On Nov 7, 2:40*am, wrote:


I'm not talking about spinning or not pushing things from time to
time. At my age and I'm just 4 years older than you, all that racing
seems so pointless and take away a lot off fun for many people who do
so at that age. Mind you I often ride faster then when I was younger
and certainly ride more, but if things don't go well for a while I
don't get nervous anymore and take it as it comes. That is much more
enjoyable. Like someone here said once *' Riding time trials is the
dumbest way to enjoy cycling' .

Taking it as it comes is good, but I can see value in pushing
oneself. Time trials included.

I'm in my 60s now. I certainly don't ride as fast as I used to. And
it's more easy than ever for me to see the value of just puttering
along, stopping frequently for pretty views and such. But I think I'm
still reaping the benefits from years of harder riding. I'm healthier
and slimmer than almost all my same-age riding buddies, and I climb
better than all of them.

I think this is because for decades, I pushed myself. I pushed myself
on recreational rides, and on the regular rides home from work. That
included the climb out of the valley. The ride home was (almost) a
time trial. Yeah, it hurt, and I never looked forward to that big
hill; but doing it consistently got me into darn good biking shape.

The other thing I did involved gearing. I don't have to go far to
find 10+% grades, but even though my bikes all have triples, I avoided
the small chainring on regular rides. I grunted and pushed up every
hill even if it required alternately sitting and standing, even if
everybody else shifted to their lowest gear. I think this built my
quads.

The payoff, for me, was the ability to ride greater distances and see
more countryside. And when I was touring, shifting into that granny
gear allowed me to climb anything the terrain threw at me. My legs
were up to it. And not only was I able to sail off on multi-day
camping tours without a lot of worry, I remember a multi-hundred mile
tour to visit my daughter at college, that I was able to finish a full
day ahead of schedule. That meant more time with the kid.

In general, getting into better shape is work, and it sometimes
hurts. But it allows you to enjoy things that most Americans never
experience. My biking shape allows me to enjoy mountain hikes,
kayaking and other things at the drop of a hat. And of course, it
allows me more enjoyment of biking.

- Frank Krygowski