I'm 65, been riding forever. I come from bicycle riding stock. My late Grandpa rode bikes until he was in his 70's. He built us bikes when we were kids. He was a true utility type rider. He took his bike fishing not far from his house, and of course errands.. I'm trying to keep the bicycling thing going. My oldest boy (40) is into downhill mountain biking. His 2 bikes cost more than a lot of cars do. lol. I carried my mountain bikes on the ships with me during my 20 years of USCG Service. I've ridden in 29 countries. There was always someone to go riding with when we pulled into Port. I sure miss that. Even with 2 total knee replacements, fused ankle, fractured back and all kinds of other structural problems duw to being a heavy equipment mechanic I still enjoy my seat time, and love working on, maintaining, and customizing my bikes to my needs.

I had a 'senior moment' followed by a 'moment of clarity'. And a decent, normal ride.

Spent an hour getting ready to ride: dressed, all the tools, pump tires, water bottle, etc. Left cell phone on charger and reading glasses next to it.

A few miles in = Moment of mild Senior Panic. (actually more, 'awww, shat')

Then I remembered -

Before cell phones we did this risky sport every time with no communications or safety net.

Haha?

Riding without a cell phone?! Almost as frightening as riding without: electronic shifting, hydraulic brakes, v-brakes, GPS, carbon frame/components, clipless pedals, 1x systems with pie plate sized low cog, etc. (feel free to add). Just a bunch of good ole riders on good ole bikes havin" a good ole time!

Old guy, old bike(s). Makes perfect sense to me. ;)

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...64e3d788_c.jpg

need a cell phone or, how would I get on the guest network at the local brewhouse after a ride...?

I rode to the West Coast from my home in North Carolina this summer — 68 years old — without a cell phone because my wife and I just resisted them all these years. But after that trip, I decided to throw in the towel and get us both iPhones. Yesterday, I returned from a ten day rambling trip from home to the Atlantic coast and back to make it a two coast summer. The iPhone made the trip much easier. I was able to find grocery stores. I made a reservation for a campsite after I arrived at the state park and found that you can only get a site with a reservation. And, instead of making sure to make a Visa purchase every day so that wifey could track me, I just sent a text saying, “I’ll be camped at Howell Woods” or wherever.

On top of all that, I used an app called MapOut and it found some wonderful roads that I wouldn’t have found on my own. In fact, I came upon some hunters exercising their dogs on a quiet gravel road. They asked where I was coming from and where I was going. When I told them, they said, “How in the world did you find this road?” They were tracking their dogs with GPS collars and cell phones, but they were dumbfounded when I pointed to my phone and said, “The phone found it.”

I sure liked the pre-phone days, but I think they are behind me now.

When some dip**** less than 65yo messages this sub forum, just ignore him.

Hey all. I just turned 65 today, and am officially a senior citizen. I stated riding again a few years ago after I retired. I first bought a Cannondale Adventure. rode it for a year and then sold it and bought a Trek Verve 3. Now I want something else. I test rode a trek Checkpoint just a few days ago. Rode about 3 miles on it. It was certainly faster than my Verve. Just don't know if I would like a bike like that long term. Its the first bike with drop bars that I have rode. Now I'm looking at possibly a Canyon Grizl AL 7. I just don't know if I will find a bike with drop bars comfortable. Have any of you gone from flat bars to drops at this age, and liked it better? I do not do any road riding, but mostly rail trails which is crushed limestone, and light gravel, with some being asphalt. Most of my rides are in the 20 to 50 mile range. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

When we moved in 2003 (I was 52), my wife and I only rode mtn.bike trails and rail-trails. Not near as many in our current location, so in 2006 (55 y.o.) we bought drop bar road bikes. I'm 71 now and mostly ride the drop bar road bike. Still own the flat bar mtn bike, but I broke my wrist 4 months ago and doc has asked me to forgo the mtn.bike for a while. Have done a couple of short road rides without a problem. You may find the drop bars even more comfortable than flat. I think you will feel "different" but shouldn't take long to adjust. Sounds like you may be a candidate for a gravel bike--might want to try one at the LBS.

Turned 78 yesterday. About two miles from home realized I'd put on long pants (37 degrees) but forgot the padded underwear. Guess my old butt is tough, finished 28 miles and can still sit in a chair without pain.

If all of your riding is on roads or hard dirt trails don't let them sell you a front shock. It is unnecessary added weight and complexity unless you are planning on hardcore off roading, in which case full suspension because the load is greater on the rear wheel in all riding.

I have two bikes with drop bars and two with flat bars. I find the drop bars give me more hand placement options even though I ride mostly on the hoods and almost never all the way down in the drops. I'm 78 so flexibility is an issue. Flat bars seem to give me fewer problems with numb hands. I don't understand why.

Thanks, but yes I don't want a bike with front fork suspension. My Cannondale had it and I didn't really need or or like it. I agree its unnecessary weight, and not practical for the type of riding I do.

Hand numbness is one of the things I was worried about going to drop bars.

Only you know what brings your numbness on. For me with arthritis the more hand positions with drop bars the better I handle it and I use anti-vibration gloves ( made
for jack hammers) which are much better than bicycle gloves for me.

for the hands, happy with using bar gel and a second wrap on the tops of drop bars... almost like having Grab Ons...

To drop or not drop. That's the question.
 

For four years, I rode a flat bar Trek FX, but I also altered the cockpit quite a bit; along with a road cassette in the rear. In addition to slamming the stem, I cut down the handlebars to about 46cm; shortened the grips and added bar ends. All of which made me quite a bit more aero than otherwise. The downside of that flat bar bike was the thumb shifters, which I grew to detest, making me long for the shifters you'd find on a drop bar bike. And so, more recently I did buy a Trek Domane. Love the shifters. Other than that, if I had my druthers, I'd revert back to the flat bar bike. But not because of anything other than the undeniable fact that, all other things being 'equal' (the transmission being key) a flat bar bike is just less costly than a drop bar. But then, even with the Domane, I'm really NOT a follower of the crowd. My Domane has a kick stand. So I can park it standing up, anywhere. AND. I have a dropper post, so I can drop the seat when it's time to dismount. Lets me swing my leg over the seat in a way that I don't fall on my geriatric rear end.

Unlike you, though, all of my riding was and is on pavement. Don't have much use for gravel or dirt. So, there's that. Point I'm getting at is that if you're not unhappy with the notion of a flat bar bike, but you still feel the need to be more aero, you can achieve a lot of that with some bike mods that don't set you back too very much.

'
Curious
Why don`t you like the Trek anymore?

I guess its not that I dislike the Trek. I do like the bike, and I have added extras to it. LIke a Duotrap sensor, rear rack, fenders, Brooks saddle, the Ergon bar ends with the extended bar end grip. I have already taken those off the grip wasn't long enough to support my thumb position, and I found when I placed my hands on the upright extensions, I would keep them there for just a short time. The tires the Verve comes with suck. they felt so big and clunky, after the first 40 miles I changed them and put Marathons on. . I doubtt I would sell my Verve. I guess I was just looking for something different to try. I just don't know yet if i want to spend 1500 to 2000 dollars just to try something different i may not like. So I was just getting a feel for what others thought that have ridden both drop and flat bars. The 3 miles I test rode the checkpoint. I wasn't impressed, but then I don't think the fit was just right for me. It was a 58cm frame, and I think a 56 would have fit me better.

I have and like both styles of bars. The ebike has flat bars with ergon gp4 grips which i really like and two road bikes with drops. Almost forgot, I've got a old MB that i converted to a SS with treking bars that work great also. I'm 65 and comfortable on them all.

Holding your place Little Darwin . 14 years have passed.
Enjoyed living each of them.
Maybe you won your namesake award?

What a great Summer and Autumn, so far, for cycling!

Fixed up several bikes after my surgery in May. Routine maintenance for all.

Have been going for a good many rides since, nothing epic, but good saddletime.

I am sad as relatives and friends have been dying lately.

And grateful to not be amongst them.

Roll On! with vigor.

The time to enjoy is = today!

Have a good one. :)

69 and just started riding a Verve 2 this week. Wish I had started sooner.

I'm too young for the 65+ group, but I'm in the 50+ group, and rode yesterday with a buddy that's past 80 years old ... John is a total inspiration!

John had an idea for a late autumn gravel adventure, he'd found a route to see 6 round barns west of Minneapolis. He'd invited a number of folks but many had to drop for schedule conflicts, so it was going to be me, John, and Trenton (DAMn creator), but Trenton woke up feeling sick and didn't think he'd be able to finish the route. So it was just the two of us!

It was 75 miles of mostly gravel roads, less than 2,000 ft of climbing (mostly flat farmlands). For a couple riders that have done The DAMn and many 100-mile gravel rides, this sounds like a fun day of riding, but the wind came up to really challenge us! We was reports of sustained winds over 25 mph, and gusts over 40 mph, and in the open farmlands, there's no shelter! Our route had us ride into the winds for the first 30 miles, than 14 miles of crosswinds, before getting some cross-tail winds - but somehow, there was very little a pure tailwind.

Because of the tough conditions, we were too focused on controlling our bikes that we missed 3 of the 6 barns :lol:

John is a contributing author to Riding Gravel and has a number of posts I think folks in this group would enjoy: https://www.ridinggravel.com/author/john-ingham/

Here are pictures of the 3 barns we spotted and our bikes at the gas station for some cold Coke!

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...617883da80.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c41e29c808.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...872829d00d.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3c3e7aee4d.jpg

Also, John and I were involved in the creation of a documentary film about The DAMn, John is featured in this promo talking about the life of the mind and exploring.
If you're on Amazon Prime, here's a link to the full film: https://www.amazon.com/Delta-Spirit-.../dp/B0844XLKXJ

Just got TURPed
 

Lying in my hospital bed, tube in my weenie, bored af, checking hospital menu, gonna be here a coupla days, can’t ride for 3 weeks, tiny cellphone keyboard sucks but getting 4 bars 5G, Dow Jones is up, life is good. Peace !