Trakhak

Yep. I remember vividly when the first Giordana shorts shipment arrived at the shop from Gita Sports Inc.

From a quick search:
"Assos constructed the first pair of Lycra cycling shorts for the Ti-Raleigh team in 1976, and Castelli popularized the trend with its own made-for-public version a year later, a black one-size-fits-all pair of shorts. Cotton and wool shorts became obsolete."

Alan K

I had a single speed in the 60s - the mechanism to climb small hills was to use strength combined with gravity by standing on pedals and push as hard as a BMI of 18 could manage. 😉
In the late 70s I bought my first multi-gear bicycle, a 3x7 Bianchi, suited for touring.
Always wore only cotton clothes and like you, cutoffs were good for summer. In recent decades, I too switched to fluorescent cotton t-shirts. In winter, I take advantage of multiple layers of more modern fabrics but outer layer is never too tight. I stop bicycling in winter when the temp gets around -10F; this is when breathing can become uncomfortable if the air isn’t pre-warmed by a layer of bank-robber gear (face mask). Below freezing, with fresh snow, bicycling is exhilarating with right kind of clothes and bicycle!

Alan K

Going to work in winter

My first try in uploading a photo on this forum. I wasn’t sure it would work but it did.
It is probably the wrong thread or section of the forum. I’d appreciate someone’s guidance in moving this photo to a more suitable area.
This photo is several years old but winter bicycle riding hasn’t changed drastically. There are times when I think that I could use a little bit of that global warming thingy around here but it doesn’t seem to happen. 😉🤪

Alan K

The next winter



Commuting in winter on a bike path

More of the same, next year too…

[Commuting on a Litespeed titanium bicycle with all XTR components - 26” wheels custom laced on 32h XTR hubs. The original titanium straight handlebar replaced with slightly curved bar for a more upright posture, two bright headlamps in the front (one used on blinking setting and the other on at ~75% setting), one bright blinking red light in the rear that is supposed to be visible to even the criminally drunk. 😉]

rsbob 

Yup did the same. Brown Schwinn Varsity, cut offs and t shirt and sneakers. When started riding longer distances a cycling friend of mine suggested cycling shorts with a ‘gasp’ chamois. Tried them and was instantly hooked on the all day comfort, but still wore t shirts. Same friend later told me that cotton t shirts were not the best for keeping cool and created drag flapping in the wind. Bought an on-sale jersey at REI. Now I had pockets again to carry my stuff, and he was right about cooling. He had been a serious cyclist for a couple of decades before we met.

Then found some cycling shoes which were glorified sneakers with stiffer soles that worked with the toe-straps but never felt really secure. Same friend chimed, now that we were doing 50-60 mile rides, that I was wasting energy with my flexi-shoes and should buy some proper cycling shoes. So I did and the cleats nicely locked into the pedals and toe straps.

On one ride had a bad flat which the frame pump I carried would not overcome. A nice cyclist came to my rescue with all the tools and a patch to get me up and going. The next day I went to the LBS and bought an under-seat bag, tire irons (no more flat headed screw driver), a tube and patch kit.

After being regularly dropped on climbs and wearing myself out on my 32 lb bike, I bought a 12 speed Bianchi with the svelte weight of 28 lbs. I felt like I was flying after losing 4 lbs. And so the saga continued eventually to Look clipless pedals and more cycling gear.

Fast forward 40 years and now I buy good quality cycling gear (on sale if possible), have a carbon bike with carbon aero wheels, power meter and a bike computer (Garmin 830) that can do everything but wipe my…you get the picture. With all this new equipment and a far lighter bike, I can ride about 1-2 MPH slower than in my 30s when I was at my peak - pushing the first Bianchi.

”Times change and so have I” and I still enjoy cycling just as much - except for the part of running out of air on long very steep (my definition is 15*+) climbs and having to take more rest days and….and…

Old Guy8

Will see what happens, if anything.

I lovely day to ride. One more tomorrow.
I was out on local Stone Bridge Trail today. And connected Long Prairie Trail. Between Roscoe and Harvard, IL

I tried to post a couple pics. I'm not allowed to until I acrue a few posts. That's fine.
Old Guy

Leebob69

Is that you Todd? Welcome. Yup you need 10 posts before posting pics.

Alan K

In my subjective assessment you are doing much better than most people I know, including I.
Just today, I was out of breath on about 8 degree uphill grade. I had not been there for quite some time and the problem with this stretch is that just for a short distance around the bend, there is this illusion that finally, it’s leveling off but as soon as you are about halfway done with the curve, you see another stretch that keeps going upward. This happens about 4 times, this distance is no more than a mile but at my age, being able to do it without getting off the bike is a resounding success!

My plan is to keep at it as long as I can!

McBTC

Me too? Having a 1-to-1 and a regular ride schedule has been de rigueur...

Carbonfiberboy 

I haven't posted much on this forum. My cycling concerns are more about getting 'er done than anything else. "Lets get 'er done" is rando-speak for get back on your frigging bike and ride. I'm trying hard not to back it off too much as I age. This is me on RAMROD in 2018. My 2019 photo didn't come out. Then the club missed the two Covid years and didn't contract for photos in '22 and my heart wouldn't allow me to ride it in '23. My bib # in the photo is 10, meaning that out of 800 riders there were 9 riders older than I when I was 74. I had a good ride that year. Mt. Rainier in the background of course. I'm turning so that I just miss the photographer. He kept saying, "Keep coming, keep coming." I use a Camelbak on that ride so I stay hydrated and only have to stop at 3 rest stops.

I don't know if I'll ever ride it again. I don't think I can get sufficiently trained up for '24, maybe by '25. Hard to say. My riding buddies say I'm coming back really fast. I have another heart procedure, an ablation, Dec. 22. If that goes well, it should fix my last issue, vTach. I might miss a couple weeks of cycling, etc., though. Then 6 weeks of work to get back to where I was before the procedure.

sbrudno

As a mid 70s guy myself, I read you: get on the bike! Good luck with the ablation. You should be up and about soon after but should probably not get back on the bike until your follow-up visit.

Carbonfiberboy 

I like your sig. Me, too. It is all about fixing stuff. Some folks complain, other folks act. "If it hurts, work it." That guy did set an hour record at 104.

philbob57

Good luck with the ablation.

I've just started refusing to be surprised by age-related losses. I'm just enjoying the stuff I still can do. I'm pretty bummed that my Thanksgiving dinner was Paxlovid, though.

McBTC

Paxlovid for me in August- up till then... I was a super-dodger. You may lose your sense of taste- I did but only for ~ a week.

jem01 

Newbie here, but on post #10 so there’s that! Yay! Turning 67 in a few months and getting back up on my bike after a right hip injury… Currently just on a trainer in the house. Love all the encouragement and inspiration in this thread! A big thank you to everyone who shares their life and insights with us! Thank you!

smontanaro 

That's a great way to get started! I broke my right femur in a crash with a car in 2017. Once I could get on the stationary bike at the physical therapist's office, I set up a beater Dawes Galaxy on my CycleOps trainer. It was there that I first managed to rotate the crank all the way around. (It was a surprise.) The Dawes was supposed to be a "flip," purchased from Craigslist. After its stellar performance during rehab I decided to keep it. It is now one of my two around town bikes.

So, get on that trainer and polish your trainer bike.

jem01 

“So, get on that trainer and polish your trainer bike. “


Just finished 25 minutes on the trainer with the last two minutes increasing tempo. Other than being winded… My hip feels great! Feels so good to hurt this way… As I feel my body healing! Thank you!

seedsbelize2

I have only recently felt old enough to participate in the 50+. I am also qualified here, at 71. Boomers one and all.

sbrudno

Show off your wheels!

Wildwood 

In fact, we ought to be showing all those bikes from the 65+ crowd.
Or at least a sampling.
My sig line is Vintage, Modern, E-road. Let me find pics.

Vintage

Modern (well, at least integrated levers)

Can always enjoy longer rides!

Need41speed

[QUOTE=Wildwood;23115063]

In fact, we ought to be showing all those bikes from the 65+ crowd.

My Dahon Mu P8 daily driver folder

My highly modified Retrospec “Spec” folder

My EPS tri-fixie built w/ Campy, Profile Design, Deda & Fizik parts, Zipp/Phil Wood wheels

Taking a break in Kapiolani Park during a ride yesterday

Kai Winters

I'm 68...
Wishing I still had my old Diadora shoes with the wooden soles...just to show them to people now and then.
Rode a bit over 10k miles this year.
Life is good and I'm one lucky m'f'er...ride on !

Wildwood 

Happy New Year's Eve.
Nice to ride in Winter.


Triple for old legs

Old Guy8

This is post #6. Can't seem to be able do much until accrued 10. I do understand why.
Too cold here, N. Illinois, for biking anyway.
I got back into riding again last fall. Since then arthritis in one knee has been acting up periodically . Anyone use Voltaren arthritis salve? I've added it a few times a day. Haven't decided if it has any effect. Also use Aleve.

easyupbug 

Diclofenac Sodium 1% gel keeps me moving. Rheumatoid was more of a nuisance to me until my 70s when Osteoarthritis came to town and would shut me down. When I follow the directions exactly (application size, four times a day, etc.) and importantly start when I first notice it coming on it has worked very well. We are snowbird and up at the cabin it can be hard to find Voltaren but I have learned all of the generic diclofenac sodium 1% gels work just as well. If you don't catch it early it can take days to have an affect. Hope it works for you as well.