Yen

I ride to ride..... to improve my health, strength, and endurance..... to work off the stress and emotions of grief.... to challenge myself..... to have fun...... to improve..... to do something fun with Hubby that involves social companionship, and to train my body for longer, harder group rides.

And because I love it. No other exercise I've ever done has been this enjoyable, made me want to go out and do it this much.

And did I mention cookies?

luv2cruz

I ride 'cause I love bikes, and riding.Been that way since I was a kid. I enjoy meeting people that ride, too. We are a pretty neat bunch, as a group. I also love to eat, so riding helps keep the weight off. No racing, the only goals I pursue are those of my own. Can't run, or walk aggressively, I have bone spurs in my left heel and can't take the impact. I swim, do spin class and lift weights off season, but when the weather's good, I'm out on the bike.

doctor j

I work eight hours from home and don't get home all that often. I ride for sanity, scenery, civility, and svelteness.

Currently, I'm in the midst of a sinus infection, lack of energy, and antibiotics. I haven't ridden in about a week, and I'm about to go nuts, or perhaps more nuts (nutser?) in my case.

Heading back to Louisiana and then to Mississippi for a week of vacation and to do some volunteer work in post-hurricane repair/construction with our church group. Ole Fuj will make the trip with me. Hopefully, we will get in some flatland riding.

Widsith

I ride because I want to ride. If I ever stop wanting to ride, I'll stop. And the surest way to make myself stop would be to turn riding into a "chore" that has to be done to meet some sort of training schedule.

When I started riding again a few months ago after a twenty-year hiatus, my "official excuse" was that I needed the exercise. But the real reason is that I loved riding in my younger days and have missed it for a long time. Now I ride most mornings before going to work, and it's a great way to start the day.

howsteepisit

Hey wait a minute, Sex,drugs an rock and roll, cycling???? I missed it the first time around and now again. Please don't tell me disco is coming back.

Red Rider

+1.

I don't have a coach, but having specific goals and events for which to train has been great fun.

I don't assign every ride to be a training ride. That would suck the life out of that which rejuvenates me. We take the tandem out, and/or join a NorCal BF ride, and keep the fun factor present. As a result, our fun rides are more enjoyable and our events are higher quality because we've trained and maintained balance.

Whatever you do, be sure you enjoy it. That's all that counts.

Tom Bombadil

Sorry I have never taken a train to ride, nor ridden to ride a train. However I have ridden by trains. So technically I have ridden to train.

cranky old dude

Tom. I might be mistaken here, but I think you're on the wrong track.

cranky old dude

Serious answer time, I ride to escape from the real world.

I'm not interested in conditioning, riding faster times, or turning my
body into one that Adonis would envy. Those are all very meaningful
reasons to ride for the majority of the population, but they turn my
enjoyable escape into a tedious chore and ruin my enjoyment.

When I'm on my bike, the world becomes whatever I want it to be.
No, I don't fight Dragons or try to charm Princesses. I just wander
through a maze of peace and tranquility which is full of marvelous
and mysterious things for me to discover, enjoy, photograph...whatever
I want.

I expect that labels me as a little eccentric but that is who I am and
why I ride. And that is how I have managed to survive this stupid world
for as long as I have. This attitude of mine won't fit most normal people
but it does work for me.

Happy Trails

maddmaxx 

50+ is the bastion of "different strokes for different folks". Each person here rides for their own reasons and "trains" accordingly.

DnvrFox

And that is why there are so many different forums on BFN.

Interestingly, because of the common denominator of being 50+, the 50+ forum is a sort of amalgamation of all the forums in one "super forum."

The identity of 50+, for most of us, is stronger than the identity of racer or commuter or recreational rider or clydesdale, or mechanic or whatever.

While many of us participate in other more narrow and specialized forums, a lot of us find 50+ as our most important identifier and commonality.

maddmaxx 

I believe that is because here you get answers for specialized questions framed in a manner more appropriate to 50+

rmwun54

I ride because I can. Mountain, road, to the store, run errands, and anywhere a bike can roll.

dendawg

Just ride. since the spring I have noticed a speed increase, and a stamina increase. I might do some club training rides on weekday mornings, but am usually the last up the hill. But mostly I just ride, and try to get the miles in before I do a long event ride. My longest ride so far has been 60 miles, coming after around 2000 base miles for the year (mostly 30 mile rides), and surprisingly wasn't that hard (other than the last long hill(s). Even went to work after the ride - no choice there! Unless your racing (which I'm not) I don't think there is any need for a training plan. Just keep riding and things will build.

Allegheny Jet

[quote=maddmaxx;7500994]I believe that is because here you get answers for specialized questions framed in a manner more appropriate to 50+[/quote]

I wonder if you haven't turned this into a business and are using sublimital advertising on us to enhance your profits?

maddmaxx 

[QUOTE=Allegheny Jet;7501096]--

move over AIG

speedlever

Fascinating responses all.

As I do not have any sort of organized training regimen, I just ride for fun and fitness and take what benefits come as earlier mentioned. And yet I still look at the numbers and am encouraged by better times and speed and get discouraged when I've regressed. So part of me wants to just ride for fun... and part of me wants to ever go faster and farther, as long as I can obtain that without making the training part a "work" task.

Nope... not gonna get rid of the data devices!

I've never raced but do enjoy group rides with the local folks. I find gains to be slow and regression to be fast. So I'm considering some spinning classes over the winter in hopes I won't have to spend 2 or 3 months next spring regaining my conditioning.

From the responses thus far, it seems the majority tend to ride unstructured... ie, just for fun and just take the benefits that come as a by-product. But a significant part of you ride with goals in mind... with the possible exception of those who missed the train (Tom).

chipcom 

F that, you can retain your base fitness just fine by continuing to ride through the winter. If you want to check out all the young gals at spin classes, cool, but don't use winter as an excuse!

speedlever

Cold weather weanie here. Maybe one day I'll grow up and ride when it's cold.

Edit: but I'm not opposed to being an admirer of pulchritude. Could make an otherwise dull sounding routine... interesting.

Allegheny Jet

Chipcom,

Come out to Pete Gladden's indoor cycling class this winter. It's two hours of "organized pain and suffering" that riding outside in 20 degree temps can't provide. Even better, you can be riding next to some young gals, including a national champ, and they aren't dressed in baclavlas and rain coats.

Bill

Longfemur

I don't know about anyone else, but I just ride to ride. I don't "train". I never have "trained", and yet, I started riding a road bike at age 16, and I'm still doing it now at age 55. However, I do try to ride with good technique as much as possible, ie. climbing, descending, taking bends at speed, smooth pedaling, good use of gears, etc. I don't use a computer on the bike, and so I don't really aim for any particular speed, cadence or average. These things just come as part of the riding. I often start out riding moderately, and later find myself going pretty fast.

People who "train" are like the many I've known who started out jogging or running for fitness and then ended up obsessed with running marathons. They always seemed to be nursing some kind of overuse injury. I find many middle-aged cyclists are like that too. I think there is plenty of benefit from moderate cardiovascular/aerobic type of exercise every day, but I think that "training" may end up doing more harm than good at our age.

You have to ask yourself what you're ultimate goal is. I'm too old to be pursuing fruitless dreams of competitiveness. I want to enjoy life and enjoy riding. Ultimately, for me, that ends up being more like the cyclotourist than the racer. I don't smoke, but I picture myself more like the pipe smoking man in the wool sweater who rides through the French countryside and stops for wine, cheese and bread, rather than the one in the team racing outfit who has to eat gels in little packages because he can't afford to stop and relax.

I guess my goal, if I have any, is healthful longevity, pleasure and a certain unity with nature. You don't need to train for that, you just live it.

rm -rf

I try to do one faster group ride a week. I'll maintain a much harder effort to stay with the group on the hills than I would if rode the route by myself. And it's fun, too.

So, then, to be able to keep up with the group rides, I need to ride at least twice a week, every week. So that's motivation to get out and ride, even if I'm not exactly in the mood to get started.

Hermes

I this the class? https://www.excelincycling.com/Indoor...orCycling.html

Are you in this pic?



I will go to the class she goes to but I understand I may have to get wet.

Garfield Cat

Its not an "either/or" question. Its a "both/and" answer.

The Fifty plus group has sub categories: those who have been riding for, say 30 or more years, those who recently picked up riding again, those who never had a bike as an adult and are picking it up now.

Their reasons for riding will vary. If they enjoy it, they will tend to make it a favorite pastime and begin identifying themselves as recreational athletes of some type. Sometimes their "training" will be made up in their own mind, not by Carmichael, but perhaps influenced by him or Sheldon Brown. Did Sheldon offer tips on training?

Would anybody buy a book written by Digital Gee, "Fifty plus training for Dummies"?

BluesDawg

I try to never use the "T" word. I prepare for upcoming events, but I never train.

Just like when I played in bands, I would play songs over and over and work out how to play different sections and develop a groove with my bandmates by playing the songs with them countless times, but I would never "practice".