Thanks

There are LOTS of campgrounds (RV parks) around central Florida and the snowbirds (many from New England) are here in droves during the winter months. We have several rail trails. My 2 favorites are the Withlacoochee Trail (only 6 miles from my house) and the Suncoast Trail (30 miles away). :( There are several other trails around this part fo the state.

Been a 'warm' July here in Arizona.
Warmest start at 5:30 a.m .was 91 degrees. Got progressively warmer and hit 110+ by afternoon for several days.
At age 85 I only ride a couple of hours starting at sunup.
Pedal on!
Rudy/zonatandem

Kudos to you and the Mrs. :thumb:
Here in Florida it's only mid to high 70s at 7AM with 90 to 100% humidity but the temp climbs quickly. :twitchy:

I am returning to cycling after about 17 months off due to inj8ury and laziness..
I am 66 tears old, 6'4", and weigh a plump 262#..
I pulled a hamstring in March 2017, followed by a sprained ankle in early April.
When I went for a couple of short rides (22 and 16 miles) in early July 2017, my right knee started to hurt rather badly.
I had the Big 4: torn meniscus. arthritis, Baker cyst and bursitis.
Went for PT before getting injected.
3 Rooster comb shots and many months later, my knee is not perfect, but does not seem to be irritated by "riding."
I use quotes because what I am doing now is a far cry from what I had been doing.
I have done 5 rides this week, 8 miles each, and have averaged between 13 and 14mph.
I try to avoid hills in the beginning, but will gradually feed them into the mix as my abilities return.
Upper body fatigue, as always after a layoff, is my first hurdle.
Saddle soreness also noticeable.
I am trying to keep from overdoing things, but it is difficult not to be discouraged.
I plan on increasing the mileage slowly, and ramping up the intensity....slowly, figuring
that I need to establish and enhance my basic fitness before worrying too much about weight loss.

does this sound reasonable, or should I be riding more (or, less...???)

I second RonH's suggestion. After spending 62 years living in Central Maine my wife and I moved to North Central Fl (Ocala area). We try to ride daily on the Withlaccochee Trail. And there are several other trails near by. It's a great place to spend the winter months if you are done with the cold and snow as we are. However, unlike Ron, we tend to get out of Dodge for the summer months..... back to the North East and Atlantic Canada. Ride on.... Oh and Ron we are heading home in a couple of weeks. Look forward to seeing you on the trail.

We lived in Astor for 10 years, about 45 miles east of Otown.
Lots of wide open riding in lightly traveled roads over there.Straight and flat.
Now we're in South Mississippi, where there are lots of open lightly traveled roads, but nothing is flat or straight!

Did you ever ride on the Nature Coast trail out of Chiefland?

I never rode that one.
Didn't do much trail riding.
Some Pinellas Trail when we lived near St. Pete, any others would have been 1x.

Longleaf Trace in Hattiesburg, Mississippi is nice
Silver Comet in Atlanta,too.

Been a cold damned summer in the Bay Area. Looking forward to Fall. I know everyone East of California has been sweltering (but there's no climate change, lol) so I hope my cooler weather will head your way. Riding in merino wool in summer is the way we roll sometimes.

What was it that Mark Twain was rumored to have said??...."The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer I spent in San Francisco.."
But he actually never said that....

I've been riding bicycles for a long time, so I was ready for some cross training with something that came close to spinning without risk of pounding my joints on my 80-year-old body.
I started riding the Me-Mover over 2 years ago and found I saved time aerobically, meaning I don't have to spend hours to get a good workout. The Me-Mover gets things going almost immediately, heart rate increases in minutes, with bonuses of standing, giving my balls a well-deserved freedom vacation, along with a needed core and other muscle workouts.
Diversification is needed, if not mentally, then physically, our bodies demand it.
.

Some years this is more true than others. This year is one of them. Seems like there's a cool bubble from Northern Cal up through Oregon. Southern Cal is still getting heat. Of course, the Bay Area fog ("Karl the Fog") is our built-in air conditioning. I personally find it easier to get motivated to ride when it's colder out (merino wool bike clothing
is amazing) than when it's incredibly hot. I'm always impressed by the folks who ride in 90+ degree weather. I'd be a melted mess. The heat bothers me more than the cold at my senior age. Wishing all the rest of you some nice cool breezes.

When I was a young whipper snapper in my 30's and 40's I lived in St.Pete Fla, and would ride after work.
I found that, on 90° days it wasn't too bad while I was moving. What really sucked was when I picked up the
speed in order to get thru a traffic light only to have it change at the latest possible second...........
THAT hurt !!

I appreciate this post.

I've been getting back to riding but am being very careful about it. I've had some foot pain and some back pain this week, so I'll probably take it easy and go bass fishing and/or kayaking.

It's a little discouraging, but one must make concessions to the aging process.

Here in Louisville we are very fortunate to have the Parklands development. 19 miles of lovely bike paths free of cars. There is a 7 mile stretch right in the middle that is pretty flat so that's where I usually go.

Progress is slow but sure (slow!)
 

Good to hear from someone in the same boat!
Keep it up,Doodelsack !!

I did 5rides 8 miles each last week.
Took Saturday off.
A "brisk" 8miles on Sunday (14.5 avg.....yeah, "brisk")
I embarked on what I thought to be a 10 mile loop with a couple of hills on Manday.
What a mistake!
Couple of hills, no problem. But, several long grades that wore on me but good.............actually had to stop 2x in order to get my breath!
Today I rode with my old riding buddy Sambo and his wife Miss Penny.
I'm glad she came along cuz it kept the pace manageable.
9 miles with a couple of hills. Felt way better than yesterday.
Tomorrow we'll stretch the distance some but keep things flatter.

Upper body fatigue is abating, so maybe the muscle tone is returning in that region.

Foot Care
 

I never had a problem with my feet until I had a blister on the underside of my foot. I didn't give it much thought, except to keep the area clean after the blister burst.
Long story short, the following episode started in March of this year. My foot ulcer has just started to heal after many visits to a foot doctor and wearing a protective boot.
It all started with wearing the wrong type of sock which irritated my foot, specifically compression socks.
I'm sure my age of 80 had a large part to do with the problem. But keep an eye out for any foot problems as they may happen.

I might, but fear losing depth perception...........

After a couple weeks of short rides totaling maybe 100 miles, my knee decided to let me know that I am taking things too fast.
Time to scale back the efforts and rest more.

Left knee has been a problem this year, but last year's saddle sore was not. Doc says MRI says, 'It's worn out.' But luckily, the pain is way less than would justify surgery, IMO.

Last week I noticed my natural foot placement was about a half inch from the inside edge of my pedals, so I ordered some pedal extenders. Last week I also noticed my saddle was pointing NNW instead of N, and I remembered I had done that to reduce pressure on the sore. No sore, so I swiveled it back so it was straight. I did this about 8 miles into what became a 22 mile ride. I rode a lot stronger after the change than before it ... and my symptoms changed.

Now my right knee hurts a bit while riding. My left knee, which previously hurt only on the bike, now hurt off the bike, too, sometimes. And the sore started coming back.

But, hell, I rode stronger. Install the pedal extenders. Cue the Body Glide. Cue the ibuprofen before the ride. Cue ice after the ride. Cue the PT.

Wish me luck.

The routine I've adopted works out to 2-1/3 outdoor rides/week--i.e., a ride in the wild followed by 2 days of recovery (just light spinning on a trainer, just to keep the legs going). I cannot necessarily recommend it over allowing 3 days of recovery but, I do like getting out more.

I rode 2 weeks and my knee began to twinge a bit.
Took 3 days off.
Rode 2 days, 21 miles total.
Today my knee is a bit stiff..............
I am uncertain as to the future of my cycling...........

Ride every 4th day outdoors leaving 3 days for recovery (light spinning indoors on a trainer if you want to keep the legs moving)

Sounds like you could benefit from therapy...

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5980638162.png

Happy Birthday...

Nah...I did 5 easy 8 milers on successive days, then took a day off.
Then I rode 5 more 8-12 mile rides in a row, then took 3 days off.
Then 2 rides, 10 miles each, and have been off since Tuesday.5 days now.

I don't think that riding is bothering my knee as much as the yardwork I've been doing...........