Yikes! I haven't even thought of Stan Rogers for at least a decade....
I'm very glad you beat the odds. I can't imagine how much effort you had to exert.
*****
I turned 75 a month ago. I stopped riding in 2002, IIRC. On July 5, 2013, I was watching the TdF on TV and thought, 'Gee, I used to like riding. Why sit on my ass watching people do what I enjoyed?' So I got my bike out, pumped up the tires, and I've ridden every season since. I've also extended the season each year, riding earlier and later, as my health dictates. I did 1001.5 miles (that's what my bike 'puter said) in 2017, about 1050 last year before an infection that sapped my energy hit, and it's likely I'll be at 900 miles this year before August 31, with 2+ more months in the season.
In previous years, I've had tough rides and great, enjoyable rides. This year, virtually all of the rides were enjoyable. On the 21st, I cut my ride short because the sky was dark at 2 PM, rain was due, I saw lightening in the direction I was heading, and I knew the prediction was for a sunny day on the 22nd. I was out yesterday (8/22), and my morale was sapped by the wind, but I still had energy left when I got home after 28 miles. But on both days I enjoyed the ride while I was riding, and I was very glad I had ridden after I was done.
Before 1986, I always went a little farther than I thought I could go comfortably. After hurting my back in 1986, I had to change to ride just a little less than I thought I could; otherwise, I ended up with significant back pain for several days. What amazes me now is that I can actually go farther than I think I can without injuring myself. 6 years of riding can do amazing things.
Don't get me wrong - I'm slow and weak. The only way I can do real hills, I think, is to walk. I had to do that last year when I rode from Washington Heights to the Hudson Greenway and back in NYC. Of course, my lowest gear is 42/26, which is a young person's climbing gear.
I enjoy riding, and I really enjoy riding farther and (slightly) faster and feeling great as every season progresses. I hope to ride every year until I die.
I'm still riding the bike I put together in the winter of 1981-82. I had the rear DOs reset to 126 mm a few years ago, and I expect to replace my ultra-6 freewheel with a 7-speed freewheel today, but I don't ever see modding it to a 24/36 speed or a 1-by-7, though I'm hoping eventually to put a triple on the front for those hills in the East.
If anyone has read this far, thanks. In any case, I appreciate BF for giving me the opportunity to write down the above.