Nick A
Posts:625
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| 04/03/2014 10:03 AM |
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Oy, whadda pain. I got my first USCF license in 1981. Now, I'm 47. Nobody warned me! Tired, less energy, more aches and pains. Things don't heal as quickly...
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Keith Richards
Posts:781
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| 04/03/2014 10:19 AM |
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I turned 46 last month.
Just back on the bike seriously for the first time since my car accident in June of '13.
I already pinched a nerve in my shoulder and my lower back is killing me. Ahh, feels good to be back...not.
But the improvements in form are happening quickly, as they always have for me. My usual beginning of season position re-assessment is paying of nicely. Unless my position makes it easy for me to pedal with power all the way through the stroke, I can't ride well. I focus on riding well first, fast second. |
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It is his word versus ours. We like our word. We like where we stand and we like our credibility."--Lance Armstrong. |
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THE SKINNY
Posts:506
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| 04/03/2014 10:56 AM |
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| i ache in the places that i used to play - leonard cohen |
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| How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. |
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jacques_anquetil
Posts:245
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| 04/03/2014 10:58 AM |
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| it's a slow taper towards death, my friends, a slow taper. |
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zootracer
Posts:833
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| 04/03/2014 11:34 AM |
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| You guys are just kids. I turn 72 this August. Age is just a state of mind (I'll try to remember it next morning when I get out of bed). |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 04/03/2014 12:18 PM |
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I did three commuting days this week and feel like I am slammed into a wall :-(
These Florida vacation trips keep killing me. Before we went things were humming along. I guess a week of sunny weather and drinking pina coladas is just more than this 49yr old body can handle. grrrr |
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THE SKINNY
Posts:506
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| 04/03/2014 12:23 PM |
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| i'm stuck either on the couch or at my desk for 4 more weeks nursing a broken foot. 49 is screaming upon me fast. i'm curious to see how much it's going to hurt doing a loop on the mtb (or walking around the block for that matter). when i first started having joint pain as a result of my lyme's disease, i wasn't sure if it was the disease or just getting old since i've never been this old before so i'm not sure how i'm supposed to feel. |
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| How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. |
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Nick A
Posts:625
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| 04/03/2014 12:36 PM |
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Yeah. I feel SO guilty about razzing the old guys straining their skinny tubulars with extra weight when I was teenager. Karma is a biatch!
1) Good Leonard Cohen quote.
2) Slow taper towards death. Nice. That's my kinda humor (NOT sarcastic).
3) Keith. My bars are getting quite close in height to my saddle. I may seriously just go triple. It is what it is.
I also haven't ridden a ton lately. I'm pursuing my mid life crisis of building a vintage race car. Cycling, comes and goes, but always, always, always makes a comeback in my life. Since the freedom of riding "downtown" with the banana seat bike in the '70's.
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KootnaMoots
Posts:47
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| 04/03/2014 01:04 PM |
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Kwitchur bellyachin' I had my first license in 1951 and just turned 81 Mar 31. You think you have aches and pains at 47 you just wait. Handle bars raise, ya look for a wider seat and ya lower it a bit so it is easier on the knees. The big thing is keeping motivated. There are times ya just don't want to put yourself through your aches afterward. But ya gotta do it. I hit the pavement 5 months ago due to not eating enough and the Dr. told me that if I was not in shape it would have been worse. The ache in the hip finally went away but being in shape I did not break it. I also ride a Moots psycloX Ybbeat and That has helped the ride comfort. Arkansas does not have great roads. So, keep on keeping on and ride your bike
Jer |
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Keith Richards
Posts:781
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| 04/03/2014 01:28 PM |
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Nick A...tell me more about the vintage car project.
I am working on a 1968 Spitfire myself. Working on wiring right now...upgrading the generator (23 A max) with a GM alternator (70 A) with the according wiring mods. |
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It is his word versus ours. We like our word. We like where we stand and we like our credibility."--Lance Armstrong. |
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vtguy
Posts:298
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| 04/03/2014 01:31 PM |
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| Thanks, KootnaMoots. I gotta show your post to Mrs. vtguy. A new Moots could be the secret to combating the aging process. |
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Pin0Q0
Posts:229
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| 04/03/2014 01:50 PM |
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When I grow up I only wish to be like you KootnaMoots. Had a double hernia operation In December and turned 50 in March. I have been freaking out lately as I have not ridden since December due to crappy weather and not knowing how the surgery and turning 50 would feel on the bike.
Friends have told me that as soon as they had turned fifty they noticed a huge difference in their body. I’ve been gyming it all winter and finally managed to get out last night for the first time this year, and to a nice surprise felt damn good on the bike - 30 miles averaging just over 20mph. Legs hummed like a freaking freight train last night but was worth every hummm knowing I still can. I think at our age it is very hard to jump back on once you’ve been off.
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Spud
Posts:525
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| 04/03/2014 03:55 PM |
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Turn 59 in December. Still love to ride as often as I can. Although I find my self behind the camera some days, when I should be on the saddle. Nick I've been through the car phase, myself. Restored and sold this little gem.
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Oldfart
Posts:511
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| 04/03/2014 04:12 PM |
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| 56 here. Rode with some children Tuesday night on local North Shore trails. Shit those 20 and 30 somethings go hard. Pulse alarm went off multiple times at 185. I know some of those boys were born after I started riding a mountain bike thirty one years ago. |
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Oldfart
Posts:511
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| 04/03/2014 04:13 PM |
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Posted By Andy Eunson on 04/03/2014 04:12 PM
56 here. Rode with some children Tuesday night on local North Shore trails. Shit those 20 and 30 somethings go hard. Pulse alarm went off multiple times at 185. And those arseholes were talking! I know some of those boys were born after I started riding a mountain bike thirty one years ago.
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stinkyhelmet
Posts:94
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| 04/03/2014 04:45 PM |
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| Am 49 and, over the past year, have added strength workouts (legs, glutes, and back) to my regime and it has helped a lot. Am riding stronger than I was a couple years ago....losing 10 pounds helped too! Am also getting smarter about rest days......more of them. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 04/03/2014 05:31 PM |
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Thanks, KootnaMoots, for the inspiration. I turn 61 in 3 weeks. I plan to keep riding. I've got a mom who's past 80 and still gets on the bike so I don't have excuses.
I have added lifting weights and (finally) pull-ups and push-ups as part of treating my body as a temple. (Got to keep that foundation strong.) I'm hoping to ride Cycle Oregon fixed again this year (and be smart about it). Yes, I will bring and change gears!
Ben |
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zootracer
Posts:833
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| 04/03/2014 09:11 PM |
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| kootnamoots is the man. Motivation is my big problem. Mostly in the winter. I always worry about making it through 'one more winter'. I hate them. I hope to be still riding when I'm 81. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 04/03/2014 10:56 PM |
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Just hit 48...and honestly, I feel great on the bike. Can still ride as often and as hard was I always did.
Running, however.....that is the age test, my friends. That activity will reveal all to the world. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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bobswire
Posts:304
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| 04/04/2014 01:01 AM |
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69 this march, work out everyday of some sort. Besides light weights I started using homemade pull up bars to build upper body strength.Found out if works great for your chest and stomach muscles too (core). Do a pull up and hold it while bringing up your knees and count to ten, do some repetitions. I've noticed arm and core strength improvement in just two weeks. Cycle 3-4 times a week with enough climbing to keep the heart rate up and legs nimble. Anymore than that feels counter productive. Eating well and keeping your weight down makes a world of difference for maintaining an active lifestyle.
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jacques_anquetil
Posts:245
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| 04/04/2014 09:00 AM |
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| zootracer and KootnaMoots: respect. |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 04/04/2014 10:10 AM |
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I had a birthday last week, looked in the mirror and though "Damn… so this is what 73 looks like."
The sad thing is I'm 59  |
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Yo Mike
Posts:338
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| 04/04/2014 01:14 PM |
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Dale for the win! LOL
Yeah, you gotta make the best out of what you've got, and work when you can to improve your lot.
I hit 56 a few months ago, and like someone famous once said: getting old isn't for sissies!
I'm pretty sure I will make time to get out for my first ride since early January on Sunday, prob only 25 miles or so. There will be a price to pay, but a bigger price if I don't.
I'll see the L Cohen lyric and add one by Richard Thompson: My head was beating like a song by The Clash / writing checks that my body couldn't cash........ |
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KootnaMoots
Posts:47
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| 04/04/2014 07:32 PM |
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More old Blather......30 miles is a good ride for me with a maximum of 50/55 miles. Takes longer to recover. Never was a long distance rider with my specialty of 100k, 100 miles occasionally back when. Try for 2500/3000 miles a year. When I get on the bike I lay it over at about 45 deg then pick it up after I get my leg over. Not a flexible as days of yore. Went from a Trek 5200 to the Moots YBB for a bit of seat comfort. Moots is a little more flexy in the bottom bracket area then the Trek but I don't have the power to bend it anymore anyway. Better overall ride. Chain rings 46/34/24, cassette 28/11 9 speed. Might upgrade. Don't use the 24 much but at the end of a ride and a hill is in the way the 24 beats pushing. Always a DosXX or a Guinness Extra Stout after the ride depending on if the temp is cool or hot.
I am known as KootonaMoots. Not too long ago when I was riding my BSA Goldstar I was known as The Geezer on a Beezer. If ya want I can expound on my before dinner Martini but it is time for Mex food and a Margarita. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 04/04/2014 08:15 PM |
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| Getting old sounds pretty good when lived this way. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 04/04/2014 09:19 PM |
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Posted By Frederick Jones on 04/04/2014 08:15 PM
Getting old sounds pretty good when lived this way.
yup, not bad, not bad at all. |
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SideBySide
Posts:444
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| 04/05/2014 02:04 AM |
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It's comparing now to five years age that gets me every five years.
I'm finally getting back into shape after a few years out of it. I can only hope to be active at 80.
+1 Dale FTW! |
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THE SKINNY
Posts:506
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| 04/05/2014 09:24 AM |
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| my philosophy about getting old: keep moving. it's hard to hit a moving target. however the tex mex and margarita option might be worth a try. i'm not sure about the guinness and dos xx. i'm more sam adams boston lager and youngs double chocolate stout. i guess i'm a 'whiner on a niner'? |
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| How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. |
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Nick A
Posts:625
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| 04/05/2014 05:05 PM |
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Wow, such great responses. Kootna, wow man, thanks. I never "fit in" with the cycling crowd after I left NY. I quit Facebook awhile ago, but I got to see that "Otto" (I assume he has a last name. LOL.) is about your age and still rides The Gimbels ride. A group ride in suburban New York that dates back to the '40's. You grow up riding that, and it ruins ya.
Spud, nice super mini Suby.
Keith, it's a '76 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT. The only "vintage" cars I've owned before are two BMW 2002's. I don't have the patience to restore a car, but a race car, is more about function than form. The interior gets gutted, and the paint only has to look good from about 10 feet away. I've driven at our local (Albuquerque) road course about two dozen times in the last several years, and raced maybe half that much. It is way fun, but gets expensive. The vintage crowd tends to be more "gentleman" racing, so there's not really much crashing like in regular racing. I just don't have the money for that. Of course, this is amateur, and not circle track, so none of the road course racing is a hee-haw crash-fest like NASCAR or something.
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mondonico
Posts:158
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| 04/05/2014 11:03 PM |
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God I love hearing from you guys still riding over 70 and 80 years old. I just hit 64 and don't see myself ever not riding but sometimes I think I might at some point go to a three wheeler or a recumbant. But I do workouts everyday of some type, yoga, pilates, plyo, weights, etc. And I walk 7 to 10 miles a day at work. But the body is breaking down and it does get tough some morning. Doc just put me on celebrex to see if that helps. But your all correct if you don't use it you lose it. And I really can't see me alive and not riding a bike. I've been doing it for 60 years and don't see life without it.
I was on a bike path the other day and for the first time came up on a CHP officer on his Motorbike. Was the curvey part of the path and could not see him till I was right up on him. We have had a few problems on the Sacramento pike path the past years so I though it was just a new patrol. Then as I got closer I realized he was an escort for a younger man maybe late 20 early 30's who was a double amputee. He seemed a little tentative so I think he was just getting used to riding again or maybe for the first time? Makes my aches and pains seem a little less of a problem. |
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Keith Richards
Posts:781
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| 04/06/2014 01:13 AM |
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Posted By Nicholas Arenella on 04/05/2014 05:05 PM
Keith, it's a '76 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT.
Nick
Dude I owned a 74! You found one with minimal rust? You keeping the Spica fuel injection? That car in 4th gear between 70-90 MPH was CRAZY! Mine had an Ansa exhaust and Konis. My first "sports" car. |
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It is his word versus ours. We like our word. We like where we stand and we like our credibility."--Lance Armstrong. |
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Keith Richards
Posts:781
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| 04/06/2014 01:13 AM |
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Posted By Keith Jackson on 04/06/2014 01:13 AM
Posted By Nicholas Arenella on 04/05/2014 05:05 PM
Keith, it's a '76 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT.
Nick
Dude I owned a 74! You found one with minimal rust? You keeping the Spica fuel injection? That car in 4th gear between 70-90 MPH was CRAZY! Mine had an Ansa exhaust and Konis. My first "sports" car.
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It is his word versus ours. We like our word. We like where we stand and we like our credibility."--Lance Armstrong. |
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Nick A
Posts:625
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| 04/06/2014 10:06 AM |
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I don't plan on changing out the Spica. I'm glad you showed love for the car. Trying to fix this thing is like some Zen exercise in patience and fortitude. I have moments of saying "eff it". It runs, and has very little rust. It says more about me. LOL. Also, I have a one car garage, and do most work in the driveway. I just bought paint for the interior. I'll have to pull the car into the garage for that. I'll likely do the cheapo one day Maaco for the outside. I can easily get the bikes and stuff out of the garage, but to paint the outside would mean getting all of the stored stuff along the walls out.
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smokey52
Posts:493
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| 04/06/2014 11:37 AM |
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Hey Keith,
Is Harriman in your schedule this year? |
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