B. Carfree

Here's a fun little read. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23252763

In a nutshell, we are seeing more people enter their tenth decade and doing so with better physical and mental health than ever.

OldsCOOL

There is a man that is probably 90, maybe more that is seen riding a local 10mi stretch to town. He may only be spinning 10mph but he is still alive, no doctors and nurses chasing him....and he is still cycling. He wears full kit and rides a modern upright bike.

John E

We just lost San Diego cycling legend, Gordy Shields, at age 95.

irwin7638

I plan to see you there.

Marc

rydabent

Personally I hope to be posting there if there is a 90+ thread.

zonatandem

Competed with Gordie Shields a few years back.
Great rider. Could barely walk but sure as hell could ride!

ModeratedUser150120149

Unless the 1% rises to bite me again I should be there. Wonder if we will be any more psychic about each other?

cyclinfool

It is entirely possible that many of us will reach into the 90's and beyond. Modern Medicine can replace almost anything in the body but the brain and so the odds are in our favor. The real question will be, can you afford to live that long? This is my bigest concern about retirement. If I looked at normal projections I could have retired in 2000, if I did I would have regretted it - my retirement funds would have been devastated in 2008 not to mention the soaring healthcare costs once you start to need the healthcare system. I think I should be able to retire by 2018 with multiple legs in my retirement plan but now that I look at what is happening in some major municipalities and what were pillars of industry (Bankruptcies wiping out "guaranteed pensions" and healthcare benefits) I am beginning to wonder. Detroit is filing for bankruptcy https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...ional/2569481/
as many others have, thousands of pensioners may be left on the beach. There are no guarantees in today's world.

So I hope we all live to the 90's and beyond and I hope we all have the luck to dodge the financial machine gun fire coming our way, I just don't see how the system (public or private) can support us.

rekmeyata

Then there's this guy: https://bicycling.com/blogs/thehub/20...ycling-record/

John E

I have budgeted for a life expectancy of 100, which is why I plan to work close to full time until age 70, then perhaps some part time thereafter. Three of my great-grandmothers made it past 90, as did both of my grandmothers. One of my grandfathers reached 88, and one of my great-grandfathers (unrelated) was 86 when he was killed by a truck while walking to work to open up his general store in New Castle CO. My father died at 82 from complications of diabetes and pancreatic cancer, but he consistently outweighed me by 40 pounds or more. His brother died later the same year, at 87. My mother died at 66, after suffering with MS for 40 years.

If you "chose" long-lived ancestors and lead a healthful lifestyle, then you do indeed have a clean shot at living into your 10th decade. The real challenge is indeed financing a long retirement, as well as maintaining an independent, self-reliant, productive lifestyle and high quality of life as long as possible.

Wogster

When 65 was picked as retirement age, most people didn't live much past 60, so you had only a small portion of the population that would ever collect, this meant that pension premiums could be very low. Now that the average life span is somewhere around 75, there are many pension plans, including Detroit's that are under funded, because the pension premiums didn't keep up with longer life spans. Many plans then invested their pool of money, which helped to supplement the too small pool of money. When the economy went down the commode and real return on investment dropped below 0%, the unfunded portion ballooned. I expect at 52, that by the time I turn 65, retirement age, may very well be 75 or beyond.

This also means that with so many old workers, working longer that the turn-over rate on jobs (old worker retires, they replace with young worker) also slows considerably. If I were 15 now, knowing what I do, I would get a trade, because many trades have a lot of older workers, so there should be a good turn over in the short to medium term. Plus you save the large debt load for a university degree.....

cyclinfool

Going down the route of a trade job is not a bad thing, but I think the best advice is what my father gave me back in the early 70's when he was driving me to college (and I didn't take), "go into something where you will end up working for yourself". Working as a plumber is one thing, being a successful plumbing contractor with many plumbers working for you is another. You may think it elitism, but whether it's a degree from Podunk U or a Harvard MBA - your chances are better no matter what line of work you choose and if you do work until 75 the cost of that education is amortized over that many more years. Now we can start a whole new discussion on the travesty that is going on in college education these days - that's a different issue.

However you really did miss my point, the point I was trying to make is that no matter what your financial condition - you may not have a rosy retirement, even if you had gold bars buried in the back yard. It is not that we are living longer that is the problem, rather it is much more systemic and to go into all that here would turn this into a right wing/left wing Fox news vs. MSNBC discussion.

Myosmith

I think it's great to see people who stay physically and mentally active instead of just giving up and fitting into the "old people" mold. This guy is one of my heroes https://bicycling.com/blogs/thehub/20...ycling-record/ and I think about him every time I start whining about aches and pains.

FlatSix911

B. Carfree

They must be quite tough to ride without gloves over that terrain.

A good friend of mine "works" as a volunteer firefighter. Her district includes the local nudist club and she assures me that the couple in the picture above would be among the younger folks at the club.

loneviking61

Go to a bike race and look at the guys and gals racing in the 45 and up, and in the Masters section. A lot of them you would have no idea how old they are. For many of the others the only clue is the gray in their hair. I'm betting there are going to be a lot of very fit cyclists living to be quite old.

John E

Concur. The Fountain of Youth is no secret -- it takes aerobic and weight-bearing physical exercise, stress reduction, a healthful diet, mental engagement, a strong sense of purpose and commitment, and a resilient personality that can deal with loss and tragedy. Bicycling can be an important component.

B. Carfree

Like so many things, aging well is simple but not easy. The tragic aspect for me is watching people engage in destructive behaviors, like living a sedentary lifestyle, when I am reasonably certain that they would have more fun hiking, cycling, gardening, swimming etc. Then again, maybe some folks like looking ten months pregnant with triplets (men included).

rubic

Holy smokes!! Here I am 10 months away from retirement at age 65 and now I need to wait until 90 for my next rite of passage? I better start working out for it.