RVARider

Was at my daughters softball tournament - got there early and decided to bike about 15 miles as a morning wake up. As I was mounting my raleigh on my car, a 60+ guy came over and said "That bike looks like it has been ridden a lot" I told him that I had 1800 miles on it in 1.5 years. And that, though it was an entry bike, I was proud of it. He looked at me, with no judgement, and told me his 1970's steel road bike had 30,000 miles on it!!!!! Turns out the dude did east to west coast and back in the 70's, taking 2 months, then did a long range trip every year for 30 years. Richmond VA to Florida Keys, Richmond to Canada, etc. I was blown away. Guy just wanted to bike whenever his life obligations would allow. I asked if he kept a journal during his cross country trips (would have made a great read about traveling across the country in the 70's) He had not, just loved to bike. I was humbled by my elder and realized my bike was an infant.

Lazyass

If he's had the bike since the 70's then that's less than 2000 miles a year. I'm about to hit 10,000 miles on a bike I bought new three years ago, and that's with rotating with my other two bikes that I ride almost as much. And there's plenty of others who put in more miles than me.

popeye

And you're a lazy azz

TrojanHorse

There's an old guy in my area who rides his bike regularly up and down the streets by my house (and there is a LOT of up and down by me). I swear he's barely maintaining enough forward velocity to stay upright on some of the hills... on his old steel or Al trek, fenders & rack and in the drops.

He has to be 80+ but he's out there several days a week! Come to think of it, I haven't seen him in a while, he's usually going up my street at about 6:30 am. I hope he's OK, he's very motivating.

GuitarBob

Who's to say that he has only one bike?

BoSoxYacht

My mom is in her mid70s, and rides about 3000 miles a year.

CliffordK

As far as I can tell, my bike has a late 60's frame (several components have been upgraded/replaced). I've had it since 1982, or about 33½ years. I've ridden it pretty regularly throughout those years, and it shows. But, it is hard to say exactly how many miles I've put on it. Not a lot of long multi-day trips. My "megameter" ride was on a different bike. I've estimated around 50,000 miles total. And, it certainly shows.

At some point, you may end up with a choice of keep the old bike (maybe do a few updates), or buy new. At least a good classic could last almost forever.

Campag4life

A lot of guys I ride with ride 12,000 miles a year. There is one 73 year old in my group that is the same speed as me at age 61. He astounds me. He routinely takes 22mph pulls in front of the paceline which is our average speed. I am sure there are others his age that are stronger. I have nothing on him and I ride a lot and hard with fast guys...an inspiration.

goenrdoug

A guy like that used to ride around my neighborhood. I stopped him and chatted with him a couple of times. Very interesting guy. His name is Bob. He's an expert on plants. I got a closer look at his bike and found it to be a Trek hybrid of some sort from the early 90's. The tires were hideously worn and somehow still holding air. Everything looked to be original and in decline to some degree. He said his wife (now long dead) had won it in some sort of raffle 20+ years ago.

Last spring, I noticed that he had stopped riding by. Then one day I saw him walk past my house -- going just as slow (relatively) as when he'd been riding the bike. A few days later I was riding through the neighborhood and saw him walking. I stopped and asked him where his bike was. I figured he'd say he'd gotten a flat or something and I was all prepared to offer to fix it up for him. Instead, he explained that he'd been diagnosed with cancer and given 6-months to a year to live. The treatments had impacted his balance, apparently, so he wasn't able to ride anymore.

He still walks past every day or three. Sometimes someone who looked like a home healthcare nurse or something like that walks with him...

I've stopped and asked him how the treatments are going and he's said they're going, but his prognosis seems to be the same, and he's pretty much okay with that.

Seattle Forrest

I had the same thought except I came to < 1,000 miles per year. It's been 36 years since 1979 which is the end of the 70s, and he had 30,000 miles. How did you come up with 2K per year?

Also people in those days used prehistoric methods of tallying their miles, like guesswork. So who knows really?

Dan333SP

Since you're in Richmond, I'd imagine at some point you've ridden bike route 1 up to Ashland? If you do that route often enough (I live just off it in Lakeside, so it's my normal morning ride), you'll see this guy who has to be at least 80 on an old steel road bike with long flowing hair and a white beard, pedaling along back and forth. I don't know if he commutes or he's just out riding recreationally, but I'd love to stop him and ask him how many miles he has under his legs. He has the look of someone who has done it since childhood and has never stopped.

smarkinson

To be fair he did say "less than 2000 miles per year" so technically...

BillyD

This is a family forum, man.

joejack951

I really hope, and fully expect, that some day I'll be that really old guy riding his bike around (with any luck, still riding my Look KG386i). I'll be sure to check Bikeforums.net occasionally to see if anyone is talking about me.

Up North

There is a gent in my cycling club that is in mid 70's he averages 600-700 miles per week from April to mid November every year. He goes out for 150-200 mile ride several days a week and then his idea of shorter rides the rest of the week (60-100 miles).

StanSeven

It's not that difficult to be a fast, strong rider at 60. Unlike some other sports, cycling capabilities font diminish that much with age. You just need to keep at it with speed work and endurance tides, avoid injuries, and have a good time doing it.

It's like running. People used to dread turning 40 because they said that's in the age group with the really serious competitors.

colnago62

You guys need to go to Masters Road Nationals sometime. You would be utterly amazed at some of the riders there.

Slackerprince

Random guy compliments you on your bike as a pretext for bragging.
Seen it a million times.

S

StanSeven

Me too. I didn't catch that until you mentioned it. Also funny as you get older you were so much better in the old days - each year you kept improving

mprelaw

I have a 1985 Schwinn Super LeTour. It has been my back-up/bad weather bike for quite awhile now, but, since joining Strava in 2012, I've logged 2290.3 miles on it.

DrIsotope

I've ridden some of the routes my grandfather would do regularly when he was alive-- 30-40 mile loops. By my best estimate, he was doing a rough average of 100 miles a week from his late 60s well into his 80s. He rode the Death Valley Century at least a dozen times (after the age of 60,) cycled the length of the UK from Lands End to John 'o Groats in the middle of WW2, would do week-long club rides around Lake Michigan, and was a Six Day racer in the Chicago in the '30s. He rode the same Wastyn Six Day Special his entire life, nearly 60 years on the same bike. I think to say he rode 200,000 miles in his lifetime would be a gross underestimate. But he was one of those guys that really didn't keep track. He rode until it felt like it was time to turn around, however far it was that day.

I might hit 7,000 miles this year, which is an achievement for me, as my previous recorded total for a year was about 200. I rode less than 600 miles total from 2000-2010. So to me, 7 grand is a lot. But then I think of my grandpa, out there rolling off miles like it didn't mean a thing. That dude was a cyclist. I'm just a guy that rides a bike.