Yes! Well at least till my wife made be get a after retirement job.

I will retire within a year. I think if you live in a mild climate you can ride more. I commute by by bike when the weather allows. This gives me more riding time.
I alter the route occasionally to keep it interesting. Will I ride more when I retire? Most likely. However, biking is far from my only passion.

I retired from 26 years in the Air Force this year and have really been enjoying my time away from work. I have doubled my mileage from this time last year and still have time to play tennis with the wife a few times a week. Plus long hikes with the wife and dog. But it won't last forever. I can comfortably live off my retirement pay but I will still have to find a job sooner or later. I'm voting for later.

Regular, structured schedule. Isn;t that a job?

LOL. To my thinking, a "regular, structured schedule" is only a job when The Man makes you do it. It becomes a personal pleasure when you choose to do it, and look forward to doing it again tomorrow.

I retired at the end of May 2008 after working for a large Corp for more than 46 years. I immediately bought a new Rans Stratus recumbent. I now ride a lot more. When the weather is warm (I live in the snow belt) I try to ride at least every other day. After being told what to do by Dad, the Navy and the Corp, I am now in charge. While I miss some of my customers, dont let people tell you that retirement isnt wonderful.

+1

While I'm working I try to ride lots. When I retire I hope to ride lots more. That's as regular, structured and scheduled as I want my riding to be.

Please see my sig line.........

I ended up really feeling sorry for a guy that I chatted with in the barber shop the other day. He retired at 48 with a UAW "30-and-out" package after working in a local Chrysler factory. I had him pegged as several years older than me, but it turned out he was younger at 62 and about to start taking Social Security. He said he has a bad heart, but in his own words he said "I just don't know what to do with myself every day". He never married and lives alone in a mobile home park. He does have an old bicycle that he pedals around town, but that and going to movies are his only activities.

Such a contrast to the people that I normally hang out with, who are busy riding, running, swimming, and enjoying the hell out of retirement. Some of this comes from different circumstances, but mainly these are all upbeat, involved people with good marriages and lots of outside interests.

If I ever run into the guy again, I can actually give him some suggestions about things to do at the local "Older Persons Center". I deliver Meals on Wheels from there once a week and that's another good way to stay connected with people and give something to the community at the same time.

This all may be a bit off the subject, but the point I'm trying to make is that the kind of retirement that you have is entirely up to you. People in this forum are probably here because they have an enthusiasm for the sport, technology, and/or health benefits of bicycling, and things like that are a good start to leading a happy, satisfying life.

Does it? I sure hope so. I'm kind pegging everything to that very thing.
As long as I have a guitar (and an Uke) and a bike... I'm good

I thought I would have more time to fish, drink beer and garden. Instead I spend more time riding and drink less beer.

I wonder if retirement isn't like adolescence.....you have lots of free time and nobody expects much out of you. Except for the liver spots, my complexion is more clear now than then. And fewer nocturnal emissions, too. Maybe this was a bad analogy.

I've been retired for the past 6 years, cycling for the last 4. I ride 4 days a week and find an early morning ride just makes my whole day better. I stick to a schedule and only miss a ride for things like bad weather or medical appointments. Structure and discipline are not bad things. I think too many people look forward to retirement as a time when they can throw structure and discipline out the window and have the freedom to "freeform" it every day. That only works for a short time and I think it's sad for so many people that work was the only activity forcing structure and discipline in their lives. I see many of my fellow retirees doing little, bored, and in declining health. To me, they look to be just marking time, waiting to die. Those of us who have a passion for cycling, or any other activity that keeps us physically and mentally active are the luckiest people in the world. We have a reason and drive to get up every day and just do stuff. For me, work was just in the way.

Oh, and since the weather has turned so nice, I ran down to the bike shop today and ordered a Specialized Secteur Elite.

Ah yes little grasshopper. Does anything ever guarantee regularity after 50?

That fellow may be one of those people who is their job, they have no hobbies, no activities, and retirement can leave them wondering what to do with themselves. If I could retire now (I am 48, yeah I know underage), I would love it, spending time on the bike, camera gear in tow, taking pix, fixing the bike, fixing stuff on the computer, volunteering, taking classes. End up like my mother when she retired, actually end up busier then before.

Yes and no.

I am naturally an organizer. From starting the 50+ forum to starting a Parents group in Colorado to starting a national group currently planning a march on Washington, to organizing and submitting to congress a petition and letters with 11,000 names, to starting and pushing legislative bills and reform in our Colorado disability system and an edgey video for YouTube, combined with my continuous efforts for better services for my own Andy, and a whole lot of medical hospitalizations for Andy and medical appts for Nora (and a bit for me with my back problem), organizing and coordinating a men's singing group, and a 1-2 hour per day of formal strengthening and exercise, I somehow have never retired, even though I do not get a paycheck. I guess I love the organizing, or I would not be doing it.

However, I do get out for rides, especially as the daylight and weather get better. I have ridden every day this week, even in 30 - 40 mph winds and temps of 32F.

I start the day early, and while I am "relaxing" at night with the wife watching certain TV shows, I am on my little laptop, writing emails and the like.

I guess I like to keep busy. I also have read a few books in the last couple of months.

But Dnvr, the rest of us are merely human. :thumb:

I view my bicycles as a form of pension insurance. I took my 55/30 retirement out of a chemical plant in 1997. I had watched others do the same thing and live only a few years. In doing so they saved the pension fund a bundle of bucks.

After 13 years of retirement my resting respiration and heart rates are well below those seen in those who are not active. Every day I climb on the bike I am beating the odds by a good margin. I worked since I was 15 years old. Paying income tax and social security.
In discussing our long rides on the bikes with others I jokingly call the bikes pension insurance.

Interesting thread. I have seen two major categories of retirees: CAT:Explorer includes those who enjoy new or repressed adventures like travel, new musical instrument, art, reading, cooking, exercise. CAT:Napper includes those who want to take a big break from all of the stress they perceived in their careers.

I retired at 51 and, now at 55, enjoy so many things that I didn't allow to interrupt my work. Glad I figgered out that I had it backwards while working.

So your choices are Carpe Diem or Carpe Mañana.

Not sure if retirement = riding regularity, but I do know that riding = regularity, and that not riding = constipation. So get the heck out there and ride regularly!

L.

I'm on long term disability from an intracerebral hemorrhage. After the first six months of recovery, I could ride regularly again. The pain management doctor told me to exercise as much as I could and as hard as I felt like. He said cycling was excellent. Rather than extend my planned ride schedule, I built up a commuting/touring bike and started integrating it into my life for commuting. After getting the equipment and clothing tuned for riding in most kinds of weather, I began running errands on the bike instead of the car. My goal is to get rid of one of my two cars and commute on the bike 80% of the time. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. This is kind of like retirement. If I am able to return to some form of work, I am still going to keep up some of the commuting. Its nice to have a bike to ride that requires no special clothing or shoes to ride.

Those of us on this forum probably are the lucky ones. We have a hobby that is fun, interesting, and good for you.

Let be tell you about my own father. He was a farmer and worked like a dog all his life. Both he and my brothers father-in-law retired from the farm. They retired to their easy chair, and rusted out a died in about 3 years. Farming was their life and hobby, so when they quit farming they had nothing else to do, so it was the end of them.

My advice is ride and stay active. Once you say ah I cant do that any more because Im too old, you will never do it again, and you are on the way to the grave.

I can say yes to regularity weather permiting. I had a ride schedule of 3-4 days a week during the spring to early fall. This year, I started riding whenever the road and pavement is clear of snow and ice despite the frigid temp everyday. It was a challenge I put myself to prevent inactivity during the winter and I found winter riding to be enjoyable with proper clothing. I was limited with my riding distance though at 20 miles. Now that spring is here, I have increased my average ride to 40 plus miles.

I hope so. I went in to work this AM and let them know that I would not work past my 60th b-day in sept. My excuse was that I would be training to do a ride to celebrate said date. Acmittedly I only work 2 days weekly but still ... Having retired 5 years ago from this same job-I also told them that I meant it this time.

Im semi retired. Sorta on call although they would like me to work more. I used to own a trucking company but now drive for someone. However im finding im not as good at running a big rig as i used to be,not as sharp. Will have to look for something else soon i think. I took this entire winter completely off(fell and hurt some muscles in my side,broke some ribs). I got fat and lazy,mentally and physically. I tried to do some walking but didnt keep it going and not to sure its good idea to ride in winter up here as a fall is not good at 64 y.o.(ask me how i know) Whether i need the money or not i think i will work at something a few days a week the rest of time i have left, just to keep busy and mentally sharper. Other than visiting my grandkids a little charity work and cycleing it seems im not that good at keeping myself busy. Didnt really realize that till i took this winter off. Certainly not good to just sit around especially as we get older. Been out riding nearly every day since we are getting unexpected nice weather,feels great particularly mentally. So to answer Op's question in a rather round about way,one needs to keep busy in retirement whether riding or something else. Weather permitting riding is it for me.