You are my age. 50. Keep at it. Of 5 the last 7 weeks, I've done 100 mile+ rides on Saturday. Keep up the riding, even if you stick to the 100k rides. You're still getting out there, and keeping yourself in shape. And at our age, it really matters. You'll see your out-of-shape buddies get sicker, weaker, but you will be feeling like your mid-thirties again. I know this because this is how I feel.

I've been on the century most Saturdays plan as well for a few years (not in the winter, though, and not a big fan of rain). The key for me is to make sure the ride is interesting and fun, and go places I enjoy and eat food I like. If I treated it like some serious "training", I'm sure I would have gotten too bored with it to keep it going.

Not saying my way is "right", it just works for me. Do you have any things you do to keep it "interesting"?

[QUOTE=livedarklions;22091912]They really do and take eons to heal. I was even having trouble with the stairs in my home. One leg would lead. Biking worked as long as I did not drop the heel on the pedal stroke. Dropping the heel would pull on the calf.

[QUOTE=kahn;22092311]
I'm prone to foot/ankle injuries. I have to laugh about being told there's only one proper foot position on the pedals-- depends on what I'm working around.

Exactly like you. I've been calling my Saturday rides "Adventure Saturday". I pick a slower, more comfortable road bike. I pick an different, interesting destination each time. (I live in Brighton Mi, a few of my destinations have been like Stony Creek Metro Park, Lake Erie Metropark, Owosso, and others).
I even drove down the PA's GAP trail and road that for 100 miles out of Ohioplye.
The other two long rides were with organized brevets.
My pace for my Saturday rides is an easier one, slower, with the intention to just enjoy the day, not suffer.
I always stop for a sit down lunch with plenty of calories. Heck, on my GAP trail ride with 10 miles left to go, I stopped in Confluence for a few beers and a basket of fries. and left with the most energy I had all day.
If I am on trails, I'll also put on some music via earbuds, take it easy, and zone out a bit. If I'm close to home, I'll even have a beer at a party store, drank in the parking lot. Nice carbs for the 10 miles or so left.

I usually ride pretty fast on my centuries, but with a break in the middle and I don't sweat it if I need to slow down for traffic or scenery. Last year, I wasn't taking breaks because there wasn't really anywhere to stop for lunch or coffee. The rides went faster, but it definitely was less fun. With the ability to take a nice indoor break, I'll probably go back to doing 125 mile + rides again. I did a 108 mile ride last Saturday, but the 90 degree plus weather made that seem really, really long. But riding down by the ocean and having lunch in Portsmouth NH was very nice, I hadn't been able to do the lunch part in a long time.

One of my favorite towns in the East coast. I was there two years ago, and I loved how every business along the main drive seemed to be a local one.

Just saw my neurosurgeon today. He was fine with cycling but I'm gonna tell my wife he said I needed an endurance bike !!

He actually said that it wouldn't hurt all the metal he so painstakingly screwed into my neck but it would probably be painful.......he's right but I've always been really good at suffering through things. I get some pains down my arm for a few hours after a long ride but that's part of it. He said as long as any symptoms are transient I can keep it up.

Gonna try that 100K ride hopefully on the weekend after this one.

And am serious about an endurance bike...I think that would take alot of strain off my neck.

I think you should come up with a few things to tell your wife the doctor ordered.

One tip for the distance riding, try to time your route so you're not finishing into a headwind.

Have you flown yet? You might be the TSA's scanning nightmare with all the metal bits.

Have fun on the 100km!!!

I wish I could time it like that. On Monday I went on a 30 mile ride and the last 15 were straight into the wind !! I stick to bike paths for the most part and my favorite is north/south so depending on the weather it could be a tough ride for half of it. The good news is its an old rail cut so much of it is quite sheltered. Only in a few spots do I get the brunt of the wind. It typically swirls and loses it punch. In some spots where its really open it can be tough. I thought it was gonna stop me in my tracks !!

I have been wanded a few times since my surgery. My implants are mostly titanium so they react quite weakly to metal detectors. I think I will be OK flying. I can always show them some hella scars if I need to !!!

I'm mostly on roads, so it keeps my routing options quite open. I have both North/South and East/West round trips of various lengths I can do. Every once in a while, I'll totally screw it up due to a bad forecast, and then I really pay for the turn around halfway approach to routing. Second half of a 100 plus mile ride into the wind really is awful.

Rail trail through woods is a really good wind-dampening strategy, and if I'm reading you right, the path is 15 miles long. Two round trips is about a metric century, but I bet you knew that already!

The path is most likely about 30 miles end to end. They keep making it longer !! If I take it to the end I should get past 62 miles. The route I have takes me from my job to a crushed limestone tow path that parallels an old canal. About 4 miles or so to get there. It links up with the Monon trail in a super trendy part of the city at about the 9 mile mark of my ride. Then I head north for a super long time , turn around and head straight south to downtown Indianapolis. Downtown is where I pick up the cultural trail that ends in a bike lane for the last 1 or 2 miles. I really love this route. Lots of road crossings but they are well marked and I am very cautious. People are very good about slowing and stopping as the trail is popular and well known. I know my landmarks for 20, 25 and 30 mile rides without even looking at my odometer.

10 or so years ago I carried a pistol as the last 5 miles of the south part of the trail was super sketchy. Now it is home to super expensive apartments and remodeled old homes. I probably couldn't afford to live in what used to be the heart of crack-ville.

Planned for a shorter ride but felt really strong ...... took a bit more nutrition with me and when I got to 15 miles thought whats 10 more before turning around. I also tweaked my bike a tad based on a video I found here. Moved the seat back some and lowered it a tiny bit. Also tried super hard to improve my elbow bend and not lock out my arms. Helped quite a bit in the neck pain department.

Felt stronger at the finish but was most likely the result of a tailwind. Really gonna try for that 100K next weekend if the weather is good.

I do gotta say that my broke ass leg was giving me a little trouble at the end but is nothing compared to my neck.
I think longer rides will probably require some rest breaks and careful planning. The neurosurgeon said the position itself will not hurt me but will probably get uncomfortable. He is right!!

I think you're working towards $6 Million Man status. We can rebuild him better, stronger.

Think about your body on the bike pivoting in a circle, with the center of the crank as the fixed point. As you rotate back, the saddle moves back, bars move back and up. As you rotate forward, saddle moves forward and bars move forward and down. Seat height goes up or down as needed to keep the correct sale to crank distance. BTW, if you rotate back far enough, you've turned your bike into a recumbent.
Most advice out there about proper position is based on aero and power considerations for racing, not comfort for guys with titanium in their neck
Point being, you can do a lot of adjustment that will affect neck angle and thus comfort.

The video I watched was about proper bike set up specifically for neck issues. I think the biggest improvement for me comes from the better arm position and using more of my core. The changes I made were rather small but helped a bit on both my behind (which wasn't a big problem) and the ability to use my core. Probably getting physically stronger as well.