Birthday rides
 

I'm guessing most of us go out on our birthday and ride the our age in miles. I did mine Saturday (56 years young) but did 64 due to "having too good of a time". Turned out to be a great ride as I did a different route and saw different places and met an interesting fellow who was throwing an "antique steam engine party" in his back yard. I heard the unmistakable sound of the engine (I'm a sucker for old machines) and inspite of my self-consciousness of being clad in multi-colored spandex cycling kit I pedaled down his driveway and was warmly welcomed!

Here are a few pics, the steam engine party, visiting General Grant's cabin at City Point VA and some of me crossing the James River on a drawbridge..not a "grate" feeling!

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=214978http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=214979http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=214980http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=214981

The impromtu rides or ride extensions are often the best. Happy b-day!

well, I guess I'm not 'most of us'. Only been riding irregularly for the last 3 months, a couple months last summer and then you have to go back 45 years to find me on a bike. So, with 65 coming up on Sunday, I'm hoping to celebrate with my first 20 mile ride on Saturday.

:bday:

That sounds like a very nice way to celebrate your birthday.

Probably should have said "some of us long time riders"...no offense ment. Thru the lean years when I didn't ride as much as I do now I still forced myself to get in shape enough to do my birthday ride so this has been a good tradition for me.

Good luck next Sunday and remember to enjoy it!

Turn 62 in November.....did a 69 mile ride on Saturday. Avg speed = 16.2

Well, I turned 52 a couple of weeks ago.... so I set a goal to climb up Donner Summit 52 times...... I'm up to 40 as of last night..... that's 50k' and 480 miles so far..... 12 more laps to go !!!!

bmohan55, congrats on a great ride and super ride report.

Birthday rides are special indeed. My birthday fell on Fathers Day this year. Being my 60th I felt a special ride was in order so I rode a century on that milestone day.

thanks. a km/birthday maybe would be a good goal for me for next year. I called the local club to see if they have a volunteer to pace me (or call the paramedics).

... actually I don't expect any problems, my regular ride is 15 mi. now

My Birthday is in FEB (Ohio) - must I ride it on my birthday, or are you allowed to wait for warmer weather?

It has to be on your birthday in lycra shorts....no tights.

you need to move....

So it seems - lovely...

My mothers birthday is on Christmas and we just celebrated it on June 25th.


Why don't you do your ride next month and start a tradition?

Happy belated birthday:thumb:

I'm also not fond of the grate flooring in some bridges. We have several old covered bridges in our area and they can be just as scary with cracks wide enough to eat skinny tired bikes:(

Good birthday ride and I love steam engines. Some time ago I went on a touristy riverboat ride on the Mississippi from New Orleans. This was a steam driven paddle wheeler. In my opinion, one of the very best reasons for steam engines on such a boat is steam driven caliopes. My imagination take me back to those thrilling days of yesteryear as a paddle wheeler approached some town along the river, piping up a rousing tune to announce it's presence; the pilot casting his lead to check for depth as barefooted children ran to the river bank. I'll bet that was better than TV.

I had a great birthday ride, back on July 27. Was in the Minneapolis area to visit my son and daughter-in-law. They surprised me by renting me a Series 6 Madone from an LBS. I didnt ride 59 miles, but, the 35 I did get in was great! I got in my bd miles on the weekend club ride back in Phoenix. 59, btw

This is what it looks like.... going down !!!

http://contour.com/stories/a-decent-descent

Congrats. I turned 60 Aug. 9th of 2011 and posted a short ditty of my ride at
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...731-n-71-today
The "n" in this case was my age, not the number of bikes. I wasn't at all sure of my ability to ride 131 miles which was the distance home from Denali Park. The unexpected headwind was also a bummer but Heed energy drink and energy bars were, I think, critical. I kept hydrated by stopping at the occasional gas station. Two friends I spoke with today said they saw me and didn't realize it was me. They thought I was "supported" since I had no gear with me. It's unusual to see folks in the Denali-Fairbanks ride without panniers. This at 60 while still a member of the "clyde" crew, so I'm not complaining.

Cool video! AND, happy birthday bmohan55! Congratulations on an excellent ride and great report! :thumb:

Turned 60 last Thursday and rode the Cool Breeze double metric century on Saturday. Two miles for every year on this planet. Boy! I could hardly walk Sunday...morning and afternoon. My left calf started cramping up about 35 miles into the ride and the right one about 45 miles in and even though I never let it cramp up totally, it meant that I had to soft pedal it the last 90 miles. Felt better yesterday and more so this morning. My body doesn't seem to be able to handle centuries anymore. Seems that I'm fine on 30-50 mile rides, but more than that turns into a real pain, (pun intended). It stinks getting older because my body doesn't heal like it used to.

I turned 55 Sunday and did a 61-mile ride to celebrate.

This is the first year I've actually ridden my "birthday ride" on my actual birthday -- usually I'm off by a week or so. In any case, it was the hottest day of the year here, which still isn't that hot (87 degrees or so). And when I mentioned my "birthday ride" at an espresso stand they gave me a free iced latte. Woo hoo!