71 y/o Roadie died Nr Huddersfield.

[tyred]

Once at the top of a very steep hill on a mountainous road, an old Dutch man asked me for directions. He looked to be in his late 60s, early 70s, was riding solo on a bike loaded up with luggage and smoking a cigar. As I was talking to him, I was looking at his bike. It was probably as old as himself, an old single speed with a pedal back brake and no front brake of any description. I asked him how he could ride such a basic bike, fully loaded through a mountain. He replied that he just stood up and pushed a little harder on the sttep parts and rode with a little anticipation incase he needed to stop on the downhill sections. I still have enormous respect for that gentleman. He was doing something I couldn't do, even though I'm thirty years younger.

 

[ColinJ]

It's one of the things I love about cycling, that you can go on doing it for years, much more so than running which I also do.

I like running too, but my hips are on the way out and hurt even if I run only a mile or two. From now on it is only hill walking and cycling for me and I expect that even the walking will have to stop at some point .

 

[Cubist]

Bit more detail on Eric, looks like he was an all round good guy.
http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/loca...r-lecturer-dies-on-cycle-ride-86081-22462764/

 

[ColinJ]

Very sad. To live to be a fit and healthy at 71 then die in an accident.

The report mentioned above says that he had a heart attack while riding. Thankfully, for once, it wasn't an accident.

I was going to say that when my time comes, I want to 'do a Beryl Burton' - go out on my bike, start feeling not so good then, bang, I'm gone - but I've just found out that she was only 59 when she died. Blimey, it just goes to show that keeping fit doesn't guarantee a long life. I've probably got genes on my side though - most of my family live to their 80s or 90s and a few have even got to their 100s.

 

[amrushton]

To be honest, I'd rather be shot by a jealous husband... at that age.

Or the angry father of 21 yr old nymphomaniac twin girls}