Since this section covers 50 YO's and up to maybe 100, comments about achievements don't mean much without knowing posters age. Big difference between 50 and 75 YO doing sub seven 100 mi. Comments might be - 50 YO "good job keep it up" and 75 YO "WOW way to go." So what if we start achievement posts with age.

I always find it interesting to know the ages that go along with accomplishments if only 'cause I'm looking for role models. I'm 66 btw.

I am not sure if it is more of an accomplishment for someone 75yo in great shape to accomplish a task than for someone 50yo and totally out of shape to do the same thing???

Your comment assumes a linear decline in abilities from - say 50 - to say 75+. However, research shows that that decline can be stopped, or at least slowed way down, by proper training and exercise.

I have mixed feelings about this one!

Interesting comment, though.

achievement posts with age

70 y/o

Woke up today still breathing.

Just about right.

I feel that age of the Rider is unimportant. Providing you have kept fit- anything is possible.

Who has achieved more--The 65 year old that has ridden a bike for the last twenty years-- Or the 30 year old that bought a bike last year as he could not even walk up stairs without getting out of breath----And they both do the same 100 mile road ride just to show the youngster what it is like to push yourself hard. I'd say the 30 year oild and next time he rides with me- I am letting his tyres down to even things up.

Peak performance does decline with age, no doubt about it. The hour record is just under 50km. The record for 60-64 year-olds is just under 45km. So if we assume that represents something close to the limits of human potential, we might conclude that the over-sixties can aspire to 90% of the functionality that they might have had in, say, their late twenties.

I'm pretty sure that now, at 57, I'm faster on a bike than I was when I was 30. But I'm trying to be as fast as I can, now, and I wasn't then. By the time I'm 60 I might be about as good as I can be for my age.

But all this only goes to show that simply saying "I did this and I'm X years old" doesn't necessarily tell one much. I have more admiration for those who ride despite physical disadvantages than I have for us old gits who are still in pretty good shape.

I'm 67 and was passed by two 30 year olds on todays ride.
Some days I do better and pass the 40-50 year old riders.

I agree with Bruce19. I admire older role models. I'm 65, not in very good shape but trying to get better.

I'm not interested in age as a marker to that level. I post in 50+ because it tends to be the most civil of the forums on Bikeforums. I think there is a fallacy with OP's original premise. I'd offer that terrain has an incredible impact on century times, perhaps more than age. If you ride a sub 7 hour flat century at 60 does that equal a hilly century at 50? I guess I'm not into comparative accomplishment. A 300 lb. 45 year old rider who does a 40 mile ride after building up to it for months and having lost 40 lbs already, get my, "Wow, way to go!"

There is actually another thread running on this forum about not revealing age in order to avoid the "WOW way to go" response.

For inspiration about age, look up John Sinnabaldi . Still racing at 91, died at 92 . Olympian in the 1930's .

Thanks for pointing that out. It is certainly relevant:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...teering-My-Age

I used to think that is was a good thing posting our ages, particularly those of us over 70, sort of as a way of telling younger folks that life did not end at 65 or 70, that you could bicycle and exercise right past those earmarks and just keep on going.

Now I am not so sure, and have made some changes to my signature, etc.

The other side of the coin is that we have folks starting to participate in the forum at 50 or so who think they are SO old and just ready to give up to father time, and choose screen names like "old and tired" or "last days of life" or whatever.

How do we get those guys to understand they are just hitting the prime of life? Or, do we have any duty to do that? I used to think we did, but now, I am thinking, "Heck, who cares?"

Less crowing about achievements. More posts with cool pics and interesting story lines.

I had liked to check out the Tell me about your Ride thread but for every interesting post there are twenty or thirty "I rode 80 miles in two hours. That's it" posts. It's not very interesting.

I'd suggest a Strava thread where you can link to an epic ride for all to admire.

The racers threads are in a different league. That's the place to draw inspiration if you need it.

Just a thought.

I participated in a dirt bike forum that put the age and birthday in the Avatar section on every post. It got used to beat members over the head when either an older member disagreed with a young member's input or the young guys wanted to keep the older guys down or out of a thread. They still use this to the best of my knowledge and it is one reason I quit using the forum a few years ago. The threads became battle grounds over the smarts one age group had and the other lacked. Don't wish to go that way again. I managed to steer clear of the carnage but had to report a lot of threads when they got hostile.

Bill

Then what's the point of listing weight? I think age is just one more factor in the total equation of endeavor. I have no problem with listing age and find it as interesting as listing weight, miles, mph, elevation, etc. OTOH, when I set my personal goals I almost never consider my age. It's just a number but sometimes an interesting one.

I'd be more interested in seeing "retired" vs "not retired" since that tells me more about available spare time and only mildly implies age range.

Go back through all my posts since I started posting six years ago. You'll see that I tend to "wow, way to go" with any accomplishment I respond to. Which was my point. You ride. That's good. You ride and you're older than others. That's good too. You ride and you're younger than others. That's good. You ride and you weight more than others. That's good too. You ride and you are tall and thin. That's good. You ride fast and far. That's good. Your ride slow and not far. That's good too. That is the gist of my intention when posting my comments. I don't think you'll see any posts where I've listed my age or weight.

Why, are you trying to say, um, IT'S ALL GOOD?

And, no one reads them.

I read most all of them. I always try to comment on them, too, even if it's only "cool story, bro".

And my point is not that you are wrong to celebrate. But, you did make a point of listing weight so I assume it has significance to you. It does to me too. I was just pointing out that factors like weight, distance, age, etc. are interesting to some of us some of the time. It wasn't a criticism. It's just one of those things we humans tend to do. I like knowing others circumstances in life so I can more fully appreciate their accomplishments.

Your assumption would be incorrect. It was simply an example. Giving those who post here positive reinforcement, especially new riders, seems to be useful in helping them keep motivated. Their age, weight, sex, miles ridden, feet climbed, simply don't matter to me.

I read most of them. I read your thread where you shared the very nice countryside with the train.