When will you quit ?

[Globalti]

[QUOTE 5045214, member: 9609"]which part are you planning on ?[/QUOTE]

We are open to guidance and suggestions. We looked at Argyll, even met @Yellow Saddle there but Mrs Gti, who spent a lot of time diving in the Hebrides feels that Argyll is a bit "Scotland lite" and wants to go further north. I'm well aware that as we age we will need to be near a town and also that further north and west gets the heaviest rainfall so I'm thinking about Inverness at the moment, which is apparently the 5th happiest town in Britain and has a drier climate.

 

[Apollonius]

I ride with a rather "mature" group once a week, and what stops people, who usually make it into their mid-eighties before being forced to quit is not so much the lack of physical strength, but losing it mentally. Thinking back over the last few years we lost E to lung cancer at 80, but he had been a smoker. Even so, that is practically a cot-death for a cyclist. We lost G to Parkinson's. He coped well until about 82, but was so heavily dependent on his meds. He needed to take a big brown pill at 11.00 on the dot or anything could happen. Eventually he got more and more eccentric and mentally unpredictable and he had to stop. We lost R, an ex-professional who was well known in the early 50s, to dementia. Suddenly he was falling off his bike, turning up for runs on the wrong day, and couldn't find his way home after a ride. I think he was 85 but is still alive, just not riding. B looks as if he is going the same way. He seems to be losing his balance, and I had to pick him up the other day when he forgot to unclip. He also seems to be losing his ability to know where he is. He is mid-eighties too. T is still going fine, but is talking about getting an e-bike (this was while we were puffing up a decent hill - he was puffing less than me!). He is 85. His friend quit when he died, but he was 93. Only did about 10 miles or so towards the end, though. He liked to buy a new bike every year whether he needed it or not. Gave them away just before he died.
Getting old is pretty horrible, to be honest. But the alternative is worse. Keep pedalling: keep breathing.

 

[Globalti]

Thanks for answering my question of how I might be forced to slow down. I'm still hoping for another 25 to 30 years of fitness though!

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I ride with a rather "mature" group once a week, and what stops people, who usually make it into their mid-eighties before being forced to quit is not so much the lack of physical strength, but losing it mentally. Thinking back over the last few years we lost E to lung cancer at 80, but he had been a smoker. Even so, that is practically a cot-death for a cyclist. We lost G to Parkinson's. He coped well until about 82, but was so heavily dependent on his meds. He needed to take a big brown pill at 11.00 on the dot or anything could happen. Eventually he got more and more eccentric and mentally unpredictable and he had to stop. We lost R, an ex-professional who was well known in the early 50s, to dementia. Suddenly he was falling off his bike, turning up for runs on the wrong day, and couldn't find his way home after a ride. I think he was 85 but is still alive, just not riding. B looks as if he is going the same way. He seems to be losing his balance, and I had to pick him up the other day when he forgot to unclip. He also seems to be losing his ability to know where he is. He is mid-eighties too. T is still going fine, but is talking about getting an e-bike (this was while we were puffing up a decent hill - he was puffing less than me!). He is 85. His friend quit when he died, but he was 93. Only did about 10 miles or so towards the end, though. He liked to buy a new bike every year whether he needed it or not. Gave them away just before he died.
Getting old is pretty horrible, to be honest. But the alternative is worse. Keep pedalling: keep breathing.

It appears to be common for riders to lose their confidence as they get older, I know several older riders who have problems with that, personally I'm in my mid 60's, so a comparative youngster, and I'm not as confident as i once was. Dementia brings everything to a halt, I'm a member of a pensioners club and one of the organizers is developing dementia and will soon have to quit, I lost a friend to dementia a few years ago and it's a horrible illness and one of the few things I dread getting as I get older.

 

[Sandra6]

I only started cycling 5 or 6 years ago, I've never considered a time when I'll stop. I think I'll probably go the way of the electric bike if my physical strength fails me, or I can get one of the children to pedal me around on an adapted bike!

 

[classic33]

I only started cycling 5 or 6 years ago, I've never considered a time when I'll stop. I think I'll probably go the way of the electric bike if my physical strength fails me, or I can get one of the children to pedal me around on an adapted bike!

Stoker on a tandem!

 

[Gravity Aided]

Although I've had a lot to get past this year, I think the procedures done will keep me cycling longer than most, and I'm hopeful I have quite a few years left in me in this regard. I have other hobbies to fall back on, but am hopeful as I dial back at work, I can up my cycling time as well. I think my father was still cycling in his early 60's, but I have a lot of people around me that have that number well beat. I live near a trail, have lots of access to safe routes, and more technology and medical care than in my fathers' time. I also do not have the coronary disease so common in my family. So I may have a good long time left to ride.

 

[buzzy-beans]

So I may have a good long time left to ride.

I bloody well hope so, keep yer pecker up and those legs of yours pumping.....

 

[Gravity Aided]

I am sure hoping so. Plenty of role models for that around here, especially in our local cycling club.

 

[Racing roadkill]

I May change the type of cycling I do, but I won’t stop, until I’m dead and buried, even then I’ll probably have myself preserved in a tank of formaldehyde, and rigged up to some sort of motor, and a bike, and carry on.

 

[betty swollocks]

Never.
An 87 year old in my local club has just cycled up Mt Teide.
I aim to follow his example.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I was planning on doing some fishing, using the bicycle to get there. I think I may want to get a couple of runs in when I have the Super Senior License for fishing. I think that's 1.50 US per year, as opposed to the 15.00 US I pay now. In seven years, I'll just pay 7.50 US, what I think I paid when I had my first adult license. Mostly, tourists pay for the lions' share of costs through the daily license.

 

[jay clock]

View attachment 383111

impressive use of bungee cords

 

[Banjo]

Get my bus pass soon .Will be giving the Dahon folder a bit of a service and using it to start rides in different places.
I read about a guy who packed a rucksack and travelled all over Wales on his bus pass (no bike) .With carefull planning you can cover the whole of Wales for free.

The Irish ferries charge you for a bike but folded up in a bag maybe not.......

to many new places to see to think of stopping.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The Irish ferries do not check you booked your bike. So most times you do not get charged.