ctpres

And one more - your voice power will drop making it hard to be heard. There will be a bell in your future.

KraneXL

That's good cause, using your voice is the worst thing a cyclist -- at any age -- can do. When you speak in an open environment there are always gaps, so people invariably pause to try to interpret.

A bell, on the other hand, is immediately recognized as a cyclist approaching, with virtually instant response. So no hesitation in trying to understand or interpret the speech would apply.

Conclusion: Get a bell. A necessary (and legal) requirement for every cyclist.

David Bierbaum

Heh. When I try using my voice, rather than pause, folks usually make a credible attempt at jumping out of their skins in fright. A nice bell, with a nice clear sound that I wouldn't mind hearing on a constant basis, sounds like a must have for me.

KraneXL

That's the "other" negative: you startle people, and invoke their anger. I get that all the time when cyclists (commuters) tear by me with only inches to spare.

When I use my bell most peds just move to the side often without even breaking their stride. The only exception are groups and where there's children.

canerods

Yes, the bell is your friend. When using my bell, I actually have some people 'smile' and wave as I pass by. Especially if I use a 'friendly' short double ring. However, when they're 'plugged-in' to a device both bell and voice seem necessary to get attention. I agree with the pets and children... I always approach with extreme caution.

bruce19

Bell? Uh....no. I like to let people know what I'm doing as well as that I am somewhere in their area. Communication is key IMO.

KraneXL

Read the previous posts. You bell IS you communication.

bruce19

IMO a bell is notification which I will agree is a sort of communication. However, saying "on your left" or something like it is more complete and gives the cyclist in front more complete information. It let's you know that there is someone behind AND what the person's intention is. I find that more valuable. In fact, critical.

Retired in Il

Anyone past about 55 yrs old need a doctors OK to engage in any real physical excercise. Better safe than sorry............

JohnBerry

I've just logged into the Forum for the first time in four years, and this is a great thread: thanks everybody, and thanks for starting it, Canerods. I'm 76, and have spent one part of this summer riding around northern Greece, Albania, Montenegro and all of the Croatian coast, and another part riding Mt. St. Helens-Seattle and then East Glacier-Going to the Sun Road-Missoula, all fully loaded and camping.

Some points I'd like to join others in emphasizing, based on my experience. 1. After about age 73 (in my case) my performance, especially endurance, started to decrease very rapidly, partly because I was not exercising regularly in the off-season (down from regularly posting 100-mile days in 2015 to finding a 70-mile day tough now). My off-season lethargy was due to a back problem that made it very difficult to walk more than 2 blocks (I had ridden 3000 miles in the summer of 2014, and done two Marathons that winter, but my back made my tour in 2015 an agony, and I went nowhere in 2016), and was even aggravated by swimming. Also due to the fact that Austin, TX, is almost as dangerous a place to ride as Moscow, Russia. But I should have been doing stretching and core exercises, and perhaps should have bought a trainer for the garage, and thanks for that reminder. 2. Strongly second the idea of licking table salt from one's palm - I have found that a palmful is about the right amount to get rid of cramps (which were a serious problem for me). Had one hilarious episode this summer trying to explain, in a pained and weakened state at the top of a long, hot hill, to a Montenegran lady baker that all I really needed was a palmful of salt. Neither of us spoke the other's lingo, but I managed to get the idea across, and she even made a little baggy out of a napkin so that I could take some with me! 3. Also, I have finally absorbed the fact that drinking sweet drinks of any kind exacerbates cramps - drink water, or beer if you have to! 4. I must also follow up on the suggestion of buying Morton's Lite for the Potassium - that will simplify things, as does putting salt on one's food. 5. The bell is essential. On the one occasion that I didn't use it, but used my voice instead to rather belatedly warn a pedestrian I was coming, the person almost jumped out of their skin and gave me a talking to. I deserved it! 6. Mirror is essential - and thanks for the contributor who talked about a glasses mirror. My helmet mirror no longer works for me as I can't change focus quickly enough any more. 7. I agree, don't ever fill your ears with speakers - the older you get the more you need to hear the stuff coming up behind you. You can no longer crane your neck around to see it! 8. Yes, keep the weight off - it's a horror to get it off by sweating through hot and ugly days in the early part of a tour. 9. Back to exercise: the post on posture was really good - that has become a critical matter for me. Finally, 10. You CAN overdo it at our age! It took me 3 days to recover from crossing a 2500-foot pass in southern Albania on a very hot day (my 4th day out), and I was seriously worried for those 3 days that I'd damaged my heart. Similar, but not as severe, experience riding from East Glacier to St. Mary against a strong headwind on a hot day. There are 2700 feet of climbing on that short route. I had been looking forward to riding up the Going-t-t-Sun Road (2200-foot climb westbound) the next morning, but was pooped enough to decide that it would be wiser to take the free shuttle up to the Summit and ride the bike down from there. Rats!

Once again, thanks to everyone, and sorry I can be long-winded: a great thread, with lots of wisdom to absorb.

CoogansBluff

[QUOTE=John_V;20419507]A I'm 72 and ride 40-60 miles/day, 6 days a week. It took me a few years to get to that point but at 71, it's not impossible. /QUOTE]

That's impressive and inspiring. How much time are you on a bike for a ride of 40-60 miles? Do you ever go twice/day, or one long ride per day?

John_V 

Thanks! My rides are between 2.5 and 3 hours of ride time for a 40 mile ride, depending on who I'm riding with. I do my 60 mile rides with my buddy Frankie and he's not a fast rider so they usually take us between 4 and 4.5 hours of ride time. I ride in the morning because the afternoon heat in Florida is really a killer and very seldom do two rides a day.