A senior's cyclist thoughts on getting older.

 

As a  senior cyclist, how do you know when you are getting older?

You are no longer able to spread two mills of rear triangle to get a wheel into the frame because you went to the new type of cassette.

You straddle your bike frame and you find the stand over on the top tube frame too tall, which would never happen in the old days. Am I shrinking, yup!!

You find yourself stretching over the frame top tube and it seems too long. Of course having a belly in the way does not help either. 

You find the gearing is never low enough even though you have a converted triple with a 22 tooth inner chain ring and 34 tooth in the back

Your flexibility is not good enough anymore to lift your leg up and over the frame so you have to lay the bike down and step in. This also means you should only ride, very tame single track. Waa. That means no more cyclo-cross either. Waa!

Riding clipless pedals hurts the knees when twisting out, so flat pedals are used mostly now.

Bikepacking and sleeping on the ground makes it hard to get up.

You start looking for a 165cm or shorter crank as the legs do not like to be bent as much.

You start looking for a shorter stem with maybe more rise.

Perhaps the handlebar sweep could also be higher as well. Slamming a stem is definitely out!

You look for bigger tires with more cushion and perhaps a front suspension that will be nicer to the back, shoulders and arms. The wider tire also helps with balance a lot more.

Having ridden a bicycle since I was 4, you start looking for a simpler bike. So start looking for a Pinion gearing or a Rohloff hub. Some of us do not feel like spending time working on the bike as much anymore. Nope e-bikes do not appeal to me, yet? 

The jury is still out about tubeless tires, if the tubeless cannot seal, I am not strong enough tear off the tire off the rim any more, at least not on my 4.8 inch fatbike.

You are no longer able to lift a bike on the roof rack too, now the bikes are carried on the rear of the car. Having a fatbike does not help either. As a side note if you are trying to catch a ferry and the bikes are up top you maybe be bumped if there are no more high level parking spots, as the commercial trucks may be ahead of you.  So go with a rear car carrier.

Yes walking hurts the hips, but pushing a bike does not. :)

Wifey wanted a new saddle. I go to put it on and am reminded that my eyes are not so good anymore. It is hard to put the Allen key in the hole and I have to do it more by feel as I am leaned over. Grr.

I drop the Allen key and have to pick it up off the floor and that is not so easy anymore either. Grr.

Almost always wear long sleeved loose fitting sun shirts, to avoid more skin cancer, to hide my weight and to act as a mosquito deterrent.. Waa!

Due to sitting so much during the covid era, the butt muscles have become weak. The legs stayed strong. Therefore it is best to do a lot more standing (honking) on the bike (40-60 cadence). I am tending to do a lot more sitting on the saddle and we need to change that up.

There is another major question that makes me think; what can I do to avoid Dementia?? Just keep riding, staying active is one thing I am trying to do!!

Thumbs are hurting a bit more as I still shift a lot and use almost all gears. Twist shifting may help?

The older we get, the more we carry, just in case. LOL

Well that is just a few reasons why I know I am getting older on a bike.

 

KEEP RIDING, HAVE FUN!!!