Any Bicycle Riders Out There?

[LostInTyme]

Bicycle Bob


The other day, I was out on my every-other-day exercise bike trip. I have only been doing this for a couple of weeks, and I'm not really steady on the bike yet nor am I in very good shape. So I did my four miles uphill and had returned on my four miles downhill. As I approached the end of the trail, I need to cross the street where there are blind curves in both directions. So I stop and listen before I attempt my crossing. Today, there was a nice older (I'm 75) gentleman waiting at the crossing too. But he was headed in and I was headed out. He was standing astride his rather cool looking multi-speed bike with a camera in hand.

He had been trying to take a selfie of himself but couldn't manage it. We said hello, talked awhile and he finally asked me to take his picture. I took his picture, and we talked some more. He is 92 years old and had just biked 10 miles and was continuing on for another 10. Then, he would turn around and bike back to where he had parked his car, and go home.

He calls himself BicycleBob. I marveled at what great shape he is in and his drive to continue each day doing this. The chance encounter gave me the resolve to continue, no matter how long it takes, I will master this confounded bicycle, and I will improve my stamina and get into better shape.

When I arrived home, I told my wife to just say BicycleBob to me the next time I balk at the thought of getting out on the bike.

Nothing earth shattering here, but perhaps someone else can use BicycleBob's drive and outlook sometime in their quest for a better, more healthful life. I certainly will.

End of story.

I ride a 27" seven speed bike from Public Bikes that I bought online a few years ago. It's called a Mixtee, a bike for men or women. It's rather nice and has an internal gear changer so you are not always jumping gear sets when changing speeds.

 

[belfastboy]

Bicycle Bob


The other day, I was out on my every-other-day exercise bike trip. I have only been doing this for a couple of weeks, and I'm not really steady on the bike yet nor am I in very good shape. So I did my four miles uphill and had returned on my four miles downhill. As I approached the end of the trail, I need to cross the street where there are blind curves in both directions. So I stop and listen before I attempt my crossing. Today, there was a nice older (I'm 75) gentleman waiting at the crossing too. But he was headed in and I was headed out. He was standing astride his rather cool looking multi-speed bike with a camera in hand.

He had been trying to take a selfie of himself but couldn't manage it. We said hello, talked awhile and he finally asked me to take his picture. I took his picture, and we talked some more. He is 92 years old and had just biked 10 miles and was continuing on for another 10. Then, he would turn around and bike back to where he had parked his car, and go home.

He calls himself BicycleBob. I marveled at what great shape he is in and his drive to continue each day doing this. The chance encounter gave me the resolve to continue, no matter how long it takes, I will master this confounded bicycle, and I will improve my stamina and get into better shape.

When I arrived home, I told my wife to just say BicycleBob to me the next time I balk at the thought of getting out on the bike.

Nothing earth shattering here, but perhaps someone else can use BicycleBob's drive and outlook sometime in their quest for a better, more healthful life. I certainly will.

End of story.

I ride a 27" seven speed bike from Public Bikes that I bought online a few years ago. It's called a Mixtee, a bike for men or women. It's rather nice and has an internal gear changer so you are not always jumping gear sets when changing speeds.

View attachment 328606

A classic bike you have there. I am 72 in a few months and still mountain bike with my wife. 20 years ago I gave up golf (or it gave up on me!) and my wife and I switched to biking. One of the best decisions I have made. I have arthritic knees from sports injuries and biking is the best therapy there is. Also, as I age, biking is so great for keeping one's balance in fine tune. Riding a bike requires constant correction.....dynamic steering. 6 years ago we did a 300km bike trip 6 days through the Bitterroot Mountains in Idaho/Montana....it was a true peak experience. I doubt we will replicate anything that big again but I plan to bike til I fall off for that last time.

 

[LostInTyme]

Good for you, for sure. You are absolutely correct about the balance thing. As I have aged, I have noticed that my balance has deteriorated significantly.

 

[tonyb]

I’m truly happy for you guys and a bit jealous. I couldn’t do it. Seriously, I’m just not up to it.

And I hope that you and every other bicyclist don’t suffer any injuries. We really need to put more distance, in more places, between motor vehicles and bicycles and pedestrians. I see efforts toward that end, but we still have a long way to go. True grade separation might be darned nigh impossible in many contexts, but we can make safer use of existing roads and walkways, through reconfiguration (moving lanes around, mostly, to put more distance and/or barriers between the cars and the bikes).

And we need more compliance with traffic laws, especially in regard to right-of-way. We can do that right now, if we have the will. I’m usually not one to advocate punitive measures, but I strongly suspect that some people won’t do the right thing — such as yielding to bikes and pedestrians where code calls for it — unless not doing it comes with a large price tag.