Jinkster

Here's my introduction post shamelessly copied and pasted (since this is my 2nd post)....

My profile pretty much says it all but to recap?...

"I'm a 56 year old Former U.S. Marine who once pedaled, ran, swam and weight trained hard...then got married, raised 3 daughters and developed many bad habits working 3 decades in aerospace machine shops...today?..I am a recovering addict with 4 years clean and sober with onset type II diabetes and am 5 days into quitting smoking cigarettes in an effort to save what's left of my life and besides shooting traditional archery?...I decided to drag my old Giant OCR3 out of the shed and had it refurbished to "road ready" as part of my plan to quit smoking."

Hoping I can pedal my way back too good habits and good health!

Three Decades ago I used to pedal the cranks out of the Kmart/Huffy bikes I used to buy...I had a 27miles loop I used to pedal everyday (that it wasn't raining) before going into a 2nd shift machine shop job...and I'd get it done in about 1:15-1:30 pending traffic and such but when my two oldest (of 3) daughters hit their early teens they wanted new bikes and I decided to join them and sprung for what was my first "expensive bike"...I think it was about $600-$700 but I got it for $500 because it had a couple scratches...a Giant OCR3....I think the three of us went for about 3 rides and it got stuffed in a shed for the next 12 years...as part of my plan to keep me occupied and my spirits up to quit smoking?...I pulled it out and took it too Bike Street USA last week to see if it was worth saving...a new front derailer, two new tubes, a new chain, re-wrapped bars and $134 later?...outside of some light rust on a few bolt heads (which I may replace "just because") here she is in "road ready condition"...



nice place you all have here and I can use all the motivation (and advice) for getting back into it you folks may have to share....have a blessed day and happy pedaling, Bill.

aRoudy1

Welcome aboard Marine! Semper Fi!

John E

Welcome aboard! The Giant OCR3 was a very popular bike -- nothing wrong with it. (My bikes are a lot older than that -- my Capo and I have a combined age closing in on 120 years.)

Jinkster

Thanks ARoudy1 (Semper Fi back atcha!) and JohnE...the weird part for me thus far was feeling like a little kid at Christmas again picking up my bike when it was ready....what a pathetic old man I've become! LOL!

bruce19

This first step is in the right direction. Good job. Be slow, be patient and watch it come together. Best.

RonH

Welcome back to the obsession. Nice looking bike. After you get a few miles on your backside you need to lower or swap that stem. Sitting upright will kill your back.
Keep on riding. Find a group in your area to ride with for motivation.

Jinkster

Thanks bruce...and yes....I gotta take it slow because I am an OCD kind of person...everytime I do anything it's all or nothing and the biggest mistake I could make is to overdo it on the first rides and hurt myself soooo....the plan is?..."easy does it"...my first ride the other night was 2 miles in about 8-10 minutes...just getting used to braking, shifting and pedaling again...real slow pace...but gotta start somewhere...and I even "felt that" the following morning. Whadda wuss I've aged into! LOL!...but I'll get there.

Really?...lower it?...I was actually thinking that raising them would make things easier on my back....but one things for sure...prolly anyone and everyone here knows more about biking than I do at the moment...but I'll take your advice and at least leave them where they're at for the time being...(instead of raising them more like I was headed towards)...I know they felt okay 12 years ago when things still worked on me! LOL!

OldsCOOL

Welcome to the forums!

Floyd

Make the bike comfortable for yourself...if that means it looks different that others, who cares. the idea is to keep riding...I like that you are starting slow and enjoying, enjoying, enjoying... good luck on your goal of good health and all... I use my bikes to 'get rid of extra-size' and keep the veins open for good blood flow...and to have fun, and meditate, and ... ... ...

Jinkster

Thanks folks!...I didn't get to ride last night (the 2nd day I had my bike back) due to severe storms and it's been sprinkling all day today but couldn't take it anymore and just got back from my 2nd ride....this one grew too 3 1/2 miles and I got to spend about 15 minutes pedal time...and man...this 2nd ride sure felt great...felt like I could've easily pedaled twice that...maybe I needed to blow the rust off my joints on that first ride! LOL!

I'm hoping the weathers nice in the morning....I'd like to spend at least an hour on it tooling around the hood here.

qcpmsame 

Semper Fi, brother, welcome to the 50+ gang, Great to have you riding more, pull up a saddle and stick around the place.

Bill

tsl

Hi Bill! Welcome!

I'm 57, having returned to cycling at age 49. As of this month, I'm 14 years off drugs and alcohol, and nine years off cigarettes come November.

I've found many parallels between cycling and recovery. "Take it easy", "just for today", and "one [pedal stroke] at a time" spring to mind first. But also, as a newbie, discovering exactly how bad off I was and how long a road it was ahead of me. There was the initial desire to speed through the cycling equivalent of the steps, followed by the realization that they go in a particular order and you need to go at your own pace for a reason. (Progress, not perfection.) And finding that I needed to get slapped around a bit by the old-timers before getting it together.

In short, I've found cycling to be the physical embodiment of the spiritual process of recovery. The lessons of one apply equally to the other. Can't say which I prefer.

So don't drink, and go ride your bike.

RonH

I'm 69. returned to cycling when I was 55. Riding that bike with the stem that high would kill me after a few miles. You can see me bikes in my signature at the bottom of this post. Just click on the names.
Look at the stem positions of most of the cyclists on here and the cyclists you see while out riding.
If lowering the stem bothers your back you can always change it back.
Have fun. That's the main reason for riding.

Jinkster

Hey Ron!...yeah...and it's all coming back to me now cause while it may be correct?...your bikes look set up just like mine came and it wasn't my back but my neck as I'm not a "Head Down" rider...also?...at 5' 6"s short?...not only am I vertically challenged but I have a wide upper back with a short trunk and short arms....when my bike was set-up like yours are?...it would crush my nuggets and give me a kink in my neck...I'm sure there's a lot of things I'm doing wrong but I guess I'm more of a street rider than a distance racer and one of the things I appreciated about this bike when I bought it was the fact that it has a 2nd set of brake levers upstairs...and I only go for the downstairs set when shifting.

Today I was reading up on those SMP seats...maybe something like that would help?

Anyways thanks for your help...I'll be in the learning, tweaking and adjusting stages for awhile I guess.

Biker395 

Welcome!

I'm kinda jealous, actually. You have a whole new world dawning in front of you. Lots of new things, and new friends.

The advice about taking it a little at a time isn't just good for OCD or avoding injury purposes. Take your time and savor each little thing as it comes. Finishing your first 20 miles doesn't feel like (and isn't) any less of an accomplishment than finishing your first 200.

BTW, I still have my 13 year old Schwinn Fastback ... very similar to your OCR. I still love riding it.

bransom

Welcome to the club! Just remember, as you're pushing up the miles and speed, to not get too wrapped up in the numbers (time, avg speed, Strava segments, etc.). Rather, take the time to look around and enjoy the view of the world rolling by. Riding is good for your body but even more so for your mind.

Jinkster

Thanks and Amen to both of those responses!

My other bike is a Vulcan 1500 Classic...(after 8 years on a heavily breathed upon Hayabusa)...I now take my time through life! LOL!

BTW...Biker395...I love your tagline....I'm in the process of adopting mine now.

jim_de_hunter

Since we're at it: 27 years clean and sober, 14 years no cigarettes and all tobacco, 4 months cycling as a hobby.

One mile at a time and, sometimes, just to the top of this rise.

fietsbob

Navy, VietNam era smoked for a week on ship to hang with the 'smoke breaks', got out ASAP.

at 39 I was finally able to get away to take some self supported European bike solo tours

last one at age 50 .. now I live where others come to as Tourists.


no semper fi, not in any big hurry , I get unavoidably older anyhow .

though years seem to slip by as it is with less ceremony, since I have no children
& only Ex Girlfriends, I have lost touch with, long ago ..

But summers are shorter than when I was 10..

qcpmsame 

I'll second the advie on your stem set up, you'll find things more comfortable and you will be able to log the miles with the lower stem height. Check in the bicycle fitting forum below this one for some ideas on set up and fitting to suit you and your riding. You might want to get one or more of the different books for 50+ riders out, say Cycling Past 50,Cycling Past 50 (Ageless Athlete Series): Joe Friel: 9780880117371: Amazon.com: Books Joe Friel, and read up on fitting the bicycle to you and some other 50+ tips.

The Giant OCR 3 is a good bicycle for your riding, it will serve you very well. Just keep it maintained and safe so it carries you where you want to go enjoyably. The books will have normal maintenance "how-to" chapters and there are really good bicycle maintenance books to choose from. Lennard Zinn's, Zen and the Art of Road Bicycle Maintenancehttps://www.amazon.com/Zinn-Art-Road-...s=lennard+zinn and Park Tool's Big Blue BookBig Blue Book of Bicycle Repair: C. Calvin Jones, Bill Gibson, Joel King: 9780976553045: Amazon.com: Books are my two favorites.

Bill

avmech

Welcome Jinkster! Which Bike Street? Carolinas or Florida?

58 years young, I started back on about 3 years ago, after nearly 20 years off the bike. Quit smoking back in 1978, cold turkey from 3 packs a day, have an occasional drink (cardiologist orders to have one or two glasses of red wine a day, or as he said: alcohol) and no drug use so that was never an issue. Lost about 55 pounds back in 2012 (diet, exercise and bike) then decided to have a heart attack (3 stents)........talk about doing stuff backwards!!!!! Do not get on the bike as much as I want nowadays thanks to work (better than the alternative of no work!)

rydabent

Thank you for your service. And congratulations on trying to get things in hand. No doubt about it that cycling is a great way to exercise. Im 75 and ride about 30 miles every other day. It keeps my weight down, and helps control by type II diabetes.

Little Darwin

Welcome Marine!

As a 57 year old ex-Marine, I am curious where you served... maybe we crossed paths at some point.

Boot camp late July to late October 1975
Infantry training to close out the year 1975
McAlester Oklahoma for about 18 months
Camp Pendleton for about 3 years (first part as infantry K Co 3/7, then as a computer operator)
Recruiter School, followed by an abbreviated stint as a recruiter in California.
1981-1982 Camp Butler, Okinawa.

Enjoy the ride!

Jinkster

Thanks for the warm welcome folks and?...

US1 in Port Saint Lucie, Florda.

Maybe "possible" at Pendleton?...

Nov. '77: P.I.

Feb '78: NAS Millington, TN (Training MOS 6062 Egress & Environmental Tech)

May '78: Pendleton, OV-10 Precision Insertion OJT

Aug '78-81: MCAS El Toro....VMA-214...Black Sheep Squadron.

Little Darwin

Well, if we crossed paths, it would have only been during a very brief period. Summer '78 I started working at the data center, which was in the warehouse area across from the air field. I was working the night shift...

I don't know my aircraft well enough to be certain about that photo, but it looks like an F-4 to me... I used to love watching the Phantoms take off if they happened to be flying when I was at NAS Alameda during my recruiting days. The roar was incredible!