Adifferent noob post
 

Hello all. I have been reading this subforum for a long time. Lots of good info for 50+ cyclists. I have been reluctent to join and post because I seem to be on a different page from the vast majority here. I haven't ridden a bike for 22 years and even then I was only a recreational cyclist. I have read the suggestions for returning cyclists and it seems that the concenses is that returning cyclists should buy a junker and ride it until they figure out what they really want to ride. Could it be that the reason someone would sit out the market is because they already know what they want to ride but it isn't available?

I have pretty much decided to buy a 2008 model Dahon Glide P8. It represents a lot of compromises over what I would prefer but it suits my current circumstances....age 65...bad back and a serious dislike for "dumbrailers", along with the need for compact storage. It will be another month before the budget
allows for the purchase but in the mean time I am open for advice and suggestions. I just hope I haven't waited too long to get back into to riding.

reguards

James

Just do it.

Well just hang around here for the month while you wait, buy the bike and ride it!


Have you given any thought on accessorizing it? Helmet, lights, racks, jerseys, gloves?

Yes! lights and racks are buit in. i have never worn a helment but thanks to the good info here I will buy a Bell City....I need the visor in my wet rainy climate.

Welcome James. Ya ain't getting younger are Ya? ;) I know folks in their 70's and yes 80's (2) who still ride. I will be 61 in jun and I'm still doing Time trials. [/I]

I wish! I won't be doing time trials on this one. Just being out and about will be a huge improvement.

Reguards

James

Thank you. Right on advice...I hope it works.

Reguards

James

We all buy just what we want. At least you have given some careful thought to what you need. You'll like being out and about. My first few weeks back about 6 years ago led me to believe that a 4 mile ride was a marathon. Fortunately it wasn't.

Post pictures when you get the bike. Let us know how much fun your having. Buy waterproof clothes!........:)

Riding has helped my back. It needs exercise.
I am 65 years old, My 83 road bike is fun to ride.
Smile when you ride that new bike.

As far as being 65 and having a bad back. I doubt that it is too late. Most people find riding to be good for their back if they ease into it and ride regularly with out overdoing in the beginning. Quite a few people ride regularly on into their 80s.

My parents started riding again at about your age and they also had back problems. They found it to be a great thing for them. I think it enhanced their lives immeasurably.

All that waiting- a whole month- 4 weeks- 28 days!!!!!!

How are you going to last out?


Go for it.

Buy it.

Your first bike will never be your last bike, despite what you may think now.

Go to it and get riding.

Agreed, just getting out to get some fresh air will help let you know that you made the right decision. And as has been start slow aand let it grow on ya...
peace

Welcome.

Do whatever it takes to get those wheels under you.

I started back into riding BECAUSE of a bad back. I can't run anymore but I can ride all day long. It's just a wonderful life when you can do that.

Welcome, SloJim. I ride in your area and -- after riding all winter -- it's starting to feel like summer! Should be in the low 50's this weekend...maybe the worst of winter is over?

I commute to work from the Eastside to downtown Seattle and just yesterday ran across a guy commuting on in from Mt. Baker to downtown on a Dahon. Nice bike!

I don't know much about folding bikes, but my favorite shop in Seattle, Elliott Bay Cycles down by Pike Market, just started carrying the Reach, which looks like a nice bike. However, it has derailleurs. The other big dealer of folding bikes in town is apparently Folding Bikes West but I haven't been up to see them.

If I can answer any questions about the local bike scene, let me know -- also check out the Northwest community forum here at BikeForums. And, there is a great library of suggested bike riding routes (from mild to wild) at the Cascade Bicycle Club website.

Welcome SloJim! We won't hold it against you that you already know what you want. :)

I'm with the others: Go for it! Life is short.

I don't think your situation is so different from many I've seen here. A lot of advice to get a used bike, etc. is because a lot of us are not suffficiently certain of our ability to get back into riding, or we are simply poor folks (like me;)

I don't have a bad back, but a heart condition made me uncertain if I could really do anything bike-wise, so I started by fixing up an old bike I had and then, when I was sure I was going to be able to stick with it, I bought a new bike more fitted to my intended use.

I looked up the Dahon Glide, and it looks like a pretty good deal for someone starting out. Everything you need in one little package, and compact at that!

Bad back can mean a whole lot of things. At 65 I am guessing you want to ride for health reasons. You're going to come to grips with the normal aches and pains of any exercise activity and bike riding will have them. Don't allow that to discourage you. The release of endorphines from bike riding will get you to a level of aerobic fitness that will make you feel 10 years younger.

In your corner, get a good professional bike fitter. Good fitters know a lot about aches and pains. Good fitters do like a history and physical evaluation first. Its unfortunate that bike fitters aren't covered by Medicare. Maybe we can get AARP to lobby for it.

Biking is a means and not and end. As a kid I never had a geared bike. So drop the "dumbrailer" talk.

I just hope I haven't waited too long to get back into to riding.



It is never too late, and there is nothing wrong with recreational riding. Go for it you won't regret it.

Well, you can't start yesterday. The rest of your life is a journey that you have to start from wherever you happen to be this very minute. Just make sure that your next step is in whatever direction you want to go.

As most of the people here have already said, just start where you are and go from there. The Big Deal is that you get on the bike and ride! It won't take long to focus on what appeals to you, and pretty soon you are completely into it. I am a life-long bike rider, but (looking back over a lot of years) I don't think it really matters when you start riding. Your life and your outlook will change - for the better. Just do it... and have a great time!

I have it on good authority that maddmaxx can do a decade now, without stopping. :D

Welcome James. 18 months ago I was only slightly ahead of where you are now. I had ridden very lightly over the past 15 years, but really hardly at all. Then I pulled out my old bike and attempted a 4 mile ride. It nearly killed me. Had to get off due to intense pain 2 or 3 times.

Others in the group have come from close to that same place. Do not assume at all that this group is made up exclusively of people who have been riding regularly since they were pre-teenagers.

Feel free to ask any question at all. Or to report the most humble of progress. Many of us have been there in recent history.

I've ridden a couple of Dahon's but have never seen the Glide P8 before looking it up just now. Nice looking bike with lots of quality parts. If that works for you, then go for it.

Thanks for all the encouraging posts. I am a "world class" procrastinator so it really helps.

I was going to have a Salsa El Mariachi frame-set built up last year, but then the L-5 vertabra bulged and caused serious pain all the way down my left leg. My chiropractor got the bike money...ironic that he would suggest walking as an exercise :) He also gave me info on stretching exercises to do and asked me if I knew what an inversion table was. Pain is a great motivator...I spent the $$$ and got the table that allows me to hang up-side down and stetch the spine the other way. Actually he suggested no more than a 50 degree angle and no more than 5 minutes at a time. It was money well spent!!! My back is way way way better now...only a litte pain if I stand still too long. I still wouldn't want to try thowing my leg over a bike yet...hense the step-through frame Glide P8.

Thanks Again.


James