Originally Posted by
deweyhtucker
... I have a 38 year old son who is in great shape and been riding for 8 years. He has me on a program. Indoor this winter with my bike on a trainer doing 100 cadence intervals for an hour of hell twice a week. Two other days I lower the resistance and ride to get heart rate up to about 130 for another hour. Two other days I work out on my rowing machine. The last day is upper body strength training. This has been program for last 3 months. It's been tough, but am losing weight, and blood pressure is better.
It sounds as if your son wants to keep you around - you are a truly lucky man! And congratulations to you for rising to the challenge. Keep up the great work!
One thing though - trainers don't give you the same kind of feedback that riding on terrain would - so don't be too eager to go to a larger chainring! You will find your engine may respond differently to foad conditions - especially hills.
You are four years my senior - if your knees and hips are in perfect shape, then higher gears are not too bad - but I think that once you get out on the road, you will get into a different training regimen in order to build up your stamina at different cadences and grades. I've been riding for 38 years, and for a long time used higher gears than I should have - now, I've got a bad knee that forces me to go more gently and that has taught me the benefit of dropping to a lower gear and spinning. Take it gradually and build up your strength and stamina as you learn the ropes. I hope you have many rewarding years of riding!