With my 41.4 mile ride today I passed 1,000 miles of riding since I bought my bike at Christmas! That was 5 months ago, though I couldn't ride for 32 straight days with busted ribs, lost another week in winter with the flu, a week out for a blizzard, and a week out writing/grading my last tests + final exams for my classes. So, really three months of active riding--and I started with only a couple miles a day. Not bad, I think, for someone in their mid/late 60s (not telling how late!) who hadn't ridden anything but a single speed 50 years ago.

Unfortunately, the broken ribs forced me to back out of the Katy to Utah ride as I knew I couldn't keep up with my 71 year old friend, who did 81 miles on the first day with his trike pulling a two wheel trailer! Now, I feel it will be too hot to head out to Zion. On the other hand, my friend wants us to circumnavigate Lake Michigan from late August to early September after he gets back. Not quite as epic scenery, but maybe a better choice for my first tour.

Thanks for posting--at 52, you helped me feel like I can do the touring I'm looking forward to doing--complete newbie here. Thanks again.

Congrats, biking in your sixties is awesome! Just remember that 95% of your peers (just made up that stat) aren't doing what you are doing.

For a first tour just getting out and going is the goal. I find taking a camera and looking for unique shots, even of common stuff like road signs or barns makes the scenery that much more interesting. People can get carried away with always needing "dramatic" locales. If left unchecked it can lead to "been there - done that" syndrome that usually means getting out of bike touring after a year or two.

Gee, is that why I'm still around. I haven't did any decent locations as of yet and I'm not planning to this year either. I just go, to go. I have nothing else to do and I want to ride. Can't go anywhere without biking since I gave up driving years ago. I'm pretty much never follow no stinkin' bike route. I make my own and see what I might stumble into. Call it a true sense of adventure.

Funny you mention that as I put my Mitsubishi Eclipse in my garage for storage and let the auto insurance lapse as of yesterday--I couldn't find a rack to fit over the rear spoiler anyway, LOL. Don't worry, though, I paid the insurance premium on my wife's SUV, and bought a rack that fits it for our bikes. With both of us retired (unless you count a little university teaching she plans on continuing), it didn't make sense to keep up two cars.

Several years ago a friend/co-worker and I did my first bike tour, he had previously done some credit card tours with his brother but no previous tours with camping gear. Short trip, a bit over 200 miles. One day we stopped at a small park for a picnic lunch. A couple other bike tourists stopped to take a break. One of them was 85 and he was saying that he tried to do a bike trip each year. Several minutes later as he was riding away, I looked at my friend/co-worker and said "I really hope I am able to do what he is doing when I am 85" and my friend/co-worker agreed. I have to wait another 23 years to find out. I just hope that I enjoy all of those 23 years, and then add some more.

Good # miles there despite challenging conditions--this spring has weird combo of cold fronts & endless rain. Touring is a great motivation to getting back into shape.

Yeah, I usually stay in on really rainy days as I have to ride on one of two major US highways to get to a trail head. (I hate that I could never find a rack to fit my car, and it's too old to invest in a hitch.)

Congrats Aidoneus on the milage, hopefully many more to follow.

Btw, I think Happy Feet and bikenh have the right idea, touring can be fun even if you stay local. Most find they don't need exotic locals in order to enjoy bicycle touring; it's the process and not the destination (although exotic locations ain't nuttin' to sneeze at)

Congrats on the miles! Keep it up and keep us posted!

I rode a lot in the 70's while in college but then I let life get in the way, so I bought my first "real" bike I've had in decades this past Thanksgiving. Living in Florida we don't have the winter weather issues that many folks have so I started riding more and more, almost 2000 miles in 2016 so far. Most fun is riding to work most days, and borrowing a mountain bike to ride with some friends half my age (I'm 62) on some single track. So far I have lost almost 50 pounds and feel better than I have in decades. I have 9 more days to teach high school, then retire after 40 years here. I want to do some (semi)-epic rides to somewhere, that will come after some immediate retirement plans, so that's why I hang out in this forum.

I love riding through the teacher parking lot when I get here and the young teachers in their fancy SUV's seem amazed that I rode my bike "all the way to school!" It's 7.6 miles folks, get out of your steel and glass box, see the world!

Congratulations on your weight loss, biking miles, and, I suspect, best of all retirement! The last few years, endeavoring to teach millennials the math they should have mastered in high school became ever more trying. LOL

If you call 8400 miles in all states east of the Rockies last year as local to New Hampshire than yeah I stay local for my bike trips each summer. You don't have to go to Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Smokies, Adirondacks, etc to have a good trip. Sure I have been through the Adirondacks since I can be on the east side of the Adirondacks within one day of my house...I think when I was through the Adirondacks a couple of years ago I stopped and maybe took two pictures, that was it. Nothing there to really impress me enough to stop and take any more pictures. Just more miles under my belt and more roads that I can say I have ridden on. Once you have seen one pine tree...pretty much you have seen them all. It takes something quite massive to get me to stop and take a picture of it. Granted I have come to find the thing that does get me to stop and take pictures are murals painted on the sides of buildings. Forget the art museums, not interested in that crappy art work. Instead give me the murals on the sides of buildings and I'll stop.

Yes, it's painted on the side of a building.
Eric Grohe Murals and Design

So is this:
Eric Grohe Murals and Design

I bumped into a few others last year on my trip. But Eric does the best artwork of anyone that I have seen thus far. I seen both of the two above a couple of times now since they are between my and my mom's house.

Only had 1 teacher that ever commuted (a couple of times) by bike. OTOH I read about a Japanese high school/college where students were prohibited from bike-commuting since there was only enough bike-parking space for faculty.

It's inspiring to hear your experience! I'm 65 now and getting my bike ready for touring, getting in the miles and enjoying life as a retired person myself so love to hear of others not buying into "your too old for that".

the kids at the college here are amazed that i bike the whole 16km to
the beach a couple times a week. during lunch break. none of them
believe i came to china by bike rather than by aeroplane.

one more year here, then will retire. next summer, plan to mail a few
boxes of stuff to thailand, then cycle via vietnam and laos to the new
home.

then buyin' a damn motorcycle!