O.K. get the excuses out the way 1st .I’ve only been getting out once a week for the last month,i was on the Spicy with 160mm travel f & r and it weighs 8 to 10 pounds more than other bikes on the ride today .
So is it true that at 55 i am limited to what i can achieve like polishing a turd etc etc .Should i just ride for fun / myself and not take it too seriously ? I always said if i started taking it too seriously i would give up .Now i don’t want to do that so should i prepare for some hard work in the new year when i can hopefully get out more ?Or should i just think it was a nice day the downhills were fun and the eats at the pub afterwards were good as well and just carry on my own merry way ?

Right – first off if you arent taking it so seriously why did you buy a 160mm fashionable fuss suss bike?

Sorry about that
I guess it is as blunt as it was meant to be but bear with me 🙂

I kind of know where you are coming from fitness wise

When I struggle for motivation I usually try and find a slightly obnoxious riding mate, or friend of friend more likely, who is a bit or so fitter than me and make it my god given aim to monster the bugger the next time I see them in a month or so

Once a week isnt really going to do much IMHO
And a social ride wont do much either

It really has to hurt which is where motivation is important
And you really have to do some cheating mid week on the turbo or gym

Cycling for me is mostly a social thing
But I also like the fitness too which gets more important the older I get

Find some mates with scumbag fit pals and take it from there 🙂

Seriosuly

The bike was bought for a purpose 5 months in Whistler !!!!!!!!!!!!Some interesting points you make !

I always said if i started taking it too seriously i would give up

WTF!

What he said. I probably get more out of it from the fitness aspect at the moment.

It is really satisfying to train and achieve goals. Doesn’t stop you doing chilled rides with mates.

Park the Spicy and leave for those days when it makes ‘sense’.

Buy another more ‘relevent’ bike – lighter 120mm HT?

I’m hoping this old turd will polish up a bit more.

Just had my last race of the year today (unless my Nat Champs entry comes through the door) It’s been a poor to middling year, but I’ve promised to do a bit more work from the start of 2011.
Though I want to get better at racing, I think being fitter can only add yo your riding regardless of what you do.
I’m just about to hit 51 and my plans for events take me up to 65.

Why is the prospect of riding your bike more, ‘hard work’? Don’t understand.

Sounds a bit roady to me. (No offence, like) Masochistic riding tendencies, monstering your mates… it’s about fun not agony when you get to my age, I’m only competing against myself

somepeople are fitter than others,,,,,,,
im sure you would wait for a slack rider,, why shouldnt they wait for you.

bombing down hill at full tilt is over rated,,,, i like to play with the DHs,,,, its more fun.

hold your head up high,,, we all ride differently.

Should i just ride for fun / myself and not take it too seriously

YES

Or should i just think it was a nice day the downhills were fun and the eats at the pub afterwards were good as well and just carry on my own merry way ?

YES but perhaps leave off the eats at the pub.

Its meant to be fun. Enjoy it and relish the fact that most 55 year olds are driving to and from Tesco on a Sunday, in cardigans, smoking pipes, in their Nissan Almera’s.

I just have fun on the downhills and jumps, I’m never gonna be the best climber but you need to get to the top for a good descent, so I just get on with it!

Perhaps you need to step away from seeing life as a race?

Get yourself a Hardtail converted to SS and rediscover the joys of riding for the sheer pleasure of… 😉

+1 _tom_

OF.

Speaking as someone who’s riding fitness has dropped off the scale. Not to mention the and trail sharpness.

I’m guessing, that you’ve had 5 months riding perhaps a little more gravity assisted trails, therefore have been enjoying the rewards in having more descent for the effort to get there.

Now your back on home soil, you’re possibly getting less reward, ie.

30mins of effort climbing, for a few mins of descent.

This could mean your a little frustrated with yourself and not enjoying all the riding whether up or down.

If you’re not enjoying it, you’ll analise your fitness more and pick holes in the level of ability.

I’d recommend a course of, short rides for fun.
Just mess about on trails for a couple hrs, nothing severe, just fun.
Remind yourself why you enjoy being on a bike, be it clearing a tough climb or linking that flowy descent.

Don’t go on a long ride mission and lose concentration from fatigue.

Taking riding to seriously has a time and place and i’d you shouldn’t force it, just do it on occasions when it just feels right too.

Remember who you are riding for..and please him.

I’m older than you and am the least fit of my similar aged mates. It doesn’t bother them that I am last to the top of every climb. It used to bother me until I realised it doesn’t really matter. I ride competitive events in a team with a really fit buddy and I used to try and persuade him to enter with someone else or on his own because I obviously hold him back. He isn’t bothered, it’s all about enjoying it.
So when you don’t anymore, pack it in. Otherwise ride ’til you drop, which is my intention

oldfart – Member
…So is it true that at 55 i am limited to what i can achieve like polishing a turd etc etc …

Yup, and the good news is each year you are going to have to train harder and harder to be as crap as you were the year before. (Speaking for myself)

thanks for all the replies kids , i especially like the tesco / cardigan comparison and shane pretty much spot on .

Yep sharki truth he speaks

but if you want to make yourself feel and look alot fitter than you are best we hook up some time 😳

lol @ sd don’t be so hard on yerself !new year sometime speak to mr knott

I dunno, I guess I’ve been lucky in that every so often I’ll have a ride where everything just ‘clicks’. And given my regular haunts were Surrey and Swinley, it was pretty impressive ‘click’ing in that it would always remind me why I do it.
Sooo… maybe get yourself away to Spain for a long weekend? Go to a trail centre for a couple of days? Something that’ll get you back into it and remind you just how seriously (or not) you want to take it!

As for the berks asking why you ride a Spicy if you don’t want to take it seriously – there’s an awful lot of people who drive Scooby Imprezas but never take them rallying. You don’t have to ride at the limit all the time to appreciate a nice machine.

Friend of mine won the Glen Clova 1/2 Marathon at 56 a couple of years ago. Outright, not just the vets race.

I was at a time trial once and was looking at the handicaps, mine was around 5 mins, most people in the 10-15 min bracket, and one guy with 35mins. When I asked why I was told ‘He is 84.’ Did 25 miles in around and hour and a half.

You are never too old.