Today I got to ride with the young bucks...

[catulle]

Every Tuesday and Thursday a group of young bucks get together in the afternoon to ride near where I live. These guys are young, shaved legs, bright jerseys, riding gloves, the whole shebang. They are pretty cocky, keep to themselves, and most certainly don't wave.

I usually ride in the mornings but today I had a hectic day, and it wasn't until the afternoon that I got to hop on my bicycle. Not long after I had been riding I spotted the small peloton of these guys. Soon enough we ran into each other and hitched on to the last guy in the group.

I usually spin in the small ring but these guys were hauling butt on the large ring. If I wanted to keep up I had to switch to the large ring, which I did. I really didn't have too much of a hard time keeping up. It got a little more strenuous when riding against a pretty stiff wind but not enough to be dropped.

I soon found myself enjoying the brisk ride in the midst of these guys. No one was talking, it was all business, and the buzz of the bikes and fast pace felt great. However, there is no doubt I was the odd man out. I'm at least twice the age of those guys, and instead of a bright jersey I was riding with a white Georgetown Runners cotton t-shirt, and no helmet. But what really made me feel different was when I realized I had been riding the whole time at a 165 plus heart beats per minute, and that got me thinking.

Why do I want to ride way past my aerobic threshold for a prolonged and sustained period of time? It is plain unhealthy to do so at my age. If I can ride, enjoy, and greatly benefit healthwise with a long ride (4 hours?) within my aerobic threshold, why should I want to duck it out with these guys and do my body harm?

I think my point and the moral of the story is that it feels good to know that even if I might be getting too old to be one of the guys with the bright jerseys and shaved legs, I can enjoy riding my bicycle like the best of them. And I'll be able to keep doing so for a long time to come.

Hey, thanks for reading.

Sandy: :banana:

[andy mac]

However, there is no doubt I was the odd man out. I'm at least twice the age of those guys, and instead of a bright jersey I was riding with a white Georgetown Runners cotton t-shirt, and no helmet.





http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/9701.0.html



:crap:

[yeehawfactor]

dear sandy-
i am young. i may be a buck. i always wave. k?
-patrick

[ericspin]

Is shaving your legs age specific? If so i might be in trouble. 48 and still shavin'.

[alancw3]

catulle. hey where do you live? i think i past those same guys down here in naples when i do an afternoon ride instead of morning. never wave, never talk all business. like you i ride in a t-shirt (not an ocp) but i have just recently started wearing a helmet. too many crazies on the roads now a days.

[Fixed]

bro maybe once a week you could hop in for a while .who knows you might make a new friend ...at least they didn't yell at you to take a pull ..
i bet they were talkin about that old bro who had that really nice bike and i bet they got a kick out of you hangin with them .
i.m.h.o. ......cheers

[Ray]

Catulle,

I'm kind of similar to you in generally riding within myself and pushing but not pushing too hard or too long. But, hey, every now and then its fun to really push beyond your abilities for a bit - I don't think this is bad for your health unless you get into actual over-training which doesn't sound like a problem for either of us :cool:

There are a bunch of racer types who ride the same roads I do and I've gotten to know which ones I can't hang with even for a little while and which ones I can hang with for a while as long as the hills are small or non-existant. I sometimes jump on with the ones I can hang with, particuarly if they come by on a relatively flat to rolling 7-8 mile section of my rides. I'll always ask if I can hop a ride and I stay just far enough back not to mess with the rotation but close enough to get the benefit of the draft. On a bad day, I might get dropped very quickly but on a good one, I'll hang on all the way to the base of the big climb back into town, which can be several miles. It always feels like a lot of work, but it's kind of fun and pretty satisfying when I can hang. I know if I was willing to push myself like that in a structured way, I'd probably get a good bit faster myself, but I'm not, so I take my thrills where I find 'em.

-Ray

[catulle]

If anything, my reference to the younger cyclists was perfectly sympathetic and respectful. How can one ever knock youth? Youth is when life itself shows a bit of its splendor just to keep us going for the rest of the journey.

I don't live in Florida but I hope there is a peloton buzzing along on every community.

Fixed, you rock: Love and kindness.

[Sandy]

dear sandy-
i am young. i may be a buck. i always wave. k?
-patrick

dear patrick,

i am old. i have a rubber duck. i always try to wave. k?

-sandy

[Kevan]

dear patrick,

i am old. i have a rubber duck. i always try to wave. k?

-sandy

http://www.universalcycles.com/images//products/medium/9182.jpg

Quack! Quack! (http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=9182&category=2196)

[Fixed]

bro i.m.h.o. the young bros have all learned form the old riders at some point . the young bros see the older rider as their future you don't have to sit in a rockin chair when you reach 45 ... you won't mess up the pace line just sit in the back and move or follow the last guy over that way you can stay in the draft .most good riders won't mind a older rider hangin on this way save your strengh for the hills . I bet you know this already though . cheers

[ClutchCargo]

[QUOTE=catulle]
. . . and no helmet. . . .

Why do I want to ride way past my aerobic threshold for a prolonged and sustained period of time? It is plain unhealthy to do so at my age. . . .

why would you worry about your heart when you're not takin' care of your head? :no:

be good and wear your lid, man.



Ride on ! :)

[davep]

Why do I want to ride way past my aerobic threshold for a prolonged and sustained period of time?

I may be mistaken, but its my understanding that if you are riding for "a prolonged and sustained period of time" you are not riding above your aerobic threshold. Riding above your aerobic threshold (ie, anaerobic) can only be sustained for a limited (short) time. Maybe you're fitter than you think!

[Dr. Doofus]

ride however you want

it comes down to what kind of social skills and perspective the others have

doof is a jerk (he was told he didn't get the IB position because he is "hard headed"...so he has AP which, at this school, is a second-line slot...time to move on) off the bike, but on the bike his true warm fuzzy side comes out unless its a race, then he's a jerk.

anyway

doof spent monday night drafting some senior citizens on a tandem and talking about how difficult it is to care for your parents as they age

doof spend tuesday night pulling some 5s around and trying to give em some tips to be less mp

doof spent wednesday spinning with one of his lil mp charges (riding with juniors is fun because you have to ride junior gears with em...150 minutes of low hr and 100+ rpm)

doof spent last night riding dudes off his wheel (doof told the mp crew to hang on and just draft while he did his 5x5s...dudes have some problems cornering...mp...but ya gotta love em)

why is doof talking about himself? dunno. probbably because all one can do is refer to one's own experience. doof is a ride slut who will ride with anyone as long as it fits with what his training is that day. if others are cool they're ride sluts too.

road to bliss: be a slut with a good heart

[catulle]

road to bliss: be a slut with a good heart[/QUOTE]

Henry "Doof" Miller. :D

Oh, and I do have a helmet (I just need to wear it more often). Thank you, though.

[bluesea]

A group of young bucks hanging amongst themselves?

Aren't they the ones not getting any?

[wasfast]

I decided a couple months ago to quit riding "generally useless miles" (5K miles per year the last 2 years) and get some intensity in my riding. I'm 190, can't climb an ant hill, but know the only way that's going to improve is to do hills at tempo.

So, I started doing the Saturday training rides with a local racer club. I'm just getting to the point where, if they're nice to me, I'm just off the back on the hills instead of in a different county at the top of the hill. I'm improving so it's working.

I'll also note that there are plenty of older riders (50+ Masters) that are just as fast as the young guys. It's not an age thing.

I say get a helmet and join them more often. The intensity will make you a better rider. I don't mean 5 days a week.....

[catulle]

A group of young bucks hanging amongst themselves?

Aren't they the ones not getting any?


I don't know about them bucks, but we old Sinatra types still get it (don't say a beep e-RiCHIE :no: ).

:banana:

[Ray]

I decided a couple months ago to quit riding "generally useless miles" (5K miles per year the last 2 years) and get some intensity in my riding. Nothing against intensity, but there's no such thing as a 'useless' mile. Even the slowest or most exhausted worn out mile on the road is just fine by me.

-Ray

[vaxn8r]

I decided a couple months ago to quit riding "generally useless miles" (5K miles per year the last 2 years) and get some intensity in my riding. I'm 190, can't climb an ant hill, but know the only way that's going to improve is to do hills at tempo.

So, I started doing the Saturday training rides with a local racer club. I'm just getting to the point where, if they're nice to me, I'm just off the back on the hills instead of in a different county at the top of the hill. I'm improving so it's working.

I'll also note that there are plenty of older riders (50+ Masters) that are just as fast as the young guys. It's not an age thing.

I say get a helmet and join them more often. The intensity will make you a better rider. I don't mean 5 days a week.....
Cool...

I hope we can ride again this year.

[wasfast]

Hopefully they'll be a Eugene get together this year. BCM119 is still around and obvious so are you and gasman. I know there are a few others, especially if some of the Portland guys drive down.