Back on a bike after 30 years... suggestions?
 

Ok I admit to no exercise for an awfully long time and throw in a bit of high blood pressure and a 'bit' of excess weight at the age of 60 ... well I figured it was all down hill from here on in.. or was it?

A few months ago I inherited my sons 'old' MB and something happened as I wobbled down the driveway for my first 'ride' in 30 years or so. I remembered how much darn fun a bycycle had been way back in my yesteryears.

​​​​​​I started pretty slow with a couple of km's and was relieved simply not to fall off and avoid a heart attack although the sound of my heart banging away like a sledge hammer was probably a sign I got a bit excited on that first ride!

It's been slow progress but now I ride about a 100kms a week with out too much sweat and tears. I know that's not huge progress but am thinking maybe just maybe I might one day be able to do a local rail trail over a few days...ok I might just be getting ahead of myself here.. lol
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Every day now I look forward to jumping on the bike and seeing where it takes me both literally and figuratively. I feel better, eat better and sleep better. I have even started wandering into bike shops to look at all the engineering wizzardry in those ebikes and high tech carbon fibre racing machines.

I guess my experience is nothing unique but thought it was worth a share and would love to hear similar stories or comments and suggestions as to how to stay motivated and keep these old legs turning.
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​Cheers



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I started riding at 67 after 40 years without a bike. I was in OK shape because I was a runner,, but had to give up running because of knee issues. I started riding eight miles four times a week, which seemed like plenty at first, but pretty rapidly upped my mileage and number of riding days. I'm now riding almost every day 15-20 miles and consistently exceed 100 miles a week, with occasional longer rides. One thing we have in common is that we are enjoying our riding, feeling good because of it, and looking forward to getting out and riding. It's enjoyable exercise. If it wasn't, I don't think I'd have the motivation to do it.

It sounds like you are having fun and that's what keeps me motivated.

As a cyclist who has been at it for about 45 years, at least for me it has always been about having a goal(s) Weather it is to competing on the road or velodrome, or touring the California coast or across the country. Seems like I am always shootin' for somethin'.

If you are seriously into the idea of multi-day trips then a modern lightweight road/gravel bike or even an e-bike would make it much less daunting than an old mountain bike. Doesn't have to be a race bike either.
Sounds like you are having a lot of fun. Just keep doing that too!

Keep it Fun and have a Great Time.

Got back to biking about five years ago or so. I was in my early 60 years and just wanted to get some exercise in my daily routine. Jumped on my old mountain bike for fun. I started slowly and enjoyed it very much and decided I wanted a new bike. Things have improved exponentially since I last looked at bike technology in the '90s. Ended up with a CX bike to ride road and gravel. Been riding around 1k miles a year and having fun doing it all the while getting some pretty good exercising to boot. So its a win-win for us older 50+ folks.

So keep doing what you are doing and think about if you want a better bike in the future and how much more you want to get into this sport. There are many other things to keep us busy but I like this one the best (at least for today)...

Welcome back! Cycling is an investment in your health. Sounds like you’re having fun, and life is good- take care.

I just came back to this site after many many years. Now part of the over 50 club, and just recently started to ride again. I agree with your comment about the fun / joy of riding. My previous home location was not condusive to riding. New home in Virgina has many miles of area to ride somewhat safely. Glad to hear you are wanting to climb aboard again and best of luck to you.

Oh, back in 2005 I started to ride (in my 30's) after not touching a bike since my teens. I ended up buying a comfort bike from Dicks. It was a GT Timberline. It was comfortable for short ride, but if you wanted to ride longer distances frequently, it would not pass. So I just made some easy improvements to it and it became a commuter (about 20 miles a day) for a few years. Then I was stuck in Cleveland Ohio for about 9 months for work, so I bought another comfort bike from Dicks, this time a Diamondback, and I did the same thing. Changed the pedals, the tires, the seat, made some adjustments and it worked fine. I still have both of these today and they still work good. Though, honestly, I am seriously considering buying my first road bike, but not planning on spending a ton.

So, for just getting back into it, a comfort bike might be a good option. For me, it worked, I wanted a road bike, but at the time the store had none.

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If you are seriously into the idea of multi-day trips then a modern lightweight road/gravel bike or even an e-bike would make it much less daunting than an old mountain bike.

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T2Wheels..actually an old, rigid mtn bike (or hybrid) can make a great touring bike. Put some street tires on it..the gearing is already very good. Most often the stays and fork accommodate rack mounting. Doing a drop bar conversion on it can be very easy, depending on what you're starting with. You'll find many road or gravel bikes suitable for touring will weigh in about the same as a good quality mtn bike(25-28ish pounds)...though bike weight isn't stressed so much in touring as it is in other areas of cycling. Gearing on most road bikes(unless designed for touring) and many gravel bikes is less tour-capable than what you find on a good old mtn bike.

Good reading:
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...nversions.html

@Turning2Wheels - Great story. We love them.
I think of cycling as a lifetime activity.
Steady progress as fitness increases.
Always keep the rubber side down.

As others have said, Keep it Fun.

New bikes are motivating.
Or, in my case = new to me vintage roadies are motivating.
Contribute to the Movement - bring in another person to cycling.
Those receptive will thank you.

edit: just saw Australia as your location. A best friend recently worked 6 years WA, mostly north of Perth - and loved it. WA more than the job, ;)

G'day

Well, for my 50th back in 1995 I got a hand-me-down present from my step son; he's into the fancy kind of bike and the three year old Bianchi Nyala (MTB) was no longer "fancy".
Suited me perfectly and that Bianchi ,with an even older Nishiki, is still around ... and gets used.
But with the advent of Covid19 I decided to really get back into cycling.
a)​​​​​ to keep fit over the Summer ... to make my Winter start up of XC skiing as painless as possible.
b) to keep as far as possible from that lousy virus ... solo riding will do it.

That worked; 42 weeks and 3120 klicks later it was a breeze switching to the snow.
100K a week is a good base; as time goes on you increase a bit, but play it loose.

After getting back in the groove last year my bike broke down, got an estimate and decided to buy one of the modern MTBs. Nothing fancy but with all the features that make for easier riding in our foothills.
The old MTB got fixed after all and is now more or less my Gravel Bike without drop bars. :D All that vintage gear is kind of quaint, the 26" wheels with 2.1" tires are OK.

Big thing to remember: a fancier bike doesn't make one a better cyclist, but getting out there on a regular basis sure will.

Cheers

HJ

Trust your sensations.

Finish each ride with a sense of wanting to ride again. And, as for "performance", be patient.

I returned to riding after nearly a 30 year layoff in early 2020. I'd wanted to for quite some time but had gotten too heavy for it, so it was a major victory moment for me to head back to bike shops. And I've been riding a lot since; it's been fantastic.

The nicest surprise for me was discovering how much bike infrastructure has improved in my area. I knew about some mountain bike and gravel trails, as I'd been hiking (and why I got a mountain bike), but I didn't expect some rail trails to be as nice and extensive as they are. Also an area that, back in the late 1980s-early 1990s, contained a sports/concert venue, acres of parking, and a massive dump, is now a national park with a scenic towpath trail.

So if you haven't looked at available bike infrastructure in your area for a while, check it out. Hopefully you'll be pleasantly surprised.

You might try riding road bike, or urban bike. With skinnier tires, high air pressure, more aerodynamic riding position, you might like it, and find it easier to ride than a mountain bike. My single speed cheapo road bike would weigh in at about 29 pounds if I removed the seat post rack and water bottle holder. It uses 700C wheels and tires, and it rolls pretty easy. Not that a mountain bike isn't a great at and fun ride, but they do tend to be heavier with more rolling resistance due to that weight and the fatter knobby tires. also, they usually have a heavier suspension fork and sometimes a rear shock. My last three bikes, earliest to latest have been, first a Mountain bike, followed by a cruiser, followed by my single speed road bike.

Awesome. I'm also 60 years old. I got into serious cycling when I was 23 and I rode a lot until I was about 34. My riding then was focused on triathlon competition. But after that, my riding was sporadic and I didn't ride much until I was 42 and decided to try to qualify for and ride Paris-Brest-Paris in 2003. That gave me a whole new perspective on cycling. I finished PBP, but even that did not keep me riding. The last year that I really rode consistently was 2013 and I did not ride at all from 2014 to 2019. But last year, with the extra free time of being able to work from home every day and not having to commute to/from work, I resumed riding. It took me a few weeks to even be able to ride more than an hour. But by the end of the summer, I was riding for up to 2 hours with an average speed of ~17.5 MPH. This year I joined the local bicycling club (recreational, not racing) and have done about 1/2 my riding with the club. That has been sooooo cool and has been a huge incentive for me to ride more.

can i reduce my belly fat through cycling?
 

is it possible reduce belly fat through cycling or running bike?

Absolutely, you're burning calories. Over the winter I went about four months without riding because I had to give my sore knee a break and then after it was good I got lazy. I've always been pretty thin, 5'10 160lb or so but for the first time in my life I got a little potbelly and gained many inches around my waist. All my shirts got too tight, my belly started drooping over my belt and I was ashamed at being seen in public like that.

I knew age was catching up with me because in the past when I got out of shape I would lose weight and shrivel up like a toothpick. The mirror motivated me to get back on the bike when the weather warmed up and I burned it all off in about 6 weeks riding 120 miles a week minimum. Never in my life will I get like that again unless I get some medical problem that will make me stop riding. I'll never understand how half the US population just accepts living obese.

However, a strange anomaly I see is lots of guys who are strong regular riders, doing century rides and everything but they still have pot bellies. I can't comprehend that one :lol:

thx
 

thx so much

thx to sharing your personal experience

Good thread T2W. The rest of you guys too, very inspirational! I'm creeping up on 60 but still have a few years to get there and have picked up cycling this year myself. Now my situation is a bit different in that I really don't 'like' riding...i'm a true lazy ass....sigh but it's good for me and with my bad knees (whole other story but I've got to the point of visiting surgeons) it's an activity that I can do. I keep doing it though, maybe I'll grow to like it even. I sure appreciate even the modest gains I've made so far and the benefits it's paying. As time goes on and I look at stories like yours, geez, 100k/wk, 3000k a year and more is motivating for me so thanks for sharing your stories.

Keep it up boys!

I have always been "coordination challenged," to say the least. (Politically correct way of saying I'm a total klutz, devoid of natural athletic ability. My younger son is a natural athlete, and it is pretty impressive to watch him pick up any sport and excel. I guess he got that from my wife, but the big joke in the family is that he got it from me. Unfortunately, my younger grandson, his nephew, seems to have inherited my klutz gene.)

For me, bicycling, which I took up at age 12 when I could finally balance safely on two wheels, was an absolute life-changer. I have never been a competitive cyclist, but I love the freedom of riding for transportation, for exercise, and for recreation. I have met a number of delightful people, ether online or in person, through a shared passion for cycling. At age 71, I enjoy excellent health, and my current encore career as a university lecturer enables me to get out on the bike several times per week. My favorite bikes (see signature) are vintage road bikes with somewhat relaxed / comfortable / versatile frame geometries and my go-to workhorse steed, the no-suspension Schwinn mountain bike.

I used to ride with a guy who was an absolute ox on flat ground but he had a gut and was generally overweight. I'm sure it was just more calories in than he was burning, but he had clip-on aero bars and his back was as flat as a table and he would go to the front and OMG! He could pull for miles and ride people off of his wheel.
Another friend raced crits as a cat 3 and he varied between 265 and 280 pounds. He played offensive line in college and was pretty big. Hard for him to stop eating.

I think losing belly fat (or weight in general) will be different for everyone.

After seeing a cardiologist this spring (thought I was having heart issues - turned out to be high blood pressure), she said I had to lose weight especially in the belly. She wanted me to make lifestyle changes to lower the high blood pressure and avoid going on medication. The lifestyle changes involve better diet and more exercise. Told me to take the summer and see how well I was doing by the fall and go from there.

I have ridden over 2600 km so far this summer, significantly changed my diet and dropped around 20 pounds (first time I have been under 200 pounds in many, many years) as well as lowered my blood pressure.

I still have a way to go (and a roll of belly fat, lol) but I'm making good progress. I guess I'll find out when I meet the cardiologist this fall. I think you need to do more than just ride to lose fat. I believe changing your diet is likely a bigger factor and the riding compliments that.