65+
 

How about 80 plus? I started road biking at 75 plus coming from wilderness hiking since I retired at 65.

Too old to qualify for this thread?

stonooka

Smart Donkey, just wait I'll be there!!!

Yes.:D

We need an 80+ thread where you can talk to yourself!!

WELCOME.

It stopped raining for two days!!

Old man had a nice 20-mile ride!

Got to the cemetery about 6:30am in the pickup, not in a hearse with both bikes. Had to air up all the tires get my wife going then got all my crap on and away I went.
My wife’s nick name is “shade tree”, she goes from shade tree to shade tree and today she did good and made a few blocks between texting and or talking on the phone but she's out there with me and trying.

I did 10 miles around the loop then stopped for Gatorade and a rest then did the other 10 miles. Keep my heart between 120-138 most of the time and was back to 70 in 10 minutes after reloading the bikes. I averaged 13 mph and ran a nice 66-rpm’s.
I feel great and I hope it is not raining Thursday so we can ride again. If not I’ll use the trainer in the carport.

Life’s great, glad I got up today and look forward to tomorrow.

Do I have the same concerns? Nope. For many years I have used some dsily living techiques to keep my balance in tune and to keep up energy levels. A very simple one is to get dressed standing up, including socks and shoes. At first I used a nearby chair or wall for support. But as I got used to it I now don't need support, most of the time.

Energy levels are directly linked to overall activity and, not surprisingly, alcoholic beverage consumption. The old liver doesn't matabolize as it once did and I get dehydrated much easier. So, I need to restructure the drinks to emphasize water more. I add lemon juice to the water to both make it more palatable and to aid in kidney stone prevention.

I can recommend the Gold's Gym Weight Lifting books. You don't need to have a desire to look like a freak to get benefits from their regimens. Basically, proper weight choice, number of repetitions and specific exercise is important to get the results you want. Basically: light weights and lots of reps brings strength and heavy weight and low reps brings volume. But, you would be surprised and the definitions of "light" and "heavy". Both are much, muich heavier than the lay person would imagine.

I started free weights when I was in my early 60's. Now as I'm in the first third of my eighth decade the work is paying off. I recently returned from a week with some people who were the age of my children. I had no trouble keeping up and in most cases being ahead of them.

One caution: There is lots of Snake Oil in this business so do your own reading and experimenting. Expect to be sore. Soreness is normal. Extreme pain is not.

Welcome to the athletic life.

used but not used up
 

Just because we are 65+ doesnt mean we dwadle. Im 71, and am comming up on 1600 miles after one more ride. While I normally ride about 14-15 mph, I am not above giving a roadie a little tussle now and then. I especially like to toy with the racer wanna-bes. You know the ones with the hugely expensive skinney tired racing bikes. They are outfitted in the full race kit---spandex and $80 jerseys. Here in town there is a subtle trail going up hill. Nothing dramatic yet long and up hill. Since is heads South there is usually a good south wind too. When I see one of the racer wanna bes comming in the rear view mirror, I click it up a gear or two and lean on the pedals a fair amout harder. They might finally pass, but they look a little strained, and give me a funny look. They remind this old farm boy of chickens. You know butt in the air and their heads down, rarely smiling. On the other hand, since I have been on my recumbents, I might now get a wave out of them.

Thanks!
 

Just wanted to pass along a "Thank You" for the Happy Birthday greeting on the 7th of this month. Turned a spry 72, still trying to ride everyday AND don't miss working one minute! :)

Weaklink

Your summary really hits the nail on the head!! It indicates common sense and good genes if your lucky enough to have them as I do.

After a record breaking dry summer that included numerous wildfires it started raining, raining, raining. As of a couple days ago we had burned around Three Million acres (3,000,000) and had air quality in the unhealthy to "put your breathing apparatus on" for most of the summer. When I was out in Nome my wife emailed to let me know the neighbor's chickens had gone to roost in the middle of the day.

Now the Fall Rains have come pretty much as normal. Fires are dampened and rivers are starting to rise. That is good news and bad news. Good that we can get around better and bad because that is the precursor to our first freeze in a couple weeks.

Best of all I can bike again! Have had one shortish 20 miler and am headed out in a bit for one through the hills that will be in the 20-30 mile range, depending on how I feel and how long the rain holds off (riding in the rain at our 50F temps isn't fun).

Guess we are all Keeping On Keeping On, eh?

Did you guys and gals 70+ do anything special on your 70th?

What? (Besides a 70 mile ride) -

70 was just another birthday . . . they seem to go by pretty fast lately!
Just got back from a 3 month stay in northern Utah and managed to sneak in about 1400 miles on our tandem.
Can hardly wait til we get older!!!

Slew a dragon yesterday. Not far from my house is a road that has HILLS on it. For those of you familiar with the Denver area they are steeper and longer than those around Chatfield Resevoir. Well, with the smoke and my travel impairing my riding I was nervous about them. But, they have been a boogyman out there and were doing a real job on my mind. I was almost certain I was neither mentally or physically up to these monsters.

So, yesterday, solo so I wouldn't be under pressure, I set out to see If I could ride them. The round trip was 28 miles and my computer said it took me 2 hours. Dragon Slain!

I plan on being in Denver for my birthday. Maybe I can ride my age then? ******* are welcome.

I'm 67. Still ride with the younger group once or twice a week. Unfortunately, I can't really keep up on the hills anymore. Actually, I DO keep up on the hills, it's trying to catch my breath after the top that I get dropped. I'm taking more rest days since 60 and am only riding ~6000/year now.

65 +Thread - I asked for it!
 

Hi, All,

You all seem to be having an outstanding life ... Keep it up.

Check out my website if you get tired.......

http://www.shelliwheelchairs.com.au


You might know of someone with a need .

Cheers Ian

Just turned 69 a couple of weeks ago. Ride a recumbent ( Rans Tailwind) about 100 miles per week, ride my Trikke ( http://www.trikke.com/tvstr/TV-Showroom) a couple of hours a week and use my Total Trainer ( like the Total Gym only better) 3-4 times per week.

Howdy, Folks. Got back from my tour of the Netherlands, Germany, and a bit of Poland and Sweden last week. Touring Europe by bike is certainly different from touring in North America, from the absence of toilet paper in Dutch campgrounds to the ubiquity of really rough cobblestones in "former" east German village streets! But the biggest difference, not unexpectedly, is that there is so much to see that one's ADD (Average Daily Distance) goes down drastically. So we (I had a German friend along for 3/4 of the trip) only did 2000 km in about 5 weeks riding. The Law of Camelot was in force: it rained almost every day, but only at convenient times, like during the night, or when we were eating, or inside a museum or church. The people were wonderful, the scenery was great, so was the food, but the old East German tank roads were a horror, as were some of the forest tracks and sand traps that their cycle routes follow.
John

Belated Reply to DnvrFox's 7/29 question about other sports.

I'm relatively young, 68 next month, but here's my list. I should point out that I was chained to an office chair too many hours a day to do much exercise until I was 62.

Cycling: I'm really a long-distance touring type, but I ride in charity rides up to a century a couple of times a year, and keep fit by riding hills with a small group once a week.
Walking/Running: one marathon per year, but train for it virtually all year.
Compete in lots and lots of 10Ks etc. I run intervals.
Swimming: daily up to a mile when at home. Usually compete in one 2K open-water swim per year
Combination: usually compete in one Olympic Tri per year
Kayaking: as the opportunity arises. I would like to kayak the Danube from source to Black Sea one day, but have more-or-less given up on the dream of kayaking the Yukon from source to sea. Too stiff.

John

I'm In
 

I'm in I'll be 67 this comong January 4th. Still riding strong. Five days a week 30+ miles per day.

Great forum! I'm not new to biking but I am to these new knees ;>)
 

It's been a while since I did anything long distance but I'm working up to it. Maybe a fall trip is on the horizon.

I was just wondering if I should go with panniers or a trailer? I have big feet and don't want to keep jammin' the front bags.

Yeah, I'm 66 y/o in case there's any questions. The knees are really doing well after 3 years. I have high hopes. I can't say I love the hills but I really like it when they're behind me :0))

I ride every day (weather dependent). I ride to my workout at an exercise place then ride home - about 2 hours. Love biking as a warmup and as a cool down!

Keep pedllin' :thumb:

off season exercise
 

What do all you young folks, do to keep your legs in shape when there is snow outside? Don't say keep riding I don't think that I could handle that. I am thinking some sort of stationary exercise bike. Thanks guys. :)

Spinning classes at the rec center.

I'll be back in 16 months................ meanwhile, I'll lurk to keep myself informed of important stuff I should be planning for........

Indoor trainer and spinning classes. The classes can be either good or bad, depends on the instructor. Depending on what your goals are, you might want to pick up something like the Spinervals videos, they are pretty hard, especially for us middle aged guys. The Performance Travel Trac is a pretty good trainer.

Frank

Getting close to 70 - 27 days, and am getting a bit nervous.

What will it be like to be 70?

Any rituals?

Will my ?hair? turn brown again? Will I have ?hair? again?

I look at pictures of myself, and I think - that isn't me. That is not how I feel inside? Why do I look so old?

Well "youngster" it will feel just like now.

Our ritual for that birthday was the same as all the others; give thanks for another year to do good.

Hair? Hmmm...I don't remember any hair. But, then I was still a bit hypoxic with the mile high altitude :thumb:

I have a T-shirt that expresses how I feel: Vintage Goods. Aged like fine wine; but not at peak of perfection yet.

Winter is the time to switch gears and get on my one speed Rossignols (skis)! That's the nice part of living in a 4 season region that there are plenty of opportunities to cross-train. To be sure I'll miss biking but hopefully my legs will stay in tune for the coming bike season. But then, during the summer, I keep thinking my legs will get in good shape for skiing.:)

Skiing on artificial knees is obviously not the same as before but I'm out there and I think that's what counts. I think.:thumb:

First frost this morning.

I'm 71 and in April of this year finished a nine day 567k tour in Western Australia . There was another fellow my age who completed it as well but he really showed his age whereas I don't.

[QUOTE=jemappelleric;9928294]I'm 71 and in April of this year finished a nine day 567k tour in Western Australia . There was another fellow my age who completed it as well but he really showed his age whereas I don't.[/QUOTE]

Now we need a photo of you.

65 & over
 

I guess I qualify now. I turn 65 today. I haven't ridden in a long time because I have had some major surgeries.

The last one (cardiac bypass and aortic valve replacement) almost killed me, but I survived and now I'm ready to start riding again.

I suppose I should start with short flat rides on my single bike, but I hate to ride alone.

My single bike is a Klein Performance with 8 speed technology, it's geared to go fast with a 12-25 cassette. I used to ride it to work when I worked in Santa Ana. My tandem is a Santana Soverign that I had painted by Joe Bell.

Before 2000, my wife and I used to ride 6 to 8,000 miles per year, and we would always take a bicycle vacation. We used to tour with Scenic Cycling when Pat and Kathy Nolan ran the tours. Then Pat had the unmitigated gall to and get himself killed.

Patty and I have toured in all eleven western states. Now I want to do more.

Get back on the bikes.
I started rding at 65. It is Fun.

Just ride Slow......