Originally Posted by skydive69
I thought you would recognize my proposed avatar in that it is the actual, imfamous Dr. Moribus!! Perhaps you did judging by the smile.
Wow, that was some serious lifting. I have always been the opposite - an aerobic athlete. Although I have lifted for endless years, alas, I am not genetically predisposed to those monster bench press numbers. I always had reasonably strong legs, however, and used to be able to leg extend the full Nautilus set for numerous reps.
That is really a wonderful century! It must be really depressing dealing with respiratory issues when participating in an aerobic type activity.
My kid lucked out in the computer field, and has a cushy job with Microsoft.
Dr. Edward Morbius was played by Walter Pidgeon in the famous 1956 Sci-Fi movie Forbidden Planet, which also starred Leslie Nielsen, Anne Francis and Robby the Robot.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049223/ I don't know who that hack is in the picture you posted. Looks like a weirdo for sure.
I don't have any more century rides planned for this year or next. I didn't care for all of the time in the saddle preparing for it. At this point I'm just riding to try and get a modicum of fitness. I just don't have the ability or genetic predisposition to be any good at it anyway. I can ride for up to 90 minutes without too much pain setting in, but with those 3 to 4 hour rides my bum hurt, my wrists hurt, my neck hurt, my hands were constantly numb - and this is on a Sequoia! Not exactly the most bent over aero styled bike on the planet. It just isn't worth it to me.
Your Son is fortunate. Hopefully, he'll be able to stick with it. I read an article not too long ago that stated that the average college graduate coming out of school today would have a new career every 7 years. That's the average person. I spent 4 years in the banking business before the S & L crisis put a halt to that, then I was at FedEx for 5 years, then I had about 6 years in the computer field, now I'm stumped. The only one that paid enough to live anything resembling a middleclass living was the computer field.
I know a handfull of people that have managed to survive the layoffs, outsourcing and mergers and they are wanting out so badly they can't stand it but they aren't qualified do anything else, just like me. It's work in the IT field or pump gas. Two former coworkers have commited suicide! One guy was a little flakey from the get go but the other guy was married with two young daughters. He just couldn't cope with it anymore. Very sad. They were laid off and out of work for a couple of years. Another guy that I was good friends with is selling carpet cleaning services via telemarketing. He's miserable. I know another guy that hasn't worked in over 4 years. His parents died and he's been living off of his inheritance but he's the same age as I am and isn't ready for full retirement yet.
At 45 I really don't have any interest (or the memory retention) to go back to school and going into debt, especially when I know that I'll only be employed in that field for approximately 7 years. I thought about going back to school for nursing but I had enough of "putting up with people's sh1t" when doing desktop support. I don't need to change bed pans. Been there, done that. Besides, the health industry will probably be socialized in the coming decade anyway. My nieces and nephews (all college grads) are in their late 20's and are still waiting tables and working in coffee shops because they can't find a decent job. One of my cousins is working 2 part time jobs after his company closed up and moved overseas. I have a feeling the good days are behind us when it comes to the economy.