jppe

It's been really terrific. I'm probably not riding as much as I thought I might but I'm riding as much as I want to. However I did do one long bike tour that took 43 days so maybe I'm just riding more in clusters???

We haven't done a lot of traveling but on the other hand that 43 day trip scratched that itch pretty well.

I'm walking 18 holes of golf Monday-Friday. I typically ride a couple afternoons a week and then a longer ride or two on weekends. Because I'm walking 18 holes 5 days a week, I don't have that extra push when riding hills but I can still climb, just at a slightly slower pace and maybe one easier gear.

I haven't missed work or the people I worked with one bit. I think the social interaction with our daily golf groups have replaced that. It sounds like even more people where I worked would like to retire or leave as the company continues to focus more on the financials versus the core business. Timing was perfect for me to leave from that perspective..... I'm able to keep up with a number of other employees or people I worked with in Professional Organizations or called in via Facebook. That's been helpful to follow folks I'm interested in knowing what's going on in their personal lives. Most seem to be pretty content----at least from what they post.

I've never been bored, not for one minute. I'm the type of person who's always piddling and there seems to be an endless number of things to do around the house. We put in a new yard with irrigation last fall and it's doing so well I'm having to mow every 3-4 days.......There is always stuff to do around the house. We remodeled the house over the last year and there are still little things that need to be done. Those lists seem endless but there is no pressure to get anything completed---it is all just self imposed. It has taken me a bit to avoid trying to do everything all at once but I'm really getting more proficient at slowing down the pace.

Of course there are always cycling projects and maintenance to be done, when I feel like it.

We took a week and went to the beach with my wife's parents---we didn't have to plan around any specific schedule like I used to have to do when I was working. We used my sister's condominium so we could go whenever we want with no cost for the condo.

We have two new healthy grandsons, our first grandkids. Timing was perfect for those. What a joy!

When I was working I typically got up around 6:30 am and was in bed around 11 pm-Midnight. Boy has that changed. Now I'm typically in bed around 9 pm and up around 5 am.....We play golf first thing in the morning so it's nice to be there without rushing. Walking 18 holes uses enough energy....plus the other stuff to where I'm ready to go to sleep pretty early----even with an afternoon nap!!!

We're doing fine financially but I'm not seeing where we're spending much less than when I was working. Gas costs are probably a little less as I'm not driving as much but that seems about it. Costs in general seem to be inching upwards. Medical insurance is ridiculous (as with all insurance costs....) My advice to most folks is to just plan on spending what you're spending before you retire, if you want to have a life (or know of costs you'll be avoiding)??? We were fortunate and did a little bit of savings over a long period of time and as long as investments don't completely tank we should be find through the age of 100.....after that I just don't know, and I'm surely not worrying about it. If needed I can come up with an alternate plans on one of my solo 100 mile bike rides.

If anyone has any questions related to retirement I'd be happy to assist. A lot of you are much further along down that road and have more insights that I do though. I just thought I'd share some things that came to mind.

Now time for a power nap before I jump on the bike and join some other retirees for an afternoon ride.

DougRNS

Thanks for the preview of what is to come. I have about 6-8 years to go. Loved your daily updates during your epic ride last year.

linberl

When I retired, my boss said "you'll be bored within a year, I'll have your position waiting". Five years later, I haven't regretted it for one second. Sounds like you are off to a great start!!! There's no downside to doing what you want, when you want, the way you want. Congrats on the Anniversary!!! The first of many.

NealH

I turn 66 in a week, and it will mark my 4th anniversary of retirement. Its been great, and I spend most of my time in Florida. I ride about 12-13K miles per year now, and I swim as much as my shoulders will stand. The nice thing about Florida is that we have several retiree cycling clubs, and thus there are always group rides here and there. We have the usual fast group rides, and there is a great Tri club here so that's another cycling venue I participate in from time to time (but I don't run).

From the early morning to about 2 or 2:30, I'm plenty busy on the bike or whatever. But after about 3PM, I can get bored at times. I keep telling myself that I will get a part time job, in the late afternoons/early evenings, as I still miss work in a way, although that might sound strange to some people. But after 4 years of telling myself this, I guess the chance of me working again is pretty small.

I plan on some riding in WNC in the middle of May, and early June. And I will not miss the Hot Doggett in July. One of my favorite rides. Hope to see you around sometime soon Joe.

Tony G

I retired as of January 2012 and I can't say that I have had a moment that I wondered what I'd do with my time; AND I didn't ride on any regular basis until two months ago nor have I played any golf which can really burn some time :-)

But I really miss being fit so I hope to revisit fitness by the end of 2017. But I have no idea where that may take me in terms of objective performance.

I also wonder if I can play golf again at the level I was accustom to... kind of like cycling.... I have no idea how close I can get to where I once was.

linberl

Sign up for a class in something that interests you or volunteer somewhere if you want the "work" kind of environment. I bet there are plenty of places that would love to have you....then ride your bike there and back =).

jppe

It took me a little longer than I'd hoped but the golf game came back around. I really enjoy both cycling and golf, but the walking has taken some power but helped with the body weight.

Daniel4

I'm 55 and have been offered an early retirement package and I’m taking it. I too have calculated my finances all the way to 100 years old.

I’m counting on not being bored as I plan to continue with my hobbies: cycling, archery, canoeing and looking for kung fu classes as well as volunteering with bicycle advocacy or animal shelters.

If worse comes to worse, I’ll look for part time work somewhere like Mountain Equipment Co-op or Walmart.

About advice, I was at the gym when one of my acquaintances there asked if I had seen a financial planner? He was one and he said he can give me five questions which most people had never considered. When I got home I googled “five questions financial planners ask retirees”.

These are the links. It does look as if I had already thought about them.

https://financialmentor.com/free-art...ning-questions

5 Retirement Questions Everyone Must Answer

6 Retirement Questions Financial Advisors Should Prepare For (And Every Client Should Ask)

JohnJ80

Thanks for the update. I retire in about 6 weeks - I'll be 61 then and can't wait. I was pretty worried about being bored but I'm working part time now (2-3 days per week) and that's helped understand that it won't ve a problem. Can't wait - my wife (and best friend) both retire on the same day so that should be fun too.

J.

freedomrider1

Wow, has it been a year all ready? Nice retirement report. My wife and i are trying to wrap it up, but they keep giving us more money LOL.

RonH

I hear you. I thought I'd be riding 5+ days a week when I retired. But doctor appts, haircut, take the wife out for lunch, honey-do stuff and a zillion other things always seem to come up. In reality I'm lucky if I can ride 3 times a week.
But I am enjoying the afternoon power naps.

GerryinHouston

My wife is retiring at the end of the month. We are looking forward to daily rides!...

VNA

Life goes so fast once particularly retired--keep healthy and enjoy every moments!

albireo13

Nice. I am 61yo right now and trying to bring the plane in to a landing. Our retirement savings are pretty good but, we have too much short term debt ... car loans, CC debt, etc. I would love to retire in 2 years. We will see.

Barrettscv 

Great report, thanks for sharing. Most people don't know what to do once they retire, you certainly have been using this time efficiently!

I'll retire in about 8 years. I might delay retirement if I decide to continue to live in the United States. I work out of the home and continued employment solves a lot a problems and provides financial stability and benefits while I enjoy cycling as a weekend warrior.

My wife and I might also decided to relocate long term to Europe if our children continue to live there as they do now. I'm continually researching the implications of going abroad. Being married to an Italian native reduces the complications, but it's still a big decision. Retirement choices can be a complicated business!

Jim from Boston

Quote:

Originally Posted by freedomrider1

Wow, has it been a year all ready? Nice retirement report. My wife and i are trying to wrap it up, but they keep giving us more money LOL.

Hi @fr1,

Its always nice to see your posts, and dittoes to all the replies to @jppe. I’m in the same situation as you, but the income of money is nicely balanced by the outlay of cash, especially since we (my wife) bought a second home in the tony resort town of Rockport, MA (first home is paid off). Pertinent to bicycling,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

...In addition, for the first time we bought a second home in a resort town on Metro Boston’s scenic North Shore, a nice cycling route 40 miles long north of our condo in downtown Boston. The region is also good for road cycling, and train service with the fully assembled bike is readily available. I described it in my Cycling Guide to Metro Boston as:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

…North Shore: Beautiful Atlantic coastline,especially north of Lynn, to include Nahant, Marblehead and Marblehead Neck, on through Salem, Beverly and into ritzy Beverly Farms, and up to seafaring Gloucester, Rockport, Ipswich, etc…

So one could travel by train from Boston to Rockport [or cycle, in either direction], and then it’s a short walk to our place. Our house is also a short walk to Rockport Center which itself is an interesting walkable resort town, including beaches.

Rockport is on Cape Ann on the North Shore, and known as Boston’s "other Cape," in distinction to Cape Cod [a more popular and well-known retirement venue], which begins at about 80 miles from Boston, with no train service, requires crossing one of two bridges with horrendous traffic jams on the summer weekends, and is best traversed by car.

In any case, though, I do still like my job…

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

I previously replied to this thread on the Commuting Forum, "How to motivate myself to ride when I'll no longer be commuting to work?"...

Just yesterday a colleague asked me when I was going to retire. I suggested a number of years, adding, "I like my job, and it’s a convenient place (and distance) to bike to."

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldsCOOL

I like that.

freedomrider1

Hey Jim, congrats on the new home, sounds nice. And to my beloved Boston Celtics on being the number 1 seed in the playoffs. Gooo Celtics.

xraydog

Timely post..... sitting here at the end of a busy week thinking about retirement even more. Met with our financial planner recently to get all the "ducks in a row". Still a lot of decisions.... including where to live (ie. stay where we are with pretty severe/long winters where there is little of no riding outdoors) or move to a warmer climate closer to a medium sized city where I can ride daily and play some music (saxophone).

I'd like to here from the retired posters about their retirement experiences which included moving to a different location far from their original home.

bikeridesteve

I retired little over a year ago at age 62 after working 40 years in the tech industry for several Fortune 100 companies in various management capacities. Although it was a hard decision (many meeting with our financial adviser, etc) I do not regret leaving the full time workplace one bit. Got back into cycling big time, lost 25 pounds, health and stress level improved considerably!

I have gone back to work part time as an Adjunct Professor at a local university which has been very rewarding and mentally stimulating although nowhere near the money I was making before.

The hardest thing about retirement is the transition from living off your salary/annual compensation vs. deprecating your portfolio to meet expenses. Our retirement pension is self-funded and don't plan to start collecting social security until much later (ideally not until 70 yo for me). However we will see - we are sandwiched between a daughter still in college needing financial assistance from us, and a parent on both sides needing financial help - over $3,000/month gone for family assistance before we even get to our own expenses - scary!

Regarding relocation - we live in Raleigh, NC which is a wonderful place to live (ideal bike riding, many greenway trails), but my wife wants to move back to Southeast Florida where her family lives. I am fighting it since bike riding is horrible down there (the most dangerous place in the country to bike ride), and I love Raleigh. Not sure where this is gonna go but we'll see...

rydabent

I have been retired almost nine years now. I miss some of my customers, but then there are the 2% I dont miss at all. There are many things to keep you busy. We do breakfast at least 3 times a week with people our age. A mens group at church do jobs to help out around town. And then of course I get to bike when ever I want to.

To me it kind of like summer vacation between the 11th and 12th grade in HS. I have a car, a little money, and my freedom. I even have a steady date, my wife.

jppe

I'm hoping to hold off until age 70 for SS as well as it's one of my faster growing potential income streams growing at about 8% annually if I can wait until 70. I'm in a similar situation in supporting other family members but not quite the extent as you. Interestingly it might be smart for me to go ahead and withdraw some dollars from the 401k/IRA as the minimum required distributions are looking to be an issue on down the road (along with tax consequences). So, taking from the IRA until 70 in lieu of Social Security is a good fit for me.......but I haven't started the distributions just yet.

I lived in Raleigh for 11 years and always thought I might wind up back there one day. But I guess things change----you get comfortable where you are, kids are close by, good amenities in the Charlotte area, etc. We do get back up to Raleigh a good bit as we're season ticket holders.....but questioning that decision right now!! I have good friends that have moved to Clermont, FL and love the riding in that area. Probably not far enough south to suit your wife though.

jppe

It was a great week of riding and golf. I'm starting to ramp up the mileage on the bike, I rode 4 times this week including a time trial Wednesday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. I played golf 5 times with one of the rounds being a Captains Choice tournament so no individual score. My scores this week were 77, 72,73 & 71. I'm thinking there might be a correlation with the increased riding with harder efforts and lower golf scores. I plan to experiment to either validate or disprove the hypothesis!!

Retirement is so good...........

bikeridesteve

Charlotte area is nice. You might want to discuss withdrawal strategies with your financial advisor if you have one. We are not withdrawing from our tax deferred accounts at the moment.

volosong

I'm still a wet-behind-the-ears newby at this retirement game. Have only been playing for five weeks now. But in those five weeks, I've been going non-stop. Took a week to get up to Idaho to do a walk-through, sign the papers, and close escrow on my new retirement home.

The day after I got back, I was on a plane to Italy. Have been promising my best friend, lady friend, for years that I would take her to Italy. Springtime is the best weather to visit, but our schedules never meshed because she teaches in a local elementary school and I was an adjunct professor in the local community college. Our Spring Break/Easter Vacation never coincided. This year, since I retired, there is no conflict, so I took her. Had a wonderful time. Just Rome, and because it was her first time, I acted as the tour guide and took her to all the cool, off-the-tourist-tract things to see.

The rest of the time has been spent in downsizing, packing, and getting ready to sell my current home. It's a huge job! If I can make one recommendation, don't save downsizing until you retire. Start now! Realistically, I have several more weeks before I'm ready for a U-Haul van.

Did have new front yard and backyard landscaping installed. Place looks really nice now. Still a lot of things to do inside, but I'll hire a contractor for that. Looks like a good time to sell, and I did okay on my new place. It's sitting empty, just awaiting my arrival. I'm eager to get up there. Won't have to go through another desert summer where I've been the past fourteen years.

Financially, everything is unfolding as I planed/expected. Got a big check on that last day for unused vacation time and a percentage of unused sick time. That should tide me over till the summer. In two more weeks, I start receiving money from an annuity. If I live to 82, I'll break even, (currently 65). Anything after that is gravy.

Have not started Social Security benefits yet. Not sure when I will. Waiting until 70 would be great, (that ~8% year increase between FRA and 70). But I expect I'll start around age 67 or 68. Waiting until 70 will put me in a higher tax bracket.

I'll take a huge tax hit this year because I needed to raid the retirement 403(b) to pay off the new house. The fee-only financial advisor I've been consulting with strongly suggested carrying a mortgage in retirement. It turns out that I made a major tactical mistake in telling my supervisor that I was going to retire before applying for a new mortgage on the retirement home. Because I told my employer that I was going to retire, that income could not be used in the calculation of a new mortgage. That meant that if I wanted this particular house, I needed to pay cash. At least I'll be mortgage-free in retirement, which I considered doing anyway.

The biggest surprise is that my expenses have gone down. I'm not buying like I used to, probably because I don't want to haul whatever from SoCal to North Idaho. The biggest decrease is gasoline. I used to fill up about three days a week, (and that was with taking a vanpool most of the time to work). I just filled up yesterday, for the first time in two weeks. And at that, I was only a half a tank down. (Need to go somewhere tomorrow for Easter and I know that Costco Gas will be closed, so I filled up even though I didn't need to.)

Best thing I like so far about retirement is not having to wake up to an alarm clock. Stress level is way down. I've dropped ten pounds without even trying. Still not riding like I used to, or want to; but that is probably because of feeling the need to pack and move.

Once I finally do move in a couple more weeks, I'll need to spend some time settling in, than I can start hacking away at my list. On the list is:

Taking French lessons.
Planning my next foreign trip to France.
Re-start piano lessons.
Re-start tennis lessons and join a USTA team.
Learn how to maintain my Vespa because there are no dealers between Portland/Seattle and Salt Lake City.
Start competing on my time trial bike.
Start volunteering at a worthy charity.
Take a class a semester at the local community college, (physics is first)

I don't anticipate getting bored for a long time. And for those times when I don't want to get outside, there is scanning the ancestor's photographs for the rest of the family, convert some family VHS tapes to digital form, hone my photography and Photoshop skills, and start reading all those techo-thriller novels I've been saving for when I retire.

- - -

xraydog, my move will be right at 1,200 miles, from SoCal to NID. It will probably take two trips, mostly because I have three cars, two Vespas, and an untold number of bicycles. A quote I received for a 20' U-Haul, one way, was just under $3,500. A 26' will be just over $4,600. Need to verify the auto carrier quote. I can't believe they'd want the same amount for a car carrier. If true, then I'll just fly back and drive the cars up, one at a time.

Going from the SoCal desert to north Idaho. Many reasons for wanting to make such a move. Mostly, because I've live the whole of my 65 years in SoCal and I want to experience living in a different ecosystem, I'm done riding in triple digit heat in the summer and 40 degree temps in the winter. I want a more mild environment in which to ride. And for political reasons, of which a discussion here is not appropriate.

jppe

Woo hoo!! Same thing on the gas here except we use BJs since it's close by.

Where in Idaho is the new castle? I really enjoyed riding through Idaho. I vividly remember the 30 mile climb out of Mt Home. Completely unexpected. I think Idaho is a hidden gem. I had no idea it was so mountainous.

I probably spent 7-8 months on our house remodeling. I now have tennis elbow from painting 20+ rooms.

I'm surprised at the cost of your moving van. I moved my son from Salt Lake City back to NC at a fraction of the cost of your quotes. I called Penske and they let me negotiate a pretty good deal. I even got a brand new truck......might have gotten 10 mpg!