motochick 

Hello everyone, I am new to this sub but not new to cycling. I have been on a bike since I was 3 and spent my childhood riding a bike just about everyday, crying when it rained and I couldn't! My husband and I have been roadies since we were 13, riding our dad's 10 speeds (way too big) until we each got our own proper bike. I feel like I am having way more fun now at 51 because everything is more comfortable and I'm not constantly in some kind of pain. I can ride many more miles now than I used to because I stopped doing what "everyone" else is doing. I did the research and listened to the non-comforming guys and now I ride in peaceful bliss. These are the key things that helped me become a better, stronger, more comfortable rider at 51.

#1. Foundation Training. I broke my back in two places when I was 18 and was in some amount of pain every second I was conscience, hardly being able to walk first thing in the morning. Several years ago, my downhill instructor turned me on to Foundation Training as he had a bad back as well. This program was developed by a Chiropractor and was a lifesaver for me. Not just for my bad back ( I now have ZERO pain) but for my cycling! It concentrates on your hips, hamstrings and glutes which resulted in pain free long distance cycling. It literally takes 10-15 minutes a day of yoga-like stretches and poses. My husband does this daily as well and he never had back problems. He also says it is a game changer.

#2. Leather saddles, specifically Selle Anatomica for me. My bottom was NEVER pain free when I was younger. I have boxes full of every "great" saddle ever made, especially women specific ones. I am stupid and should have realized that hubby's grandpa, who rode thousands more miles per year than we did combined, rode a leather saddle and never complained about his butt being sore. I wish I had learned this lesson at 13! When I first showed up on my new "boat anchor of a saddle" on our local group ride, everyone laughed at me for putting such a big, ugly, heavy saddle on my bike. Today, 95% of that group rides with one. I am forever thankful for Tom and his development of the Selle Anatomica saddle and for all the time he took with me in getting every little tiny discomfort sorted out. He was VERY instrumental in my cycling comfort and he is greatly missed.

#3. Pedaling Innovations flat pedals. I tried these out when I started BMX racing at 46 and they were a serious game changer. They worked just as advertised so I threw them on my MTB and was absolutely blown away by how much difference they can make in climbing. So I tried them on my road bike and realized "I have been pedaling incorrectly for 30+ years!" I got hubby to try them on his MTB and he agreed, game changer. It took longer for him to try them on his road bike (mostly because of the looks) but once he did, he never took them off. They are long flat pedals that support your heel and ball of your foot (arches over axle) so you are pushing through the largest muscle in your body, your glutes. They rid your body of knee and back pain as well. They have tons of info on their website if you dare to look into them.

#4. 150mm cranks. Every bike I owned had either 175's or 170's and they never felt right. I always felt like my knees were going up into my chest. When we built up our most recent tandem road bike, we went with 150mm DaVinci cranks, a $600 gamble. They are AMAZING! I am 5'4 and hubby is 5"11 and we both think they are the bees knees. We do a lot of climbing and like to spin the easiest gears we can so we can ride many miles per ride. They worked so well that we have outfitted all of our half bikes with 150/160 cranks as well. It was not cheap (we have 15 road bikes and 2 tandems) but well worth the expense. It is SOOOOO much easier on your body making smaller circles. Why did it take me 30+ years to figure this out?

#5. Big tires, low air pressure. This isn't anything new and most people are starting to catch on, but I won't ride any bike that won't handle at minimum a 35mm tire. I like vintage steel bikes so many of them have been converted from 700c to 650b. My highest pressure is 43psi. I can ride longer with much less fatigue and don't feel like the road is beating me up. We use big tires on our two tandems as well, huge difference. The first time I showed up to our local group ride with big, fat low pressured tires, everyone thought I was goofy, stupid and going to end up with pinch flats galore. Now 95% of that group rides with big, low pressure tires, many of them having to buy new bikes to accomplish this. Why didn't I know this 30 years ago?

#6. Easy gearing/triple chainring. I knew about this 30 years ago but only old people ride triples, right? LOL! Man was I dumb, and I love to climb! You would think I would want to make this as easy as possible! Lesson learned. I have the easiest gearing I can on very bike and my body is grateful for it. I won't be the first to the top but I will get there eventually. I got nothing but time...

#7. Scheduled eating: I thought being a cyclist meant to you NEEDED to consume a huge amount of calories and constantly be eating. We have found this to not be the case. We only eat from 12-6pm daily which means the first 2-3 hours of our rides are done with no food. We have tons of energy and have never bonked. We can easily do a 50 mile ride on nothing but a PB&J and a granola bar. YMMV. Yes, we carry lots of food and eat when our body tells us it is time to eat. Yes, we carry cash for eating out. No, we don't "carb load" the night before, we protein load. I wish I had know this 30 years ago, my body is in MUCH better shape now than it was back then.

#8. Electrolytes daily. We take electrolytes daily (magnesium, potassium, calcium, zinc) and never drink just plain water, our water always has a bit of Lite salt and pink salt in it. No more muscle cramps. I have suffered from restless leg syndrome since I was a teenager. My mom said it was growing pains, I am the same height now that I was in 6th grade, and pretty sure it wasn't growing pains in my 20's, 30's, 40's! LOL! Take that with a grain of salt...

#9 Night riding. We live in northern AZ and it does get hot so we have taken to riding at night. We may leave as late as 8 or 9pm and get back around midnight. Riding at night is super relaxing and very quiet, no traffic! You get to see and hear all kinds of neat wildlife, and watching the sky when the sun goes down is super beautiful. We use Olight headlight and taillights as well as some generic red lights on our jerseys and have never had a problem with cars. Sometimes we ride half bikes, sometimes the tandems, it is all super fun!

If you have made it this far, I'm sorry. I can be a bit longwinded. Here are some pics of me and a few of my bikes cuz not everyone like to read a bunch of dumb stuff. What have you learned over the years that has improved your cycling?




First ride on my new "96 Torelli cyclocross bike, less than 100 of these made.

At the top of the mountain behind my house, this bike was built for this mountain and I am very blessed to be the one who gets to ride it from now on. RIP John


Our 2002 Co-Motion Speedster with custom, homemade stoker shifting mods. Chimney rock in the background

Ski biking, it's a thing!!

I have wanted to do this since I was a little kid, I am still a little kid I just race in the 50+ class now.



My first 650b conversion, first flat pedals, first shorty cranks, first easy gears. This was the bike I did all of my experimenting on

Helderberg

For me, it would be your #2 and #4. I would also add that doing what works for you as opposed to what is the expert opinion of what is right. I have to configure my bike to be comfortable/rideable for me and I have been told that my bike is the wrong size, my bars are set wrong, etc. I chased the experts for a few years until I fell on what works for me. I think I could get too focused on what it should be instead of what I need. Not anymore.
Be safe and ride on.

Fredo76

I'm learning some new things the second time around, myself.

Your #1 is very intriguing.

My #2 would be a Selle SMP TRK, but I would like to try an Anatomica.

I am making do with 28mm tires on my old racing bike, but the Clem has lightweight 35mm tires.

Agree completely on #6 - nothing like 21 speeds, unless it's 27!



Fred & Fredo



Fred & Clem at Saguaro National Park

Congratulations on 30+ years cycling, and thanks for the tips!

Barrettscv 

#5&6 from above also belong on my list.

My list is;

1) purchase great bikes and update every 15 years.
2) ride >4000 miles a year every year.
3) keep the weight off and never become sedentary.
4) Find a work life balance and keep that balance.

Daniel4

You were probably too busy with work or keeping your job and raising a family to have given this a lot of thought 30 years ago.

It seems as if every retired person tells everyone else who is still working not to work too hard. Easy once you're out of the rat race. Hard if you're still in it.

jadmt

you forgot beer....

79pmooney

I've been riding nearly as long as you. First bike at 7. Real riding starting at 11. Adding derailleurs to my 3-speed. Peugeot UO-8 at 13. No car, all bikes until my 30s with 3 years of living the life of a bike racer. My first racing bike opened my eyes. It fit nearly perfectly. (And would have if I'd just put on the correct, stock stem.) Totally feel in love with racing gearing, then racing gearing using a triple, then adding cogs in back as they came along but keeping the core combinations. Now I'm a lot older and the chainrings have been shrinking but concept has stayed the same.

Seats - I raced the leather over plastic Italian ones and they worked well for me. Late 30s, early 40s I changed and they no longer worked. The new seats with center grooves and cutouts were a revelation. (Traditional all leather never worked for me. I will always go to the racer-style on-the-rivet position when the going gets hard. Those rivets aren't fun.

Tires - I've gone bigger and softer but not a lot. 28c is for me plenty. And I did a "tire came off the rim" crash a few years ago and cannot get that out of my mind going far faster downhill so I am going back to the glued on sewups just so that isn't a possibility. I can enjoy going fast again and stop having that nightmare. Sewups are inherently more comfortable so both narrower and harder work. The very nice 28cs on my Mooney are pure plush.

Electrolytes - got turned onto ERG aka Gookinaid aka several other names now known as Hydrolyte 50 years ago. Still put it in every waterbottle. (Formulation never changed. The founder, a bio-chemist, got it right to start with.)

My revelations in recent years have been with diet and sleep. Took me many years to get to sleeping in true comfort with this skinny, bony and many times crashed body. I now have an odd assortment of weirdly shaped foam sheet but I also sometimes sleep 4 or more hours between roll overs. I went 30 years believing that wasn't even possible without drugs (and resulting bruises that would cancel the next night's sleep).

Diet - I've been no to low meat a long time but now I have canned omega-3 fish most evenings. Lots of dark green veggies (goat food). Whole grains, cook up a different batch of beans each week. Low white sugar, white flour and enough honey to keep the bees employed. Feel great. Don't do a lot of eating for rides ahead of time and often ride up to 50 miles on little besides sport drink.

And yes, it's fun to live a life that works! Thanks for the thread and reminder!

Carbonfiberboy 

Wonderful illustration of "everyone's different." I've been riding since 6, when I rode back and forth to school in Fairbanks, but only on dry streets. Always had a bike and rode lots. At 77, I only ride one single bike, my 2019 Trek 5200, padded plastic slotted saddle, triple with low gears, slammed stem, clip-ons, 23mm tires on 23mm outside rims. I can still do 150+ mile 10,000 foot days, though about an hour slower than in my 50s. I rode Italia leather saddles in my 'teens. I thought my butt going numb was a benefit. Other than adding clip-ons, changing saddles, the triple, SPD pedals, and getting lighter, nothing much has changed with my bikes. 5'6" (used to be 5'8"), 170 cranks on the Trek, 175s on the CoMo tandem, works great.

For staying able to do stuff, lifting at the gym, running, and hiking and backpacking in the mountains have been key. Over time, doing only cycling definitely did not cut it. That worked when I was young, but changed when I was only a little older than the OP. It was pretty obvious. Leaving on a 10-day backpack in the Cascades with my wife tomorrow morning.

Nutrition: for short rides up to a couple hours, water only seems best. For longer rides, I take a swallow of a high carb/protein mix about every 15', from the start. At 100-200 miles, depending on elevation gain, I'll start to supplement my drink with a quick sandwich or pastry or fruit pie about every 50 miles, nothing taking over 5' to eat. It took a while to figure that out.

rsbob 

30 years ago I wish I had picked up books on cycling and specifically training. I was always a strong recreational rider, but never ‘trained’ just rode hard and did centuries. If I had learned how to really train, I am relatively sure I could have drastically improved my endurance, climbing ability and speed. Those gains would have served me well now.

easyupbug 

Near Tucson I strongly agree with #2, #4 but 160mm & #5 and disagree strongly with #9 having had an ugly painful episode finding myself in the middle of a very nasty javelina herd and for the past twenty years spending the summers in the cool blue north.

dmwill

What a great post! Thank you for sharing all that. I would like to subscribe to your ̶n̶e̶w̶s̶l̶e̶t̶t̶e̶r̶ YouTube channel

What tires do you run on the Co-Motion?

Wildwood 

Good post.

As a pavement (and some hardpacked trails) rider, I cannot buy into #3 & #5.
About the only thing I'm doing differently than 35 years ago - instead of cheap tires, now expensive ones. And latex tubes. Have yet to try the plastic tubes.

absolutely agree on the rest. I buy shorter cranks 170, not 175 anymore, and lower gearing for hills.

My tips would be:
practice pedaling circles
buy decent cycling shorts for comfort on longer rides
learn to do your own maintenance & buy the needed tools.
rubber side down, consistency over years yields best lasting health benefits.

edit: I give my stoker control of the drum brake, but not the shifting.

ofajen

Nice post! I’m also a fan of trying stuff out to see what works for you.

I switched to flat pedals about six years ago when my kids started to ride more after decades of riding clipped in in some fashion. I don’t claim any advantages other than it is convenient and well suited to the trail riding I do now.

I started riding single speed a few years back and spent nearly two years riding only SS. I can’t recall having more fun on a bike than that. I’m back to running a few gears in back, but often ride my whole ride in one gear just to make sure I maintain the strength for it.

A recent surprise is that after trying just about every type of bar this summer, I tried old school 6-degree flat bars with ergonomic grips and it turns out they are as good as anything and better than most options for how I ride now.

So, yeah, keep trying stuff and do what works for you!

Otto

rumrunn6

yeah, timing nutrition, strikes a chord w/ me too

motochick 

LOL! I hate beer! I can't even stand the smell of it! But a nice bourbon is right up my alley.

My husband just got some nice sewups in 30mm, I gotta say, I am super jealous. I LOVED the way my sewups rode. I am going to check out the electrolyte stuff you mentioned. It has to be a more scientific approach than what I am doing! LOL I didn't mention sleep but I am a great sleeper, you could call me a professional sleeper! I can easily get 9-10hrs a night, I've been like that since I was a kid. I do love my sleep number system bed, pricey but you do spend a bunch of time using it.

Never thought of that, I just ride for the sake of riding. I need to look into this, worst case is I will learn something that will probably make my life on a bike even easier, thanks.

YIKES! We have a herd/pack in our area but I have never come across them while riding. Please tell me what happened so I may learn. I am up near Sedona, plus one of us is always packing for just this type of thing.

Thanks and I don't have anything for you to subscribe to, lol, I am just not that interesting. We currently run "The Everwear" by Soma on the Co-Motion but have also run the Gravel Kings. Both feel the same to me. I am not sure we have settled on any particular brand/model yet since this bike has only been ours since December.

motochick 

Foundation Training IS very intriguing, check it out. If you try the Anatomica know that the black ones are the stiffest and can take quite a bit of time to break them in. The brown ones I can ride 50 miles right out the box. I absolutely LOVE that Fredo and the color of it! I was given a bare frame and I will be painting it green. My husband just got some new 30mm tubulars and they look sooooo comfy, I am jealous. They are out there. And 27 speeds are nice but 42 is where it is at! Our new-to-us Bike Friday Tandem Two'sDay has 42 gears that I get to control! (as the stoker) I wish all of my bikes had an internal geared hub, they are fun!

My solution to your #1 is to have 7 great bikes in the rotation so that none of them will wear out! LOL. I get too attached to my bikes/dirt bikes/cars and the thought of having to replace them makes me anxious. I build them up exactly the way I want them so even wanting something new isn't in my thought process. I try to ride at least 6k miles a year, I could do more if summer wasn't so blasted hot! Keeping the weight off has become a lot easier with #7, although I do put on a few lbs in the summertime but it will come right off vey easily in the fall. My job is doing bike tours so that one is like cheating for me.

True, plus other hobbies took focus away from this one.

easyupbug 

I was on a MTB so it was in the late 80s before our roads were paved, working long hours only able to ride after dark with the '80s lousy light and came blasting down a decline then over a slight rise to find myself in the middle of a pack, a couple of bumps and I went down. Gravel road rash was the least of my problems as I was bleeding from what must have been tusk cuts in two spots, thankfully only a 1/4 mile from the house. Another time during the day a heard was crossing the road with piglets which makes the sows very protective and I stopped at least 50 yards away and the sows let me know that was way too close and I retreated quickly. Good friends managing a dude ranch near Sasabe lost a full grown male boxer bleeding to death from javelina, in the spring so all figured sows protecting the piglets. My rides these days through a retirement community has pigs occasionally in the parks and wash crossings but they seem less wary of people/dog walkers but folks know to stay clear.

Fredo76

Thanks! I built the frame myself, with Colin Laing, as a senior in high school, long ago.

Check out the Chartreuse Raleigh, too: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...er-tourer.html

Which 30mm tubulars did your husband choose? By coincidence, I just ordered some 30mm Vittoria Corsa Control G2.0 sew-ups last night, with natural sidewalls, of course, to go on these new tubular wheels:


NOS tubular wheels!

I use tape instead of glue now, plus sealant, here in Goatheadland. Go for it!

davester

I'm totally with you on #2. Leather saddles, #3. flat pedals, #5. Big tires, low air pressure, #6. Easy gearing/triple chainring, and #7. Scheduled eating.

I ride Brooks B-17 Imperials on most of my bikes. After trying a boatload of different "modern" saddles, I tried one of these and was totally converted. Comfortable from the first ride and getting better all the time. I've been intrigued by the Selle Anatomica but I've not been too keen to change from something that seems to work for me.

I only ride flat pedals with pins on my MTB, and not the gigantic Catalysts that you ride but those do look interesting. I'd be a bit worried about toe overlap on my steeper angled short wheelbase bikes. I ditched my clipless" pedals and ride mostly old school vintage pedals with large toe clips (so that I can be somewhat foot-forward) and very loose straps (and no cleats!)

Big tires, low pressure is a no brainer. I always jam the widest tires possible on my bikes, though 35mm is seldom possible.

Triples rule in my house. Four out of my five bikes have triples, and the remaining double has really low gears.

I've been doing scheduled eating, more commonly called intermittent fasting, for over a year. I started that, along with cutting way back on simple carbs, primarily with health and longevity goals in mind, without even thinking much about weight loss. Nevertheless I've lost 15 lbs and am now at a relatively svelte 170 lbs. I also feel much healthier.

I should also add that I'm about 15 years older than you and have been doing most of the above (except #7) for about 10 years or so. I guess perhaps we must all start questioning what went before and then redirecting sometime in our 50s.

motochick 

That is CRAZY! The bike lights have improved soooo much over the years, not being able to see a pack at night isn't much of a concern. We mostly ride on the shoulder of 89A between Cottonwood and Sedona so getting ambushed like that would be very unlikely. I did come across the neighborhood pack many years ago while out walking my massive doberman, luckily we were downwind. I retreated and went home, never turning my back to them. Not even sure if they saw us but wasn't willing to take the chance, the pack is quite large. I ride MTB's a ton and this is something I never thought about happening, but then again I have not done much night riding out on the trails or dirt roads. After hearing this I may not, sticking to the hwy's might be a better option.

Built the frame yourself? I am super jealous! I have always wanted to do that, I would be good at the physical part of it but terrible at the math, angles, numbers part of it. That is just so cool, and that Raleigh is beautiful as well, that color is great. My husband switched to tape as well and we are also in goat head country so all of our bikes have sealant. The new 30's he got are Challenge Stradas in tan wall, they look awesome on his Gitane TDF.

If the Brooks work, I wouldn't go to the expense of trying something new. Although that's how I get a majority of my saddles cheap, from guys who wanted to try the new thing and it didn't pan out.
Toe overlap is a very real thing, a thing that is on every bike we own. We are aware of it and have never had an issue with actually hitting our front tires with our feet. If your not used to it, it could be bad! LOL
I started the scheduled eating to help clear up brain fog but so many other benefits have come from it, including weight loss. I also lost all allergies I used to have! That one shocked me the most as mosquito bites used to hurt and itch like mad for DAYS! Now they itch mildly for about 10 minutes and then they are gone for good. I also love the lack of inflammation, my joints are like those of a 25 yr old. Way too many benefits to list! Here's to healthy longevity!

easyupbug 

I to am envious of your work. I finally found a local built Colin Laing my size in Reynolds 753 which the Reynolds Engineers write can not be cold set. It was unridable with a tweaked fork and frame. I straightened the fork on a cast iron table and as soon as I mounted the bike it would pop back, changed out the fork and the frame pulled hard to the right. Having a couple customs from Andy Gilmour I gave him the bike to restore as he said every steel frame can be cold set. This is it, one of my favorite rides that I can ride around the block without hands on the bars. Andy even had original Laing decals from Colin before he left town.