losing it. Rant against myself.
 

We do have a few members here that are fit. And not just fit for their age--They are fit.

And we also have a few newcomers that are just about surviving whenever they take their bikes out for a ride.

Up until a few years ago I would have classed myself as one of the fit ones but no longer. I have found myself struggling to keep up with the other riders in our group to such an extent that I will find excuses not to ride with them. I feel that I am holding them back on speed and making them wait too often for me. So I have taken to riding solo just so I can keep riding. Problem is that those solo rides are taken at a pace that is comfortable for me and all that can be said is that I am riding.

My problem is that up until 5 years ago I used to train for 10 months of the year for a hard ride. Then last time I did it in 06 it hurt. I know the weather was against us that year but at 59 I decided that a 12 hour ride was punishing my body just a bit too much. When I stopped the ride I also cut back on the training for it and from then on I was on a downward slope. Didn't help in that this was the time that I went road for an easier time. Not saying road is easier and for a few years I kept up the training for a few holidays in France going up slopes and I quite enjoyed the comfort of a road bike on the 100 milers but If you want to get fit- start riding 120 miles offroad each week up 15% rutted trails and you will find a difference.

This summer has bought it home to me that I am not as fit as I should be. I can still do a metric tomorrow without any warning but I will know it afterwards. To do a full 100 miler and I know I will have to train a bit for it. What is more worrying though is that my speed has gone down tremendously. I was never a speed merchant and IF i ever got to 20 mph as a top speed it would have been on a downslope and probably with a tailwind- but a 30 mile ride with 2,500 ft of climbing would have been done at an average of 15mph. Last sunday it was an average of 13mph although I still managed the basket hill and did not fall off the bike at the top.

There is only one way to get over this and that is to get more riding in. I retire next year and that will leave enough time to get out more often. Riding once a week- which is what I am currently doing- is not enough. Especiall when I have stopped pushing myself for at least part of that ride.

Although this is a post to try and motivate myself- It should also act as a warning to others that are finding themselves in the same boat. Lethargy has set in for me and I have to get over it and get more riding in. I know I am getting older and could possibly be slowing down- but if I don't get out and exercise more- I am going to lose what I have still got. Just roll on retirement.

I'm in the same boat. At age 69, I look back at what I did in my 40's and 50's and realize those days are never coming back. I still consider myself a good cyclist but not a fast cyclist.

My motivation took a huge plunge in 2011 due to a number of reasons I've discussed here. Also, a few years ago my doctor told me I have a leaky heart valve. He thinks I had rheumatic fever as a child and probably didn't even know it. That's probably one reason why I've never been a strong climber.

Your last paragraph describes me quite accurately, except that I am already retired.

Does your weather allow you to train outdoors during winter? I'm looking forward to spending most of the winter on my trainer.:cry:

Best wishes, stapfam.:thumb:

It can be difficult to set appropriate goals and keep the discipline of doing enough, but not too much.

I'm starting to work with professional trainers, not to be fastest or anything else, but just to stay on track.

There is a huge amount of technology and expertise available. Taking advantage of progressive methods is breathing new life into my cycling.

I am 63 and more fit than most people I know who are 50+. But from everything I have read about your riding you could kick my a**. So it seems to be a matter of perspective. I guess that's easy to say for me -- I always ride for pleasure rather than a specific training regimen. Still, it seems that with retirement looming you could relax a bit - keep pushing but not let it drive you nuts. There are not many in your age cohort who could keep up.

Each and every one of us goes through a period of questioning our dedication. Sometimes all it takes is time to step back and see where we really want to be and where we really are. I am just now getting interested into endurance riding and while training for my first real test I almost got my bottom kicked by a Century ride that I expected to hammer. Turns out it wasn’t the ride or the heat by I was coming down with some kind of viral infection. It took weeks to recover and my fitness came into question.
This may not be your problem but it prompted me to talk to my doctor. He smiled and said, it simply takes us longer to get back to where we think we were the older we get. And where we think we were may or may not be as fit as we thought we were. :eek:

Sounds like a perspective problem that all have to deal with sooner or later. My thoughts:

Whatever you do;
Do it for Fun;
Do it for Survival; or
Don't Do It At All.

If you can't be happy doing it differently than in the past it is time for a new season in your life.

Just my opinion; which may be worth exactly what it cost. :)

You could always pack up your bike and come out here and visit your friends in Cedar, nice relatively flat rural area to ride in.

I don't know if you are losing it or not. But, don't LOSE IT AROUND HERE. We be all be WINNERS HERE. ;)

Come hang out in the "exercise thread" if Dnvrfox don't livin you up, nothing will. :lol:

Seriously, some does fall off the old block as the years come on. Don't worry about it, have FUN, that is the name of the gam, FUN.

Not only that, if you can just swing a leg over the bike, and go a half a block, that is something to be super thankful for. So, please get off that "ooohh it is me" bit, and get on the "this is living" !!!!...

IMO, you doing dam great. :thumb:

Who cares if your pace ain't what it use to be, the point is, you still got a PACE!! :beer:

I can feel for you. I have been getting more lax this year too. Last summer I did several centuries just for the fun of it. This year I couldn't do a century if my life depended on it. My get up and go, got up and went!!! I am starting to feel better now but my fitness is out the window. I did this pitiful little ride today, http://connect.garmin.com/activity/130395782 and I really didn't want much more. I guess a guy in his 70's should be thankful for what he can do, but dang!!! I want to have the energy like last year. Its so easy to get lazy. Why are good habits so hard to keep and bad habits so hard to loose? I didn't mean to hijack your post, just wanted you to know, you are not alone.

There are only two truths about cycling: You can always get better, and there is always someone better than you. The only things that keeps me going is setting a mileage goal and making myself stick to it. I have to get 520 more miles this year, or I will have failed. I wish I was like Dfox, and could motivate myself without keeping track of miles and goals, but I can't. So I religiously track my rides and miles and worry about getting the miles I need each week to hit the next goal. I think next year's goal is going to be a bit easier. Look at the bright side - you're still doing way more than the average fellow your age.

I will never have your problem. I've never been in great shape.
Just happily smelling the roses, and eating the occasional piece of pie.
Accept yourself. And accept life, such that it is. It is too short to waste time on regrets.

I like having mileage goals too.... and keeping track of my progress etc. But if you have to be ready to ride a century with younger riders at any time to be "fit" I guess am am not now fit a will probably never be fit. I am becoming a lot (and I mean A LOT) healthier though, and getting better as a cyclist, though that may be because I started at such a low point.

This is all that really matters.

It seems you are in a rut with your expectations and abilities. As CEHowardGS said we are all winners here, and you and Denver, as well as others, certainly have motivated me to keep riding even when I feel pain or just get lazy.

Maybe a change of scenery or that N+1 you have been posting about will spur you on to recover the old motivation we all know you for, here at 50+. I'll have you in my prayers for the lod spark to return to you and that you will fight your way back to the top.

Bill

The last 2 years have been challenging for the Grouch. Just when I thought I was making a comeback, I had major setback.

Since she has announced she will never get back onto the Screamer, Mrs. Grouch and I will have a decision next spring whether to make a MAJOR investment in new equipment or give up tandemming. I'm getting lots of advice, pretty much all negative, from my non-bicycling friends. My physical thearpist has me riding a semi-recumbent stationary bike that right now doesn't feel too good. I assume that my flexability and range of motion will improve. If it doesn't, it might be "adios".

I ride my bike because I enjoy it. I don't care how far I ride or how fast I go. Exercise is a side benefit.

Agree completely with what Don said. Plus, my endurance is dropping each year though I am riding as often. I have had a stress test and the doctor found nothing wrong, so I have come to the conclusion it is just aging. I am 66 and my longest ride this year was half what it was 5 years ago. Sure, there are some people who show little sign of slowing down at my age, but they are the exception. And I still pass more cyclists than pass me on the bike paths.

Whether we admit it or not, I think all of us in this forum have been in your position at one time or another. I'm 65 and part of my motivation comes from guys on this forum that are older and ride further and faster then me. I haven't been riding as long as many of you have (only 2 years), but I feel that I have moved mountains in getting where I am today because of the motivation I get from others. If tomorrow, I can only move a hill rather than a mountain, that's alright since it's much better then doing nothing at all.

There are times when I go out for my daily 30 mile ride where the wind might be a little stronger than the day before and I say "the heck with it", and end up doing 20 or 25 miles instead. Or, I tell myself that it isn't worth it trying to maintain a constant 15-16 mph speed every time I have a headwind, just to prove a point, and end up riding 12-13 mph or slower. I even have days when I want to ride the distance but don't want to do the speed and end up riding the 30 miles at 10-12 mph. But there is always tomorrow when I can get out there and do my normal routine.

There are some things that I can still do that I did when I was younger and some things that I can do better and some things I can't do at all. When I was 40, I got my black belt in Tae-Kwon-Do. Today, I couldn't fight my way out of a paper bag. Back then I was able to do full splits. Today, I'm lucky to spread my legs past my shoulders. Time has a way of changing us, so I only worry about what I can do today and try to do it a little better tomorrow, if tomorrow ever comes.

Don't give up on yourself. I always enjoy reading your posts and your stories. Hang in there and stay in the saddle! There are better days to come, especially when you retire. If you have to wait until then to pick up the pace, so be it. Just enjoy the rides between now and then.

You're complaining that you're losing it. I never had it to begin with.

I was born at 12 MPH, I lived at 12 MPH, and I will go to the grave at 12 MPH (average speed).

Your rant underlines one thing. The bicycle is a remarkable machine, and the people who ride them can do so for at a decent level for decades.

In any other sport, the effect of age shows much sooner. I was a track & field athlete once. But I wouldn't want to run races anymore nowadays, because that would be competing with someone I could never beat: My former self.

So, instead, I cycle. Not competitively. Not even in silent competition on group rides. But just to get the necessary exercise my body has come to be used to and the hours of sunlight outside. One of my regular rides is a 55 mile round trip to the hospital where my mother is a patient.

Training I've done enough, in that other sport. If I take one of my bikes, there has to be goal. And it has become easy to find those reasons.

I agree with all the above and it just proves my point about comuters and power meters ets. They have their place but for some of us, we can do our most fun ridein by not using them. I like to know miles and tenths only when following a cue sheet to know where the next turn is. Some how for me, speed has always been a depressing element of that knowledge. My ridin buddies always have to talk about their average speed on every ride and for me, it just makes no since. I just want to go ride and not think about what my average speed is, was, or should be. Give me a computer that only shows my distance travelled in LARGE LETTERS please (:-0) and I'm good to go. Don't want to base the enjoyment or success of todays ride only and always on what my average speed was. To me, a lot of cyclist are just in too big of a hurry. Trainin, now that is ridin for a purpose of and for itself and all that speed info is nec to determine where you are along that particular goal.
If I ride to the Post Office or errands, I don't care how fast I go or what my cadence was or how much power I developed and usually ride an upright city bike with no computer to push me to higher speeds and find It quite enjoyable.
Maybe you, OP, should try ridin w/o a computer just for fun.

I was sick a lot over the last two years, and had trouble getting sick if I rode too hard. I found out I still enjoyed riding if I went a comfortable pace, which was a revelation for me. I still rode an outlandish number of miles, just didn't hurt myself. I decided I needed to be able to ride hard if I wanted to finish Paris-Brest-Paris, so this summer I got some moderate speed work in. I really enjoyed riding with the big packs in that ride. I'm back to riding harder now, and enjoying it more. I don't see anything wrong with either approach, but I like to be able to ride fast if I want.

That's me. As a kid, I was skinny as a rail, but never in shape, not any kind of athlete. That went basically through college, when I finally started to fill out a bit, but it certainly wasn't muscle. Still never was in shape. By my mid/late 40s, I had made it up to 238+ lbs, but at 6' 2", I could carry it mostly OK. But still not in good shape - No endurance at all. Now at 52, I'm (currently / temporarily?) down to about 225 or so. I assume that's due to the relatively minimal riding I've been doing so far, combined with work stress :eek: I still don't have much endurance, but I've seen a small degree of improvement. Loooooonnnnggg way to go, though, before I get 'good' enough (however that may manifest itself) for my riding to really be enjoyable. I want to get there, but it's taking a while.

But, I'm very thankful that so far at least, I've not experienced the health issues that some friends and other acquaintances have. Nothing of my own doing, just blessed. But I've already found that I have to strike a balance between being inspired and motivated by others, vs. needlessly comparing myself to them. As Kurt Erlenbach said, "There are only two truths about cycling: You can always get better, and there is always someone better than you." That applies far beyond cycling as well.

I have to remind myself -- far too often, it seems -- to just make the most of what I have, enjoy what I can and move on.

N+1 ;)

Reply to you, partly teasing, partly not

Teasing - there's a 'pints per outing' target to meet and beat?

Not teasing - I was always a keener runner than cyclist. Cycling was great, but not my main sport. I now realise my equivalent of your 'do a metric tomorrow' was my 1999 last time to do a sub 3.45 marathon just as a matter of course 'cos I'd do 8 miles a night and 20 on a weekend long run just normally. And that was 12 years ago, and I'm afraid it's not coming back

But - I'm prouder of a five mile run now, post injury, than I was of a marathon pre-injury - and it keeps up the achievement motive. That little motive drive is the one to keep feeding!