been out for a few beers today…..too many, maybe. ended with some old rugby pals, aged 43-55 and some present day players 18-25 having a bit of fun.

my sporting history.
1st game of rugby aged 7. last game of rugby aged 44.
mixture of triathlons, coal carrying, audax, polaris and mtbing since 1985.

health history.
2 x knee clear outs. meniscal tears.
1 x umbilical hernia
1 fused ankle, after tendon tear
1 x acl rebuild
1 fused wrist
1 x open heart surgery, to cure perm AF
1 x broken jaw
5 x missing teeth through impact

today, in the carpark, i was still a 19 yr old, full of spunk beast of a lad. i could throw anyone about, no problem.
i tried to run, i fell over, my jeans are torn, my knees are bloodied.
i ran at a youth, my shoulder hurts, i had to sit down to recover.

i feel old, tired, useless, worn out and week.

when did i become old…… 🙁

Pissed then? 🙂

It creeps up on you bit by bit so as you don’t notice !
then KABOOM all of a sudden your OLD>

Nurse, the screens…..

Pissed then?

**** mate proper ****

I like a bit of Tennyson at times like this:

Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

This will likely be me tomorrow.

Happens to the best of us…

I used to be invinsible and born with a horse shoe in my arse.. Everything i touched turns gold and where I lay my eyes is mine.. Woke up one day and find it becomes a myth …

But, do not go gentle into that good night!

Remember two things:
1. Regular cycling gives you the body of a man 10 years younger
2. Regular mountain biking means you’re still a kid at heart

You’re a hell of a lot younger than anyone else your age 🙂

I’m 42 and about as fit as I’ve ever been – when I was running a lot last year I’d regularly beat blokes 10 years younger. Today I went out mountain biking and couldn’t keep up with the blokes I was riding with. One’s 50+ and the other 60+…

today, in the carpark, i was still a 19 yr old, full of spunk beast of a lad.

At least you’ll have good skin.

“full of spunk”

Well that’s a bonus. Any port in a storm & all that 😉

You got old when you realised this, before hand you were still living the dream, you can still live the dream just drink a bit more and you will forget having realised it. Possibly, who cares, go riding on Monday and you won’t give a shat anyway

Your’e still a bairn Tony!

Essel, aged 58 & 3/4.

Cheers ton, your entire post gave me a knowing chuckle 😀

Wot he said!!

brooess – Member
2. Regular mountain biking means you’re still a kid at heart

At heart yes, but it hurts a lot more, takes longer to heal, and you don’t always get up and think nothing of it 😀

Thing that’s making me feel old though is not bike stuff but just the realisation that half my childhood heroes are dying. That and starting to need reading glasses!

Thing is though, 40s is only middle age (statistically).

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

The thing I haven’t yet worked out is whether riding with folk old enough to be your son/daughter is a good thing cos it makes you feel young or a bad thing cos you struggle to keep up with them.

can i add idont think it is a age thing either.

can you wear a human body out?

i feel like my body is worn out. steps are hard work, walking i despise, i tried to run today. pregnant penguin, my wife says. my joints hurt, i walk with a limp.

omly tome i feel mobile is when riding my bike.

I feel a bit battered round the edges these days. I’m 46.
🙂

Accept your limitations and go for low impact stuff – I always try to avoid road running because of the impact on the knees – really enjoying swimming and cycling at the moment and rapidly approaching 50.

Did the outlaw half triathlon last week- and doubt I could have done that at 35 with young kids and poor fitness/ commitment

Having said that it could be all down hill now…….

I am a machine, only ever injury was when I was 24, torn quad playing football, borrowed some crutches, didn’t even go to hospital.

Never had a broken bone, never needed to be an in patient, at 34 years of age I am made of strong stuff…. that was until about a month ago when I ruptured my achilles playing football.

I am officially getting old 🙁

sore 😐

I feel old tony – am 60 !!
But Im finally gonna be a granddad in a months time – long after you eh.

Ton, I’m sure you can wear your body out.I think you have to manage things…
It’s wear & tear,as old Donald says accept your limitations & go for low impact stuff.I stopped doing circuit training as the impacts were causing me knee problems & I can’t see myself returning to rock climbing any time soon but I have more time for cycling & going hill walking instead.
As a rugby League fan I’ve often wondered what state ex-players Knees are in when they get into their late forties,somehow I don’t think they do much running…

A few basic mistakes last night, Ton 😀

Fistly you drank too little beer, enough to get maudlin, but not enough to simply go to sleep.

Secondly, you forgot to take a bike. A bike would stop you even trying to run. And it makes a handy zimmer frame when you can’t manage to ride it.

Two options:
1. Mope about it ’til you get younger
2. Suck it up and be thankful you’ve lived well enough to wear bits out

I feel old tony – am 60 !!
But Im finally gonna be a granddad in a months time – long after you eh.

congrats Steve. and to your son or daughter, whichever it is…. 😀

when did i become old……

a day at a time.