rdtompki

I'll have to visit here more often: very interesting and often uplifting/inspiring posts!

I'm nearing 67 and trying to decide whether to retire or work one more year. I do work out of my house so employment isn't too painful and the pay ain't bad, but my bucket list includes a 200K (or stretch to DC?) in the spring and I need to pick up my miles. I love riding the tandem with my wife, but need more total miles and more climbing to get strong enough for the longer organized rides in Northern California.

I'm not much of a picture guy, one of my several shortcomings, but wife and I did recently take a 10 mile MUP ride with son #1, DiL and two grandsons 5 and 10 y/o. The son rode with the kids 10 miles to the start of the MUP, the youngest on a trail-a-bike, and met DiL with the 5 y/o's bike. Off we went, the youngest spinning away like a fiend with my wife and I on the tandem soft pedaling and enjoying every minute.

The little guy is like an energizer bunny, no surprise as his dad is a Cat 2 and he (the dad), dad's twin, my wife and I took a 400 mile bike ride when the the twins were 10, about 1/4 century ago. I'm itching to get the grandsons on the back of the tandem.

I'll endeavor to take some pics and post same in order to make cycling for the aged look interesting to the youngsters who would accidentally visit this thread.

bikr.jim

Here Here to that!! I just got finished touring to my 50th high school reunion & some of them asked "Aren't you afraid that something will happen?" I said just roll me in the ditch. Its always better to go trying then worry about the consequences.

RonH

I had cataract surgery on the second eye on Thursday. Recovery has been much better than when I had the first eye done in July. Now all I can do is "non-strnuous" stuff until next Friday. Then I can ride again. So I went to a zentangle class with my wife this morning and my archery class this afternoon. Still waiting for the bow I ordered almost 3 weeks ago.
How many days until Friday (9/28)?

rydabent

As someone mentioned I hope to be posting under the sub heading of 90+!!!!!!

RonH

90+ ? Will any of us live that long?

RonH

Are all the 65+ folks on vacation? No one has posted here for 2-1/2 weeks.

10 Wheels

Forgot to take our pills.....Or did I take them this morning.

RonH

I was going to post "is everyone at the doctor" but thought that might be taken the wrong way.

rydabent

I do hope to be alive well and cycling at 90. Here in Neb it is not all that unusual to live well into your 90s or even longer.

Im a firm believer that cycling will help me get there. If you set you rust out and die!!!

JohnBerry

Been home for a month - finally got the desk cleared off and can start to think about riding again. What's all this about having nothing to do in retirement - I've never been busier! Or maybe I'm just getting slower and don't realize it!

Last weekend was entered in a 10K run. Rode the bike up to the race location in the dark. I hate to do that in Austin - we had a parishioner in our church killed by a 26-year-old drunk driver on Congress Ave. bridge on his way to work on a Sunday morning 3 weeks ago. But I needed to make a quick break after the race to get to church for second service, and it takes 15 mins to get to the car and out of the lot.

Came 3rd out of 3 in the 70-75 category, but at least my time was a hair better than last year. I "hate" the two guys in their 70s that still do 10Ks in just over 30 minutes: what were they doing while I was smoking and drinking my youth away?

Did 22 miles on the bike that day, and on Friday took off and did 30 miles in about 2:30 - out through the 'burbs on a main road. Not very pleasant riding, many trucks and fast cars and long red lights, but that particular route has very good bike-lane markings, even though it is 35 miles out to real country.

Two weekends from now I'm entered in a 100-mile ride for Breast Cancer on the Saturday, and a 10-mile run to raise funds for digging water wells in Ruanda on Sunday, and Monday is my 71st birthday. Gotta find some time to train!

Which raises a question: anyone else on this list suffering from "Bucket List Anxiety", otherwise known as the BLAs? I feel 41, which is cruel, because at 41 you have all the time in the world left to do stuff. At 71 you have to make choices: there isn't going to be a lot of time left to tour fully loaded and wild-camp around the world. Maybe there isn't enough time left to do the ride "Across the Top" of Australia if you put it after the Grand Tour of New Zealand and the Paddle Down the Danube, even if you don't outlive your savings. Like rydabent I'm hoping that I'll still be posting here in the 90+ category, but if that's not to be the case then, like bikr.jim, I'd rather be skunked by an 18-wheeler (as long as it's quick) than reduced to pushing me and my potty around the ward on a walker!

John

RonH

Mu latest addiction -- archery -- is getting to be as expensive as cycling.
I finally got my bow 1-1/2 weeks ago (only took 5+ weeks to get here). I got an "entry level" bow and it was just under $500. Ordered a dozen "inexpensive" arrows the day the bow came in ~$10 per arrow. Today the owner of the indoor archery range said my grouping is good so I'm ready for a sight. Another $300. Next I'll need a stabilizer ~$250.
I've been waiting for the quivers and backpacks they ordered a few weeks ago ~$70 each.
Sounds just like bike stuff doesn't it.

JohnBerry

RonH: I wonder what Robin Hood would have done if he'd lived today? I really feel for you - two expensive "geary" hobbies. And just think - in another ten or twenty years you may be shooting the bikes and riding the bows

John

DnvrFox

A new Olympic Sport - bicycling while shooting an arrow from your bow. And, doping, too?

Sculptor7

Does not have to be if you enjoy working with wood:

RonH

Nice bows.

Mine is a take down recurve with a magnesium riser and laminated limbs.

Penh_Pal

11-years ago I pioneered post-Khmer Rouge recreational bicycling in Cambodia - although I heard about an old Cambodian guy who was their National Champion back in the 60's who still rode, but I couldn't find him. I had to take my bikes to Bangkok over horrid roads twice per year for repair and maintenance as parts and repairs were impossible here.

Now, there are tens upon tens (as opposed to hundreds) of young Cambodian guys doing recreational cycling, and some Euro-type expats going on weekend rides, plus some Asian expats going daily. I can get competent repair in both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, with supply of basic parts. Last year I even ran into the old National Champion in the Angkor Wat International 100K bike race, still going strong. Bicycling around the Angkor Wat temples is always a wonderful experience, both on- and off-road.

I try to do 300-K per week, in 50- or 60-K increments, although I sometimes 'cheat' on miles by going up our local 'mountain' a time or two with the Cambodian kids. My own kids are budding bicyclists, too. Peace at age 8 can do 40-K rides and Harmony at age 12 can almost keep up with me on a 50-K, although he can outsprint me on the mountain bikes.

My rides are:

1. Raleigh M60 aluminum frame MTB with Shimano XT components and a wonderful RST Platinum air shock.

2. Cannondale R1000 Optimo aluminum frame roadie with Shimano 105 drive, fitted with flat bars and a Suntour Swing Shock to take the 'buzz' out of our poorly maintained roads.

3. Jamis Dragon steel XCountry racing frame with mostly Shimano XT components, and a Fox RLT80 shock, the bike now in semi-retirement.

DnvrFox

Welcome. You are our first person from Cambodia. Enjoy the forum. Nice bikes, and congratulations on forwarding the bike culture.

rdtompki

I have a modified version. I'm competitive, but really don't have competitors so I have to set stretch cycling goals and hope I have enough time to attain them. Also on my bucket list is staying in my current home for 12-15 years (I'm 66) in order to care for our horses; 5 acres does require a bit of work which doesn't get easier as the years roll by. And...lots of stuff to do around the place - plant a small garden, replace 20 broken fence posts, wage war against the ground squirrels, improve drainage around the turnouts and (gag) repaint 4 buildings - my last ever exterior painting. Maybe I'll have more time after I retire.

JohnBerry

Welcome Penh_Pal: sounds like you're having a ball out there. Please don't make it sound so good that I have to add it to my bucket list!!

Rick T thanks for the support: I'm with you on the horrors of painting - I think I'm going to have to pay someone to do our house - first time ever. The bad part of all this is "my last ever...... (car purchase, suit purchase, etc., etc.)".

Nice bows Sculptor 7: did you make them? If so, where do you buy the laminated wood?

I'm feeling good today: yesterday did 15 miles, today 22, just going to my medical appointments - all of which were good. Nothing like blowing into a cardiologist's office in bike clothes and helmet. Keep it up guys.

My rides: Trek Alpha Aluminum Road Bike 2010
Bianchi Volpe Touring Bike 2004 (presently in S. of France awaiting my return).
Downtube Folding Bike, 2009: I'd like to sell this - it's a hair too small for me.

John C. Ratliff

Penh_Pal, welcome to the board, and keep us informed about riding in Cambodia. My son's "significant other" is from Cambodia, and has been back there twice (I think). He is a bike racer, and recently started track riding.

I'm just a recreational bicyclist, and used to be a commuter. I ride a Rivendell Ramboullet, a Trek 1420, and a Rans Stratus long-wheel base recumbant, which I really enjoy. My two hobbies are cycling and scuba diving. So that's where most of my time/money goes now. I'm just a few months retired, and still trying to get used to not having a daily routine based upon work. My wife and I enjoy long walks too (fast too!). So I'm keeping healthy.

Sculptor7, I have a Bear recurve 45 pound pull bow, and a few arrows that I found recently when I cleaned out my shed. The arrows need to be re-feathered, but with the cost of an arrow at $10, would feathers be in the neighborhood of 2-5 dollars? Wow, that's unreal to me!

Anyway, I'm approaching 67 soon, and will continue the cycling, swimming, walking, scuba diving, etc. (photography too). I will also be writing, as I have a lot of things to express, and may do some consulting (I'm an industrial hygienist) too.

No bucket list so far, but I do want to dive warm water again, and my wife (who's from Hong Kong) and I would also like to visit China.

John

Ancient Mariner

First post. To be honest, I wasn't going to join the forum until I saw this thread, then I felt like I had found a whole group of kindred spirits.

I'm a retired real estate broker and I spent most of my professional years in Silicon Valley. I retired about 12 years ago and moved to the desert. I started riding regularly about 6 months ago as a recognition that I was getting old and fat. There was nothing I could do about getting old, but I seriously hoped that riding the bike might help with the fat part. I started with leisurely rides, maybe 3 miles or so. In time, I built up to longer rides, and now I'm up to about 15 miles a day. My weight has dropped from 265# to a more comfortable 198#. Hopefully I'll continue to progress with longer rides, and maybe drop a few more pounds.

I had a Giant FCR-2 hybrid when I started, and it served me well, but I wanted to get into a more conventional road bike, so I recently bought a Giant Defy Comp 2. The jury is still out on how I'm going to do with drop bars, but I spend most of the time riding on the hoods, and that's not a lot different than the flat bars I was used to.

When I started all this, I was on 6 different prescriptions to treat all the normal maladies of people who have ignored their health for much too long. I was taking pills for blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, and (I'm guessing) ugliness. On my last visit to the doctor, she was absolutely blown away. She took me off three of the prescriptions entirely, and reduced the dosage on the others. Best of all, she informed my I was no longer borderline diabetic. That made me pretty happy.

I just turned 70 in August, and I don't really have any goals beyond working hard to keep improving my stamina. Further weight loss will be a bonus, but is not a necessity.

Oh....my name is Tom.

10 Wheels

Hey Tom,

Welcome to Bike Forums from Texas.

70 here a Type 2 Diabetic.

This is my diabetic medication.

Ancient Mariner

Impressive!! I haven't had the huevos to enter any events yet, but that day is coming. We do have some group rides in the area, but I haven't tried one yet. I guess I'm a little leery of being too slow.

rdtompki

Tom, congratulations on all the progress! You'll do fine with the drop bars; only the most serious of roadies spend a lot of time there. Most of us use the drops for headwinds. You've got enough time to gear up for the 100K ride of the Tour de Palm Springs in February. I say go for it.

10 Wheels

Riding is all about FUN. We all ride at different levels and speeds. I started at 65 y/o. Met a group of retired riders and joined them.
They taught me how to ride long distance and bike touring.

Got in 11,200 miles the first year, with 15,923 miles the 2nd.

First Tour:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...League-City-TX

NY to LA and got paid to ride the 4,200 miles.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ide-Ends-in-LA