Fifty Plus (50+) - Riding your age?

Just thought I'd mention that I rode my age today...exactly four weeks after my 53rd birthday. I have been slowly ramping up the miles for a metric century in August and an imperial century in September.

Good Job! :thumb:

Congrats. It just keeps getting better.:thumb:

Congratulations...a proud accomplishment. :thumb:

Congrats on joining the club. It's a real milestone, at our age. Great job. :thumb:

It'll be harder next year, and the year after, and the year after , and.....

Congrats. :thumb:

Congrats! I can still do twice my age (I'm 51) in a day, but not for much longer :(

Congratulations!

Now that you've done it the next birthday rides should be easy - you'll only need to add one mile;)

Congrats! I can still do twice my age (I'm 51) in a day, but not for much longer :(

Keep the riding up and you will still be doing twice your age in 10 years. Its after that that it gets harder.

Let's see...twice my age in ten years will be a double metric...hmmm...I can see myself randoneuring heheheheh.

Well done on the age ride, zoste. Keep spinning!

Congrats! I can still do twice my age (I'm 51) in a day, but not for much longer :(

Humm, now that you mention it, I did ride 2X my age back on June 22nd....128.18 miles at this ride (so there's still hope, JimF):

http://www.salembicycleclub.org/filemanager/Water_Map.pdf

(125 mile route, turned out to be 128 miles).

The map is for last year, but was the same for this year.

7 hrs 43 minutes (riding time), 16.6 mph avg.

Forget it guys, I rode my age a long time ago and I ain't going to try now.
I'm fat, old and tired.
If I can just get my 20 miles three times a week I'm happy. I keep the heart up over 120 so I'm working.

Forget it guys, I rode my age a long time ago and I ain't going to try now.
I'm fat, old and tired.
If I can just get my 20 miles three times a week I'm happy. I keep the heart up over 120 so I'm working.

That's what many of us said when we first got back into cycling:D It can become addictive and you might find yourself stretching the 20 miles to 25, then 30, then 35;)

That's what many of us said when we first got back into cycling:D It can become addictive and you might find yourself stretching the 20 miles to 25, then 30, then 35;)

Exactly. I'm a youngster here having turned 50 in March but I have one 50 miler in since my birthday, actually 52 a personal record, and am gunning for a 100 before the snow falls. I've just started pushing longer rides in the last year. I was content knocking out 10 to 15 miles to get some excercise. Then one day I get peddling and did 20! A light bulb went on. It's more mental than physical. If you can ride 20 miles you can ride 50. When you get to your turn around point for your 20 mile ride just keep on peddling:thumb:

Actually,it might wind up getting easier.
I got back into cycling 7 years ago. First season I doubt I could have ridden half my age, now i ride into the ride (start) and home adding (usually) another 10 to 18 miles to the ride (Last Sundays was 42 miles with a 10 tacked on)
That's still less than my age (lol)
Congrats.
Stick with it. It tends to put a smile on your face nothing can erase.

I'm a youngster here, I turned 50 in Jan this year.

I hadn't ridden a bike at all in the last 10 years but decided this year was as good of a time to start up again as any. I started slowly in late April (Michigan seems to have two kinds of weather, cold and hot) doing 10 to 15 miles a day the first week then adding more and more miles as the weeks went by. I'm now up to 50+ miles on my weekly long rides (Saturdays and Sundays).

Had you asked me back in April if I thought I'd be riding 50+ miles a couple times a week by this time of the year, I would have answered with a solid No. I think the combination of starting out slowly and gradually building up the miles on a regular basis and reading all of the encouraging reports posted here has given me the confidence and courage I needed to keep going.

My goals at the beginning of the year were to get into shape and lose a few pounds. I've modified them slightly with the addition of doing a Metric later this month and, perhaps a century this fall.

Way to go, zoste! Technically, for those 4 weeks you delayed you needed to ride an extra 135 yards. :)

Exactly. I'm a youngster here having turned 50 in March but I have one 50 miler in since my birthday, actually 52 a personal record, and am gunning for a 100 before the snow falls. I've just started pushing longer rides in the last year. I was content knocking out 10 to 15 miles to get some excercise. Then one day I get peddling and did 20! A light bulb went on. It's more mental than physical. If you can ride 20 miles you can ride 50. When you get to your turn around point for your 20 mile ride just keep on peddling:thumb:

So true! I have a 16 mile ride I do three times a week and a 30 mile ride I do maybe once a week - on the longer rides (50 or more) I think to myself as I start to get tired - if I have 30 or 40 miles to go - it's only 30 miles more, I do that ride all the time - as I get close to 16 my thought is 16 more, no problem, I do that almost every weekday morning. You know - it's just all mental.

Way to go, zoste! Technically, for those 4 weeks you delayed you needed to ride an extra 135 yards. :)

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I guess I'l have to make it up this weekend - planning to do 58 to 60 miles. :)

Makes me glad I don't have an odometer. I don't worry about it at all - just ride until I get there!

Congratulations, and a belated Happy Birthday!

Zoste, congrats.

I usually have a pretty good idea of how far I ride and I don't look at my speedometer, until after my ride. This past Thursday, I discovered I rode over 65 miles. I still felt great when I finished. The only reason I stopped riding was cause I had to get home. That's the type of conditioning I want to be in at this point.

I have not gone that far in months. A local man in a retirement community made the local paper today. He rides a bike he has used since 1935. When he was 75 he did 75 miles and at 80 - 80 miles. The last few weeks have been hotter then usual and the air filled with smoke from fires. He tried doing 85 miles on a relatively flat out and back towards the cooler coast. At 50 miles he felt something was wrong inside and had the wife sag him in. I agree with the paper that 50 miles was respectable. Now he is thinking what to do when he turns 90. If he can make it it could qualify as some sort of UMCA record.

Congratulations!

As you ride more, you will increase your mileage. I am riding longer rides now than when I was in my 30's (I will turn 56 on July 27)