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Fifty Plus (50+) Share the victories, challenges, successes and special concerns of bicyclists 50 and older. Especially useful for those entering or reentering bicycling.

Back in the saddle

Old 09-01-19, 11:04 PM
  #1  
Raptor1956
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Back in the saddle

I'll be 63 in a bit more than a month and have recently gotten back into riding after more than 4 years away from cycling. In June of 2015 I was riding on the Jordan River trail here in the Salt Lake City area when I fell hard making a sharp turn. The concrete, in blocks as they always are, had a step between the blocks and my front tire got hung up on the edge of a block and, well, it pulled the front wheel out from under me and I fell real hard on my left hip. I knew instantly I was in a bad way and I lay there on the ground for a few minutes writhing in pain. I managed to get back up but I felt I'd either broken/cracked my hip or otherwise severely damaged the muscles/tendons. I was a bit over a mile from home and I decided to walk the bike back home using the bike as a crutch -- it took about 2 hours to make the mile trip. Went to the doctor and his analysis was severe muscle and tissue injury but the bones were not likely broken.


The first week and particularly the first three days were torture and it took about four days to be able to go to the doctor and then the pharmacy for pain killers and a pair of crutches. The pills helped a bit but I wasn't about to re-up and gain an addiction. I was on the crutches for a couple months and limping for another four months or more but about 7 months later I was, well, OK.


I'd hung my bike up on a hook in my bedroom and there it sat, or hung, for over four years. Not quite three months ago I stepped on a bathroom scale for the first time in, well, years and the number it reported disturbed me -- 105.4kg (232.4lb), the heaviest I've ever been. I'd recognized I was getting in bad shape and my mobility and ability to bend to even tie my shoes was not acceptable, but perhaps the final data point was the development of jowls. So, the day after I stepped on the scale I started an exercise program that consisted of 4-9km of fast walking at about 6kph -- I did that for about a month to get back some fitness before getting back on the bike which I did about 6.5 weeks ago.


The first few rides on the bike were painful with my neck being the body part that affected me the most -- being off the bike that long and being really out of shape meant the act of craning the head up to see where you're going was fricking killing me. Yeah, add in a sore tail as you might expect and the total distance covered per ride was scarcely more than 20km and even then I was stopping midway to rest my aching neck. I kept the pace in the 20-25kph range for those first few weeks but as my fitness got a bit better and my neck became less of an issue I've upped my pace to a still mediocre 25-28kph and upped my distance to just about 30km per ride.


Now for some good news ...


As of today my weight is down to 97.1kg so I've come down 8.3kg or about 18.3lbs and those nasty jowls are pretty much gone. My ability to bend and move is much better and my fitness and endurance are much improved though much more remains to be improved. I'm hoping to be near 90kg by the end of the year, it's certainly doable but it gets harder over time so we'll see.


And just for completeness by kit includes: Trek Madone 4.7 58cm with powertap SL+ hub and blade spokes with rims that are modestly deeper than older style straight rims. I have an old Garmin Edge 705 head unit with heart-rate strap and speed and cadence sensor. My average power now is still quite dismal at 140-160W but that's an improvement from the 110W when first on the bike a couple months ago. I'm hoping to be up to or near 200W average by the end of the year and if so that would put my average pace on flat ground at about 32kph which would be a big improvement.


One thing that's been a problem is frequent flats -- in the nearly two months I've had 4-5 flats with the last one, just a couple days ago, being a pinch flat. Prior to getting back on the bike this time I'd only had one flat in several years and that was do to a nail that went through the tire AND the rim.



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Old 09-02-19, 05:37 AM
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Welcome back. I’m finding it takes awhile to sort things out after being off the bike several years.
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Old 09-02-19, 08:53 AM
  #3  
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As for your flats, likely they are from the added weight. Make sure they are pumped up before each ride.

But good for you to get going again. I'm 64 and plan on going at it hard as long as I can.
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Old 09-02-19, 09:34 AM
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Jordan River trail is famous for goatheads . I use tire liners and no more goathead flats.I stay away from SLC part of the trail. Legacy trail is smoother ,straighter and safer.The Saltair ride , airport to Great Salt Lake Marina is pankake flat about 30 miles out and back. Very low traffic and great for personal time trails A lot of it has been resurfaced the last few years. The new prison and the proposed Inland Port might ruin it in the future though.Good luck.
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Old 09-02-19, 01:22 PM
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Glad to hear you are back in the saddle. Broke my ankle a few years ago( non bike related) and was laid up for 8 weeks. Then had to convince the wife to let me ride again while she was at work. All is pretty much back to normal now. It does take time ( a lot more as we get older) to get back to a previous level of fitness and weight. I know what you are going through. Keep at it though and you will get where you want to be.
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Old 09-03-19, 11:18 AM
  #6  
Raptor1956
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Originally Posted by Skullo
Jordan River trail is famous for goatheads . I use tire liners and no more goathead flats.I stay away from SLC part of the trail. Legacy trail is smoother ,straighter and safer.The Saltair ride , airport to Great Salt Lake Marina is pankake flat about 30 miles out and back. Very low traffic and great for personal time trails A lot of it has been resurfaced the last few years. The new prison and the proposed Inland Port might ruin it in the future though.Good luck.

I do the Saltair ride about 40% of the time but haven't done the Legacy trail -- I'll have to give that one a shot.


The Jordan River route is convenient for me as my apartment lies along it so it's easy to get to. A couple weeks ago I was riding on the Jordan River trail and was nearing the midway point of the ride where I planed to stop for a few minutes (neck issues) but a couple minutes out I started hearing a tick-tick-tick sound on the front wheel that I put down to the brakes rubbing a bit and figured to give it a look when I stopped. So I stopped as planned and after resting for a few minutes I gave the bike a once over before getting bak on and it was then that I noticed some form of plant material had poked though the tire and the tire was dead flat. I was just over a mile from home and with only my cycling shoes I decided to take them off and walk barefoot pushing the bike -- big mistake. I got about 3/4 of the way home when I began to feel like something was sticking to the bottom of my feet and when I look both feet were severely blistered. The balls of my feet now have a patch of skin missing about 30 x 40mm and 25x35mm -- that kept my off the bike for 5 days and, two weeks later, they're both still healing and a bit sensitive.


The last time I checked my weight, which I tend to do in the morning, I was at 97.15kg so I'm down now about 8.25kg or about 18 pounds in 2.5 months.


I also raised my saddle about 14mm as it was a little low with too much knee bend at full extension but I left it that way for the first few months to reduce the strain on my neck and now that I've raised the saddle the neck issue has come back though not as bad as it was when I first got back on the bike a couple months ago. Going back a couple months my hands stayed on the top most of the time and only moving to the hoods when I was braking or needed to maneuver, but I'm now riding mostly on the hoods. I have yet to get into the drops -- that is still a ways off I'm afraid.


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Old 09-03-19, 11:19 AM
  #7  
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Originally Posted by Baldy1953
Glad to hear you are back in the saddle. Broke my ankle a few years ago( non bike related) and was laid up for 8 weeks. Then had to convince the wife to let me ride again while she was at work. All is pretty much back to normal now. It does take time ( a lot more as we get older) to get back to a previous level of fitness and weight. I know what you are going through. Keep at it though and you will get where you want to be.
Thanks Baldy, I appreciate that.


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Old 09-03-19, 12:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Raptor1956
I also raised my saddle about 14mm as it was a little low with too much knee bend at full extension but I left it that way for the first few months to reduce the strain on my neck and now that I've raised the saddle the neck issue has come back though not as bad as it was when I first got back on the bike a couple months ago. Going back a couple months my hands stayed on the top most of the time and only moving to the hoods when I was braking or needed to maneuver, but I'm now riding mostly on the hoods. I have yet to get into the drops -- that is still a ways off I'm afraid.
First of all, congratulations on getting back on the bike. I'm in the same boat (your age range, in the 12th week of my "comeback" after several years off the bike). It's a great feeling—I take the soreness as a positive sign of "weakness leaving the body", and every little increase in speed or endurance is good motivation to keep going.

Secondly, I can relate to your neck issues. I've had neck discomfort on and off for many years. It takes me a long time to develop my neck muscles enough to endure a long ride. To avoid the pain, I do these exercises whenever my neck feels even a little stiff (which is most of the time—including right now):

How to Stretch Your Neck

In addition, if you can stand it, I recommend you start trying the drops for short periods of less than a minute, then building up to longer bouts. That's what I've been doing, and now I'm able to ride in the drops for quite a while without discomfort.
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Old 09-05-19, 03:32 PM
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Didn’t mean to copy you’re title. I missed this time last year from foot surgery but this Fall I will be riding.
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Old 09-06-19, 08:26 AM
  #10  
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[QUOTE=Raptor1956;21105838

I also raised my saddle about 14mm as it was a little low with too much knee bend at full extension but I left it that way for the first few months to reduce the strain on my neck and now that I've raised the saddle the neck issue has come back though not as bad as it was when I first got back on the bike a couple months ago. Going back a couple months my hands stayed on the top most of the time and only moving to the hoods when I was braking or needed to maneuver, but I'm now riding mostly on the hoods. I have yet to get into the drops -- that is still a ways off I'm afraid.


Brian[/QUOTE]

Have you thought about raising the bars? Might be an easy way to do it. Also, you can get shallow drop bars and short reach bars.
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Old 09-08-19, 12:04 AM
  #11  
Raptor1956
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Originally Posted by big john
Have you thought about raising the bars? Might be an easy way to do it. Also, you can get shallow drop bars and short reach bars.
I'm getting more used to riding and am getting into better shape so I think the neck thing is a short term problem. As of a couple days ago my weight is now down to below 212lbs from 232lbs 2.5 months ago so I'm down about 20lbs or 9kg. I can definitely tell my gut is a lot less Homer Simpson and the jowls I mentioned are gone. And, as my weight has come down and my fitness has improved the issues that I experience a couple months ago a receding. With only 12lbs more to lose to hit my goal of being under 200lbs by the end of the year it's looking like I should make that milestone fairly early.

BTW, my pace has been improving slowly but I had a run tonight at 18.8mph (30.3kph) though it was a bit wind assisted -- still nice to be getting back closer to 20mph which is another milestone I'm hoping to make by year end. Until recently my intervals of higher effort were quite limited to 1/4 to 1/2 mile but I'm now doing intervals of 1.2 miles (2km) at about 20-22mph (32.2-35.4kph).


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Old 10-26-19, 09:27 PM
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Time for another update...

As of a few days ago I've now dropped below 200lbs or about 90.6kg so I made that milestone a couple weeks sooner than I expected. I've had additional flats and the last ride yesterday I had the bead blow out on my rear tire so it's done for sure. I managed to scavenge an old Bontrager RaceXLite 700x23C so I should be good for tomorrow but I plan to buy a couple new tires in the next month or so.

I've made the major milestone I was looking for but plan to continue to 180lbs or there abouts. My best riding condition, back in the mid 80's, was about 160lbs but I don't see that as a likely thing at 63 years old.


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Old 10-27-19, 04:11 AM
  #13  
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I'm not exactly sure what your current setup is, but if flats are a significant problem, you might want to look at something like the Continental Gator Hardshell. This is what I run during fall and winter due to the absolutely massive amount of crap that is on the roads here in those months. I basically never get flats. Virtually never. I don't even carry a tube and gear with me, that's how uncommon it is. So, they are definitely worth looking into in my opinion.

The other thing to maybe think about is just going tubeless. That could help address the problem as well. Something else to possibly consider.
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Old 10-27-19, 07:10 AM
  #14  
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Congratulations for the weight loss and your determination to stick with it. You are an incentive for those like me that need to reduce the belly.
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Old 10-27-19, 06:44 PM
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Originally Posted by bpcyclist
I'm not exactly sure what your current setup is, but if flats are a significant problem, you might want to look at something like the Continental Gator Hardshell. This is what I run during fall and winter due to the absolutely massive amount of crap that is on the roads here in those months. I basically never get flats. Virtually never. I don't even carry a tube and gear with me, that's how uncommon it is. So, they are definitely worth looking into in my opinion.

The other thing to maybe think about is just going tubeless. That could help address the problem as well. Something else to possibly consider.

There are a couple parts to the frequent flats problem I think. First, there are sections of the Jordan River Parkway trail that are littered with goatsheads that will pop you tire easy so, in addition to other issues with that stretch of the JRP, I've decided to avoid that stretch and either do the Saltair route or the northern part of the JRP into the Legacy Parkway route -- much better pavement with fewer large gaps (pinch flat issue) and fewer stupid people. The other thing is replacing the worn tires that I probably should have replaced much earlier. I hope to pickup a pair of new tires within the next month or so and hopefully, that and my lower weight should minimize the flats problem. My current tires are 700x23C and I plan to go with 700x25C which should give an added margin for pinch flats.


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Old 10-28-19, 07:55 AM
  #16  
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Originally Posted by Raptor1956
There are a couple parts to the frequent flats problem I think. First, there are sections of the Jordan River Parkway trail that are littered with goatsheads that will pop you tire easy so, in addition to other issues with that stretch of the JRP, I've decided to avoid that stretch and either do the Saltair route or the northern part of the JRP into the Legacy Parkway route -- much better pavement with fewer large gaps (pinch flat issue) and fewer stupid people. The other thing is replacing the worn tires that I probably should have replaced much earlier. I hope to pickup a pair of new tires within the next month or so and hopefully, that and my lower weight should minimize the flats problem. My current tires are 700x23C and I plan to go with 700x25C which should give an added margin for pinch flats.


Brian
Welcome back to riding. I know this feeling all too well, retrunging to ride after several years off thanks to breaking my back. I'm out in Tooele. I frequent the Salt Air frontage road, but the construction for the inland port and jail have made a bit of a mess. I have been on Legacy Parkway a bunch this past summer and it is an excellent ride. Next spring I was hoping to cover the entire Parkway from Farmington to Utah Lake...

On one of my bikes, I've had 28s, currently on 25s. But will go back to 28s when these need to be replaced. The other has 25s, no clearance for 28s. I'm not fast enough to notice any difference in speed. But the difference in ride was quite significant. Just personal observation. I do also ride a 29er. It is on 700x 54 currently, but looking for some narrower gravel tires for a second set of wheels. Might settle in at 700x40 maybe... The guy I got that 29er from had it set up as a "Monster Cross" bike, with drop bars and such...

Again, sir, welcome BACK!
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Old 10-28-19, 10:51 AM
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Thanks zjrog, it's not been easy getting back into riding, that first couple weeks were a killer on my neck, but now that problem is gone and hopefully with new tires and a better route selection the flats problem will be a thing of the past as well.

When I first got the bike, a Trek Madone 4.7, about 10 years ago, I was riding the city streets but had a large nail go through not only my rear tire but also completely through the rim as well. I'll see if I can post a pic of that. the rim was a nice deep v type and I had a Powertap SL+ on the hub so I had to buy a new rim and have it spoked to the Powertap hub.

The route from Farmington to Utah lake would be nice were it not for the really crappy pavement along much of the southern part of the JRP and that's before you count the chuckle-heads that frequent that stretch.

I was planning to ride yesterday but when I got up it was snowing so...


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Old 10-28-19, 11:01 AM
  #18  
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I'm giving a lot of thought to going tubeless when I switch to 28s. Might help some.

I had heard complaints of goatheads on Legacy Trail but never ran into any...
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Old 10-28-19, 12:52 PM
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I’m happy for you.
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