Starting Over
 

At 66, I'm starting over again. I used to ride My bike everywhere. Due to some major injuries, I haven't seriously riden in 20 years! I've jumped on My ole bike and rode around the block a few times, but that's about it. My Dr is fully behind Me riding again. I know I have to go slow, and I'll never ride like I did. I'm refitting My bike now. It will be a few days before, I know if I can ride at all. I'm sure going to try.

So great to get back on the bike! Enjoy whatever you can now!

Best of luck getting back in the saddle. And welcome to BF.

Welcome back.

The secret to keeping it going is keeping it fun.

I started over a couple of times, and the most recent break was due to health issues. However, because my health care provider declared two wheel biking was much too dangerous because of the risk of crashing, I thought my life was in effect, over. But my orthopedist said to check out recumbent trikes. I did so, and made a fairly quick recovery with the aid of e-assist. You might not think you would ever want to ride a trike, as I did not. But situations change and you might need to consider alternatives. Because riding is better than not riding.

Congrats. Cycling can prolong your life but better than that it can make the rest of your life feel good.

I predict a rekindling of a beautiful friendship.

2nd the 'keep it fun' sentiment. That often means riding to something fun. Pub crawls? The 6 Dairy Queen route? Coffee? The Pie Shop stop?
I recently joined the YMCA (free w Medicare), 12 mi round trip with no bars, no Dairy Shops (Baskins Robbins is gone) and no bakeries. Just the seasonal outdoor produce and flower market.

My Ex, and I always ended up at a Ice cream shop somewhere!! Sometimes it was the best part of the ride.

Congratulations on getting back in the saddle again.

Like you, I'm in my 60s and have had injuries that preclude a lot of my old activities. Cycling, though, is one of those low-impact exercises that is accessible.

Picked up an inexpensive 1990s Trek MTB and refitted the components to better-match my goals ... and it's been a reliable workhorse ever since. I don't push hard, and I let the ride take me wherever. I listen to my body's limitations, and I concede the point whenever it begins to "bark" at me. Lots of enclosed spaces (large parks) and MUPs around, in my area, though none that start at my home's door. That plus the gym is about what I can do. The doc's on-board with it, as it's low-impact and can be effective. Wish I could push harder, but the injuries ensure that'll never happen in this lifetime. And that's okay. Made peace with it a long time ago.

For love of the ride. :thumb:

I've started over a couple of times, too. Just keep riding. I, too, recommend riding for fun more than for anything else.

I have to keep telling myself, 'I'm riding my ride to reach my goals,' because I get passed so often.:)

Off to a slow start, bottom bracket gave out. Soon to be replaced, and I'm off and riding.

Keep going
 

I am in a similar situation as you, I rode a lot then got ill and had 4 major surgeries that kept me off the bike for a few years, then had a fall where I broke 4 ribs. Dr said I had to wear a hard shell rib protector to ride again, cause if a fell one of the my ribs was pointing at my lung. I did not heed that advice. Then the herniated discs in my neck acted up. At that point I converted my touring bike to tourist bars and my neck issues were way better. I generally only rode around the neighborhood so I'm not back 100%. But today I spent all day sorting out the bike with new wheels and tires. The rode a little bit it felt great. The last month or so I have felt well enough to get excited about cycling for real, again. I'll try to keep it up, I hope you do too. It takes baby steps sometimes.

The hardest part of every bike ride for me - is the 'getting out the door'. After that = it's all smiles. (about 99% of the time)

So, ... my answer is setting everything up the night before and possibly having a destination or goal or friend or group.

I go back regularly to nice places:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e4cd53813.jpeg

For many restarters there are a few weeks of discomfort while your body gets used to the saddle again, so remember that happens to many and don't give up if it happens.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...55f58aff0.jpeg

last year I met Bill Metzger while riding a section of the GAP

Bill has quite a story (and a great sense of humor to accompany)

Bill is in his 70’s - rides a hand powered recumbent

Bill has MS - also had cardiac bypass surgery

he has over 30K miles on the recumbent


https://paparksandforests.org/the-zen-of-the-trail/


https://www.greatalleghenypassagecom...et-bill.html#/

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Take things slowly, and have fun!

A lot of great recommendations on this thread. I couldn’t agree more. Just keep moving at whatever speed it is. I started riding more again this year for health reasons as well. Wish you only the best and enjoy the ride!

Harumph!
Best of Luck!

I am looking at my own restart after two new hips and a pacemaker.
Shopping for new spd shoes.

fat biker

Whet in for a check up. My blood pressure was high enough for a ride to the ER. Spent the day there watching My BP slowly come down. I'm on Medication now, and was told to loos some weight, and exercise more. I told the Doctor, "You don't have to tell Me twice". So I'm riding more intensly.

It's not easy to start over. I'm 13 years older, had to take a couple years off with heart issues, back at it again. It is said that it takes 7 years of training for a rider to achieve max possible aerobic ability. There' s a little "however" in there though. Past our mid-60s, we start to decay a bit even training as hard as we can. Every year is worse. So you'll be battling that at the same time as you're trying to improve. What'll happen is that every year you ride, you'll improve your fitness w/r to those who don't ride. And that's a big deal! The gap between you and your age population will increase.

What worked for me at your age was decreasing portion sizes. The fact is that as we age we simply cannot burn calories at the same rate we used to, no matter how hard we train. So we have to eat less. I now eat less than half what I ate 20 years ago and I still have more belly fat than I'd like to. As we age, for some reason our bodies want to deposit belly fat. Bummer.

A very important part of getting it back is going to the gym twice a week for 60-90 minutes each, doing full body workouts, say 3 sets of 12 reps, the last set to exhaustion. One day I do pulling exercises, the other pushing. The deal is that muscle burns fat and muscle loss is a serious problem as we age. Sarcopenia. So our #1 priority is to increase muscle mass. To get those muscles to burn fat, we get on the bike and ride. You'll want some sort of bike computer so you can see how much you ride. Try to increase your weekly mileage by about 5%/week until you get to 100 miles. This combo will drive your BP down, absolutely. Get a BP device. I use an Omron, take it twice a day. That way you can get mental rewards for keeping at it. My BP is always crazy high at the doctor's office, mostly because I enjoy talking to the lovely doctor's assistants who take my BP. My BP at home is real. At some point, you'll be able to get off the BP meds.

Thank You for the advice. Unfortunatley with My injuries, I can' do very much at a gym. That is the hard part, but I'm trying to do what I can. I started checking My BP twice dailey, and it's coming down. We now believe it is a side affect of another medication. I will be off that medication in Oct. So that's My goal, keep BP down until then and see what happens. I'm not a big eater anymore, foods do not taste the same know, and I don't like to cook.
I am buying beef , and chicken from a local farmer, along with My veggies. It has made a big difference.
I'm riding a beat up old 1997 GT MTN bike for the moment. The G Fisher is too big. My bikes restoration is taking forever, I'm upgrading a few things as I go. Yeah I like old Iron !!!!!

Any updates?

Yes, I finished the rebuild of My MTN bike. I started to ride it, and an old 3 speed I have. I'm not riding very far just in and around the neighborhood. It's been fun, finding new muscle groups, and feeling the wind in My face again. I still have to take it easy until My lungs clear up, but I can feel them getting better.

Welcome back to riding. PS, your bike enjoys the attention.