MinnMan

Has this happened to anybody else?

In the middle of the night, my wife woke me because I was breathing so hard that she thought I was having a medical event.

I wasn't. I was having a cycling dream. I think, but am not sure, that the dream involved working hard to not get dropped from a fast group.

Weird.

Iride01 

I'm always flying and helping out the airline I use to fly for. And in those dreams I know I'm not really in their employ any more and that my medical certificate is out of date so I'm always hoping a FAA inspector doesn't come along.

Like yours, it's weird!

You must be doing some hard climbs in those dreams too along with trying not to get dropped!

locolobo13 

I'll wake up breathing hard from dreams. Coulda been cycling, running, climbing, fighting, etc. Usually the heavy breathing wakes me up.

GhostRider62

You don't want to know my nightmares.

jon c. 

I rarely remember dreams. But the other day I dreamed I was sleeping.

Dreams are lies, it's the dreaming that's real

I-Like-To-Bike

Weird indeed.
I will know I am living in a nightmare if I ever find myself concerned about getting dropped by a fast group of cyclists, let alone actually working hard to avoid such a situation.

Makes no difference whether I am awake or dreaming. My bicycling pleasure comes from riding to destinations of my choice at a pace and that suits me, period.

MinnMan

I'm so happy for you.

(This snobbish anti-performance rabbit hole seems to be a hazard in pretty much every 50+ thread. Give it a rest, guys. )

MoAlpha

I suspect the dream was your interpretation of a common physiological event during deep sleep. Ask your wife if she's ever noticed it before.

MinnMan

Oh, that's interesting. I will ask her, but I think this was unusual.

There are times when I make noise during actual nightmares,(and she wakes me) but the heavy breathing was something different.

MoAlpha

My wife notices me breathing very heavily, especially when I've been tired. It's normal. I have occasional episodes of sleep apnea, which sometimes wake me from a dream of being short of breath or even drowning.

indyfabz

I've definitely had dreams where I was cycling, but I don't recall ever waking up breathing hard.

I-Like-To-Bike

My estimate of rabbit holes on this list is a 95/5 ratio of thread topics related to increasing/maximizing individual performance (to include efficiency, fitness, OCD-like attention to recording and comparing performance data with strangers, restoring previous performance capabilities from youthful days past of competition, and last but not least "training" goals) to everything else, not counting look at my bike photos.

gobicycling

So, ILTB, I'm interested in what you would like us to discuss, instead of performance and similar issues, for that 5% or even for a larger percentage of topics? I too am not interested anymore in comparative performance. I'm much more interested in maintaining some level of fitness as I go through my '80s, which I know is going to be less than in the past, and continuously diminishing.
So, ILTB, what would be of interest to you for discussions on a 50 plus forum, if anything?

Champlaincycler

Lots of problems with deep sleep cycling. On the other hand, its cheaper than Zwift and, if you can get your virtual cycling out of the way while sleeping, sure does save time.
Joking of course. It sort of reminds me of the nightmare periods that i endured in the late teens/early twenties where I awoke sweating,sometimes sleepwalking. Hope you get through it

MinnMan

Of course, it's all pretty hazy, but I didn't consider it a nightmare. It felt like (an imaginary) hard effort, but those can be good.

Getting dropped sucks, but fighting (and succeeding) not to be dropped is a good experience.

MoAlpha

Quantifiers gon’ quantify.

curbtender

Brain is really an incredible thing. I still remember flying over my neighbor hood as a kid...way before drones. If you are hyperventilating you may have sleep apnea.

smontanaro 

No matter there cause, I gotta think laying in bed is probably the safest place to be if you pass out from hyperventilation.

I don't generally remember my dreams, but for me, it's a racing heart.

andrewclaus

My biking dreams are like flying dreams. Effortless and fun.

I-Like-To-Bike

It seems to me that most of the discussion about fitness on this list, as well as nutrition and other heath related topics on this list is as a means for maximizing cycling performance, or how to regain the cycling performance levels from back in the days of previous participation in competitive events or club rides. I have no objection if that is what most of the 50+ posters want to discuss. I was just pointing out that so many 50+ posts are about cycling performance goals metrics and methods to "improve" them dominate so many discussions. At least one poster apparently feels that it is snobbish to consider that there can be enjoyable cycling at the age of 50+ without being concerned about being "dropped."

Are there many or any posters on the 50+ list who enjoy riding their bicycle for local transportation and or recreational purposes and do not obsess over maximizing performance, set performance goals. or agonize over the need to "improve" their cycling performance, and are unconcerned about being "dropped" by other cyclists?

Ya know, shopping, commuting, visiting friends and relatives, enjoying the sights, nature and people along the way; just riding around without Strava, Power Meters or recording performance stats, without a need for recovery days, without a need for setting arbitrary performance goals (more speed, more miles), just enjoying bicycling at 50+ without making it a contest.

PeteHski

+1
Actually I’ve found that as I get older (currently 55) I get less physical reaction from vivid dreams. In my teens and 20s I was prone to sleep walking and would sometimes wake up with a fright and racing heart. Nowadays I get little or no physical reaction from dreams, however exciting or scary.

PeteHski

This seems to be a major issue for you since you bring this same point up in pretty much every thread I’ve seen you comment. Are we not allowed to discuss fitness and performance simply because you are not interested? Is it even relevant to this particular thread?

smontanaro 

✋ I ride my bikes for exercise as well as getting around. I also enjoy working on my bikes. I used to commute, but am now retired. I mostly ride alone, but got my figurative a** handed to me this morning on a group ride. I'm pretty sure everyone was 50+. That's okay. I knew that would happen. A couple group members were just back from Tour Divide and I wanted to say hi.

The nature of online forums is to foster communities. I doubt there are too many people interested in the ins and outs of riding to Home Depot or Whole Foods. That said, I suspect there might be a forum here on BF which is a better fit for people interested in bikes as transportation. The 50+ forum probably isn't it. As you've noticed, lots of folks in that demographic are still interested in performance. I think that's to be expected. Just because someone ages up and their basal metabolic rate is eroding doesn't mean they've lost all interest in performance.

Fredo76

There are lots of us who just like to ride. Being considered a snob for occasionally pointing that out is a downside of Bike Forums, alright. There are a lot of buttheads here.

PeteHski

He doesn’t just occasionally point it out. He literally brings up the same rant in pretty much every thread I’ve seen him post. Everyone likes to ride for multiple reasons, including fitness and performance. They are not even mutually exclusive reasons.