Hipcycler

After learning so much, riding thousands of miles, and coming to love this sport over the last four seasons, I've come to terms with something about myself and cycling.

Like so many sports, cycling (at least the competitive part) is a younger man's game. At 46 and finding this sport only as part of rehab from total hip replacement, it's too late for me to become obsessed with speed, components, racing, etc. Yet I am still a competitive person and enjoy the aspect of going fast on my training rides. If I didn't, I wouldn't log such things as average speed and miles.

So my point is simply that after all this time I think it boils down to this--I ride to keep in shape when so many others do not. My motto now is to eat smart, ride often. Not necessarily fast...or very far...just ride and take it for what it is...and be glad to be a part of this club.

I cheer for each and every one of you 20-something's here that have the drive and the bodies to match it. Go for it, because I wish I had known this sport at your age.

Jamtastic

what about us 18-19'ers no love. just kidding

Grasschopper

What about the Sr Games? My father is 62 and just started racing this last year. He gets dropped all the time during normal local races but is much more competitive at the Sr games.

Just a thought.

lrzipris

"Like so many sports, cycling (at least the competitive part) is a younger man's game."
Well, with all due respect, Hipcycler, I think you confuse "cycling" and "racing." You can still obsess about components, going faster, getting up hills better, riding stronger, as I think you recognize from your third paragraph.

Since you enjoy cycling so much, if you want to race, do so; if you can't really compete to win because of your hip replacement, that could be part of the challenge--to see how well you can puch within your physical limitations. Enjoy the competition at whatever level you can enjoy, regardless of the outcome. My father-in-law still competes in several Senior Olympic events in his mid-nineties: find something between those 20 y/o hard bodies and his class. <grin>

timmhaan

i'm 27 and with my job and all the other stuff going on in my life, i feel like i'm getting old pretty quick. it takes A LOT of work to keep up with the faster groups out there and to be a competitive racer. i find it hard to compete with people who can devote 2-3 hours a day to training. not matter what the age is.

Steelrider

That's really part of the beauty of cycling - you can do it totally on your own terms. I'm low 40's and recently stopped playing basketball competitively because that really is a young man's game and it was taking my joints too long to recover. I was/am worried that I would be doing some long-term damage to the connectives if I kept pounding like that. Sounds like you're in a good place, despite any desire to compete. Used to be that I would dogmatically do my normal loops/routes and if I wasn't able to do the whole ride I'd get frustrated. Finally I got to the point where I just take whatever time I have and go as far and fast as I can and am completely OK with that. With 2 kids in elementary/middle school, there are plenty of more important things going on, but I still make the time to get out and ride about every other day - still can't wait for spring/summer!

53-11 alltheway

Hipcycler,

Don't compare yourself to other people.....

Compare yourself to where you were a month ago.......a year ago.

Physical Rehabilitation Sucks.......Damn I've been through it before.

I remember going to the gym after being injured and laid up for a while.....I felt like I lost all physical strength, "Thinking to myself....screw it! I'm never going to the gym again! (It's embarassing when you are lifting girly weights.....your pride, your ego just can't take it...so you consider not doing it all)

Yeah Yeah.....It sounds corny.....my little story, but a lot of us know how you feel right now.



The key with this rehab stuff is patience.

Think of all the 46 year olds who don't even exercise......you are already ahead of them. Don't think of the 23 year old college athletes.

In fact, Try to think of yourself as a 46 year old athlete who will someday be in better shape than most of the Xbox playing young folks...Haha most 23 year olds are couch potatoes.

P.S. I'm 31.....but even when I'm 60 I still be lifting and cycling (but not being hard on myself for having an old body.....just training for the best old body I can have)

21-12

keep on keepin on

Hipcycler

Norman, OK?
I lived there for two years in the 80's!

Pretty flat for training, huh?

galen_52657

Hip... you sound forelorn... is it the Holildays? Yeah...they suck.

Anyway, kicking young rump out on the road is one of my prime motivators in life. Now granted, at 47 years of age my hips and knees are still original (and I hope to keep them that way) and I am unsure how much of a handicap your hip replacement is. But, that does not mean you can't challenge the young pukes now and then. Train your weaknesses but use your strengths. You may not beat them...but if you make them hurt... that is a partial victory! I have cycled with a guy who lost his leg below the knee and he was damn fast.

So....like you said 'ride often' but also, why not ride fast? as fast as you can anyway. Keep pushing yourself. Fast is relative. When I ride my tandem, sometimes it is damn slow...but, my honey is with me and we still have a blast.

Hipcycler

galen,

I'm good. It has been a little hard to swallow at times this summer, because in my mind I am that 20-something in full kit at a crit, acting like a pro at Le Tour. But then it's just reality that sets in. That's OK with me now. I'm proud of what I accomplished thus far, and will continue to push the best I can because it makes me feel good to do that.

Meantime, my message is for the young guns....appreciate your youth, and go for every bit you can while you have it!

JarodArmstrong

Your only 2 years older than I am, but I can't keep up to you on your OakLeaf run.

Those young whipper snappers were no where to be seen yesterday on our group ride. I think I was the youngest one out there. 38 degrees & 25-30 mph winds... they are all weak.

On my Monday rides during the summer the kid(22yrs) who runs the ride and his mother(age unknown) race mtb on most weekends. She was glad to reach her age because now she can compete in her age bracket. So age is relative.

Why not try the Badger State Games? You'll probably get kicked for the first couple years, but only 4 to go for the age bracket jump.


On another note... I have a bumper sticker for you. Is it ok to send it to the office, with attention to you?

Hipcycler

1. Congrats! You were out in the wind yesterday. Crazy man, crazy!
2. Yes, you can send to me at the radio station attn. my name....thanks...look forward to it.
3. We've gotta ride sometime come spring.

I n fact, that just inspired an idea for another post I am going to make right now....

pedal

I've ridden with my GF's father on occasion, who is 58 years old. He had his resting hr taken this year - 44 bpm. He has many years and tens of thousands of km's experience. I'm 29 and he can not only keep up with me, but gives me a run for my money. I'd be willing to bet over a long distance he'd whoop my butt. So to those who want to blame age on slowing down, I say good day. I SAID GOOD DAY! (Fez)

Jamtastic

you know it. i think we have a hill...maybe...somewhere

i go to OU right now. im origionally from houston.

this is a relatively new hobby for me but i hope i stick it out. i hope im still cycling when im 40 and in shape instead of rediculously over weight.

webist

Me too. I ride when I can as much as I can and have no desire to set records or race. It's just fun. And, I do know how much better I feel and how much moire I can do than was the case a year ago.

skydive69

In our club, some of the older guys in their 50's (late 50's) outsprint the young studs. I was breaking the speed limit in my neigborhood today returning from my training ride. Limit is 25 - I was doing 33.7. Oh, BTW, I am 64.

ajst2duk

hey - I'm 42 on New Years Eve, and I obsess over componentry and going fast. Age is a state of mind, if that were so I would still be figuring out what I wanted to be when I grow up !!! Get on that bike and just enjoy.

JBar

Hipman, you're bummin' me with your age-related malaise. I'm 50 and just started riding in August. All I can say is that most weekends I take a 40-50 mile ride which I could not have imagined doing when I was in my 20's. I was mostly chasing women and they usually didn't run THAT far! I've been riding around 100 miles a week and it feels great. I've been a whitewater kayaker for a lot of years but never developed any real endurance base, so riding a bike has been a fun revelation for me. Now I just need to find somebody to ride with that's older and slower than me so I can wear 'em out! If you want to feel young, go to a 30 year high school reunion (it doesn't have to be yours) and see how many people look better than you do.
PS: If the answer is "Most of them", get back on your bike or try another school.

HOG-I

Hipcycler, we've talked on e-mail. I have returned to NM and have been back on the bike for the last 2 weeks (6 weeks after total right hip replacement). Having returned to cycling a few years ago, it is really nice to ride without pain! Prior to surgery it was bone on bone, now it's advanced metals & plastics. The new minimal invasive surgery is a God send thanks to companies like Zimmer and Stryker. I plan to be back to my previous status by early next Spring. For others I'm 66 and participate in Sr. Olympics and races that have a class for 65 and up (few that there are). Keep trucking.

forum*rider

IMO cycling is a great sport because the older guys can beat us young whippersnappers

Anyone can train, get fit, compete and win.

For example, there is one guy that I always see riding. If I look out of the windows of my classroom at 3:00PM he is always riding by, every single day. One Sunday I was going at what I consider a pretty good pace(probably about 23mph) when he passes me like I was standing still! He wasn't even breaking a sweat!

I caught up to him at a stoplight and we chatted for a bit, turns out he used to be a CAT2 racer, broke a leg got a bit depressed then stopped cycling for 25 years He just got back into the sport 2 years ago and is 50 years old.

Point is that you can be fast, competitive and determined at any age. If you put you're mind to it you will succeed. It's not a question of if you succeed, but a question of when you will succeed.

So, keep the cranks turning and if you're in the SD area you can come and whoop my a$$

crash66

Wow, you're dealing with the same thoughts I've been having. I picked this sport back up after 12 or so years off. When I decided to do it, I had a "what am I doing" moment when I realized that I'm 38 and no spring chicken. After 6 wonderful weeks from mid-July to the end of August this year, riding only Saturdays and Sundays, I had improved to a 25 mile ride at around 16.5mph. The next time out I dumped and broke both my elbows and right wrist. Needless to say, when I crashed (or shall I say, fell over like a bag of rocks) I REALLY wondered whether I had made a foolish decision! I still think of myself as the 21-year old who rode casually for three or four years right out of college, wondering if I just trained hard enough maybe I could race a little. Then my oldest child snaps me out of my delusion by asking why I'm staring at the wall with a weird grin on my face. But I'm going to get back on that bike and ride just to ride.

whitemax

Races in his mid nineties? That's all one could ever hope for in my opinion. To enjoy the sport and show your colors at that age is simply, unequivically awesome.

55/Rad

When I got back into cycling a year ago after 13 years off the bike, I knew I would have a hard time comparing myself now at 44 to the rider I was at 31. There was no way I could ever be as good or as strong. It bummed me out but I wanted to ride anyway....for many reasons.

After I started, I found this site. It was the people and the information I learned here that fueled my desire to get smarter about who I am now and what I was capable of.

Now, I am a better rider overall than I was back then. Because of the people on this site, I'm smarter about what I'm capable of, wiser to know how not take things so seriously and look forward to getting on the bike as often as possible. For me, it became a matter of redefining my personal goals and expectations.

Of course, I do like to kick butt once in awhile but the best ride I had all year was one where I got seperated with a 70+ year old gentlemen who totally cleaned my clock up some rather long hills.

55/Rad

skydive69

One of my fellow club members is John Sinibaldi. Olympian in cycling in the '32 & 36 olympics and 10 time national cycling champion. He rides 5 times a week, has the gate and speech of a 40 year old, and I want to be like him when I grow up. Needless to say, he kicks butt in senior cycling events. We were on the warm up stage of our workout the other day, and there was John right in front of me going along in the group at 22 mph at the age of 91. I would love to be like him when I grow up.