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Do you use the Elevator or Stairs? Bikers have the last laugh when the Elevator goes!

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Fifty Plus (50+) Share the victories, challenges, successes and special concerns of bicyclists 50 and older. Especially useful for those entering or reentering bicycling.

Do you use the Elevator or Stairs? Bikers have the last laugh when the Elevator goes!

Old 02-16-21, 12:54 AM
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5 mph
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Do you use the Elevator or Stairs? Bikers have the last laugh when the Elevator goes!

Our office was on the 22nd floor. I'm a good worker, do a good job, am respected, and I'm good at what I do.
Lately they've had a youth movement at work and they've moved up some young people who are a few decades younger than me. It's all good, I'm really surprised and impressed by their maturity and ability.
Well one Monday morning we all came to work to find that the Elevator failed. ( It stayed that way for two weeks.)
So every morning we had to do the twenty two floor trudge.
And the very first morning, I was determined to have fun. Just as all of you would. (Read to the end for the fun part!)
Four floors and everyone is good. Six floors and some are breathing. Ten, and many are huddled in the stairwell for a Break. Fifteen and the two newly promoted youngsters are still with me.
That's when the adrenaline kicked in. I had to be at the 22nd floor first. And I was. Two floors faster than the 30 year old. He's a runner and half my age. And I owe it all to those miles and miles of Bicycling .
One last thing, I'll let you in on a Secret.
Bicycling is a little different from climbing stairs. The leg motion or something hits your leg muscles a different way. We all have the fitness, but we have to convert.
I knew the elevator was broken on Friday night because I was one of the last to leave work. And knowing that , I hiked Saturday and Sunday up a nearby peak to convert my legs to stair climbing.
You might ask, why were those two young newly promoted Managers going up the stairs the same time I was. Was it a coincidence? No!
Because I waited for them in my car in the Parking Lot.
Thanks Bicycling!
So do you use the Stairs or Elevator?

Last edited by 5 mph; 02-16-21 at 01:00 AM.
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Old 02-16-21, 02:29 AM
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Did you go down the 22 flights?

I work in a 10-storey building and go into stair climbing spurts where I'll get out there and climb, climb, climb at different times throughout the day. Up and down. The DOMS from going down hurts much worse than the DOMS from going up!

Last February a few of us did a February 500 where we climbed 500 flights of stairs (20 stairs in a flight) in February. I did it again in March! And then we shutdown for 4 months and I haven't gotten back into a rhythm since we've been back yet.

But since I work on the 2nd floor, I always do 4 flights at least.

Today I did 12 flights.
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Old 02-16-21, 06:13 AM
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I do pest control and do all of the stairs in my big new and old homes two at a time...the old style stairs, tall riser with a small tread, can really test you...It converts to power and endurance when on the bicycles and walking...and overall health...
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Old 02-16-21, 02:57 PM
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Originally Posted by Machka
Did you go down the 22 flights?

I work in a 10-storey building and go into stair climbing spurts where I'll get out there and climb, climb, climb at different times throughout the day. Up and down. The DOMS from going down hurts much worse than the DOMS from going up!

Last February a few of us did a February 500 where we climbed 500 flights of stairs (20 stairs in a flight) in February. I did it again in March! And then we shutdown for 4 months and I haven't gotten back into a rhythm since we've been back yet.

But since I work on the 2nd floor, I always do 4 flights at least.the

Today I did 12 flights.
I take it really slow on the way down . I have a pair of Brooks Beasts. the heaviest padded running shoe they make.

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Old 02-16-21, 06:01 PM
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Originally Posted by 5 mph
I take it really slow on the way down . I have a pair of Brooks Beasts. the heaviest padded running shoe they make.
Same here. I have always been uncoordinated, and the stakes for losing my footing on a descent increase with age. For me, it's always been fast up the stairs and slow down. Stairs are great exercise, though.
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Old 02-16-21, 07:14 PM
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Back in the days when we were able to use our building's gym to change, I would typically take the stairs 10 floors so as not to subject my coworkers to my MAMIL-ness.
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Old 02-16-21, 07:46 PM
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People running up the stairs together doesn't seem like a great idea in a pandemic
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Old 02-16-21, 08:39 PM
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I almost always take the stairs, partly because I feel a bit claustrophobic in an elevator. Occasionally I'll be with a group and don't want to be arrogant or antisocial and say "Go ahead and ride the elevator. I'll take the stairs and meet you," so I'll join the group in an elevator. But I always feel a little uncomfortable in an elevator.
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Old 02-16-21, 09:51 PM
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Originally Posted by jon c.
people running up the stairs together doesn't seem like a great idea in a pandemic
2019
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Old 02-17-21, 06:39 AM
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Originally Posted by jon c.
People running up the stairs together doesn't seem like a great idea in a pandemic
Not that we have a pandemic here, but we do take precautions as if we did ...

We were limited to 2 in the elevators until just recently when that was increased to 4. With only 4 elevators, the queue to get up was long. However, a small handful of us took the stairs. Rarely together, and always with space between us if there were more than one of us.
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Old 02-17-21, 06:42 AM
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Back during my, so called, career I traveled a lot and hotel'd a lot. One day it occurred to me that in all the builds I worked in I was always on the 3rd, 4th or 5th floor. And I went between floors all the time all day. And I was wasting away getting fat. So I swore off elevators and focused on the stairs. I used only stairways from then on. It was great exercise and often faster than the lift.

"Aren't you going to use the elevator?" Thinking of how the elevator provides no cardio benefit at all I'd respond "No, elevators will kill ya." "Huh?"

An architect friend informed me that in all modern buildings the stairwells are the safest places to be. Stronger than the rest of the building, fire proof. It never mattered, but nice that without thinking about it I'd know where all the stairwells were and would automatically go if needed.

About this same time, I also started on bifocals/multi-add lenses. No worries going up stairs but what an adjustment going down stairs. Especially going down two at a time, fast. Got used to that too.
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Old 02-17-21, 07:11 AM
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Originally Posted by jon c.
People running up the stairs together doesn't seem like a great idea in a pandemic
Someone has to rain on the parade.
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Old 02-17-21, 08:57 PM
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I use to work in an office that was a little more than 2 stories above our warehouse floor. My job included running down to the warehouse at least 20 times a day. I think I lost something like 12 lbs in the first 2 weeks.
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