OK, I hate to be a bother, but I see a lot of old road bikes with shot rear hubs. Lift the rear of the bike, grab the rim, and see if it wobbles from side to side on the axle. If so, it needs a new axle, cones, and bearing balls and it is possible the hub is also shot.
The rim and spokes are somewhat flexible but if the cones are shot or the axle's bent, you'll feel a slight sense of it clunking around on the axle. In other words, it will be ever so slightly loose on the axle.
If you ride it that way you can expect the looseness to rapidly deteriorate. It can break and the friction will go up.