Damn. I'm gettin old.
06-27-18, 07:23 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Damn. I'm gettin old.
Been riding for several weeks now. Mostly casual riding on bike trails here in Ohio. Today I took off from my house here in NW Ohio.
Pretty flat but even the small hills were rough along with a stiff wind. Now granted I did a loop so I probably had as many downhills as up and wind at my back as into
but it took it out of me. I did 11.5 miles and averaged 12.4 mph.
Pretty flat but even the small hills were rough along with a stiff wind. Now granted I did a loop so I probably had as many downhills as up and wind at my back as into
but it took it out of me. I did 11.5 miles and averaged 12.4 mph.
06-27-18, 07:31 PM
#2
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I ride a lot. but struggled getting up a nice sized hill this morning myself.... I don't know why.... some days are like that. But while panting and gasping a little too... I remembered the very same breathlessness (a few years ago) from merely walking from my recliner to the kitchen (to make a snack). Your way ahead of the game already... and it will just get better.
06-27-18, 11:02 PM
#4
Senior Member
That wind'll slow you down and kills an average mph for sure but with your head down and cranking it out... it sure feels fast. I got left in the dust today by a couple on a tandem.
06-28-18, 02:56 AM
#5
Senior Member
Been riding for several weeks now. Mostly casual riding on bike trails here in Ohio. Today I took off from my house here in NW Ohio.
Pretty flat but even the small hills were rough along with a stiff wind. Now granted I did a loop so I probably had as many downhills as up and wind at my back as into
but it took it out of me. I did 11.5 miles and averaged 12.4 mph.
Pretty flat but even the small hills were rough along with a stiff wind. Now granted I did a loop so I probably had as many downhills as up and wind at my back as into
but it took it out of me. I did 11.5 miles and averaged 12.4 mph.
06-28-18, 06:23 AM
#6
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I commute 18 miles round-trip daily, but was off the bike for a year at 48 due to a bulging disk in my neck. Even with a few months of increasing treadmill work, it took me at least 4-months to get back to where I needed to be, and a couple more to really get back to where I was. The hills were the worst, and I'm in a hilly city. Now, at 56 I will average 12.6 on a good day on my lightest bike (averaging both directions) so you are doin' ok by me.
06-28-18, 10:48 AM
#7
Full Member
Keep at it. It gets better over time...
I'm finding that I need a couple of recovery days after a long ride (>2 hours or so). That and a lot of naps in between. I'm blaming it on old age...
I'm finding that I need a couple of recovery days after a long ride (>2 hours or so). That and a lot of naps in between. I'm blaming it on old age...
06-28-18, 11:13 AM
#8
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If you're riding, you're getting younger.
I'm 45 and full of piss and vinegar (230w FTP, 1000w max), and on Wednesdays I group ride with a somewhat "frail looking" 72 yr old, who is by far the strongest rider out of us all. He says he's ridden 2-4 hrs a day, 5-6 days a week for the past few decades. And he just got a new bike with a power meter, so now he's training with power. Watch Out!
I'm 45 and full of piss and vinegar (230w FTP, 1000w max), and on Wednesdays I group ride with a somewhat "frail looking" 72 yr old, who is by far the strongest rider out of us all. He says he's ridden 2-4 hrs a day, 5-6 days a week for the past few decades. And he just got a new bike with a power meter, so now he's training with power. Watch Out!
06-28-18, 11:52 AM
#9
Senior Member
Keep up the good work! My wife and I bought our first real road bikes when she was going to Ohio Northern in Ada in the early '70's. The worst thing about riding out there was the wind.
06-28-18, 12:32 PM
#10
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Yah you are!
But the more riding that we do that "takes it out of us", the younger we can ride. If all we do is walk in the park, then all we CAN do is walk in the park. I used to ride with some guys our age who were faster than me but I always got to the regroup points and had time for a snack before everybody left. Lately, I've gotten dropped and the group has departed before I get there. So, last week, I started climbing repeats with the heart rate monitor and I realized that it had been a couple years since I rode any significant intervals at that intensity. I know that I'm starting late, but I have to get ready for Le Tour!
But the more riding that we do that "takes it out of us", the younger we can ride. If all we do is walk in the park, then all we CAN do is walk in the park. I used to ride with some guys our age who were faster than me but I always got to the regroup points and had time for a snack before everybody left. Lately, I've gotten dropped and the group has departed before I get there. So, last week, I started climbing repeats with the heart rate monitor and I realized that it had been a couple years since I rode any significant intervals at that intensity. I know that I'm starting late, but I have to get ready for Le Tour!
06-28-18, 06:25 PM
#12
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That's a solid ride. And yes, the wind will kill you. Here in the low country it starts blowing in September and doesn't slow down until May. When it's blowing like that, don't pay any attention to your average speed.
06-28-18, 08:46 PM
#13
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I turn 80 this year and yet ride 20 to 35 miles every other day it is dry. Cycling is its own reward. I call my bent and trike my fountain of youth machines. If you set you rust.
06-29-18, 10:54 AM
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What's making me feel old isn't so much what's happened to me or my physical limitations. It's what's happened to my contemporaries.
My surfing bud had a minor stroke, and will be out 6 months from rotator cuff surgery.
A friend (new to cycling as of a couple of years ago) had a spinal stroke and is now a complete quad(!)
Another friend is now walking with a cane.
Another has given up skiing because he's too "old."
Another few dealing with afib.
Partner has been off the bike for 4 months due to back pain that won't go away.
The list goes on. So as time goes on, I feel older and luckier at the same time. Whether I'm slower or faster than I used to be is in the noise compared to other stuff. I'm grateful for what I am able to do.
My surfing bud had a minor stroke, and will be out 6 months from rotator cuff surgery.
A friend (new to cycling as of a couple of years ago) had a spinal stroke and is now a complete quad(!)
Another friend is now walking with a cane.
Another has given up skiing because he's too "old."
Another few dealing with afib.
Partner has been off the bike for 4 months due to back pain that won't go away.
The list goes on. So as time goes on, I feel older and luckier at the same time. Whether I'm slower or faster than I used to be is in the noise compared to other stuff. I'm grateful for what I am able to do.
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06-29-18, 10:21 PM
#15
Senior Member
Cycling is something you can do every day (and probably should if possible) if you include--e.g., light spinning on a trainer in the garage on recovery days between riding in the wild (at least 30 minutes a day of exercise is the current recommendation)...
06-30-18, 12:02 AM
#16
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Damn. I'm gettin old.
I have yet to find an individual who is growing younger. Crawling leading to walking leading to running is a natural progression as is the distance/speed relationship with bicycling. Slow and short at the beginning leading to faster and longer. The effort one puts into every ride will determine the degree of accomplishments for the future. Keep on biking and in short order the distances will increase as will the averages. You will continue to GROW OLDER but you will FEEL YOUNGER.
I have yet to find an individual who is growing younger. Crawling leading to walking leading to running is a natural progression as is the distance/speed relationship with bicycling. Slow and short at the beginning leading to faster and longer. The effort one puts into every ride will determine the degree of accomplishments for the future. Keep on biking and in short order the distances will increase as will the averages. You will continue to GROW OLDER but you will FEEL YOUNGER.
07-04-18, 12:39 PM
#17
Senior Member
Damn. I'm gettin old.
I have yet to find an individual who is growing younger. Crawling leading to walking leading to running is a natural progression as is the distance/speed relationship with bicycling. Slow and short at the beginning leading to faster and longer. The effort one puts into every ride will determine the degree of accomplishments for the future. Keep on biking and in short order the distances will increase as will the averages. You will continue to GROW OLDER but you will FEEL YOUNGER.
I have yet to find an individual who is growing younger. Crawling leading to walking leading to running is a natural progression as is the distance/speed relationship with bicycling. Slow and short at the beginning leading to faster and longer. The effort one puts into every ride will determine the degree of accomplishments for the future. Keep on biking and in short order the distances will increase as will the averages. You will continue to GROW OLDER but you will FEEL YOUNGER.
07-04-18, 01:44 PM
#18
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07-04-18, 02:13 PM
#19
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We're in our slow season here in Tucson right now. I rode 31 nice nice miles Sunday morning. and spent the last two mornings working on my roof before the rains start.
The plan was to finish yesterday, so I could get up early and get a decent ride in today. Everything went according to plan except my body. I was a bit more sore from being on the roof than I thought I would be. I told my wife I'm getting too old to be climbing up and down ladders anymore.
I still got in a short 11 miles. Back to work tomorrow.
The plan was to finish yesterday, so I could get up early and get a decent ride in today. Everything went according to plan except my body. I was a bit more sore from being on the roof than I thought I would be. I told my wife I'm getting too old to be climbing up and down ladders anymore.
I still got in a short 11 miles. Back to work tomorrow.
07-05-18, 11:18 AM
#21
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07-05-18, 03:39 PM
#23
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07-05-18, 04:28 PM
#24
Not quite dead.
For me, it's about getting serious about getting into shape to ride the back country and other tours I want to ride with my life partner, and then riding them while I'm able.
