oneradtec

Yall...

Someone posted this on one of the other cycling forums. I thought it was a great story...very inspirational...so I'll share it.
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Hello, fellow and avid cyclists of the world! I would like to share this recent personal anecdote with all of you. It was EXTRAORDINARY.
I am 45 years old and currently recently reside in El Paso, TX.
A few days ago, a wonderful Saturday morning, after cycling over 60 miles on my Gios Torino SR, and pedaling on a medium gear (52-14) at about 90 RPM, blissfully sore lower back muscles, but saturated with endorphins, my Vittoria tubulars singing the road ahead, the sweat burning my eyes steadily,
the gears smoothly humming along, a 20 MPH SW crosswind (SW heading), when suddenly I was approached by another avid and strong cyclist, who greeted me:
"HELLO, I am George and I am almost 77...and I feel GREAT, man!
I asked: HOW DO YOU DO IT? He replied: You got to STOP FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF...and STOP MAKING EXCUSES, that's all...JUST GET ON YOUR BIKE AND RIDE FAITHFULLY most days, at least X5 week"(This sentence was enunciated clearly, without any wheezing or stridor from that remarkable man's lungs! He was breathing effortlessly, as if standing still, but after exerting himself for the previous 20-30 mins to catch up with me, at a gear of 52-14! WOW!!!!)
Now, I was PERPLEXED, SPEECHLESS! But I finally also managed to ask:
ARE YOU RELATED TO LANCE ARMSTRONG, man?! He just smiled...
Yes, I definitely have met my NEW HERO. I want to be more like Mr. George.
Aging does not have to be a hopeless and sad, irreversible process, we can slow it down with CYCLING, and I got 31 more years to catch up with George!
Yes, God willing, 31 more years to look forward to more wonderful cycling, and just think, practicing such a great sport may just help you slow down "aging", improving not just the way you feel, but also the way you look!
And if you feel better, look better, in better health, then you will LIVE better and become a good example for others to follow, so we can help defeat the obesity epidemic, with its great cost and burden to us all, regardless of our age group or gender or cultural/national preference...
Oh, yes indeed, I am recharged with enthusiasm and hope, since George has demonstrated to me that it can be done, just NO EXCUSES!
Sincerely happy,
Don Quijote
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....so I'll be looking for George out there on the open roads. I think it would be great to have George ride up to me one day and say hello!..I'd like that better than a Lance encounter.

I'll keep looking for George out there until I find him.....perhaps I'll keep looking until I am George myself...in 40 years.

I look forward to those next 40 years! George is an inspiration.

George, If you are reading this....I hope you had a fantastic ride today! If anyone in the El Paso area knows who George is...please let us know!!!

55/Rad

Thank you for sharing that.

About 6 months ago, I headed out on a rare club ride with about 10 others. About 7 miles in, it started to rain. The group got splintered and I ended up riding with a gentlemen who I later discovered was 74 years old. We continued together through the heavy rain when he finally turned to me and stated he had to stop to find shelter. I felt sorry for him but I certainly understood, given the conditions. Fortunately, the route we were riding took us near my home and we were about a mile away. I urged him on and invited him over for some coffee and a warm up. We talked about all sorts of things for 2 hours when the rain let up. We then continued on the ride through some of the bigger hills in my area. He stayed with me and pushed me all the way. I was amazed at how good he was.

I've told this story countless times but I never saw him again....until this morning when I went out with this club again. There he was, the center of attention holding court. Later in the ride, I finally had the opportunity to thank him for being such an inspiration. His name is Bruce.

Someday, I hope to be like George and Bruce.

55/Rad

Hipcycler

SOME day?
Come on Rad...you're not THAT far away are ya?!

55/Rad

Yea, I suppose you are right. 44 can be seem very old at times.

55/Rad

Patriot

I think he went past.

You know, they say it's not the age, it's the mileage. And in cycling, it makes everything go in reverse. I hope?

oneradtec

There is a lady they recently discovered(don't know who 'they' are) in South America...and she is 125 years old. Now just imagine if we all live that long. That means Rad can ride his bike for another 81 years.

Hipcycler

Got ya beat by two years and a hip replacement Rad!

Patriot

I got another 91 years of riding?

Boy, am I glad don't have to get it all done this weekend.

That really IS almost a century. (my pun for the day)

DXchulo

Couldn't help myself....

Patriot

She was a cyclist?

oneradtec

she'd look much better in a pair of pro M frames!

my58vw

There are many people like that I have riden with...

When you feel like you can not go much farther, when you can not push no more, like the pain is too much they are there to push you through... the benefits of a team, the benefits or a friend...

What cycling is all about

Chucklehead

i see alot of older guys and gals along parts of my usual route, but the one who impressed me most is "only" 54. i met him back in december when i pulled into a park to fill one of my bottles. he just sort of rode up next to me on his litespeed MTB, looked at my bike and said "is that full carbon? that's pretty sweet." then he asked if i was riding out towards the coast -- and i was -- so he joined me. we got to talking about racing and it turns out he's a hardcore MTB racer and had just picked up a sponsorship from cannondale and bought a six13 for really cheap. anyway, once we were on flat land, i started thinking, maybe i should take it a little slower than usual since he was on a mountain bike, but he immediately took the lead and started hammering into the headwind. i thought, ok...this won't go on for long, so i picked it up and stayed next to him...then he picked it up some more! usually, i hate drafting off of people, because i feel that i'm cheapening my workout, but after a few minutes, i HAD to start drafting. i kept telling myself "ok...this dude can't just keep going like this. it's like..impossible..." luckily he didn't drop me, but he took me on a little detour and introduced me to this great little hill he called "the climb to god" because it's actually a really steep(10-11-12 percent) church driveway that is about a 1/2 mile long. i matched him up the climb, but felt like i was going to die once at the top. once we were back down at the bottom, he said i was a really strong climber, then he said he was going to stay and do it ten more times. i told him i thought he might be a little crazy and rode the rest of the way home after exchanging e-mail addresses.
funny thing is...now i do that climb ten times when i take that route. i should give that guy a lot of credit for inspiring me to be a better climber. that hill has helped make me a MUCH stronger climber than i ever was in the past. when i first did that hill, i was going up in 39-23, but now i'm firing up it in 39-21/19. like night and day...

JoeOxfordCT

This has really been a great thread to read on a cold early Sunday morning folks !!
Thanks for the stories.

biker7

agree...a great thread and why we love the sport...for all the above.
Cheers,
George...not the same as in the story but who I aspire to be as well.