Saturday afternoon I had kind of a depressing and sobering moment . . . .

As this is my first posting to this forum, I'll assume that most of the readership hasn't run across any of my posts to Classic & Vintage or Bicycle Mechanics, and give out a quick introduction. I'm 56, road heavily back in the 70's, dropped out of the sport completely in '77 and re-entered last year. I normally put down about 500 miles a month during the good season, half that during the off-season (like now). Consider myself in pretty good shape, 5'10", 175lbs. Five bikes in the garage, two pre-90's road bikes, one modern, one vintage long distance tourer, and a vintage mountain bike set up for primarily road riding.

Got home from work Saturday, on the road by 1600, which meant I have about an hour of daylight left. This is a normal Saturday afternoon opener to more serious mileage on Sunday and Monday, I normally put down about 15 miles before it starts to get dark. I grabbed my '71 Gitane Tour de France off the wall, and figured I'd push it a little bit.

Took it easy the first five miles, as per my usual so I could start warming up (I hadn't done anything but the trainer in the garage since Monday), and was starting to pick up my pace when , when I get passed by someone flying by on a Quintana Roo something-or-other. OK, I can use the challenge, up one gear and let's go! Yeah, he's obviously in his thirties at the oldest, but what the hey?

Being a mileage junkie, I've got cyclometers on all my bikes, so I can keep appraised on what I'm doing. Over the next 2.5 miles I kept up a pace that had me never dropping below 23mph . . . . and that guy on the Quintana was completely out of sight by the end of that stretch. Gone. We're talking Floyd Landis, stage 17 of the Tour or, more accurately, Roadrunner playing with Wile E. Coyote.

Went back to my previous pace (14.5/15mph) and finished the day's ride, went home, and felt like absolute crap. Hell, I though I was in better shape than that.

By the next morning, I'd gotten over my self-pity, grabbed my long haul bike instead (1969 Magneet Sprint with a three bag setup), and went out and did a relaxed 25 miles. Felt a lot better, more like I knew what I was doing this time. Just the same, it was kind of a humbling feeling.

It's like skiing... you feel really good when you can keep up with the "kids", but mostly, you can't. :D

Young pups on their rocketships. Not fair is it. I was cruising along the other day, about 50km into a ride and feeling like I was 50 km into me ride, when this bloke went flying past. Didn't hear him coming, just a flash of lycra in the corner of my eye and he was gone. Okay, I don't mind being passed, but I've had cars make more of an effort of it. He looked as calm and relaxed as if he was sitting in a Rolls Royce and despite running a decent cadence, looked as though he wasn't even working. He didn't bother me for long though ... he disappeared over the horizon before I'd recovered from me shock.

Richard

There is always someone faster around. This time of year, I ride the Joe Pool dam a lot. It's 5 miles from home, drains well after rain, and with no motor vehicles allowed, if I get caught on it after dark, it's not like being in the rush hour traffic around here.

There are short, steep hills on both ends of the dam, but the rest of it is very flat, a good place for a recumbent rider like me to ride with speed. Mind you, I'm not the fastest rider in my club, and get dropped badly on the hilly rides, but can hang with most on flats.

The dam is 8 miles across and back, and I made 4 trips across and back, Saturday. As I started, there was a rider just in front of me. I could not believe how fast he put distance between himself and me. One thing about riding across a dam and back, you can keep track of how far you fall behind someone, no matter how far ahead they get. If I had made just a couple more trips across and back, this rider would have lapped me.

I did not know there was anyone around here who was that much faster than me, but guess what? There is....

I only get worried, and a bit depressed, when I start lapping myself.

I only get worried, and a bit depressed, when I start lapping myself.

Is that like meeting yourself, coming and going?

Syke,

Sure, I've read many of your posts on C&V. Some of us 50+ regulars stop by there now and then.

Hope to see you over here more often.

1969 Magneet Sprint? Is there a picture we can see?

I only get worried, and a bit depressed, when I start lapping myself.

I get worried when kids on tricycles lap me.

Syke,

Sure, I've read many of your posts on C&V. Some of us 50+ regulars stop by there now and then.

Hope to see you over here more often.
It's funny, having gotten back on a bike after a 28-year absence (now I well understand the concept of Rip Van Winkle), and getting myself back into probably the best shape I've been in twenty years, I never really considered myself a 50+ rider . . . . . . until Saturday. Which is why I haven't stuck my nose in here previously.

I'll be around.

You're pretty fast, other people are faster. You'll get used to it.

Good first post. Many of us can relate to your sentiments. I bet that if you were ever able to grab his wheel you would have been able to hang with him for a while. Are you faster than him? Probably not but I'm sure you're a lot more fit than most folks your age. Plus, I bet you probably have not trained and concentrated for real top-end speed. However, I suspect you could hold your own at a brisk pace for a pretty good distance.

Glad to have you over here on the 50+ers group.

Coming to grips with age and reality

I know exactly what is the matter. Just exactly what is this fixation
with reality?? Just get over it and accept delusion.

Here in Colorado Springs we have some Olympic weenies. Without
delusion I am nothing!!

It's like skiing... you feel really good when you can keep up with the "kids", but mostly, you can't. :D
Is your name Arnold and did you used to lift weights?

I've enjoyed your posts on C&V, sykerocker. My advice is, think about all the guys you've dropped recently. ;) I'll bet there have been quite a few.
If I get upset about getting passed on the road or trail, I always go to one cycling path where I feel like I'm one of the better riders. Happened to me this last weekend. After being dropped by a couple of 30 year olds on a MTB trail, I went to my ATF path and had a situation where a younger rider on a hybrid had to slow for a horse and rider. I lined up behind the cyclist to pass the equestrian but the fella was taking his sweet time about passing the horse. So I pulled out to pass both and the guy on the hybrid decides to pedal really hard while shifting as fast as possible. :mad: I sized him up. Although he had a better bike for the surface we were on, I knew I was in better shape. I stood on my old MTB and passed him and did not let up. I pulled out on him about a half mile over 3 miles.
So go out and ride. You're bound to find someone who can't keep your pace and forget about that other guy.:D

You guys make me feel terrible. Last year I started riding and did about 1k for the year, but couldn't keep up with a group I ride with on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Never mind the Wednesday crowd. And the Friday crowd is the twenty something crowd. One third my age, and half my weight.

This year I just wanted to keep the Tuesday-Thursday crowd in sight, and do 2k.

Haven't quite done 1k yet and I still can't keep anybody in sight. Even the homeless on bikes pass me and just laugh at my shorts and jerseys. And don't get me started on riding over about thirty miles.

You folks are doing great.

Don't feel bad LastPlace, I wouldn't have a chance of staying up with you.

I'm 50, and my regular riding buddy is 30. On the road he can leave me for dead if he wants. On the Mountain bikes the field is more level, due to the years I spent on dirt bikes. I also ride on the road with 2 guys in early to mid 50's. They kick my butt too.:)

You're old and getting older. You'll never be young again. You'll only get slower and slower. Soon, you won't be able to ride at all, unless you consider a wheel chair riding. There. Feel better now?

My bike is a time machine. I can climb on, start pedalling, and before I know it, I'm no longer a 50+ rider -- I become a young kid, thrilled with the wind in my face and the sensation that on this machine, I can go ANYWHERE. :)

Im 62 and ride a kickbike in the summer months, all the other guys who ride regular bikes know one thing,when we get to where were going, be it 15 miles or 100, they better damn well get there ahead of me, or they will never live it down!That alone makes me feel younger! kick on!!

Since I am devoid of natural athletic ability, I have always competed only against myself. Thirty-five years ago I was an average cyclist, easily passing the casual riders as easily as the elite club riders passed me. My situation and status on the road have changed very little since then.

Hey! I can now "legally" post to Fifty Plus!!

In my early forties I started having knee trouble that slowed me down quite a bit. The problem was chronic, but not "career ending". For a while it bothered me that I wasn't as fast as I used to be. But then I realized that despite riding slower, and usually shorter, I was still enjoying the ride.

So, now I don't worry about keeping up. I'm just enjoying the ride!

There is a solution and I found it by accident - move out to the middle of nowhere in a Third World nation where the best bike in town probably hasn't seen oil in a month. Use a bike that is worth more than some homes - and you will destroy everyone.

True, it might be a bit extreme, but it is a solution.

I played cat and mouse with a guy clearly 10 or so years my senior one day last summer. Riding in the low 20s for 10 miles or so down the MUT. Me on one of my fancy uber-bikes, he on his <$500 LBS Trek 25 pound whatever MTB. At the end he told me he thought I was a "great rider." I laughed at that comment for a long time afterwards because I know he could've kicked my butt solidly had we gone on.

It has nothing to do with age, but has a lot to do with reality. There will always be someone faster than you are, regardless of their place on the age continuum. And there will be plenty of slower ones too.

There is a solution and I found it by accident - move out to the middle of nowhere in a Third World nation where the best bike in town probably hasn't seen oil in a month. Use a bike that is worth more than some homes - and you will destroy everyone.

Or you could move to a Sarasota, Florida retirement community and take everyone on.

We are all coping with the downhill slide one way or another. Unfortunately, a mid-50's family member is starting the slide after years of alcohol abuse. It's gonna be real ugly to watch from here on out. Makes me think of the 'clean getaway' an 85 year old friend said he was looking for. I wasn't ready to know about clean getaways at the time. He laughed, saying "You can't take reality!" It makes more sense now that I've chewed on it some. bk

In my first year back, I get dropped so often I don't even notice it anymore. I see them coming up in my rear view and just move over to give them room to go by. Like when I did my first 2 mile, 6% climb, I stopped by the side of the road gasping for air as I watched a guy come up and slowly glide past me. We actually held a brief conversation as he went by. He wasn't even working. Damn.
I try to judge my progress against my progress, period, or I'd just give up.

One of the "blessings" I had as a young kid was I wasn't very athletic, so I didn't excel in any sport, although I participated in football, track, and wrestling. Since I didn't win any awards, any trophies, any races, anything in general, I didn't develop a need to outrace everyone on my bike when I started riding in my fifties. Thank God, because I'd constantly be disappointed!!!

I just try to enjoy my rides, and keep my level of fitness, and even improve it from time to time.

It's funny, having gotten back on a bike after a 28-year absence (now I well understand the concept of Rip Van Winkle), and getting myself back into probably the best shape I've been in twenty years, I never really considered myself a 50+ rider . . . . . . until Saturday. Which is why I haven't stuck my nose in here previously.

I'll be around.

Wow, I only took off 14 years. My son, home for the holidays, said I looked in the best shape he had ever seen me. The ole speed will come back to a point.

I returned to cycling after a long absence also. A few things I had to learn in order for cycling to be fun again:

I am no longer a racer, nor anywhere near one.

I had to learn to ride and not train

I needed to start taking Thyroid medication, its making a huge difference.

Even flowers appreciate a quick sniff. Make them happy.

I can have every bit as much fun riding slow as fast, and can enjoy increasing fitness now matter what my current fitness level is.

RIDE ON!!!

i was recently 'dropped' by three junior high school kids who were leisurely strolling home on the sidewalk as i attacked the hilly incline on my bike.

uppity whippersnappers--pffft!

1969 Magneet Sprint? Is there a picture we can see?

Sure:

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q10/sykerocker/Magneet21.jpg

and

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q10/sykerocker/Magneet31.jpg

In my fossilized mind, this is what a REAL bicycle looks like: Lugged frame, cottered crank, mudguards, rack and panniers. I built it up as I remember upgrading three-year-old bikes back in the early 70's.

Good first post. Many of us can relate to your sentiments. I bet that if you were ever able to grab his wheel you would have been able to hang with him for a while. Are you faster than him? Probably not but I'm sure you're a lot more fit than most folks your age. Plus, I bet you probably have not trained and concentrated for real top-end speed. However, I suspect you could hold your own at a brisk pace for a pretty good distance.

Glad to have you over here on the 50+ers group.

Part of my shock is that in the past year and a half since I got back into the sport, I've always ridden solo. I live 22 miles from my job in the west end suburbs of Richmond, and 30 miles from the center of town, so what pelotons I see come out my road are invariably out at the far point and starting to head home. So, I've never really had anyone to pace myself against.

Even the closest gathering point for Sunday cyclists, a coffee house in Ashland, is 18 miles from home - and nice, normal Sunday ride for me, but not exactly conducive to doing a 25 miles loop having gotten there, and then riding back home.

No, I don't haul the bike. Got a real prejudice against that, primarily from my motorcycle time. I'm one of those guys who wears the t-shirt, "I rode my bike to Trailer Week".

You're old and getting older. You'll never be young again. You'll only get slower and slower. Soon, you won't be able to ride at all, unless you consider a wheel chair riding. There. Feel better now?

I'll remember that when the brothers and me head up to Manassas this weekend for the Outlaws M/C New Year's party.

Thanks, Syke. That's very cool. I always enjoy seeing something different. I'm trying to avoid being bitten by the vintage bug as I have 5 bikes already and no room, but a friend has offered me his 1974 Raleigh track bike and I'm wondering where I'll keep it.

Wow, I only took off 14 years. My son, home for the holidays, said I looked in the best shape he had ever seen me. The ole speed will come back to a point.

I've definitely gotten that kind of comment, too. My weight is back to what it was, plus 5%, in my college riding days. I'm feeling quite a bit healthier.

Then again, this year has been a *****. By August, I'm doing 500 mile months, riding a 10-mile loop every morning before breakfast, while the coffee brews, and my Gitane tosses a chain, locks the rear wheel, and high sides me off, breaking my wrist. Cancel the next six weeks riding, and lighting a BIC right handed is still not possible.

Just the same, I'm still running 250 mile months for the winter, even though I've had to cancel the morning runs due to darkness and deer hunters running late to their stands.

[QUOTE=

It has nothing to do with age, but has a lot to do with reality. There will always be someone faster than you are, regardless of their place on the age continuum. And there will be plenty of slower ones too.[/QUOTE]


+1


no matter what every ride is a great ride

Skyerocker, don't let it get you down and don't blame it on age. If you can pull low 20s for an extended stretch, you ain't doing bad at all. Happily, the faster you are, the less often you'll see anybody who can spit you out the back like that.

Sure:

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q10/sykerocker/Magneet21.jpg

and

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q10/sykerocker/Magneet31.jpg

In my fossilized mind, this is what a REAL bicycle looks like: Lugged frame, cottered crank, mudguards, rack and panniers. I built it up as I remember upgrading three-year-old bikes back in the early 70's.

That's one beautiful bike! :)

That's one beautiful bike! :)

Thanks. The nice part is that the main parts were free!

The wheels, fenders, etc. were formerly built up on a 1964 Raleigh Gran Sport, lovingly rattle-can painted by yours truly. I decided in the past year to finally do a complete restoration, so when Poguemahone (from the C&V forum) offered me the 3/4ths complete bike gratis, I figured it was time to jump on it.

Pleasant surprise was remembering that the Dutch painted their bikes very heavily, to the point that 90% of what I thought were nicks, scratches, etc., all came off in a two hour session with fine rubbing compound.

Later this winter, I start on the Raleigh.

Thanks, Syke. That's very cool. I always enjoy seeing something different. I'm trying to avoid being bitten by the vintage bug as I have 5 bikes already and no room, but a friend has offered me his 1974 Raleigh track bike and I'm wondering where I'll keep it.

Easy, I can store it for you.:D Heck, I'm already storing my father-in-law's 1930 Indian 101 Scout.

I haven’t posted on here before, but I had to comment. I’m not quite 50 (-2) and have been riding for almost 18 months now. I’ll never win any races, but I can usually hold a decent pace. I tend to ride solo during the week and with the local group on Saturdays. There is one gentleman that I have encountered from time to time both on the occasional group ride and out riding solo. Sometimes I can hang with him, if he’s feeling generous, and other times he drops me like a bad habit on New Years Day. One evening I met him on the road and we cruised back into town together. I found out that we are both retired Army paratroopers and that he had also retired from the civil service several years back. (He had already retired from the army before I joined) He told me that all he does now is ride, anywhere from 50 to 80 miles a day, weather permitting. A few days later I was talking with another member of the local club and found out that this gentleman is almost 73 and has a pacemaker. I hope that I’m in such good physical condition when I’m that age.

Over the next 2.5 miles I kept up a pace that had me never dropping below 23mph . . .
So what you powered-up to 23mph for a few miles. Most of the clowns in this forum can't ride 23mph going downhill with a tail wind.

I found out that we are both retired Army paratroopers

AIRBORNE! my brother.

Hq & Hq Company 2nd Batallion 506th Airborne Infantry - 101st Airborne Division

1963 - 1966

CURRAHEE!

So what you powered-up to 23mph for a few miles. Most of the clowns in this forum can't ride 23mph going downhill with a tail wind.



Heh, heh!!! Seriously though, lots of good observations in this thread. This is my first post on this forum. I guess I'm officially qualified since I just turned 50.

I don't think guys cease to be competitive at 50 though. The trick is finding an appropriate venue. I got back into riding when my teenage son developed an interest in racing. I even tried my hand at Cat 5 crits, road races, and TT's, and discovered that I just don't generate the wattage to be anything more than packfill. Also, a 30 mph crit crash resulting in a broken collarbone convinced me that bicycle racing was not really age-appropriate behavior for this geezer. What I do enjoy are weekly hammerhead rides on Tuesday and Thursday nights during the summer. On Tuesday nights its the "B" group at the big Greenville Spinners Donaldson Center ride in Greenville, SC. The "B" group is a good mix of younger guys getting started and 40+ types, with few mishaps. On a good night we'll average 23+ for 42 miles. I'll occasionally get a top-10 in the inevitable field sprint at the end. The Thursday night ride is shorter and smaller, generally 10-15 local guys. A few are very serious racers but many are 40+ fitness riders. We have fun, sprint for some signs, and wind it up on a final four-mile stretch (where I often get dropped).

The key for me has been to meet people, join a club or three, and enjoy the rides. The small victories are there to be savored. Now what really turns my crank nowadays is brevets. I love to see the look on twenty-something racer's faces when I mention riding 190 miles in a day. But that's another topic.

Dr. Bill

Most of the clowns in this forum can't ride 23mph going downhill with a tail wind.


It's because of those big clown shoes we wear, they either drag the ground or flap around in the wind. It really slows a clown down. Hell, I was cat 1 before I became a clown. :rolleyes:

Have enjoyed this thread, because it helps define my riding priorities.

I'm not a roadie, so fast paced action isn't something I've experienced. Pace lines, drafting are not part of my routine, riding solo medium distance is, with an occasional single-track off-road along the way. While shopping for a new bike, my priority was something to enjoy riding 30-50 miles (or longer) -- and able to climb the "hills" of western Colorado. I ended up with a new Specialized Sirrus Comp to replace my old mtb, and after three rides I can see the attraction of a fast ride.

But to paraphrase howsteepisit -- I'm on my bike to ride, not train. My priority is to enjoy the journey, not see how fast I get from A to B. I'm competitive enough to pick up the pace when other riders approach, but mature enough to know I'm faster than some and slower than others.

The truth is, the only person I'm really competing with is myself. If I continue to improve my ability to ride -- stronger on the hills, increasing my endurance, etc. -- I am happy and healthier.

And I qualify as one of the "clowns" who can't do 23 mph downhill with a tail wind (although the new bike cries out, "Go faster, faster!") :lol:

I keep my watts over 600, so that never happens to me.

So what you powered-up to 23mph for a few miles. Most of the clowns in this forum can't ride 23mph going downhill with a tail wind.


There is a small hill on one of my favorite rides where I can make 23 mph if I get a good rolling start. I have been thinking about taking off the rubber nose... it might be inhibiting my VO² max. :D :D

http://coolblue.typepad.com/photos/memorial_day_2004/clown.jpg