I'm 79 but hopefully not a preview of your future. At 74 I was still riding strong for my age, rode RAMROD that year, had a decent finishing time, no issues. But then I had heart issues in '22-'23 including a minor heart attack, so a long time not really exercising much. That's a quick downhill slide at that age, serious deterioration. This is, that slide doesn't like "stop". It gains momentum as muscle mass disappears. Gradually some of my heart issues have disappeared, better meds, some minor exercising, etc. Started to feel better this past summer, got out on some 30 mile tandem rides with my wife but suffered - ridiculous it seemed, compared with what I/we used to do.

So about a month ago I decided it was time to get after it again. Started going to the gym, riding my rollers some, walking, etc. We went back to doing our annual 10-day backpack in the Cascades again, which we hadn't done 2 years in a row. It took us 3 days to do what we had usually done in one, but that was a start, though a painful one. Now we're back to gyming and riding a little. I intend to ramp it up very gradually and see if we can be back doing hilly 60 mile tandem rides by next summer. We'll see if that's even possible, might not be, but we're going to give it a helluva try. My wife has none of my heart issues, is only 75, and has been getting a strenuous dressage lesson every week for decades, so she's not as bad off as I am. We'll just have to see what happens.

I'm one of those folks who has to defend his self-image. Like I am not weak! That's not me! Etc. I've had so much fun riding, skiing, hiking, etc. etc. and I just can't/won't back down. Bruce is my wife's age, and I'm younger than Mick.

Oh I still hike, ski, ride (see above #3919). Just not as a lead, more as occasional participant. Not exciting like it used to be. I need more Spark.

Interesting article in phys.org - The article is okay but the title is all wrong, i.e.,

Physicist reveals tailwind has negligible effect on cycling speed

Info in the article itself refutes it. If you are riding along at an average mph of 10 and you turn around going the other way and find yourself facing a headwind of 10 mph, you essentially are suddenly in the 20 mph situation were twice the effort is required to maintain the same average speed, no?

https://phys.org/news/2024-09-physic...le-effect.html

Thanks for posting the link. Lots of disputable claims presented as axiomatic in the article ("When you're riding up a hill and fighting gravity, doubling your power input means doubling your speed").

Curious what RChung and the other people who post in Training & Nutrition and actually know the science would have to say about that article.

Several years ago when I started practicing more spinning, I developed a burn like feeling in my left knee cap. I think there was or still is some cartilage growth which rubs and becomes inflamed if I spin at high cadence for too long. Few weeks rest and taking it easier for several months afterwards made it go away and now I am again OK spinning, just don't know if I would overdo it, that it might return.
As you said, it is that 'other things equal'...

It also depends on the soma type you are, I was never the type for weight lifting but more for many repetitions with low or no weight, stretching etc., muscle building was never the point. Others who are opposite types, are into weight lifting, are then mashers when they ride bicycles whereas I am more inclined to spin it.

73 have been riding a fat tire bicycle since April 2016, at least 5 miles every day weather permitting. Over 13,600 miles, one improvement I made was putting on ape hanger handlebar. Constant riding bent over was a pain, now I'm cruising straight up. Mostly neighborhood roads, sometimes we go to a park. Don't know how many years I can continue but I'm in good health, only medication is for cholesterol. Good blood pressure and 170 lbs on a 6 foot frame.

Gone through both extremes myself but rather than busting a kneecap due to spinning, I remember more, giving myself chondromalacia from pushing too hard. Currently, I'm thinking for me at least, anything over 70 is 'spinning' which is good and not 'pushing' which is bad cuz... never had knee issues from spinning too fast.

Thankful to post this thread
 

Nothing special like some of the places other folks been riding. But it’s still sweet!

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ed2d5b77d.jpeg
Share, the only way.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...374528418.jpeg
1st day of Autumn. Bring on the pumpkin patch.

edit: Ooopps, wrong thread, senior moment. Too lazy to care.

Perfect.

You left out the very important word "uphill" in the phrase "uphill cycling speed." Duh. I think everyone knows that. You don't need a physicist to tell you that the steeper the grade, the less the wind speed and direction matters.

In still air on the flat, power goes up as the cube of the speed. https://aerosensor.tech/pages/the-sc...rag-in-cycling

If you ride at a speed equal to your tailwind, it still takes effort - losses in the drivetrain, rolling resistance, and aero drag on the spokes. That adds up to more than one would expect. You'd have to experiment to see what your power numbers would be - depends on a lot of things. Once riding a century which included a flat section of Hwy 1 heading north, our tandem had a headwind of 25 mph. We held a steady 9.3 mph for at least 20 miles, had a heckuva long line of singles behind us. We turned around and found still air at 25 mph, which is how I knew what the wind velocity was. Strong single riders passed us because we had more drag than a single in still air: more spokes, more rolling resistance, more drivetrain drag. Our advantage of having only 1.5* the aero drag of a single went away. So it's complicated.

The takeaway is don't major in physics at East Carolina University. None of the rest of this actually matters, though it does explain why it's so hard to hold 30 mph in still air when 25 is not that bad and yet we could ride into a 34 mph wind. We did have aero bars on the bike, both positions. That helped.

My usual human interest story: we came upon a woman in obvious distress, going as hard as she could. I asked her if she was OK. She said, "No, I feel like my soul is dying." There was a large male rider about 20' ahead of her. I figured that was her male other. We rode up to him and asked. Yes, that was his female other. I told him that she said her soul was dying and he'd better drop back and shelter her. He did. My good deed for the day.

That's called "pushing" and it's inefficient and hard on your knees. If you are passing people with a better cadence, then either they are not trying, or you are way stronger than they are. But you are using your strength very badly like that.

You don't need to spin like mad to cycle efficiently. At my age spinning like a racer has little appeal to me, but I actively use ALL the gears on all my bikes to keep a steady, moderate cadence and steady torque as I go up and down hills. Immensely grateful to be so lucky as to still have good knees at my age, pushing is the very LAST thing I do on a bike.

:thumb::thumb::thumb:

Time to clear this up a bit for those that don't seem to understand the concept:

My knees are damaged beyond the point of any rehabilitation through physical therapy, or exercise.
If pushing was as hard as some make out to be, I wouldn't be capable of it in my condition.
I doubt I'm "pushing" all that hard.
I hope this makes sense.

-D.S.

:). I have oft ridden (in the past) Hwy 1 North into a headwind on a tandem; then to have the pleasure of a tailwind homeward. My Hwy1 was north out of Santa Cruz, CA. Memories. :)
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e45ed170e0.jpg
the big red sled

I remember well the headwind on that exact stretch of road. My first century (actually nearly a metric double) was in 1971, with my cousin and one of my UCLA classmates. We left my cousin's house in Palo Alto (my uncle was a Hewlett-Packard "lifer"), went through Big Basin/Hwy 17 to Santa Cruz, then fought the infamous Hwy 101 headwind in low gear back to San Gregorio, then over the hill to La Honda, and Woodside enroute back to Palo Alto. (My college chum took off ahead of us and took a wrong turn north onto Hwy 35.Fortunately a kindly gas station owner who was closing up shop for the evening drove him a few miles back to the proper route.) I slept for a solid 12 hours after the ordeal, which itself had taken us just over 12 hours. A year later I did the Los Angeles Wheelmen Double Century / Grand Tour in the same amount of time, because of a flatter course and far less headwind resistance.

(When we stopped at a small store along Hwy 17 for some snacks, the shop owner was astonished that my cousin had paid a whopping $300 for his Pogliaghi. "Did the guy who sold it to you have a mask?")

:lol: Nice bike for the start of Fall - I'm so ready for it !

I guess since I qualify for this thread by almost 2 years I should hop in. 4 of the 5 in this photo of our small riding group do as well.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1015d84997.jpg

...on the 85 side of things, I'm so impressed by so many of the riders in our area and here on BF. My neuorlogist suggested Yoga as a good thing to persue to help with flexibility. In conversation with a very good 85 year old cyclist in a neighboring town, I found out he's a local yoga instructor and has a YouTube channel. I hope I can do as well.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...81480e92d7.jpg

New bar and tape
 

Just installed this new bar. It’s wide and shallow,just what I wanted. I put wide riser bars on my road bike a while back and really like the feel,so when I ride my hybrid with the regular stock bars I feel hemmed in kinda.I’ll give em’ a go tomorrow and fine tune the angles.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ce464f550f.png
Topshelf riser bars from Redshift Sports
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6db7d52e0.jpeg
Genetic brand wide flared drop bars
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2fcd71756.jpeg

Ditto- went with an aggressive stem extender, riser and spacers on a bike with a tall alloy head/steerer tube to begin with that gets the top of the bars up level w/ the seat... George Hincapie would break it off like he did in the Paris-Roubaix but seems plenty safe for a non-cannibal sourdough home bread baker like me. Cheers!

Yup. I lived in Santa Cruz long ago. Fun ride - head north in the morning for Half Moon Bay. Get there, head for the harbor and buy lunch. Eat it, then sail back to Santa Cruz! (With a much stronger wind than I rode against. That morning start was important!)

Remembering... a nice climb from Santa Clara to Santa Cruz. Memory a bit hazy but seems like I'm recollecting... getting poison oak on that ride.

Nice metric century along the Morro Bay coast on Saturday.
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Ha, ha, ride in the Sacramento Delta north of San Francisco... the tail wind gives you such a boost... after 1hr... you cannot believe the distance you cycled and on the way back... it was more than 90mins to face the headwind...

A zillions years ago (1976), riding in Ireland, with luggage... uphill and headwind... I was really struggling... a truck stopped and the driver mumbled something... then pointed the bike and the back of the truck... too tired to reply fast enough... the driver picked up the bike and I was glad... it was a long twisted uphill...

always a funny head-shaker back in the day when riders toured the Seattle to San Diego Pacific Coast Bicycle Route (staying in hiker/biker campsites along the route for 50¢ /night) to see the occasional fully-loaded lone contrarian heading north instead of south.

Agree. Not as exciting as it used to be. On the slopes, I don't take it straight anymore. On the bike, I'm not dicing with anyone anymore. More pain on the hikes. I'm thinking maybe be more people centered, less performance. On our 10-day, I fell madly in love with a gay 28 y.o. French thru-hiker, which was really fun. She did have quite a large partner with her. :) She is a professor of climate change, but is moving on. No point in being a professor of climate change at this point, so she's looking for something more interesting. So there's still fun out there, but maybe that's people, who are endlessly interesting. I'm shifting my riding more toward people and less toward courses.

Just checked Amazon and delivery of Costco's chocolate assortment for Halloween this year is scheduled for October 21st. What with the shortage, getting chocolate nowadays must be like diamond smuggling... may be easier to just hand out cigars?