PeeWeePete

Started riding again, after childhood, when I turned 50. I restarted for therapuetic reasons, and still do so after about twenty years. Currently trying to break the habit that some of my friends are caught in; that is, they only ride to add days to their life. But at 70 and over, the death rate is increasing and it's not bike riding related as far as I know _ so what is the point. Now I want to ride to add life to my days, instead of pseudo days to my life. In doing so, I am discovering a new vitality, and now leaving most of my mates behind. As a result I have been riding alone, riding earlier and longer than my mates, but I still turn up for their after ride coffee klatch.

For a while I have been in limbo between two groups of riders, the slow and the fast, in our local area. Today I am now with the faster group, but not yet strong enough to stay with them when the pace goes up, on flat land, to 37+ kph. I still have lots of excess weight to lose from my body, and when I do, I am sure I won't be so easy to drop.

I am from Australia NSW, and I have three bikes; a carbon road bike, a vintage steel road bike, and an alloy hybrid bike for riding around town.

Chuck M 

Welcome to Bike Forums Pete.

PeeWeePete

Thank you cyclic_eric and Chuck M for your responses.

cyclic_eric

Sydney?
Which bikes are you riding? A vintage what?
After 10 posts, here or other threads, you will be able to include pictures.

10 Wheels

Welcome from Texas.
65 y/o.
Took me Six Months to able to Stay with a group of local riders.
They taught Me much and I then became the Fastest in the Group.

PeeWeePete

Hi.
I am from Ballina.
I ride a Specialized Tarmac (2019), and the vintage bike is a Tecnotrat (Italy) (mid 1980's). Both are road bikes.
And a Mongoose hybrid town bike (1995), which I am riding now but have not yet taken a photo of it.

Trsnrtr

Welcome! '80s bikes are very popular here as the Classic & Vintage form shows,

PeeWeePete

Very well done 10 wheels.

It took me a little bit longer to start riding away from the local Bike Users Group. But when I did, it really upset the fast guys on road bikes because I was riding a hybrid flat bar and pedals. I was too poor to buy a road bike.
Later, a guy gave me an old rusty Mongoose (IBOC) road bike frame. I stripped it down and repainted it. All my friends gave me all the used spares I needed to get it running, including shoes and cleats. My gear changer was inserted into the handle bar ends. I loved that bike.
I soon became introduced to a faster group from another town, and shortly after that I started racing.

PeeWeePete

Thanks for the tip, though I am not like most of our local vintage bike riders that talk almost nothing but old bicycle parts and deals.
However, I am more interested in the old cyclists and their races; and I do read (books, etc.) what I can about them.