[QUOTE=HM70;22082828] Thanks for reminding me, Must take Blood pressure medicine. :o

I'm 69. In this group, I don't think that gets me much.

I'm 68, and feel like a young 'un around here lol

Going to be 70 soon . I try to ride everyday , but my average rides are around 5-6 miles . A 10+ mile ride is a long ride for me , and I can usually only do one per week .
Would love to ride longer , but my body says no .
My longest ride ever was 47 miles and that was about 10 years ago . Took me days to recover . LOL .

I have the free Strava app and it works fine. Will soon have a Garmin 830 and Garmin Connect. I am intrigued by a premium function of Strava that would allow someone to track me on a ride. Social media and groups have no utility for me, but it sounds handy for my wife to recover me if I have a negative experience on the bike somewhere. Anybody have any suggestions on a good way for a wife to track an old duffer as he wobbly pedals away from homebase?

Mike

How about a simple tracking device you just throw in your pocket? This is one I found after doing a quick simple search, but looks good to me.
Tracking device

Ballenx, that looks great but the way I read it you must also sign up for a monthly plant from $18-45 per month for it to work.

Mike

plan, not plant

$18 to $45 per month? Yeah, that would be no. Sorry bout that. :o

take, Aleve...?

... and, possible side benefit, quote -
Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) protect against the development of colorectal cancer by inducing cell suicide pathways in intestinal stem cells that carry a certain mutated and dysfunctional gene, according to a new study led by resear usechers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer ...Nov 3, 2014

NSAIDs prevent colon cancer by inducing death of intestinal stem cells ...

It is my opinion that just carrying any cell/smart phone on your rides should be sufficient. Any first responder can access your "In Case of Emergency" (ICE) info if someone finds you sick or injured along the way and there's plenty of tracking apps you can put on your phone that don't cost extra so your wife and or 911 can locate you if you don't return home within minutes of your wife's predetermined return time (who would ever do such a thing, right?). Certainly not I.
And I just turned 65 in May thus my subscribing to this thread.
Hi folks!

I just had my annual physical and on reviewing the meds I take, my doctor expressed concern about taking oral NSAIDs on a regular basis to deal with my arthritis while riding (hands, neck, and shoulders). Apparently there is a risk of kidney damage, increasing with age (I'm 66). Instead, she suggested topical diclofenac for reduced systemic side effects. It helps, particularly with my hand discomfort, less so with the shoulders and neck. At this point, I can go for about 2-1/2 to 3 hours before the misery sets in. That has ruled out any century rides for me.

That said, I'm signed up for a 50 mile ride tomorrow (longest ride so far this year, although I did do 47 miles last week on my fixed gear), and the first group ride I've done in about a year and a half. 50 miles should be right on the threshold I've been able to tolerate this year. I may throw caution to the wind and take some naproxen before the ride, "just this once." :)

I took diclofenac NSAIDs for four years after my cancer surgery because it was the first thing I’d ever taken that would give me relief from my arthritis. But I developed an allergy to NSAIDs and the doctors took me off all of them including Advil , mainly because they were afraid they would damage my liver .
Now it’s Tylenol, and Turmeric supplements that help some .

I would - Aleve hasn't fried my kidneys and I take BP meds that also are cleared by the kidneys (had my exam Wed.) but, stay within the dosage on the packaging which is one pill every 12 hours or, if you haven't been using any at all... two capulets followed by one every 12 hours. I don't go near Tylenol cuz I save the liver for two glasses of red wine (everyone knows, there's only two glasses in a bottle)...

75 and not ashamed of any biking I do. I ride for a little exercise and some enjoyment. I no longer record or report miles.

75 now. Ride three times a week, either my road bike or my gravel bike. Typical rides 15-35 miles, I love hills, live in Oakland where I go out my door and have great uphill rides for miles. Just did a great mountain trail downhill last week on my gravel bike, it was GREAT. I was scared to death on one stretch, the fast steep, rocky downhill only two feet wide with a 20 foot drop to a rocky creek bed. I just retired after decades of riding motorcycles on the track, and that downhill was scarier.

John, I take indomethacin (NSAID) irregularly when needed when my knee blows up and it does wonders for my arthritis or back trouble but that is a pleasant side effect of dealing with the knee. I know for me and others taking a NSAID on an "as needed" basis they work best if they are used at the first sign of pain and that if wait to make sure I really need it it does not work as well. So I gotta believe taking it prophylactically is a good plan in your case.

Oh, and thanks for the tip on the guidonnet levers.

I'm 76 and counting. I try to get three or more rides each week.
At least one of 60 km on our RailTrail. That usually makes for a speedy ride. Today I took my old Bianchi Nyala (3x7 gearing nd no suspension) on a much hillier 60 km route. Total climb 746 metres but that was on pavement, max grade 11%. Yeah the downhills were also great.:50:

It will be a rest day and for the next few days cycling will be shorter and very early.
Heat warning for the seniors "consume enough liquids and stay in a cool place!". For me that means tinkering in the cool garage ( 20°C) or reading.

I am 74 and also am not ashamed to say that I ride for enjoyment and always have (hence my moniker), without a desire/need to record or document my rides or compare/compete, formerly or informally, with strangers (or myself.)

Reading too many posts from the "Serious Cyclists" on the 50+ list could lead a person into believing that the enjoyment of cycling, even for those well past 50+ years old requires an OC-type concern about mileage and speed, peer approved clothing and equipment, setting and achieving fitness or cycling "goals", and in general, a seeming fear of being "dropped" in cycling status by strangers and/or the aging process.

As the saying goes "to each his own and a bit more for me" :ride:

Precisely. I don't think this can be said any better. It covers it all and with no extra words or exaggeration. It's something I've been waiting for someone else to say here. True for me at 76 and was true at 26.

Silver Sneakers exercise classes--do you participate in these? My wife and I do, free through our Medicare Advantage plan. Now, I'm only 70 and she's a bit younger, but surprised how much fitter we are than others in attendance. I've almost always been an active cyclist, with maybe a few years in between at times. Do you notice, if you attend SS, that you are generally more fit than the group?

It reminds me of the time back in '85 when I skied the Swiss XC marathon called "Engadiner" — 42 K with a lot of flat terrain across the frozen lakes. One of the competitors, staying at the same hotel, commented/asked how I would make out with my "rustic equipment". My reply was "Let's discuss that after tomorrow's race!".
He finished 8 minutes behind me, all that super-duper gear didn't make him faster. :D
Full disclosure, another guest at the hotel lend me a pair of poles that were "slightly longer" than mine and certainly helped. :lol:

Yes. However, I don't take any classes - I just utilize the free gym membership and visit the stationary bikes at Planet Fitness. I do this only when weather is bad, or the days are too hot. While there, I spin "easily" at about 85 rpm on one of their recumbents, and I'm a couple levels fitter than most others there, even the young 'uns. (I'm 68)

I completely agree. I'm at the point that if I just go out and ride, it's very enjoyable. I don't miss the days when I was obsessed with the stats. I do keep track of heart rate and time however. But I figure if ya don't like it, why do it? I don't care about my watts any longer. I just like the breeze in my hair - - -

I don’t think enjoying a ride and documenting mileage, etc. have to be mutually exclusive.

You're right, however sometimes they can be. I think it depends on the individual. I have over 33 years of hand-written bicycle log books, which I very much love to look at from time to time - they bring back memories, and help me tactically plan for the future based on past experiences. But now, especially as I have aged, I love to ride the Trike without all the detail - just for the sake of the ride. There's something refreshing about going back to just riding -

I’m curious about where you ride in El Pas. My parents lived there for many years, so I know the city fairly well.

It's probably better to ask where I rode, since balance issues and age have placed me on a Trike. 😊

My favorite commute rides in town are usually between the east side and downtown. East of Bassett Center, it's easy to "neighborhood" through town without having to ride on a main street - and then west of Bassett I would usually ride the rest of the way downtown on Yandell or Wyoming. My favorite workout rides were, in order: 1. From the entrance to Hueco Tanks on Montana up the hill past the Border Patrol station, then back in; 2. Transmountain Road, either up the west side (not as steep) or the eastside; 3. Of course, Scenic Drive. I also used to ride between El Paso and Las Cruces on the various farm roads, and then I had one long loop - from my home on the eastside north on Loop 375, through Northeast ELP to War Road (called Martin Luther King Blvd now), north into New Mexico, west through Anthony Gap, then back around the Franklins and home. I think it may have been around 70 miles, but it was a long time ago. El Paso's a great cycling town - have you ever had a chance to ride around here?

I live in the Cielo Vista area right now, and take the Trike out on park MUPs, my favorite being Edgemere Park.