[QUOTE=joeprim;14072610]Get half SPD one side platform on the other. NASHBAR has them. That's what I did, then when I got mor confidence put them on the MT bike and got 2 sided SPD for the road bike.

I endorse the 1 side SPD/1 side flat shoes noted by joeprim. I bought them 5 years ago to learn clipless, then left them on my road bike. I use the SPD side most of the time but the flat side is handy when I want to have comfy shoes on at the end of my ride.

Hey the one side SPD?1Side flat sounds like just the ticket forme. I already know the dangers of putting a hand out after a nasty wrist break and wearing a cast for a while LOL

I still have 8 months. I refuse to post here!

And I refuse to read your posts.

Shame!!

Help point me in right direction
 

Situation: I am 72 and a national class age-group runner (1 mile thru 10 mile). Bottom line is I cannot continue to train at high level due to knee problems. I can bike all day.

My frustation is this: in running, all races have age-group categories usually up to eighty years old. This allows the older runners (like me) to be competitive in there age group. In searching around the bike racing scene it appears that usually after you turn 50+ you are on your own, except for an occasional time trial that might have older age groups.

I am use to training hard and enjoy it, but whether it is a road or MTB race I would like to be competitive. Am I overlooking something in bike racing or is it just geared to the younger folks and us older folks are just out of luck.

Any info you can give me on racing or good clubs to join to learn more about training, would be really appreciated.

I live in Severna Park, MD (between Annapolis and Baltimore).

Thanks in advance,

John Benkert
443-980-9077

Hi and welcome.

I would strongly suggest you ask your question in the 50+ racing forum
+
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-racing-Thread

They will be MUCH more knowledgeable than I am.

I am 81 years old as of February this year. Just took delivery of a new Trek FX+ electric assist bike. Unfortunately, I can't leave the house long enough right now to ride it. My wife had an accident a week ago on her bike and is recovering with 9 broken ribs, a broken clavicle, and a broken scapula. So I need to stay close by til she gets better and can take care of herself.

Many areas have Senior Olympics once a year.
Have entered several throughout the past 20 years; they have 5 year increment age categories for road races and time trials.
After local lwins you can advance to state and even national Sr. Olympics.
Very competitive; have won my share of 'hardware.'

I'll be back in 3 months.

Al, when we meet up to ride, I'll show you the secret handshake you'll need to know if you want to get in early. ;)

First Road bike search over. Bought a Felt Z85. Still undecided on clipless pedals

Congrats on the Z85. :thumb: Get out and enjoy it -- after you get some clipless pedals. :)

John: There are not a lot of bike races by age category above Masters 55+ but there are some and you may have to travel to compete. I have a teammate in my racing club who is 71 and races a lot. He races both road and track. He races in the 55+ peloton in road races and crits, does time trials and hill climbs and competes in the state and national races. Race promoters are the ones that set age categories. And in some bike races, they may combine all the 55+ together and score them separately so there may be a 65+ group. My friend travels all over to race where there are 65+ categories. The races that always have age categories are state, national and world championship events. The senior games start at age 50 for men and women.

It is very hard to get started racing 50+ and there is a significant barrier to entry due to the skill and fitness required to race in mass start races. Of course you can do time trials and hill climbs where you are on the road by yourself against the clock. These can be sanctioned or just unsanctioned "training" races. The other potential frustration is that many masters mass start races exclude category 5 racers which is the category you will have to start in. You can upgrade to Category 4 after completing 10 qualifying mass start races. That means you will be racing with the Cat 5 men which are typically 20 to 30 year olds. I did that and had a lot of fun racing with the Cat 5 men before upgrading to Cat 4 in road and track.

My suggestion is to start with time trials and hill climbs and ride your current bike. Do not buy a time trial bike immediately until you see if you like doing them. It is not any easier on the TT bike and in fact it is harder due to the position and you will probably be faster initially on your road bike riding in a low position.

I ran competitively before racing bicycles. Running, one goes hard to the point where any harder and you physically collapse. It is easy to train since all you need are running shoes and going to a local track to do measured intervals is logistically easy. Bikes are different. Since the body weight is supported, you can go deeper into exhaustion and push yourself even harder. Some like that and some do not. And it does not get any easier over time. You just get better at suffering deeper and longer. When you watch the pro racers on TV, they are suffering immensely and way beyond what amateurs are capable of doing. Training on the bike is logistically more difficult to find terrain the is a suitable proxy for the race course. Biking takes a lot more time and requires more hours per week.

However, IMO, it is so much more fun than running and once you get into it, the equipment is a lot of fun to ride and the training and racing totally cool. YMMV

Hermes, many thanks for the very informative info. I will take your advice and start to get involved in the racing scene. I did not mention this before, but when I was begining to give up running I bought a Fuji Aloha TT (an entry level TT bike, but nice for the money) with a little training I entered the mid-atlantic age group annual championships. I ended up third with a 21/22 MPH average in the 65+ age group. I really did enjoy the time trial and the training I did but there's just not many of these events.

One hang up I do have is in running if you want to beat the guy in your age group who beat you by 3 seconds last week, you just have to train harder or smarter. In biking, it seems that you have those 2 options, PLUS one more, buy a better bike. Where does the ARMS race end. :-)




Thanks again,
John

The arms race ends when you run out of money. Good luck with your cycling and racing.

Bike shop said I should get bike shoes even If I buy MB shoes as riding in my sneaks could result in foot problems as they are to flexible. True?

How much do you ride? What type of riding? Type of bike?

Certainly that is a common claim among many folks - those who sell spcial shoes especially!!

Many folks ride many thousands of miles successfully in sneakers. Typically, those who are "serious" bicyclists will likely have mtn bike or road shoes.

Personally I use "bike shoes- road bike shoes" while riding my road bike and sneakers whille doing casual riding on my mtn bike and my utility road bike.

I think it also depends on your feet and their sensitivity to pressure. A biking shoe is supposed to spread the pressure over a larger area.

Average age of the guys I ride with is 70
Average distance ridden per day is @30 (weekends wind up being 50-100)
Average speed on those morning rides...18
Then...there are the 70 year old 'hammers' whom I don't try to keep pace with.

I use these for now lets see 46,000 miles.
http://www.shoebuy.com/rockport-prow...00/42704/42706#

Toe clips no straps needed
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...lfclips009.jpg

Funny how times change. As a teenager my buddies and I had plain basic stiff-soled bike shoes and we rode strapped into clips (that was in Europe), but in the seventies, when I started riding again at 40+ (in California), I went to the biggest LBS in the SF bay area to buy a pair of bike shoes. They offered me a single pair of overpriced Italian shoes, one size only (5 sizes too large for me), and I had to go home empty handed. Most shops never heard of bike shoes, let alone stock any. Now they act as if you would die without them! How times change - they discovered Latte and bike shoes!

I use whatever shoe will fit into my toe clips and straps,makes it harder to join club tombay and certianly cheaper.and my Italian Gianni Motta does not notice
Bud
Bud

7 weeks into my retirement and how do you all find time to ride?

Gardening- house maintenance- Campavan to sort out (Take that as a complete rebuild) Grandchildren to mind- Mates bikes to sort out---etc.

I am riding more and getting some of my lost fitness back and I am up to between 100 and 150 miles a week depending on weather and how I feel.

I'll be honest and tell you that if I knew how busy retirement was going to be-I would not have gone for it. The non working bit is fine- it's all the other jobs that go with it.

Double post so sorry.BF or my fingers messing about--Or the brain

Here's how I do it.
Gardening: My wife does some, I do some, and the yard service does the big stuff.
House maintenance: We had our whole house remodeled in 2010 so not a worry.
Campavan: Not sure what that is but we only own two cars and gave up camping many, many years ago. If we go on vacation we stay in a hotel or B&B.
Grandchildren: They all live in Florida, New York, South Carolina and Brazil.
Mates bikes to sort out: Not many people in my neighborhood ride a bike. The few that do ride are still working and ride after work and/or on the weekend.


Glad you're riding more. :thumb:

No garden, and I hate gardening, and use a lawn service.

No grandchildren

Stay in motels, etc.

But, spend an inordinate amount of time enriching the medical and dental professions in regards to my wife's pain, etc.

Spend mucho time on my state and national advocacy work.

I'm almost 62 and my wife is 66. I'd love to get her into biking and I'm trying to subtly (maybe not so subtly) get her to realize what a great, satisfying activity it is. She's resisting but I'm hoping if I keep trying she'll agree to give it a whirl. Any suggestions?

It has to be her decision. If she does, ride at her speed, distance, and include a stop like a treat or a park where you share food, etc.

My wife is almost 75. We did a great 8 mile ride today, BUT ON HER TERMS. I find it best to follow her and let her lead (she does not feel safe side by side).

Never push her for faster or longer or more. She will be doing the best she can, and will immediately turn off if she thinks you are criticizing her by giving her advice she doesn't want. And, praise, praise, praise.

Make sure her bike is easy to handle.

My wife was cycling as her means of transport before me. I had a car- she didn't.

But a neighbour of mine showed an interest in cycling. Not for cycling as a sport but he saw how fit myself and a couple of other riders were and it was the fitness he wanted---not the cycling. I set a bike up for him and told him to collect it any time from the shed. Took a year before he was cajoled into taking it out and that was when another neighbour bought a bike to get fit and came out with me a few times.Cut a long story short and he took the bike out and just rode the local mup. Flat smooth route and he struggled. I took him out one evening and found he was going too fast- in the wrong gear and I bought him a pint after 5 miles. Ride back was better and he continued riding. 4 months later he bought his own bike and I have been trying to catch him ever since.

The problem is getting that first ride. Find a girl friend of hers-or yours- that rides and get her to suggest a ride one day. May take a while but you know if she does give it a try then it can go one of two ways. She will either love it once the butt ache gets overcome- or she will throw the bike at you.

My wife said that if we lived in Florida or some place flat she'd give it a try.

Hello everyone. I figure I should drop in and introduce myself to all the other "mature" cyclists on here. I started cycling two years ago (I am now 68). I hadn't done any cycling since I was a kid. I now ride my road bike (a vintage 12 speed Velo Sport) 3 to 4 times a week. Today I completed my first metric century as a preparation for a Share The Road Ride next week. I had to make sure I could do it as it would have been embarrassing to have to quit part way through. I'm sure the aches and stiffness I feel now will probably feel worse in the morning, but I am happy to know that I will be able to complete the ride.
Around here I see a lot more senior road cyclists than I noticed when I started a couple of years ago and that is a good sign. Thanks for letting me bend your ears.
James