Jim from Boston

Well said. Since the OP is already inquiring, I'm reminded of a favorite saying, attributed to Buddha, I think, "When the Student is ready, the Teacher will appear."

"Patience, grasshopper."

BobbyG

Very true.

Helderberg

At 70 what I have found is if take some time off, holiday, etc, when I come back to riding I have a tougher time getting back to where I was. I also try not to go off a sensible diet, not a WW kind of diet just a daily thing, as I have a harder time losing the added weight. I have had to let my ego take the hit when a 50 year old goes by me on a 10% grade like I am stopped, but I am still moving. Reread all of the previous posts and figure at least half are going to impact you in some way over the next few years. And as a last point, I wish I knew at 47 what I know now about what was ahead for me. Be safe and ride and most of all have fun. Life goes by way to fast.
Frank.

BKE

You still have plenty of time to change this.
It really won't sink in until the big day gets here, and then when the next big one (60) gets here you'll really be scratching your head. Good luck!

Biker395 

That pretty much sums it up.

How well you do as you age depends three things:

1. Your genes.
2. How well you take care of yourself.
3. Sheer dumbass luck.

Go out and do what you've always wanted, while you can still do it. You never know when the day will come that you can't.

50 really didn't seem like that much of a milestone to me. I mean ... at 50, you can convince yourself that you are still middle-aged. It's the next decade where that goes out the window and you have to come to terms that you're an old fart.

A good friend of mine one told me:

"Vic, you'll live forever if you don't kill yourself first."

I won't live forever, but I plan to kill myself trying.

Cyclist0108

I think I will try this and show up three weeks late to the next class I teach.

caloso

Lousy genes and lucky so far, but for the most part I've been taking good care of myself. It's weird. On my dad's side of the family, the genes show a definite bias towards heart disease and substance abuse. And as a reaction to that most of the cousins in my generation are pretty fanatical about fitness, in a program, or like me, both. We all know we'll die, but we'll be a helluva lot healthier than our parents and grandparents when it happens.

rumrunn6

I had to find my own personal motivation. kinda need a boost right now. hoping the approaching summer will help

Biker395 

Same here. My Dad's side is iffy to say the least. Riddled with alcoholism and heart disease. My Mom's is the opposite. My grandparents lived (and well) until 89 and 100 years old, and all of their children are still alive and taking care of themselves at 90-95 years old. Personally, I see a sudden death. I think my last words are going to be "Oh s**t!"

BKE

Mine won't be quite so sudden but close. In my mind, when I occasionally have these thoughts it's, "Oh Shizza, this is going to hurt".

TimothyH

Everone wants to live well but few give a thought to dying well.

Most people are too scared of it to talk about it. It is the elephant in the room.

I've told my children that when my hour comes, don't fight it. Be at peace. Death is part of life. I hope to be given the grace to be at peace as well.

My father's final coherent words to me were, "Don't fight."


-Tim-

FiftySix

Life insurance is cheaper than health insurance or health care. My family knows I don't want to be a financial burden to them.

I hope they choose well when my time is near.

bargeon

When I turned 50 I was just getting used to being 40. Now I'm pushing 70 and I'm still not used to 50.

OldTryGuy

Prior to my cancer diagnosis I often thought about death regarding--- the when, the how, the what about after and would frequently have conversations with my wife about my feelings and her response would always be, "when the time comes you will change the way you are thinking." Well guess what??? Now that I have been diagnosed and live with the realization that my cancer will likely kill me, our conversations are of acceptance of things to come and she has changed her opinion of my sincerity regarding my chosen way to exit this world.

Conversations with those who are closest should be had sooner than later.

moto367

Good replies by all. Physically, I'm in great shape. I have thumbs up check ups every year through our wellness program at work. Blood profile is good as well. My life of racing off road motorcycles has given me a few of my aches and pains. I have L3,4 and 5 disc that give me issues but I've learned to manage that with staying active and limber (no drugs). I've been told that may be some of the reason why other things won't "rise to the occasion". My biggest issue now is the weight. I seem to gain much more easily and trying to figure how to adjust my eating and nutrition to compensate has been challenging.

What really sucks now is shortly after I initially posted my mom was diagnosed with a tumor on the stem of her brain. So it's been a very emotional roller coaster all week. She'll be heading to Cleveland very soon to have it removed. They suspect it's cancer but will do the biopsy once it's out. We are praying it's not. The images show nothing else throughout the body.

Thanks for all the replies and ride on!

FiftySix

Really sorry to hear that, Moto. I hope for the best.

_ForceD_

Say hello to my little friend.

fietsbob

I had my 50th birthday in Forres Scotland towards the end of a bike tour of the British Isles ,
starting in Dublin Ireland..

staying here at the time .. in '97

Linesider

Do what most of the old guys around here do and buy an inappropriate car. Preferably one that requires the engine to be removed for routine maintenance. I believe they come with a young blonde companion.

jdsyachts

Youngster!
I'm closing in on 70. I still ride quite a bit since it is the only exercise I am able to do - can't walk very well or run at all. Not nearly as strong as I once was so 3 months ago I broke down and got an ebike. I use the motor very little but it gets me through the rides when fatigue and pain get high. And I still enjoy getting on the bike 9000 miles last year and trying to equal that this year.
PS I still use my Trek Domane occasionally when it feels neglected, but my goto bike is now the Orbea Gain.

Senior Ryder 00 

You’re just a youngster. Keep putting in the miles, eating right and only worry about the important things.

Cheers,

Van - septuagenarian

stephr1

+1 about the lbs.

*** Wanted to add that the one thing I have noticed is that it seems much easier to gain weight and much, much harder to lose it. Same also goes for getting hurt and healing

Don't recall much change when I hit 50 (then again, that was too far back to remember much anyway Come back to me when you get to 60, or better yet, 65 (am now 66). Of course, by the time you hit my age, I'll have forgotten what it was like then....

I'm on a Mtn. Bike in the mornings for exercise. I have just recently increased my weekly ride distance to ~2,600 mi./yr. I had been doing ~1900 mi./yr. for quite some time.

What I have noticed is more aches and pains (tho, much greatly reduced from a few years ago). I have allowed that as an excuse a few times to not go riding. However, as I've come to realize, if I get on my bike and ride, I end up with the aches and pains pretty much going away (until the next morning

I have developed such a habit that, if I don't do my 3x a week morning ride, I feel both guilty and physically like I'm missing out on some exercise. Now it's hard for me to wake up and not be motivated to get out on a ride.

If you have the time, you might want to pick up some other kind of exercise (maybe x-training) to supplement the bike calories burning.

Depends on how you're wired, I suppose.....

notmyke

Went past the 50-mark a couple years ago and it pretty much came and went uneventfully (well, there was the epic ride the day after I turned 50 - had 500m to go to have averaged 40km/h on a rolling 50km ride, one corner to go...and well, you can guess the outcome - ouch!).


...10days later

Anyway, the thing I've noticed the last couple years is that I can still pile up the mileage and recover day-to-day or even within a day (15km run in the morning; 60km ride in the late afternoon) just fine, but my body wants / needs noticeably more sleep. Used to be that 7hrs. was more than enough, but now, left unchecked, my body will take 8 - 8.5hrs. any time that's an option.

Oh - and those bruises and road rash: instead of being gone in two weeks, they linger for months.

Turner2

I'll be sixty seven in two months. As you get older you have to work harder and be more consistent to maintain your fitness and strength. I do two 70+ mile rides a week, Thursday and Sunday. Along with strength, intensity, and recovery on the other days. You have to stay with it if you want to play with the younger riders.

drbarney1

I am 72 and I started using a bicycle again to pedal 6 to 7 miles each way into town to save gasoline after I quit my job because I could no longer afford the wage theft my supervisor was committing. It took me a few weeks to start getting used to it but after a few months it is now much easier.
I have been and I still am an amateur bodybuilder and this helps me when I have to use a bicycle to get my groceries or make a medical appointment. There are several free programs and some of modest price on line to guide you to get started with exercise and diet. Equipment such as dumbbells and workout benches at Walmart are cheaper than a gym membership but you might consider having a professional trainer help you if you want to splurge.