be her daughters.  Here's a picture of her:



John Sinibaldi, who was in the 1932 Olympics and died three years ago of cancer, went out on morning club rides with the fast group even when he was 90.  I understand that a large percentage of the people who do the long rides like Paris-Brest-Paris where you have 72 hours (total, not just riding time) to go about 750 miles started doing that in their 50's.  I remember trying to keep up with some men in their 70's when I was around 19, but they were too much for me.  I couldn't even draft them for very long.  I guess what I'm saying is don't let age make you feel handicapped.  What you lose more of as you age is not the sustained power, but the explosive sprint power which has very little application in touring.
« Last Edit: August 08, 2009, 02:16:46 pm by whittierider »

Offline paddleboy17

Re: older riders
« Reply #11 on: May 14, 2009, 05:57:28 pm »
I am 51, and while whittierider's  words, give me comfort, I am not there yet.

Up until I turned 40, I used to be able to hang with the college kids and leave many of them doubled over and puking.  Since then, age has taunted me.  I have some knee pain that seems controllable as long as a pedal at a good cadence.   I had saddle issues that went away once I switched over to leather saddles.   I have recently had prostrate issues, but a leather saddle with a cut-out, and proper fit seems to be the answer to prostrate issues.

The biggest challenge seems to be keeping balance in my life.

I spent my 30's as a divorced guy, so there were many biking adventures.  I did some pretty cool stuff.  Toured Cape Breton and part of the Continental Divide.  Rode the length of the Keweenau Peninsula, and up one of Michigan's coasts and down the other.  Learned to Eskimo roll a kayak.  Stuff that none of my peers did.

I remarried at at 42, and lets just say that being married is time consuming.  My new bride knew about, but was not prepared for all the time spent paddling and pedaling.  In the end, I kept the wife, kept the bikes, and scaled back the boats.  Last year I sold my fancy British touring kayak to pay for my new custom touring bike.  My riding partners also married, and it seemed we spent a lot less time riding together.

When I entered the work force as a novice engineer in 1981, engineers were treated as a treasured resource.  This decade is lot more different.  We are up against the pressure to can us and ship the work to India.  We are up against the pressure to replace us with younger workers.  Never mind that I don't choke under pressure and the youngsters do.  I have a hard time finding enough time to ride like I used to.

The good news is that I picked up someone new to ride with.  In the beginning I mentored him along; now I relate to Victor Frakenstein.  If it is above 25F, John drags my sorry butt out for a ride.  You riders from Southern California or Florida probably have never ridden on iced road after dark, but this is how I spent my winter this year.  We will see if I can swing carbide tipped studded tires for next winter.

Also on the good new front is that riding is still the spiritual experience it always was.  I always return home with more than I left with.  I still tour, I just have to find something I can do in less than a week.  And I am still doing stuff that none of my peers do.

I guess that I hold out for my retirement years.  I have this expectation that I will have enough time then to ride all I want.  That I will have trained enough that I can ride like I did as 30-something.  That the absence of stress will make weight management easy like it used to be.

I am OK with slower acceleration--I just want to climb like a billy goat again.
Danno

Offline mucknort

Re: older riders
« Reply #12 on: May 14, 2009, 11:03:51 pm »
Right now there is a man who just turned 82 the 24 of April and riding the Southern tier solo and is journaling on Crazyguy.
I've been following his inspiring journey:
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=3Tzut&doc_id=4767&v=4b

Fred, I wish you well on your trip! Are you gonna be posting on CrazyGuy as well?

Offline johnsondasw

Re: older riders
« Reply #13 on: May 14, 2009, 11:58:17 pm »
It is hard to find guys my age to ride with.  I have a few friends around my age (60) that I go with, but most of my riding is alone or with younger guys.  When I rode the Seattle to Portland 208 mile one day event, the sum of my 2 partners ages was my age.  I took my turns in the lead, too.   


I'm also very into rock climbing, and of the approximately 15 guys I meet up with regularly, only one is my  age.  That's OK, though.  In rockclimbing, I can keep up or even climb harder than a lot of the younger guys.  And then there are the others so out there I'm not even close, like my 27 year old kid.

It's all fun.  I just want to do my best to stay in shape and be out there doing it at whatever level works.
May the wind be at your back!

Offline icejan

Re: older riders
« Reply #14 on: May 16, 2009, 02:08:40 pm »
Thanks to everyone who replied to my "older riders" post.  I know there are lots of over 50 and beyond out there.  Mostly men, though.  No offense....but where are the women????   I'm a female and have a husband that won't get out and ride, so I go alone.  Can't find other women in over 50 age group who want to ride for fitness and possibly plan some type of tour in the future.  I do, however, appreciate all the good words and encouragement.  I'm a wussy compared to those of you in your 70's and above, some even with challenging physical conditions, who don't let anything stop them.  I needed some of this type of role model to get myself out there.  icejan