Fifty Plus (50+) - The years appraisal.

This year has not been good for me on the bike. Building that pool for the wife took a lot of time and it did eat into my ride time. I like to get in a 40+ mile ride at the weekend and a couple of 20 milers in the week. One with a bit of speed on a relatively flat course and one that takes in a few hills. First to go from April to the end of July was the midweek rides. This meant that the long weekend rides were cut a bit short aswell- if I managed to get them in. August came and it was wet. I mean wet and the wind that came with it meant that any ride I did was hard. Probably due to not doing enough riding.

Then in September- I managed to get my son-in-law out on a few Road rides. He has only just got back into riding and he still has 30lbs to lose. Set the TCR up for him and he likes it. One thing I noticed with him is that Although I do not think I am pushing to stay with him, and I still have to wait at the top of the hills for him, My average speed for the rides has gone up. Must be that he is taking a turn on front and the drafting has improved ride speed. One of the regular rides I do is normally done at around 14.5 mph and whenever I ride with him- the average has gone up to in excess of 16.

So this year has been a bit of a disappointment. Not enough riding- Bloodpressure has gone up a bit this year and I know I have lost fitness. Only good thing is that in the couple of months riding I have done- my weight has gone down to my norm of 147lbs. Would like to lose a bit more but as I was pushing 155 in August- I reckon I should be able to see 140 by Christmas.

So not a good year so far. Been expensive with 2 daughters getting married so not much chance of a new bike this Autumn but Still a possibility. Would like to get a cyclocross for the offroad and possibly to get 9 speed gearing on it so I can really get a bike for the mountains on holiday next year. But even next years holiday might be a bit tricky. Daughter number 1 is expecting my first grandchild in February. and I am hoping her Husband will be my riding partner up Ventoux. Whether I will have a car large enough for all that baby stuff and 4 adults will have to be seen.

So plans for the winter. Subject to weather- Lots of hills- lots of miles and possibly a fitter-leaner me to be able to get those bikes out and wear them out so I will have to build up a decent Bike for the mountains.

Keeping the Mrs. happy is, IMHO, always a good investment. Did you get the pool completed? Perhaps the winter will be a bit less windy and even drier than usual. One can always hope and dream!

This year has been okay for me, but not brilliant. Four double-centuries so far (Butterfield, Solvang Spring, Grand Tour and Knoxville, with one (Bass Lake) coming this weekend (Oct. 11).

If I complete that one, it will be my fifth straight year for the Thousand Mile Club, i.e. a thousand miles of double centuries each year.

Climbing rides: The Bear, Breathless Agony, Heartbreak, Angeles Crest and a new personal record for climbing in one day at Mt. Shasta (16,500 feet in 135 miles).

Plus, really got going on the fixed gear bike this year, so that's good too. And the 3-Speed Tour was very mellow and kind of rounds out all those multi-miles and multi-feet of climbing events.

So, overall, no complaints.

Keeping the Mrs. happy is, IMHO, always a good investment. Did you get the pool completed? Perhaps the winter will be a bit less windy and even drier than usual. One can always hope and dream!

Pool is completed- but what about the rest of you?

How has your year been?

Nine months and six days of the year have passed by. My children are well and happy. My dog is well and happy. I am above ground, healthy and happy. I'd say it's been a great year thus far.

be well,

jim

I doubt I'll match the miles I had last year but that's okay. I was off the bike for a few weeks early in the riding season with the back problems. Thankfully those problems are in the past. I did two week long tours this year and hope to do more riding after retirement.....which is official as of tomorrow:D I'm hoping for a mild winter.

Got in a century, a week-long cycling vacation, numerous metric century, so it was a pretty good year on the bike. Nevertheless, I rode fewer total miles than previous years but also managed not to have any lingering aches and pains. Did a lot of walking and spent more time in the garden with the cucumbers, tomatos, melons, corn, etc. to prove it. Could it be I'm listening to my body at long last and actually finding a sense of balance? Probably not. But I feel lucky to still be riding and having fun.

HEY BEVERLY--CONGRATULATIONS.:):):thumb::)

Pool is completed- but what about the rest of you?

How has your year been?

Well, I'm still alive and riding. So, it continues to be a great year. While it's not much, I'm 200 miles ahead of the largest total miles I've ever ridden by today's date in any year. The difference is that there is a 3/4 mile hill about 9% grade near my home that I usually avoid at the end of my rides. This year I've taken the slight detour to make sure I include it as the last part of each ride.

Well, I'm still alive and riding. So, it continues to be a great year. While it's not much, I'm 200 miles ahead of the largest total miles I've ever ridden by today's date in any year. The difference is that there is a 3/4 mile hill about 9% grade near my home that I usually avoid at the end of my rides. This year I've taken the slight detour to make sure I include it as the last part of each ride.

Treat that hill as your friend. Got a couple of hours in an evening and go for a ride up that hill. Turn round at the top and ride down to do it again.

Last year I did hill repeats up a 15% hill as part of my training. First time and twice was enough. When I got to 5, I stopped doing that hill as it was boring doing the same bit of road over and over again. Haven't done that 15% hill since as I moved onto steeper and better hills after that

2,800 miles so far this year. 500 miles all of last year which was an improvement over the 10 or so miles I averaged for the 30 years before. I was averaging 100 miles a week during the summer but found myself getting too focused on the miles and resenting other committments that prevented me from getting them in. Finally decided to ride when I can, enjoy my time in the saddle and not sweat it when life gets in the way.

I have been having a good year. I planned on riding a little less than last year and spending more time kayaking. I have 2,400 miles on the bike this year and quite a few nice kayak trips with my friends and by myself, including one race. I have a good job, my kids are all three in school, 1 highschool, 1 college and 1 trade school. My wife of 33 years is still putting up with me and here in Fl. it is just now getting to be the best riding weather of the year.

Will be a struggle to do 2000 km this year while I did 3118 last year. The big difference was 2 tours last year, one in Austria and the other in Pennsylvania. I also got a head start by spending January in Miami Beach.

Why are we summarizing now? We still have about 12 weeks left in the year and even in Canada I would hope to do another 300 km.

Happy retirement, Beverly.

One of my goals this year was to commute to work 100 times. As of today, I'm at 98. I'm out of town the rest of the week, will not reach my goal until next week...but will likely do at least 125 commutes this year.

Other goals:
- Ride at least 4,000 miles (I'm at about 4,300 now, on my way to 5,500-ish)
- Ride a century (I've done two)
- Ride the Tour de Blast (up Mt. St. Helens...done).

And, BTW, had my first flat tire of the year yesterday....

I am thinking hard about my goals for next year. I am spending as much or more time on the bike than I can spare now, so I am thinking my goal will be to take better pictures on my bike rides. Taking photos on bike rides forces me to look around more instead of just watching the pavement...

Cycling-wise, it's been OK.

One metric century under my spandex.

The LSD road rides has made my mountain biking more enjoyable.

I now face the dilemma: stay a recreational cyclist or take the next step and become and AVID recreational cyclist. To become the latter, I need to do weight-training and lose 20 pounds. Yuk.

This year started with great enthusiasm but quickly fell apart.

I returned to full time uni this year in an attempt to get a job that actually pays (as opposed to volunteer work which doesn't). Believe, me uni in your 50s is rather different to uni in your 20s.

As the year opened, I was still in love with the bent but starting to realise that all the problems that 'I'd be able to sort out as I got used to it' weren't going to go away at all. In the end, I had to accept that buying the bent was just a stupid waste of money. I'm glad I've had the experience but couldn't afford it financially (unemployed single father living off the pension and savings) - if the thing had worked as promoted it would have been fine but it doesn't get ridden now.

Because I was going back to uni, I needed a commuter - the bent wasn't going to do it and I wasn't going to leave my good bike chained up at uni. I'd pulled my Trek520 apart to build up the Jamis (my good bike). A mate sold me a box of mtb bits so I thought I'd rebuild the Trek as my commuter. Good plan but it's proven to be one frustration after another. The biggest problem was getting the gearing to work - I couldn't get a front mtb dr to swing in far enough to give me the small cog and, while road drs would swing in far enough, the mtb shifters wouldn't drive them. That defeated me and two mechanics until I found a bloke who'd been trained in old school ways and knew how to assault a dr with hammer and pliers to get it to work - I now have a well trained, highly efficient DeoreLX front dr but it cost me too much in time and money. Then there was the time the chain disintegrated as I stood on the pedals to dart across in front of four lanes of traffic ... It took six months to get that bike working properly but she's a gem now. Starting with a box of second hand bits to save money has proven to be stupid - she's cost me more than if I'd bought new to start with and I've wound up with a slightly different bike to the one I'd have built if I'd bought new. She's called the Frankenbike.

Uni proved to be source of huge stress and I've had a couple of melt downs but seem to be on top of it. I only did about 500km up to July - the bike wasn't working properly, the weather turned nasty (we have winter in the middle of the year) and I was stressed out much of the time. I've got on top of that ... sort of. Have my commute sorted out and can finally commute every day except the days I have to pick up my 7 year old. I don't commute the full distance - there's a huge climb about 5km from home and while I've ridden it often enough, prefer to park at the bottom of the hill and ride from there - 12km commuted each way so it's enough to get the heart working. I've done 800km since July so my riding has increased.

I've finally rediscovered my Jamis and started going for recreational rides now and then - no time.
I've finally got the Frankenbike working so I can enjoy commuting (it's no fun when you're fixing things all the time).
I've finally got uni under control ... which really just means I can see the stress levels rising and can usually address them before they get out of hand or recover when they do.
I've even started looking at bike forums again - aren't you lot lucky.

Now I'd better stop wasting time here and do that assignment I'm avoiding.

Richard

Both the wife and I are still alive, so that is certainly a plus. Andy is doing well, and loves riding his 3 wheeler, and Tim and Amy's law practice continues to thrive.

I am using the bike a lot more for errands, shopping and the like, which I consider a big plus. So, my biking is now both "recreational" but more utilitarian.

I have added swimming to my exercise routine, and it has really been a plus. Vastly different aerobic requirements, and all-in-all a very positive step.

The weight lifting has improved, and I am actually stronger than a year ago, and, likely, the strongest I have been in my life - not a bad statement for someone going on 69 in November.

Adding stretching has been another plus. It has helped with some problems I have been having with the piriformis and cramping, as well as greatly increased flexibility in general.

Musically, the gospel and barbershop groups are doing well. The wife's group has disbanded, with some hard feelings all around. Too bad, as she put so much effort into organizing and leading it. But, her bicycling has been doing great.

You know I hate goals, but I do have one for next year - I want to complete a sprint triathlon - they have one in September, just a mile from my home.

I had a good winter getting in a good road and/or MTB ride in most every week due to the mild weather. Spring was good with several hard MTB rides, inspired by the the Stumpy FSR. Also lots of quality road rides - a few metric centuries and several 40 to 50 milers. All this was aimed at getting in good shape for the week of BRAG and it worked. I was in the best physical shap for BRAG that I have been in many years. I finally broke the 200 lb. barrier and was looking and feeling great.

Then, on June 2, I found out that the aggravation in my throat was not my usual allergy problems, but throat cancer. I still went on BRAG the next week. Rode 420 miles in overbearing heat, including a century one day. I got in a few more decent rides before starting chemotherapy on July 14.

I tried a couple of rides while taking chemo, but I was very weak. Since I was also very sensitive to sunlight, I pretty much quit riding except some minor workouts on a trainer.

After finishing my 9 week routine of chemo, I started feeling better and started easing back into riding. I've done a few rides in the 10 mile range and a few in the 20 mile range. Even now in my fourth week of radiation treatments, I am finding that I am able to ride stronger each ride. The Procrit (EPO) treatments might be helping.;) I am planning to do a birthday ride this Thursday, 53 miles. Living where I do, there is no such thing as a flattish 53 mile ride. Today I rode a hard 14.5 mile ride which includes the hardest hill on my Thursday route, a 1.5 mile three stepper with a couple of 10-12 degree sections. I also added the other side of that hill, another 1.5 mile three stepper with slightly steeper steps. With the help of my 25 gear inch granny, I climbed both with no difficulty. I am very confident that I will be able to do the ride without any major distress.

I have also managed to work in a couple of bike conversions this year. My Trek 970 went from traditional rigid MTB to a drop bar, fat semi-slick tired go anywhere bike and I recently converted my 80ish Fuji road bike from a 14 speed beater to a stripped down fixie.

So it has been a strange year, but despite the terrifying reality of a life-threatening disease, I have had and am continuing to have a great year. After about another month of radiation treatments, I hope to have successfully climbed the toughest hill ever - beating cancer. :)

Keeping the Mrs. happy is, IMHO, always a good investment.
:thumb:

This has been a very difficult year for our family. But, bike-wise, I rode more this year than last, kept all the weight off that I lost (in spite of gut-wrenching emotions), I'm getting stronger and a little faster, and I'm finding my own riding style. Along with my faith, cycling helped me get through some hard times this year.

Really low miles for me this year, only ~2500 so far. I had 1600 miles before I bruised my hip from a fall during an early May hike. I didn't ride at all in May. June through August was selling the house. only rode about 500 miles all summer. Finally got out during September but too fat and slow to embarrass myself on any centuries, so 320 miles for Sept. October is starting out better with 128 miles so far. It would be nice to have a fairly dry winter so I can catch up a bit.

Then, on June 2, I found out that the aggravation in my throat was not my usual allergy problems, but throat cancer.

Bummer. Glad to hear you're out the other side and still riding.

Richard

Bummer. Glad to hear you're out the other side and still riding.

Richard

Thanks, but I'm not out the other side yet. Still riding while being treated.

A good year for mileage, especially since I have been winding down my racing - no races since last December.

I've got over 12,000 km on the fixie so far this year. I've been using it for everything from recreational rides to my weekend in Pasadena. The tandem has got a little over 3,000 km on it. We got in lots of rides at the Northwest Tandem Rally in McMinnville, OR, and at the Eastern Tandem Rally in Durham, NH. We did a very nice ride along the Maine coast. We also did rides in upstate New York and in the Berkshires in Massachusetts.

My stoker is recoverying from a wierd crash we had about a month ago. The front tire lost all of its pressure in the middle of a turn, so the bike just washed out from under us. I escaped relatively unscathed, but my stoker has been laid up since then with a huge hematoma and leg pain. She's had to be on crutches for a couple of weeks. However, she's thinking we might be able to take the tandem when we head down to Seaside, OR next weekend. She went to a spin class today and lasted about 35 minutes at low revs, so things are looking up. The fixie is coming in any event, with the clip-on fenders because I am expecting rain.

I have very little desire for another bike. I'm perfectly happy with the fixie (a 1989 Benotto track frame purchased at the Benotto factory in Mexico City, upgraded with Reynolds carbon fork and a few other trick items), and with the obsolete steel Kuwahara tandem. I think that having a super-fancy carbon bike with trick wheels tends to make you arrogant and materialistic.

Bicycling has been on the back burner this year. I'm car-free so I get in a few miles every day, such as the mileage riding back from the unemployment office today. I did do the diabetes ride, but the 20 mile ride turned out to be closer to 14 in length. The big new thing in my bicycling has been my Bikes At Work trailer. I used it recently when the carpets of my apartment got cleaned and I had to evacuate my apartment temporarily to the storage unit across the street. Its big and its sweet.

One nice thing about unemployment is that I really am getting a little more riding in, and its more fun because I can pick my route.

This was my best cycling year. I participated in 17 races consisting of 3 hill climbs, 2 road races, 4 track races including the US Track Nationals and 8 time trials. I entered a professional coaching program December 2006 dramatically improved my fitness, sustained no injuries plus significantly improved my cycling posture and efficiency. My knees, back and neck feel great which was not the case last year on my own.

I purchased a new road bike and time trial bike and I am looking at track bikes.

I went on two cycling vacations. One to southern california and the other to Mallorca, Spain (leaving tomorrow) both done on the tandem.

The best part was meeting great people with shared goals and motivation at races and within our coaching program. Next year I turn 60 and "age up" into the next higher age category for masters racing.:D

I'm very happy with my year so far, at least from the cycling point of view. I bought a recumbent trike in mid-February; it's the first time I've been riding in at least 20 years. Despite knee surgery in March, I've managed to get over 1,000 miles for the year. In July, we bought another trike for my wife, who also hadn't ridden for at least 20 years. She's ridden over 250 miles since then. Our riding time has dropped considerably since our daughter joined the marching band and the marching band season started; I'm on the pit crew and she's a chaperone for the bus rides. That pretty well did in our Friday and Saturday rides, at least until the second week of November.
- Bob

I sometimes feel sad that my mileage is down, my fitness less than prior years or the kids don't want to ride with me as often as they used to - then I read other people's stories and I say a little prayer and knock on wood. My life isn't perfect but it sure is good - and as others have stated - above ground beats the alternative.

The bride & I are still on the right side of the sod, as are the three
daughters. Bike miles are down but the bike stable is fuller. I'm smilin! :)

I'l probably end the year with about 6000 miles, about normal the last few years. Have had some new physical problems this year, but nothing like BD. Actually feel a little stronger on the climbs, despite not getting down to 200 pounds yet.
With the troubled economy, some of my paychecks are around half of normal, and some around 3/4. Haven't seen an 80 hour check in months. Fortunately, I have a good road bike and a good mtb, though my car is begging for attention.

I'll have to admit this year has gone very well even though it is only 75% completed. Last year I made a commitment to take riding to the next level and to implement the plan I needed to make some changes in eating and beer drinking habits. I lost 25 lbs by the New Year and 10 more by May. I started to train for races and sought out riding challenges. I exceeded my goal by entering eight Cat. 5 races and two TT's and had some finishes that I'm proud of. Last year I could ride a 25 mile loop near my home and average 19 mph, recently I rode the loop, solo; driveway to driveway with no warm up, and averaged 20.6 mph. To date I have just over 5,000 miles and expect to ride 1,200 to 1,500 more before the year's end.

I'm fortunate that my wife lets me ride as much as I do to the extent that we even plan our social schedule around my riding, usually:D. Both our boy's are young adults who ride, race and do triathlons and are frequent riding and training partners to me. They never let me gloat or bask in any sucess, they make sure to "hammer me to death" on every ride.:love: All those days and weekends spent watching them compete in HS and college sports have paid off.

For next year I plan to take it up another notch. Both my wife and I plan to retire in the spring. I intend to become a "full time racer" by increasing my weekly riding from 9 hrs to 15 to 18 hours and hiring a coach to guide me thru the process.:rolleyes: I've got good handy man skills and will pursue that on a part time basis to earn "fun money" for bike stuff and extra vacations.

This was a low mileage year for me. Shoulder surgery in January and and accident June 2nd kept me off the bike for a good bit of the year and doing short rides for a lot of the remaining time. Still I did get a Metric and a regular century in and managed something over 2000 miles. Hopefully I will reach 3000 before the year is out, but since I am running more often than riding maybe not. I am now running for the first time in my life and enjoying it a good bit. I plan to race in a couple 5k's and a 10 k before the year is out.

A great year because it got me back on the bike after about 10 years off. Thanks to BF, finally learned how to spin and ride in the street. Did a half-century, a metric century and rode my age, all on the same day with the same 65-mile ride. :) Been commuting by combined bike and subway regularly, driving the car less than once a week. Right now my right (major) wrist is in a splint from a fall and I'm about to go back and have it reevaluated because it's not getting better, which is really annoying. But I'm so happy to be riding again--my bicycle makes me feel free.

I was able to drop off my daughter at day camp by bike almost every day this summer. After school started, I upped my daily riding to 65 miles each week and rode one 70 mile week, setting a personal record. Not by best year, but it is ending on a good note.

Paul

I started riding again last July and finished last year with some 1400 miles. I started this year with no specific goals except to do twice as many miles. So far I've got over 5000 miles and my fitness is beginning to approach where I was when I stopped riding (I used to be a road racer). I ride with my kids (my son races, my daughter does not but she is a strong rider), I do group training rides with local racers and I ride for fun with a group of my neighbors. I can't complain about my cycling year at all. I've avoided injuries and I don't detect any slowing of my progress, so I might just be able to surpass what I did long ago (I didn't ride for 12 years). Wouldn't that be a kick! Hang in there, folks. We ain't finished by a long shot!

-soma5

It's been a good year.
I climb better, ride farther and faster than a year ago.
Even just since I got the OCR in March, the gains have been tangible and often surprising.
I've gotten to say "I did it" many, many times this year.
I set out to ride over 2000 miles this year (I hit about 2K last year) and I might make it.
I know I have over 1200 on the Giant since March and there are still 3 months to go, if the winter is mild. I lost track of what I put on the Lemond and the Fisher between January and March.
So what if I don't? The miles I have ridden have all been quality miles. Didn't eat enough pie, though.
So, now, with 2 1/2 years of solid base under me, I feel ready for some real gains next year.
No complaints.