am I the only one who sees this:

Getting older, need to................

and thinks:

"pee more often"

?

I agree that a new bike may solve most, if not all, of your problems. At least it's worth a try.

Starting out clueless helps.

we all start out clueless

Not qite... we can at least ride all year round without three-quarters of the continent covered in great white sheets of snow. And the temps never get below -5 deg in the large population centres -- and even then, only on one or two days of the year.

An interesting individual is Stuart O'Grady who at the age of, what? 40? has lost his edge in speed but has become the on-road commander of his team. He won't ever win a TdF stage again, but his team will because of his experience, endurance, and ability to pick the right tactics. So in a sense, he will still be a winner.

Of all of the pros who are aging gracefully, Jens Voight is the most interesting one of the bunch. Borrowing a kid's bike so he could finish last year's tour was a story for the ages.

Now this afflicts me more than the young guys sucking my wheel in the sprints

Fair dinkum, 2-3 times before I leave the house and then a "nervous one" just before the start of the ride

Getting older, need to....

Get a scrip for Viagra ?

I must be getting old........ lost interest for the need.

I wonder if all those years and countless miles of riding has SQUASHED the desire? Serious.

You may need a new ride to fix that.

Nah, happy with what I've got, maybe just need a Selle SMP?

Actually, that expression may be worthy of the dictionary people. We often go to the dictionary for words, but the dictionary people also go to current usage. No? Dynamic equivalence or something like that.

The mind goes too, you know. As evidenced by some of the posts on BF . . .

Just give in.

Worked for me!

English is a very dynamic language. So are others, but in France certain academics are fearful that this constant change is eroding the language and actively try to prevent the encroachment of new words.

In a semi-serious answer...

A long time ago I went to a LAN game which had a range of players from about 10 years old to 50 or 60 years old. I was 35? so not as young as some, but about average for the players there. We all had similar equipment, blazing fast connections, so the quality of play was very good.

I was astounded by the reflexes of the kids. I could see their faces and if I had an inkling where they were on the map then I could tell when they were about to pop up (due to their eye movements leading their character's movements). So I had a "hack" so to speak. Even with that, and observing them, and knowing they had no clue I was around the corner, I couldn't kill them before they spotted me and killed me. I had to play smart against them and managed to get up to about a 1:3 win:lose ratio (I lost most of the time).

Likewise, in cycling, the young'uns have some physiological advantages, given the same level of ability. A younger version of me is much faster sprinting wise but less powerful overall and probably less intelligent. Put it this way - I placed more recently than I did in almost any year in the last decade save one or two.

Also, if you look at the results of the Cat 3s, a lot of the winners are in their 40s and 50s. They're not as quick as they used to be but they're smart and crafty and clever.

You have to make up any aging disadvantages with experience.

cdr

Train smarter.
Be realistic.

+1 - E P O


*Why can't I capitalize "EPO"??*

Merci, Merci

I notice that in group rides, the intermediates are getting bigger in numbers. That's where all the baby boomers are at and they're fast. Maybe there should be two intermediates.

You guys are telling me what I should and do already know.
When I was younger I would feel like I'd let myself and my bunch down if I missed one turn, (pull), on the front during a race, in fact I would do extra turns to cover for other guys who were struggling. This usually meant I was totally knackered at the finish line. Even now I sometimes push till I vomit.... I'm not real bright, am I?

I think NOW is the time to use the smarts and leech off the young ones

pcad is totally off base on this. I have talked at length with the world champ guy and raced against him quite a few times now. He is very open about discussing tactics and usually has ways of getting the same point across:

"get someone else to do the work as much as possible and save it for your one big move. once it's time to make that move, put everything you have into it."

the biggest thing is that he can make this strategy work within countless different tactical situations, whereas a less-experienced rider (everyone else, virtually) might not be able to. I've seen him do it. He just always seems to have a magical intuition when it comes to being invisible until the "right place, right time" when the winning move happens.

Excellent post, I totally agree.
I too, have raced and trained with guys/girls who were/are at the highest level. They're like liquid silk to ride with, their intuition is astounding. While I'm certainly nowhere near that level, I do have some tricks the young guys are ignorant of......
*head butting
*elbow in the ribs
*jersey pulling
*banging drops
*pump in front wheel

Been watching "Breaking Away" and "American Flyers" on the ol' VCR, haven't we?

One trick you didn't mention - pulling alongside, reaching over and shifting your opponent into a higher gear on a climb (works with DT and barcon shifters).