Ballenxj

Uh oh, you been spying on me? How did you know I needed a thread like this one?

metalheart44

I'm 73ish, still in decent shape, ride about 6k per year when I am not recovering from surgeries. I ride mostly solo, but I have a few cycling buddies who mostly still work so those are weekend rides. Those cycling friends as well as most of my other friends are in their early to mid-fifties with a scattering of early 60's folks. My wife is 6 years younger than I am.

As I have passed 70 and had my share of ups and downs, I find there are few peers with whom I can share life experiences and converse about this stage of life. I do benefit from the 50+ cycling forum and this 65+ subform. However, I find myself browsing the web these days for other forums where folks who are in my age bracket share experiences and ask questions about the issues that come up in this part of life. Most of the forums I have found seem to have very limited participation or the focus is on single dating later in life and such stuff as that.

Anyway, just curious if anyone has a senior, retiree, or other forum you visit that you find interesting?

McBTC

Your avatar suggests you are riding with 2 TKAs (revisions?). If so, do know how much bend you've managed to obtain/maintain and how that may have figured into your selection of crank length.

metalheart44

I have had two TKRs (no revisions), one in Jan 2015 and the other in August 2015. I have about 135+ in the January knee and about 125+ in the August knee. I did lots of research about crank length and decided that it probably does not make much difference for me, but I did switch from 172.5 to 170 cranks before surgery in hopes it might help prevent or delay surgery, which it did not. But, I have kept the 170 cranks and have no plans to go back to 172.5s....

One more thought about this. I was concerned before surgery that I might now have the range of motion for cycling after surgery and so I looked at lots of options for modified and custom cranks "just in case" I did not come out of surgery with enough range of motion to cycle close to what I had before. I convinced myself that there are options to continue cycling with a limited range of motion using custom or modified cranks. Fortunately, it is not an issue for me now, but not everyone comes out of surgery with a desired range of motion and if not, there are options.

TejanoTrackie 

@bowzette - Good to hear from you again. Skip Sparry came out last year, but this year could not because of some heart related issues, so I was the only 70+ track participant this year. Other roadies like Richard Vincent don't seem to be interested in doing track. I have a purpose built road fixed gear bike now for doing longer rides.

https://m.imgur.com/a/cyWA6

McBTC

Okay, sounds like you got good results. Thanks for the info. My thought is that 120 might be about the least you'd like to see but I am not sure how little it could be to still be able to ride--e.g., 165s... although I do know that >90 is absolutely necessary.

Zurichman2

Nashbar and Performance bike have some close out jerseys that might fit the bill. If you get on Voler email list there might be some deals there. I have around 65+ at my end from different rides that I have been on. A clue from my end would be buy a full zipper jersey. At our age they are much easier to get off than pulling them over your head when fully sweated. Hincappie I know makes some pretty sweet full zipper jersey's as I have one from a ride and is probably the best jersey I own.

Zman

bowzette

I'm into the long fixed rides. I did 50 miles Saturday at 16.5 looking to do this course at 17. I got to get a bit more fit and try 75" instead of 70". Only 1300' of elevation. I save the geared bikes for group rides. I have been riding a Wahoo Kickr using TrainerRoad a lot. I hate the wind and this place is as windy as Dallas!

Ballenxj

For all you oldsters 62 and up, get your senior pass for $10. before October 1st when they go up to $80.
Scroll down to second article in this link.
https://campaign.r20.constantcontact....LETTER.BLOCK32

CMBravo

Low Carb, high fat and moderate protein helps a great deal. I lost 54lbs in past 9 mths.still a way from 180lb.but working on it. My T2diabetis has been reversed. Thanks to this diet and my Fuji road bike. Don't be surprised you keep losing weight.O my cholesterol has also corrested.

Wildwood 

@metalheart44 - 6k mi/yr + surgical recovery times is good beyond words.


I can't find any decent discussion sites - everything turns to dating or drugs or PT or politics. My hobbies are outdoor in nature, but the hiking/skiing/kayaking sites are no good for wide participation. Even the local Pub51 is usually empty and pictureless.


But we try.

metalheart44

The whole ecology of aging gets lost in the dispersion of experience into particular topics. I guess that is what I was looking for and it does not seem to be easy to find. At least my dogs listen to me when I need to talk things through......

CrazyIvan

I'm wondering if anyone is looking into the niche market self-powered vehicles. I've cross trained with Trikkes, StreetStrider, now Me-Mover, each has their own unique body enhancing aspects.
I've read that doing the same exercise continuously loses benefits we once had. I use my Cannondale road bicycle along with the Me-Mover and have found that my endurance has increased along with leg strength which at 79 years of age is very welcome. The Me-Mover requires more energy to propel than a bicycle and also works the core, unlike bicycles. It took me about 10 days to feel comfortable on longer rides to 40 miles, and you do feel it big time. In my opinion, it's one of the best cross training machines for aerobics on the market, besides it's a kick to stand and give my butt some breathing room.

RonH

No one around here sells the MeMover but my favorite shop sells the ElliptiGo. I've been thinking about getting one of those but I keep asking myself (and so does my wife who usually supports my cycling 100%) why do I want to spend $1000 - $3000 for another exercise thingy? I already have my wonderful Litespeed and a Cannondale CF high end road bike.

But I'm still thinking about it.

RonH

Saw the surgeon today for my post-surgery follow-up. He said I have to continue to wear the body wrap for 4 more weeks and I can start riding in mid-July.

CrazyIvan

I also have a Cannondale road bicycle, and a trikke, and a Me-Mover and I also weight train because I prefer cross training. Our bodies get used to certain exercises in a matter of weeks according to years of studies, we need to break the same physical conditioning to increase strength and stamina. For example, our core does not get much exercise while spinning, riding a Me-Mover works the core as well as many other different muscles. Propelling the Me-Mover requires more energy than a bicycle which has increased my endurance significantly, I can feel it when I ride my bicycle, and at 79 years of age, I need all the help I can get.
If you're interested in the Me-Mover I can point you in the right direction, they are not sold in stores, you can email me phillipschill@Yahoo.com.

McBTC

I've seen some dudes and a few couples moving on these elliptical bikes over the last 2 years-- I think there may be a rental firm by the beach... what I like about the whole idea of upright cycling is the efficient transfer of the limited horsepower a human is capable of generating, which I guess is what alternative devices like these must concede.

rydabent

For any internal surgery you need done, robotic surgery is the way to go. I am 78 and had never had a operation in my life. When the procto doctor found a polyp he couldnt get at he sent me to a surgeon. With his Di Vinci robot he remove the bottom half of my ascending colon. I have 4 small incisions about one inch long on the left, and one larger one low on the right. One day less than 3 weeks I was oked for riding my trike. I went for a 20 mile ride with no pain at all. With the minimum invasion by the robot, IMO it is the way to go. The incisions were glued back together, and now at 5 weeks, all but gone. BTW the whole deal was pretty much pain free. Again if possible robot surgery is the way to go.

JanMM

'pretty much pain free' major abdominal surgery is powerful testimony.

DougG

My wife might disagree with you, as she found out that if something does go wrong, it's much more difficult to do a quick fix and they might even have to quickly get a surgeon in to open you up and stop the bleeding or whatever. She didn't need to have it go that far, but probably would have lost a lot less blood in an open surgery situation.

The Da Vinci surgeon -- the highest rated in the state -- said that she was a 1 in 500 case, but that's not much consolation if you're the "one!"

TejanoTrackie 

So, today I took a prescription for my statin to a nearby Kroger pharmacy, showed the clerk a GoodRx coupon on my iPhone, and walked away with a 3 month supply for $33.73. Compare this to the $141.00 I had to pay the first time 3 months ago at a CVS pharmacy using my medical insurance's drug plan. Oh, and these new generic tablets are physically much larger, so they are a lot easier to handle than the first ones. This whole drug business is such a racket !

RonH

I'm back!!!!! Got out this morning on the Litespeed for my first ride since May 30. Did a whopping 8.5 miles from my house on the Citrus County trail that connects Hernando to Crystal River. Its not flat like the Withlacoochee Trail so I feel good.

bowzette

CrazyIvan

I have to know my red line, the mind say's go for it, the body not so much. Cross training with weights for about 54 years, I should know my limits, I do, most of the time except a few days ago on a seated leg press machine which has helped with speed on my bicycle and Me-Mover.
I over did the weight and reps which did a number to my legs and back, if I could I'd kick my own butt. Although I did notice significant improvement there are limits even at my age.

McBTC

Saw new candidate for the 65'n and older T-shirt... If you Google stats on the bicycle market you can find industry market research on the changing demographics-- one demographic was riders over 65 who as a group were mostly male and rode more days per year than any other group. The >65 group was referred to as "geezer jocks."