Please tell us your age. 58 (59 in December)

1. What type of bikes do 50+ folks ride?

I ride three bikes. My main bike is a Rans Stratus long wheel base recumbant bicycle. I ride this bike four days a week, commuting to and from work. It is a workhorse, able to carry 50 pounds easily. My other two bicycles are diamond frame, a Schwinn LeToure and a Trek 1420 road bike. Both bikes are highly modified. The LeToure has a high handlebar (~1.5 inches above the seat height), which gives me a better upright position. I use this bike whenever I want to go downtown on the MAX train. It's a good "beater bike," which is very practical going downtown. I have taken in some professional meetings downtown on this bike. My other, the Trek 1420, is stripped down for exercise riding. I have left the "blinky" light on the back, but it has no fenders, and an elevated handlebar (~1/2 inch over the seat height). I like getting on it because it is very light. I've also put bar-end shifters on it, and I like that a lot.

2. Do you take any special supplements/vitamins/minerals as you have grown older?

No - I eat well (but more than my wife), and continue to work out (swimming, scuba diving, and fin swimming; and using an eliptical trainer at home). My wife ensures that I have a daily salad, and keeps bugging me about eating junkies (but I still do some).

3. How much do you feel you have "slowed down" if any?

I don't feel I've slowed down much in the last ten years. What I'm finding is that my recovery time is greater, and I have one spot on my back where I pulled a muscle about 1994 in a bicycle accident which hurts at the end of the day. But other than that, I maintain about the same speed as I did ten years ago. I do like the recumbant that I started riding about a year ago though. I don't get the headaches I used to get after cycling a long ways (say 25 miles).

4. How long have you been biking? New, around a while, biked all your life?

I've been commuting for about ten years. Actively commuting since 1996, when I got a new job, I find it a great way to incorporate riding into my daily life.

5. What type of biking do you do? Long rides, touring, short rec rides, commute, tour, race?

Mostly commuting to and from work.

6. How often do you bike? Your approximate annual mileage?

Usually 3-5 times a week, about 50 or more miles per week.

7. Do you do any other type of physical activities - weight lifting, skiing, running, etc.?

As mentioned above, I've been scuba diving since 1959, and continue to the present (I was in the pool today). In addition, I swim laps, and fin swim laps too. I do some eliptical training, and during the annual "civil war" football game between Oregon State University and the University of Oregon yesterday, I got almost an hour of eliptical training accomplish (and my team, OSU, beat the Ducks soundly too).

John
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