No sir, I say again ... you claimed "a viable alternative" and I explained why a trike, for me, is not a "viable alternative." It is too risky. I ride with no pain and get hit by a car? Not a net gain.

Then you go off an a pro-bent rant. Well, WTF?? I didn't come out against bents. In this thread I actually suggest them. Why are you using me as a platform from which to preach?

Fact is ... for those who like facts, I know such folks are few and far between ... you said a bent was a "viable alternative" and I said for me it was not and explained why.

Instead of accepting that, you see some need to tell me I am wrong.

Look ... I am sorry you are one of those zealots who has to constantly tell people "Bents are Better!" just because they are better for you. Please, try to gain some perspective.

You say Well, Stop being overzealous and listen to what other riders say. Maybe bent riders would get more respect if they gave more.

That brass is heavy, hmm?

I wrote: "Anybody who is willing to endure various pain, some severe or debilitating, while cycling but who refuse to consider a viable alternative bike that could end or alleviate that pain based upon their prejudices is simply mentally challenged."

The subject is clearly pain caused by riding, not safety. The "viable alternative" according to what I wrote is a bike that could end or alleviate that pain.
You are free to make up all you like about what I wrote, but there it is. Some many here seem to enjoy getting into these little pissing contests but I'm not one of them. So I'll just put you on my "ignore" list and I'm done, with you because clearly you have no desire to "get alone".

I just finished two loops for 60 miles and 5500 feet of climbing. Along the way, one knee and then the other would hurt. 7 miles in, the left knee was pretty painfull, and I thought about this thread. 2 or 3 miles later, the pain was gone. Several times while climbing, the right knee or the left would hurt and then not. Sometimes a shift forward or back in the saddle or dropping my heel or raising it or standing or whatever. I finished strong and got a PR on a climbing segment during the last 10 miles.
The only time my butt hurts is if I ride slow. Same with my feet. Oh and my shoulders were killing me when I reached for a sandwich from my jersey pocket.
I had a blast today.

My accident was 08/13, so 9 weeks tomorrow. I’m really happy with how fast every injury has healed. I got off crutches 2 weeks ago, and got rid of my brace this week, per the PT orders the knee ortho wrote. Doing the PT on my own has been easy and frees up the 2 weeknight evenings it would have taken.

I think I never would healed this quickly if I hadn’t been in reasonably good physical shape and been going to the gym 4-5 times a week to do strength and cardio both.

The one thing this accident really drove home is how vital core strength is. I hated doing ab workouts above all, because they were hard for me and usually painful, either during or after. But, with multiple injuries, other parts of my body had to pick up the slack for leg, shoulder and hand that were out of commission. I could really feel how much movement and power my core area had to supply to get around on crutches with no weight at all on my broken leg. I told my trainer that I really understood now what he meant about how important core strength is to everything else.

In 1986 we moved to SW FL to get away from the FREEZING TEMPERATURES in the winter. I had to keep our brass monkey inside, along with myself, on those freezing days and nights. Had I been diagnosed with Prostate Cancer back then we might never have moved here. Sitting on 480.3 miles since Monday and heading out tomorrow for some more. 130 on Thursday and 103 today. Gotta love this NICE RIDING WEATHER.

I am going to challenge myself to ride a lot more this winter. It’s a lot of extra work prepping for each ride, trying to determine the right combination of layers of clothes to stay warm, dry and comfortable. But there really is something special about riding in snow, cold, wind and darkness. It’s a feeling of being totally alone and free, able to tune out everything except for the ride, to a depth I can’t quite aproach in the warm-weather months, because the isolation, literally no one else on the trail the entire time, usually isn’t there, and snow falling muffles the sound of moving traffic on the nearby roads.

At 66, I can ride a flat century (no hills in my area) or more with no pain at all. Of course some minor discomfort, like feeling I'm sitting on a saddle after 3-4 hours, and maybe my legs feel a little stiff while descending stairs that night, but nothing more than that. My longest distance ride was 365 kms, longest time 16 hours. Felt tired the day after, but no pain.

I have a clothing spreadsheet which goes back years. with columns for temperature, weather, and then clothing on torso, legs, feet, and hands, and a column for each with the result. I look at the forecast and put on what worked before. It is something special, being inside the perfect clothing. People probably look at me and think I'm nuts, but I'm comfortable and having a great time.

That makes my OCD look like flighty improvisation.
I get some good natured guff from the guys that I ride with about the winter/wet bike w/ full mudguards, a bag permanently stuffed w/ a rain jacket and room for my best-guess for layers to don/dump as required. Without a follow car to hand up kit a self supported cyclist riding in changeable/indifferent weather may avoid discomfort of a different sort by fitting out as British Audax riders have for the last century.

It's 65F, a front blew through overnight, the roads are wet, a North wind is blowing 10-15 mph and the weather radar looks clear. Off on the winter/wet bike for a couple of hours.

-Bandera

Pain on wheels is a never ending topic that soon loses focus.

To me pain is a great thing until it gets to the Devouring Monster stage. When mine got there it was a choice between barrels of narcotics and suicide. I chose drugs. Then I decided to have surgery, even though extremely risky. Surgery went well and I became essentially pain free and nearly full functioning.

Note that I said I decided. Legally, and actually, the individual is responsible for all decisions as long as they are mentally competent. The first step in pain(and health) management is to care enough for your own body to spend the effort necessary to understand your body, and to be able to interpret what the professionals tell you. A person's health and fitness is the sole responsibility of that person. The fix me doc but I don't want to know anything doesn't fly any more. The doc will do something, appropriate or not, but have you sign away liability.

Just like no one expects a weight lifter to do gymnastics, your body type drives your comfort level on a bike. You are welcome to play. But it is going to hurt.

Look at the machine you are riding. Mostly, with no or limited suspension every little shock is transmitted to and absorbed by the body. Over time that wears on a person. Some people can train out of that, some can't. It is like trauma. Some people can know the trauma is coming and just absorb it, some can't.

Some people will say changing machines, say from upright to recumbent, is "the answer". Nonsense. It is the answer for some people, but not all. So the religious fervor should be put back in the box.

Bottom line is we ride machines that are not designed for comfort, let alone pain free operation. Some can overcome that and ride for varying lengths of time. Some can't.

moth54 approves of this message.

I spend time in the pool, time on my bike, time skating (although I'm spooked since breaking my arm last winter) and time hiking, and I consider these to be complementary to each other. The pool time works out my shoulder (still recovering from break, so the ligament involved whines a bit), the hiking and skating use different leg muscles than cycling and vice versa, and most importantly, are weight bearing exercises, and the cycling forces me to be aware of my core. I am a strong believer in varying the kinds of activity I participate in. My motto is, if you can't avoid discomfort, you can always vary your discomfort. A change is as good as a rest...

I think a rider in good condition that is not experiencing chronic pain, has a good fitting bike, with a comfortable saddle should be able to ride long distances without experiencing any significant pain.

I am 74 years old and just finished a 1400 mile self-supported tour last week. During that time I did not have any significant pain. Sure your butt gets tired, and shoulders start to tighten up, but that is not pain. Your bottom would get tired sitting in a desk chair for 6-7 hours. My wife and I put in a lot of miles before the ride, and our bikes fit really well. We are also in good shape, cycling year round, doing weight work, swimming and skiing in the winter. We also use saddles that are comfortable and are well broken in. I am very thankful that we are still able to do long rides.

However, everyone is different, and how their bodies handle the stresses of cycling long distances is also different.

Color me more than impressed. You're a beast! And you're like 103 years old or something aren't you?

Seriously, you are an inspiration.

There has been a lot on information on this thread, a whole lot of it really good. But this resonates with me as one of the most rooted in reality which I personally believe truly represents the reality of cycling long distances, especially in the over 50 crowd. It certainly reflects my own experiences and apparently, that of a number of other people as well. Kudos to @HawkOwl.

On Saturday, Rowan and I rode a century. It had been 7 weeks since our last century, and in those 7 weeks we hadn't done much in the way of long distance cycling. I also haven't been doing much in the way of core and upper body work.

So ... Saturday's century was a little bit more painful than our centuries usually are.

Being in shape does indeed make a difference.

If I understand the OP's question, it's specifically about unique pain facing distance cyclists over 50. Having ridden centuries from age 20 to 1200k brevets at 57, I suppose I have some perspective on the topic.

The accumulation of injuries, disease such as arthritis, and loss of pliability in connective tissue are a few of the ways time leads to pain. How pain free you can be will depend on your particular situation, how successfully you learn to adapt to them either with fit adjustments or behavior adjustments.

Among distance riders, figuring out the cause of discomfort is a favorite pastime. We try sandals then carbon-fiber shoes. We try wide soft tires, then narrow supple tires. Gel filled gloves then cork bar tape. The point is, when something hurts, try to figure out why. Part of riding longer and longer is figuring out the things you have to figure out in order to ride longer and longer.

Being stubborn is necessary to ride long distances. That stubbornness against ever riding a recumbent could be to your benefit - if you use it to find a way to finish, find a way to solve the pain, or to push through it. Or your stubbornness could be your undoing as a distance rider - if you use it to refuse whatever changes are necessary in order to finish.

So the answer is - maybe.

Seriously, THANK YOU, but not a "BEAST" at all simply a RETIRED guy whose wife of 44 years knows how much I enjoy riding and encourages me to the degree that she bought me a 2018 Roubaix Expert in July for my 67th birthday that finally came in last Wednesday that I immediately rode Thursday for 130 miles.

BTW, got my 26 miler in before bed last night and totaled 506 miles for the week. First time EVER and just the beginning. Got my 3 century rides last week and going to try for another 3 this week then working on 4 and then 5.

[MENTION=342923]OldTryGuy[/MENTION], do you have a Strava or RideWithGPS or similar page we can follow?

OldTryGuy is always making us feel small.

Typical post:

"I only did 637 miles Saturday because I had four-fifths of my body removed early in the morning and it took a while for the stitches to heal. Sunday I only did 1003 miles because I had chemo in the morning and had all my organs removed afterwards. Luckily I found time for a quick spin late that night, 440 miles at 39 miles per hour. I was pretty tired all weekend so I didn't push."