wphamilton

I was just curious, how many here didn't start biking until around age 50?

I climbed on a bike at 48 for the first time since childhood, and went "all in" car-free. Who else?

crazyb

Age 52 for me. Rode a lot in college, but was dormant for 30 yrs.

trekmogul 

Did not set on a bike since high school 1972 and @ age 55 1/2 pushing 265lbs it all started. August 15th will be 6 years and now tipping the scales at 150lbs and riding about 4500 miles a year..

wphamilton

Awesome! You're about 4 stubborn pounds less than me now, that I need to lose and I started biking at something under 130. We got to the same place from different directions

Any secret for that last 5 pounds? Or was it just more keepin' on with what you were doing?

trekmogul 

Those last few LBS when you are already pretty much lean are quite difficult to drop. Do I really need to be 150lbs..? NOPE.. Its just a challenge and I enjoy working at it. I have maintained this weight for over 4.5 years without gaining a lb at all. You have to be really focused and have tons of willpower to resist all the temptations.. Riding a bike really has not much bearing on weight but what is important is what goes in the mouth..

osco53

Calories in, Calories out, Yep It's that simple.

Try and focus on the Hydration, IF your not fully and properly hydrated your body naturally goes into fat storage mode, conserve mode.. It starts thinking your near survival mode It will react accordingly.....

Calories in, Calories out,,,,,,,,

trekmogul 

You are exactly right..When you take in more calories then you burn..Waa laaa Yes Ialso fill a gallon water jug and by 3pm i make sure it is finished. I am tired of drinking water but its vital..

RonH

I started again at 55 y/o in 1999 with a 1999 Raleigh R600. Actually I didn't get REALLY serious until my job was out-sourced June 1, 2000. While unemployed I had time to "train" for my first metric century in October 2000 and did my first century in May 2001.

wphamilton

I wonder if starting later tends to make us a bit more passionate about it. You've seen people who quit a bad habit can become fanatical, or religious converts can sometimes be intense with it than long-term practitioners. Do you think you've experienced that at all?

rydabent

As a kid I rode thousands of mile. I had to ride to school when it was good weather. Then like most marriage, and work took me off the bike. Then when my two oldest boys started to bike I got a fairly nice bike and rode with them. We all got really interested in biking, and this was the days of the Coors Classic races that we went to several times.

From that time on, I have continued to bike for myself and my health. Im now 76 and still ride between 2 and 3 thousand miles a year. I just plain feel so much better when I can bike in the summer. I live in the snow belt, and hate riding in the cold. Can you say cabin fever?

Biker395 

I'm a late bloomer in a lot of respects, but not cycling. I picked it up again at about 25 years old, and other than educational interludes that made riding near impossible for me, have kept it up since.

aubiecat

I jumped back on a bike August 7, 2013 at age 50, after a 35+ year hiatus.
I miss that little orange Nishiki I had as a kid.

badger1

Guess I qualify. Took up cycling again in '02 at age 50. Rode lots as a kid/through teens/into early 20s, then stopped like so many others. Wake-up call from doc following a physical got me back on a bike; had to find something to do to lose weight/lower cholesterol and blood pressure, etc. etc. I hate -- HATE -- 'exercising' (e.g. in a gym, swimming, or anything like that) other than walking, so a bike seemed obvious.

Worked quickly up to 6-7000kms/year in two or three years, and have maintained roughly that since: three-season commuting, longer road rides, and not-too-technical mtb'ing (first love) in the summers.

qcpmsame 

Not sure where I would fall in this discussion, began serious cycling in 1971 as a 14yo kid, kept it up until 1984 when life stuff caught up with me. Of and on the next several years, including some ill fated mtb stuff for a few years. After a lot of health issues and surgeries I got serious in 2008, slow start then, but once the cutting was done in 2010 I have managed to stick with it. Cycling literally saved my life as far as I am concerned, too boring and gory to detail just say I am evangelical about cycling (only cycling stay of my back about that one) Classify me where ever its handy for you if you need to, just call my a bicyclist, please.

Bill

fishboy316

I started again at 56. As bill said it saved my life also after illness. Now it has become my passion.
Bill

tg16

Sign me up for that club too. Started at 55 and now have an obsession.

Gnosis

It was my excruciating near fatal heart attack on August 30, 2009 at age 53 that got me into bicycling when I was finally just barely well enough to do so on April 18, 2011 at age 55. I just turned 59 a couple weeks ago and I have a grand total of 7,789 pedaled miles under my belt as well as 200 and 250-mile mountain rides.

I never imagined I’d be pedaling a bicycle at my age, but I LOVE IT! It’s reduced my weight from 210 pounds to a low of just 162.6 pounds as of this past Sunday. My prior ailing “at rest” heart rate was 73~75 BPM but is now a stunning 38~40 BPM (with a few lows of 36 BPM and I don’t take any medications or drugs).

I’ve been commuting exclusively via bicycle for the last 4 years now.

osco53

Late bloomer,,early bloomer,, I don't fit the mold I guess. I've had a two wheeled love affair going since the kiddy tricycle...

Then I discovered Motorcycles,,,

I am done with those noisy things and now have come full circle,,I will die a cyclist thank you

osco53

Is it an obession ? Or a Passion ?

My bikes are my toys, like my Daisy Red Ryder or my fire truck or my Daniel Boone hat..

My Bicycles are my favorite toys now..

I am obsessed with the ride, the flow, the high.. I am Passionate about bicycles In general.
I do not lust over this or that bike, I love and ride what I have

So,,Is that an Obsession or a passion ?

trekmogul 

I think it can be both a obsession and a passion. I also feel naked if i dont get my daily ride in and 3 or 4 days a week even 2 rides a day of 20 miles plus. I also enjoy owning nice new shiny bicycles and all the related gadgets. Do I really need 20 + bikes..? Nope..Do I ride all those bikes..? Nope.. But I enjoy owning them..

trekmogul 

I have gone from one extreme to the other. @ 265lbs I was just fat and happy and now with my new found love of a healthy life style and lots of bike riding..

OldsCOOL

My passion for road bikes and the open road hit me in my junior year in '74. Been with me ever since. My dream was to ride a century but would not accomplish that until 2011 at age 53. Through my adult years I would grab a 10 speed and get back into shape but not able to be in the condition necessary for me to really enjoy it. All rides were under 50mi. Being in the ministry and the many moves that were required, kept me chasing the dream. Then in 2003 a neighbors yard sale produced my little Trek 460 and the passion for riding on the fogline was re-lit.

squatchy

I didn't start until I was 52. Yea, I rode a bike before I got my drivers licence. After that , never. I now ride about 5k a summer. Still old and fat but I'm in better condition and still working on my belly.

StanSeven

I was a good athlete as a teenager. But college got me into drinking, smoking and a poor lifestyle. I started running around age 30 for the mental and emotional aspects as well as the physical. Cycling came later. Now as I edge closer to 70 my weight is close to the same as when I took up running. The motivation is still as much mental as physical.

bikemig 

Good religion to be passionate about.