Doing It My Way (senior biking)
01-03-07, 04:32 PM
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Doing It My Way (senior biking)
Now that I am a senior biker (age 65 next month) , I can do it my way:
I wear jeans, not spandex
I go 10 mph on the bike trails as everyone else whizzes by me. I'm not in competition with anybody.
I don't count miles. I don't look at my watch. When I get tired, I just turn around. I have nothing to prove.
I look at the water and the birds and the people. If I see something interesting, I stop and gaze, looking like an old fool.
I ride in the rain if I want. My teenage kids tell me I'm nuts. But I'm in better shape than either one.
If I come to work smelling bad, I'm just an eccentric (as long as they don't mistake me for homeless.)
If it's cold, I put on plastic bags around my feet like an old lady.
I feel great, and I've never enjoyed life so much. (Pity the young.)
Mike Doan
Arlington, Va.
I wear jeans, not spandex
I go 10 mph on the bike trails as everyone else whizzes by me. I'm not in competition with anybody.
I don't count miles. I don't look at my watch. When I get tired, I just turn around. I have nothing to prove.
I look at the water and the birds and the people. If I see something interesting, I stop and gaze, looking like an old fool.
I ride in the rain if I want. My teenage kids tell me I'm nuts. But I'm in better shape than either one.
If I come to work smelling bad, I'm just an eccentric (as long as they don't mistake me for homeless.)
If it's cold, I put on plastic bags around my feet like an old lady.
I feel great, and I've never enjoyed life so much. (Pity the young.)
Mike Doan
Arlington, Va.
01-03-07, 06:04 PM
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Fantastic!! Hope to see you out on the road or trails one day.
01-03-07, 06:51 PM
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If you're ever in sunny Charlottesville, lemme know. We'll go for a spin.
01-03-07, 07:14 PM
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Boy, there sure isn't enough of this kind of thinking going on out there. The rides get better when you have nothing to prove. More important, riding a little slower gives me the time it takes to dump all my worries out on the side of the trail. Racing is too frenetic for this kind of thing. What I need to worry about will still be there at home, but all the rest will stay in the trailside ditch where they belong. Things get sorted out quite nicely. bk
01-03-07, 07:37 PM
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Originally Posted by dcbiker
Now that I am a senior biker (age 65 next month)
...
My teenage kids tell me ...
...
My teenage kids tell me ...
01-03-07, 09:41 PM
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Sounds like you are doing great Mike. Having a lot of fun and in great shape as well. What more could a guy ask for?
What more could a guy ask for?
01-04-07, 12:19 AM
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Hey Mike, I like your thinking! I just turned 63 and lately, everytime I go for a ride I pass on the high dollar road racing machine and opt for my old hardtail mountain bike with slick tires...it's the perfect bike for the type of riding you described. Don't know if I can part with the Spandex though, it's just too comfortable! But thanks for reminding me what bicycling should be all about.
01-04-07, 06:18 AM
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Originally Posted by dcbiker
Now that I am a senior biker (age 65 next month) , I can do it my way:
Mike Doan
Arlington, Va.
Mike Doan
Arlington, Va.
Good on you (have you beat by 2.5 years, though).
Been there, doing that.
01-04-07, 11:33 AM
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I really like that idea: Dumping all of your worries onto a trailside ditch. And leaving them there.
01-04-07, 11:38 AM
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You said you teenage kids and you are talking about dumping all your worries onto a trailside ditch... That isn't legal is it? 
I love days when I just fill up the camelback, throw some snickerbars in and take plenty of money and go riding. No schedule, no hurry, just enjoying the scenery.
I love days when I just fill up the camelback, throw some snickerbars in and take plenty of money and go riding. No schedule, no hurry, just enjoying the scenery.
