I'm 52 and fortunately still in good shape(Thank God). Got back to riding last Fall and worked my way up to ~30-mile rides. That is about all I really want to do. Any more is just too much time for me. Been in the ~16mph average range.
Recently bought my daughter(17) a bike and I'm slowly working her range up some. She bonks out at about the 5-mile range so far. Not pushing her so she will enjoy it(hopefully). She has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and needs some low impact exercise. She had to quit playing soccer because it hurt her knee too much.
Got her a Specialized Secteur. Seems to fit her well. Dang that thing is light!
I have and old Cannondale R400 that is still in great shape. Feels great...well up to about the 30-mile mark anyway .
Also have a Cannondale mountain bike of the same era as the R400. It's in great shape also. I had woods-raced dirt bikes up to just a few years ago, so trail riding is more fun to me but road riding is easier as I can simply ride out of the garage with it and the mountain bike needs to be transported to trails.
So far I really don't feel much different than when I bought it and rode it some 20 years ago.

Good stuff-enjoy your time on road!

Ride on!

Sounds like you're doing fine to me. Welcome aboard, and ride well!

30 miles is fine and sounds as though you are out for a couple of hours at a time and hopefully with enough effort involved to say that you are getting the Heart-Lungs and Legs working to a level that will get them fit(ter).

Not all of us do century rides up mountains- in fact many of us just enjoy getting out on local trails for a few miles exercise- so don't feel that you have to do more unless you want to. Just remember a few things and you have noticed one of them already. N+1, Pie Rides and pics. We love pics on this forum and Pie is almost a necessity. And N+1 will come about soon when the daughter starts beating you up the hills and wants to do 40 miles. The modern bikes- even the cheap ones- are lighter- better equipped and ride better than the ones we had to start with.

I've an old c-dale st400 (1990). I love that bike! Being a sports tourer it has a longer wheelbase and shallower angles and is a very comfortable ride.

I don't see much advantage to a new bike over the r400. I have Shimano 105 on it and to replace it with something comparable would just cost too much. The only reason I'd change is for something a little less rigid, as this bike is fairly harsh-riding. But for under-30-mile rides it is fine. I did one century many years ago and it about killed me...in the harsh department.
I always thought I needed a taller stem, so that is one thing I might change. And also the seat.

Uh....what is N+1 and Pie?

Some of us do! I think they're really fun plus you get great views from the summits.

But Stapfam is right, 30 miles is a good distance. He's right about the pie too.

Here's a photo of me (left) and my friends Lou Ann (center) and Mark (right) enjoying pie at the Julian Pie Co. in Santa Ysabel, CA.
The ride wasn't a century though; 72 miles with 7,000 feet of climbing. I'm sure you'll be doing similar rides soon!

Rick / OCRR

Here is a pic but PLEASE LET ME EXPLAIN IT
Bought some shoes and sent a pic of them to my buddy in Md. He said "You xxx, they match your bike". So I went and found all matching stuff in my closet and took this pic and sent it to him . Disregard the milk and eggs

N+1 is the undeniable law of bicycling enthusiasts. N is the number of bikes you have. N+1 is the number of bikes you need. N+1 will not be denied. It will get you eventually. Resistance is futile.

The temptation of N+1 is always there.. I was just at my LBS picking up some degreaser when the owner of the shop comes up to me and says "Hey, I've got just the bike for you and it's in your size..." He pulls out a brand new Argon 18 Krypton, full carbon, all 105 at a really sweet price.

I must not buy... I must not buy....

You mean I will be assimilated? Locutus is not a good name for me.

Now when you decide you want Offroad- Road and a Beaterand there is a 3 day tour coming up that sounds like fun but the wife would like to try a Tandem and has never sat on it since I bought it- Then be prepared- Get the storage sorted first



And the Tandem does get used but the wife has seen it in action and will not be going anywhere near it.

It is a good thing that my LBS doesn't cafe that serves pie in the front!

I'm pretty good with the N+ stuff. Same skis for 5 years. Same golf clubs for 6 years(including the same driver). Same bikes for 20 years(although not riding much). My vehicle is a 2000 model. Boat is a 1989 model. Do have a new lawn tractor which replaced a 20+ year old model though. Damn, same wife since 1987. I guess I'm just boring . Or it could be the kids in private school. You choose which it is

But I think you may be missing the point of N+1. It is not just about replacing bikes. You can hang on to bikes forever and still add new ones. It is about adding different bikes for doing different things. The possibilities are endless.

Bikes are addictive, so is adding go faster stuff to them. Like wheels, tires & Ultegra components. 30 mile rides are fun & sometimes it not how far you ride, but how fast you get there !!

I hope riding with your daughter will work out as well for you as it has for me and my niece. My daughter is into horses, as is my wife, and I was not riding during that time before college, so never thought of riding with her. I started cycling again last fall, and one weekend asked my then-15-year-old niece if she wanted to come along. We did a 7-mile loop on our cheap mountain bikes and she had a blast. We worked up to almost 20 miles, riding almost every weekend. When I could see she was committed to riding, I bought her a Trek 1500 of the same vintage as my 2100. Our last ride was a charity ride of 50 miles; 2 weeks before that was a 44-miler; in another few weeks we are trying for a metric century. All the riding has been fun, but it's also been great to build a stronger bond with her as we talk during those rides. Speeds are not fast - usually averaging around 13mph - but that's really not the point.

Good luck!

Attached photo from the 44-miler.