Joe Bikerider

I’m 69 years old and have been dealing with age as we all must. I had a Biria low entry bike for about 6 years and loved that thing. But then one day the frame broke in half coming home from a ride, right in my driveway. My main problem is getting on and off, my old legs find it difficult to do that. The Biria solved that problem but I was never really happy about riding a “girls” bike.

Meanwhile I had bought a Linus 8, had only ridden it a couple of times. Getting on was a problem solved by leaning back on the wall of my garage. Taking a break during my ride was easy enough by holding onto the rack at the park and walking over to a picnic table. Coming home, I could lean back on a car in the driveway and swing my leg over. Good to still be riding.

Still not feeling confident of riding anywhere and getting on or off. There are places to go that I didn’t feel comfortable that I could get on or off.

So today I came home, up the driveway ready to get off, looking for a car to lean against and instead just swung my leg over and was standing there not even near the target car. Took me a moment to realize that I just had dismounted like I used to. Wow!

Maybe I had been thinking too much about my legs and how it’s all got to work but now with all the crazy news I forgot about that and I just went ahead and did it.

It’s a great feeling. Thanks for reading.

qcpmsame 

Good on you, I always write these type of happy mistakes as, “Even a blind hawg roots up an occasional acorn.” Put one in the win column for the good guys👍

Bill

DiabloScott

One time in street clothes and loose shorts on my commuter bike, I tried a cowboy mount as I left the parking spot in the company garage. My left foot was on the pedal and I was swinging my right leg over the saddle with a half pedal stroke so I had minimal momentum... and my shorts got caught on the nose of the saddle and this is my fixed gear so the crank kept turning and my foot was still on the pedal and my shorts were caught and I managed to hold it together until I got to a structural column to stop at with a very slow speed and semi-controlled collision. It was glorious and embarrassing at the same time.

79pmooney

You just reminded my of my funniest crash (and first on my brand new Mooney). A summer morning in Santa Cruz. Morning fog and cool. I was riding up the parkway on the UCSC campus, divided with a curbed and extensively planted meridian. Easy grade so I had good speed. Started the ride wearing two jerseys, SS over LS. I was getting warm.

For a little story background, that was my first post-racing year. My Mooney (built for me to be a fine performing distinct non-racer) was MUCH easier no-handing than my pure crit Fuji Pro. I loved doing stuff I would never attempt on the Pro.

So "I bet I could just pull off my jersey while I ride. No traffic at all so why not?" Sat up, accidentally grabbed both jerseys and pulled.Got all the way to the human football goal post with attached net and - oops, I forgot to unzip my LS jersey! And I'm wearing a Bell Biker! Stuck. Well, all not is lost. I can see (sorta) with my arms aimed forward or I could reach down, grab the bars and see nothing but my front wheel. Either/or. As slowed, my swings while I was holding the bars got wilder. Eventually I saw the meridian curb - 6" in front of my wheel. Hit it gently and fell over. Lying in the fast lane on a California parkway! With my head wrapped in two jerseys!

I got myself extricated and continued on like that little chapter never happened. (Pretty sure there were no human witnesses.)

Thanks Scott, I haven't thought of this in decades.

nomadmax 

What's a ghost dismount?

Wildwood

At our age, there are no such things as girl’s bikes and boy’s bikes - unfortunately we are waaaay past that - literally and figuratively. Just pedal on.

www.somafab.com - Check out Buena Vista

I’m saving this bike for an unknown future home and time in flatterlandia.




And there are other members who will recommend a recumbent. Undoubtedly!

bjjoondo 

Well I do like how easy it is to get on and off my "recumbent"! But they are not everyone's cup of tea!

BlazingPedals

Unless it's a lowracer like my avatar bike, or a trike, the issue still exists and you'd have to worry about getting your foot over a top bar of 20-26 inches high. I know of one guy who had to lay the bike (recumbent) on the ground, step over it, and pick it up between his legs. It seems that it'd be easier doing some stretches.

gobicycling

at 82, still able to swing my leg over the saddle for both mounting and dismounting. And, I have very short legs, taking the 29 inseam. I have friends who can no longer do that. I feel lucky. I also stretch like crazy

canklecat

Frame breakage is a risk with low entry bikes like the Biria. If they make the frames strong enough to resist breakage the bike will probably weigh close to 50 lbs.

If I get to the point where I can't swing a leg over the saddle, I'll consider a dropper seat post. They're common on some new mountain bikes and might be adaptable to others.

I resumed cycling in 2015, after needing a cane to walk for about 14 years after a 2001 car wreck busted up my neck, back, hips, everything. Even though my fitness improved to the point that I could ride a conventional road bike by 2017, I still had a lot of stiffness and limited mobility in my lower back and hips. But I didn't do anything to improve it.

In 2018 I was hit by a car again, busting up my shoulder and neck. I didn't want to completely lose fitness so I started taking long walks, up to 5 miles, a few times a week. For a few months my hips ached from long walks but full body scans showed no skeletal or joint problems below the lower back. Just muscle pain, so I persisted until the hip pain stopped. I continued walking more even after resuming cycling in late 2018.

By late 2020 I added jogging to my routine, along with more body-weight exercises to improve flexibility and strength, including balancing on one leg while doing range of motion with the other. And on my usual 5-7 mile jogging route, I'll stop at the 2.5 mile mark at the crest of a hill to do a few minutes of leg, hip and back exercises before resuming jogging. It's helped and I have fewer problems kicking a leg over the bike.

Unfortunately my neck vertebrae are worsening so my days are numbered on a conventional bike. I've ridden very little since September due to neck pain, and no exercising will fix that problem. It's bulged discs, stenosis and other problems. I might eventually need to consider a recumbent. But not yet.

Wildwood

If I had access to a trail system like so many people in Colorado (and a few other places), then I would be looking at recumbents - maybe 2 of different styles.

Rightly or wrongly, I feel more visible and slightly less vulnerable riding diamond frame on the hilly, narrow public roads I ride. Further, I rise from the saddle for leverage on several climbs on every ride I take. Topography, for healthy living. Then there's the chain thing....



this is what SWMBO wanted - for visibility. Co-Motion with ghosted decals. Steel from the last millennia.

fat biker

Joe,

Mount, dismount, rinse & repeat...
All Great News!

fat biker, now in the new 180 lb version

easyupbug 

[QUOTE=gobicycling;22320516]...I also stretch like crazy[/QUOTE
Very impressive, at 71 w/ long history of back trouble I am now having trouble with dismount range of motion. Daughter's have me doing Yoga but it is showing little if any help and is a pain to drive there. Can you specify what stretches have helped you? We are all very different but I would like to try something else.

50PlusCycling

When I was younger I used to go out on group rides with the Italians (Provencals), and one of the older guys rode a “girl” frame. I forget the make, but it was Reynolds 531 frame with the usual Campy Record components. This old guy was a little stiff when walking around, but he was damn fast on that bike.

JanMM

My current short wheelbase recumbent bike is about due for a new chain. Tried to order a 12 foot chain from two normally-reliable online sources but both out of stock (supply chain issues, etc.) Got three normal sized chains instead - needs about two and a half. Bike not bad to get foot/leg over. Version with large front wheel more of a challenge for those without longish legs.

DiabloScott

This was required reading in my first semester Italian class. The professor said Don Camillo was a popular character in children's stories, and he rode a "woman's bike" because lots of families only had enough money to buy one bike so it made for easier sharing. Don Camillo would ride around the village nosing into people's personal business and solving little problems in clever ways.

davester

I'm 68 and have no trouble mounting or dismounting a regular road bike. However, some time ago I injured myself to the point where I couldn't just swing my leg over. The solution was simple....to mount, just lay the bike down on the ground, step over it, and lift the bike up beneath me so that I was straddling the top tube. Dismount is the reverse of mounting. If following this procedure I don't see how there could be a problem...am I wrong about this?

easyupbug 

Exactly correct and I may get near there one day. We had a member of our "old duffers" riding group who could lean his bars down near the ground after putting the NDS pedal all the way up and get off and on, who rode with us for year or two that way. I know I should be able to do at least that but not lower my babies all the way to the ground.

Hondo Gravel

I cut the back of my calf the other day after dismounted like a rookie drew a good amount of blood. Chainrings are sharp.