Fifty Plus (50+) - I'm Not Crazy To Try This Right?

I'm 58 will be 59 in Oct. I had triple bypass in Nov 2004 and basically became a couch potato. I weigh 275 right now, down from 300 3 months ago. I was recently diagnosed with PAD, I have a blockage in my right leg between my hip and knee. Doctor told me to exercise and if that didn't work it was angioplasty time. I also have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 Diabetes, all under control with meds.

I bought a Trek4300, and plan to ride it on the local roads until I have some kind of stamina. Right now I make it a mile, rest a while and go again. I basically live at the bottom of a "bowl", all the roads head up from my driveway so I get a good workout. I only got the bike last weekend but am wondering if I would be better off replacing the knobbies with slicks if I am staying on the road for a while.

My long term goal is to lose 60-70 pounds, take the Trek off road (several good parks around the DC area) and eventually get a road bike.

I checked with my doctor and she said go for it, but use common sense.

Thanks for any and all information you might be willing to share.

Bruce

YOU ROCK! This is the stuff legends are made of. In two years when you have won your age division in the senior games you will have all the rest of us burning with envy.

Well, you might not get that good, but you never know. Everyone here will tell you to go for it. You just might surprise yourself.

BTW, if you are a noob, we appreciate certain things here:
1. Photos of your bike and or rides.
2. Before and after pictures of yourself.
3. The pie requirement will be waived for now but sooner or later you'll need to commit on one flavor or another.
4. Gruesome stories if you ever go clipless (and there's no reason to do that now).

I think that's it.

Crazy? No way! Riding a bike is a great way to improve your fitness and health. It may take a while, but you're sure to see improvements both in your cycling and your general health. Stick with it, and check back in to let us know how it's going.

Oh, and slicks would be a definite improvement over knobbies for riding on pavement.

SP

Of course you're not crazy. You would be crazy if you didn't get out there and exercise. Welcome to the forum:thumb:

I also have a Trek 4300 - it's a WSD. I still have the knobbies on it but want to trade them for something smoother since I'm never going back to the technical trails in my area:twitchy: It's currently used to haul the youngest granddaughter in the child trailer.

Oh one more thing: if by "off-road" you mean fire trails, gravel roads and the like, then go for it.

If you mean "tight twisty singletrack with rad drop off's and climbs that go up root-infested cliffs", then don't do it, at least not for a year or two. That requires a lot of bikes skills that take a couple of years to gain, and if you take a hard fall you'll learn how much slower broken things heal at our age. I speak from experience.

If you haven't already, you should also check out the Clydesdale subforum, another great source of infor and support when getting back into bicycling in your sort of circumstances. Stay on the bike--it will work wonders. I've lost 50 pounds, lowered my blood pressure and resting heart rate, eliminated a circulation problem in my legs, and just generally made myself feel several decades younger by riding, as have many others here.

Go for it...........if you can do a mile a day, then do that for a week or 2. Then you will be able to do 2 miles a day.

See where this is leading. Do what you can without causing injury and more will come later.

BTW, my first ride around the block was almost the end of me.

Get the Slicks. Makes for smooth riding. Keep the kobbys for later.
I started 1 mile at a time. Then went to 5 miles. Did 80 laps around the block one day.
Now I can do 40 miles without stopping.
Just go slow.

You'd be crazy not to, plain and simple. Slicks on the 4300 will be fine, but there is no real need to hurry up and do that, you're in it to save your life now (in a very fun way I will add), and the knobbies will do that for you just fine, especially when you decide to get off the pavement (which is where a lot of fun lies). Good luck and stick with it, you won't be sorry.

Welcome aboard.

Firstly if your looking for common sense(at least bikewise) your in the very wrong place.
We'll tell you to ride your bike however you like, for what ever reason you like. Sure, you'll lose weight, get fit(er), and enjoy riding more and more. We'll befriend you, give you advice and encouragement, make you think you're our friend.
IT'S ALL AN EVIL PLOT!!!
It's a plan for us to take over the world. We start with you, get you up and riding, having a good time. Then you say to your self, hey those guys are on to something, maybe I need a road bike, and some up grades for this bike. Then you'll want a cruiser, maybe some carbon fibre for the road bike. Yeah this feels good, how about those pants they all swear by, yeah, I'll get some of those bib things. And a shirt, and shoes and those new fangled clipless pedals. Hey I'm styling now, you'll say, and that new MTB at the LBS would really help me tear up the trails. Then of course you'll start getting the Nashbar and Performance catalogs(and you wife will hide them from you), look at all that stuff, and it's "ON SALE" too, time to upgrade again. Well maybe not the road bike, it's up graded enough, boy that full carbon would be a sweet ride, why not cruise down(or in your case up) to the LBS, just to get fitted of course, maybe a wee quick test ride. Yeah, better bring the check book, might need a few tubes or some lube.
Then you'll be one of us, then we'll tell you about the N+1 rule....
Yes, you'll be one of us HA..HAHA....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

or you could just keep riding, and just enjoy the bike you have. The tires on your bike will be ok for the road. You already did the first thing right, you bought a bike from a bike shop, and not Wal-mart.
Just keep it up, your doing great, and enjoy the ride.

Bruce, you must be a little crazy to want to belong to the 50+ forum, but other than that, I think you have a great start and you will do much better the more you ride. You took up one of the best sports there is, for losing weight and gaining stamina. Good luck and just take it as it comes and you'll surprise yourself. Welcome aboard.

Best advice I can give you is to rent a house at the top of the hill for 6 months. Saves those climbs immediately from the house. In 6 months you can move back and ride out of the bowl in comfort.

Good weight loss in a short time- but don't forget that you will need the correct fuel for riding- Plenty of water- and plenty of PIE. Don't diet away the carbo-hydrates before or during a ride- You still need them.

You sound as if you are starting right- Take it gentle at first and just increase the milage a bit and then the effort- but Gently.

And on those road bikes---- They may be the bees knees for speed but mountain biking is more fun- give you a stiffer workout- and apart from the wildlife will give you a safer ride.

Crazy - probably but you have just shown how crazy you are by joining us here.

Welcome. And you are safe- Checked the colour on the bike and it is not one of the slower ones.

Knobbies or slicks... it doesn't really matter. What is important is that you are out there, doing it. Bravo for you! Today is the first day of the rest of your life, and you are on the right road!! Look to the folks on this forum for some remarkable inspiration; cut yourself a break when you fall down; and always get back on to ride another day! Keep us posted about your rides and progress.

You'd be crazy not to, plain and simple. Slicks on the 4300 will be fine, but there is no real need to hurry up and do that, you're in it to save your life now (in a very fun way I will add), and the knobbies will do that for you just fine, especially when you decide to get off the pavement (which is where a lot of fun lies). Good luck and stick with it, you won't be sorry.

Welcome aboard.

Don't want to scare you, but you have the exact same symptoms that a friend had.
They did the angioplasty in his leg and it collapsed a few years later and they weren't able to replace it because of his heart condition. They had to remove his leg.
Very sad.
But that won't happen to you, because you are just crazy enough to make all the right moves to prevent that.
I'm pulling for you, as I'm sure many on this forum are.

Last week I saw a guy on the MUP near me riding with an above-knee prosthesis due to amputation-- blew me off the hill, chatting all the way with his girlfriend. No matter what, if he's committed, Bruce282 will prevail!!

Bruce, I was once right next to you on that sagging couch.

Go for it. Change your food habits to smaller portions and bushels of veggies but fret not about losing weight quickly. Keeping riding, increasing your speed and distance gradually, and within a year you will be ten years younger.

Doctor gave you the okay, so get off that couch.

You are nuts!!! Crazy!

You should just sit around on the couch, enjoy the pastries, watch your belly getting bigger and your blood pressure going up and your leg getting worse.

That is my Rx for you.

No way a 58 year old belongs on some crazy device with only two wheels, no bumper, seat belt or air bags. Who do you think you are kidding?

DO NOT DO AS I DID AT AGE 58 and start riding in March and 3.5 months later do the Ride the Rockies - 353 miles of tough Colorado passes. DON'T DO THAT, or you may end up like me, 10 years later, bicycling 100-150 miles per week, swimming 4 hours per week, weight lifting, walking and stretching.

NO - DON'T DO THAT - it would be silly, and everyone knows that someone 68 years old can't do all that stuff.

So, go and find that couch and doughnut and just relax!

Welcome aboard, Bruce. You may be crazy, but we're all crazy the same way. Don't do too much at once; let your body tell you how hard you can push yourself. The distance and will come on its own, the weight loss will still be work.

You guys hush up about the n+1 rule - ya wanna scare him off?

A couple of years ago it was a big deal when I rode 8 miles to work. Now I do it every day. I've also done 7 centuries and one double century this year. I've lost a ton of weight too.

So, no, you are not crazy. Enjoy the ride. It's like being a kid again, isn't it?

I started riding again after a very long time about 11 years ago. I rode 3.5 miles and thought I'd never stop aching. I finally got that down and I started riding as far as I could until I couldn't pedal anymore. I remember stopping in the middle of nowhere until I got some strength back. I was hooked. You've started on your way to a better place. Keep at it!

Get off the couch and throw out the remote!
Go for it!

Recent cover story in "Men's Health" magazine was "Best Cardio Workout Ever" see page 72. Guess what was on page 72? A short story about commuting to work by bicycle and some equipment choices to do the job. About says it all.

You may want to pick up a copy of Joe Friel's "Cycling past 50" book and a Heart Rate Monitor. The HRM is not to keep your heart rate in a "safe zone" but to help you guage your output. Set some goals but don't be discouraged if you don't quite make them. Keep at it - you will get stronger quickly.
Put slicks on the MTB - it will be much better on the road, wait for the road bike purchase until you have been riding a few months and have a better idea of what you want.

Bruce282 - are you there?

Bruce282 - are you there?

I guess not!

(But, Bruce282 was reading various forums this am.)

Well, good luck, anyway!

Please let us know how things are coming along.

I'm 58 will be 59 in Oct. I had triple bypass in Nov 2004 and basically became a couch potato. I weigh 275 right now, down from 300 3 months ago. I was recently diagnosed with PAD, I have a blockage in my right leg between my hip and knee. Doctor told me to exercise and if that didn't work it was angioplasty time. I also have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 Diabetes, all under control with meds.

I bought a Trek4300, and plan to ride it on the local roads until I have some kind of stamina. Right now I make it a mile, rest a while and go again. I basically live at the bottom of a "bowl", all the roads head up from my driveway so I get a good workout. I only got the bike last weekend but am wondering if I would be better off replacing the knobbies with slicks if I am staying on the road for a while.

My long term goal is to lose 60-70 pounds, take the Trek off road (several good parks around the DC area) and eventually get a road bike.

I checked with my doctor and she said go for it, but use common sense.

Thanks for any and all information you might be willing to share.

Bruce

I would build up your exercise level very slowly. Based on what I have read recently, sedentary men are prone to heart attacks if they engage in a "session of strenuous - but not moderate - exercise" . That's because exercise thickens the blood and sedentary individual are more prone to negative affects due to that thickening. You want to definitely hydrate well before you get thirsty. Thirst is a sign that you have dehydrated some 1 or 2% which furtherer thickens the blood.

The good news is that this is a temporary situation which will last until you're body changes from it's couch potato status. I would assume that would take several months. There's no hurry as this has to be considered a life-long endeavor anyway.

I was (and still am) very fit when I had a blockage in my early 50's. The inner layer of my carotid artery shredded causing complete blockage. The event is commonly the result of a severe blow to the head which I did not have, but rare otherwise. To make a long story short, my blood chemistry totally dissolved the clot much to the amazement of my neurologist. At the time it believed this could not happen after age 30. They now know that exercise promotes a total blood chemistry change that repairs damage as if you were far younger. I assume that's why your doctor recommended exercise. Interestingly, I met a thin young lady last week on a mountain bike trail who has just recovered from the same thing and she's 29. She's now a biker.

Once you get fit and can do more strenuous activity, your high blood pressure should disappear. I cured my BP problem at 26 (I'm 69 now) with jogging. A friend of mine in his late 40's had to go off his BP medication when he started vigorous cycling. His BP got too low and he would feel faint.

You likely won't see much if any improvement in your cholesterol until you get closer to your desirable weight. It appears that exercise has little impact on cholesterol for overweight folks .

I also just read that while exercise will cause one's appetite to increase, the exercise burns more calories than the extra consumed aiding to weight loss.

In your situation, I would study the science of exercise and nutrition on wellness. It's mostly up to you as doctors are trained in neither.

Some recommended reading: Physical Activity and Health, Younger Next Year and In Defense of Food. The first is a text book which is not an easy ready. It demands study as when we were in school. You also need to look up some big words here and there. However, it deals directly with your issues.

I showed it to my new doctor of 3 years. He doesn't understand physical activity's impact on health and thought I was damaging myself. He would tell me to stop. He looked at a few of the curves, read a page or two and decided he needed to order one. He doesn't hassle me anymore.

Good luck.

Al

Look at the thread titled "Heart Patients Riding?" for some stories from those of us who've been there -- at least heart-health-wise

Look at the thread titled "Heart Patients Riding?" for some stories from those of us who've been there -- at least heart-health-wise.

And welcome!