When should we stop riding? -- perspectives of an older rider

[mosquito]

I'm 41 and just started riding. This is a real question for me too: despite being able to watch my moto skills improve I do know that in the past five years I've been able to tell I don't have the stamina I had before then. Hopefully I have many years of riding ahead of me but for every sort of dangerous thing I do I now know I have to monitor myself for my real levels of ability. Also I know what counts as dangerous will change with time.

At some point I will reach a plateau on the bike that I will never be able to pass and at some other point I'll begin to decline. Right now I know I'm trying out new things and gently feeling out my limits all of the time. I make mistakes when I reach the limits, whether those are physical, mental, skill, or mechanical. Hopefully I'll continue to do what I'm doing now by knowing when I'm approaching the edges of the envelope and backing off.

If I'm careful, in the end I'll be slowly and happily reduced to only doing leisurely Sunday morning rides in the summer.

 

[afm199]

You old guys might want to start exercising regularly and eating well.. I am 62 and age has not slowed me down on the track much. It will if you let your body go.

 

[PageMillPlaya]

You old guys might want to start exercising regularly and eating well.. I am 62 and age has not slowed me down on the track much. It will if you let your body go.

:thumbup

 

[DataDan]

I'm a heck of a lot faster now at months away from 60 than I was at 20. ( Two or four wheels.)

Threads like this piss me off.

Being "faster" is utterly irrelevant to the OP's question.

And what in the world would piss you off about someone else's thinking regarding the risks and rewards of motorcycling?

I disagree with some of what the OP had to say--I think I'm in less danger now (at about the same age as both you and the OP) than I was 20 years ago. What I've lost in reflexes, I've more than made up in guile. But I can't know either how he perceives the risk or the rewards he derives from riding, so it's pointless to try to second-guess his decision.

 

[DH55]

I'm 41 and just started riding. This is a real question for me too: despite being able to watch my moto skills improve I do know that in the past five years I've been able to tell I don't have the stamina I had before then.

suggestion: start up with wind sprints & soon you will be able to keep it up for longer

 

[yella600rr]

Look man, if you have to question your priorities between your family and your bike, you should choose your family and just quit. Choose something safe like track only riders do if you just want to feel the grind but not the danger. Street riding is really ONLY for people who love the hobby more than their own safety. No matter who you are, where you are or how skilled you are, idiots are KILLING real bikers who know what they are doing, EVERY SINGLE DAY.

I mean, shit, that's why I get so flippant with these safety nazi threads. I try to be safe and all, but if I didn't want to take take my ass in my hands and shake it around in a box to see if I come out dead, I wouldn't be riding street motorcycles. It's a dangerous hobby and we have an unprecedented body count compared to skydiving (which I love), scuba diving and other similar sorts of fringe excitement hobbies. Street motorcyclists die all the time, sometimes it's our fault, many times it is not. If you have too much to loose to take that risk, pack it in, or stick to the track and nobody who has any real humanity would think you the lesser for it. Even if they did, fuck what people think anyway. Your wife is real, your kids are real, and anybody who wants to tell you you should take risks that might destroy your time with them is a self important asshole. I can't ever see myself quitting, I think the love in me is strong enough to see me to the grave, but damned if I would tell some other dude with a family and all this shit to live for that he should burn into the asphalt right beside me. Live long, man. Grow old and be happy to see the little ones grow up to be strong. Let us twisted ones out there breathe Cmox and drink gasoline till we die. It's no tragedy to die doing something that you love, but there isn't anything worth loving more than your family. Only you can say what is right for you.

You're awesome dude! :thumbup

:thumbup

I used to ride on the street but not so much anymore. I'm married with two kids and I want to ride dirt bikes with them until they don't want to do it anymore. My three year old wants to grow up to be a racer of something with wheels.

So now I ride track only. Someday I would like to get into enduro touring but that is off in the far future.

I want to be like Ernie (AFM199) when I grow up so I'm trying to get myself into good shape with a basic daily at home work out.

BTW Ernie is the sexiest guy I've met in a long time and if I wasn't married, well rawwrrrr! :devil

Edit: according to calender years I'm 41 (I think, do the math, yep that is correct) years old. :whatever When I'm at home I am a muture responsible mom, when I'm at the track I feel like a crazy 20 something. :teeth

 

[Pushrod]

I'll quit when the thrill is gone.

Every time I slip the key into the ignition, I'm sixteen again. (Take THAT, aarp!) Yeah, I'm staring social security in the face but I passed a gsxr on the outside through the expressway interchange last weekend. Grins in the wrinkles.

I'll give it up when my smooth and quick goes away.

 

[Joebar4000]

Locke McCorkle started riding in his mid 50's, and went racing.

Last time I rode with him was nearly a decade ago, he was in his early 70's, and although not quite as quick as me, I'm sure that was his restraint and my reckless impatience, not lack of skill. Or rather, he used his better judgement and skill

Age is pretty arbitrary in these days of decent nutrition and health care - it's mostly down to genetics and how well you've looked after your body.

I'd have people in their 30's come into the gym when I worked as a PT, in terrible condition. They'd throw up after 5 mins at 60% of their theoretical max HR.

Then the mid-50's postal worker, who drank, smoked, ate too much - but was on their feet ALL day long, would come in. Those guys were fitter than most clean-living 30-year olds who were sedentary. When they quit the smoking and drinking, they were able to keep up with mid-20's guys in athlete-shape.

If you think you're reaction times are too shot to cope with riding, maybe it's time to quit. No matter what age you are. If you think it's because that number is 'too high' on your birthday, but you otherwise feel OK, might be time to just ignore the number and go with how you feel when riding.

 

[ontherearwheel]

I'll be 55 this year. Started riding at around when I was 40. I raced a few years. I love riding. I love riding slow, I love riding fast. I just love it.

Last Sept. I had a crash that could have been pretty bad. I hit hard. Not my first by any means and not my fault, but being the age I am, I went into the sole searching mode of should I keep riding.

The wife says I'm done on the street, track only. Fair request for sure. At that point, I wasn't sure which way I was going. Once I was able to get on the bike, I retraced the ride I started on that fateful day. I had to finish that ride for some reason.

What I didn't expect was that the crash had no affect on me. I wasn't timid, I wasn't scared, I wasn't riding stiff, I just rode as I always had. I had the same enjoyment, the same love of riding. There are some enjoyments that come with riding that can not be experinced on the track. Like riding along 35 on a warm day just cruising, riding through downtown Mt. View at dinner time, the smell of food is just wonderful and countless other examples.

So, I'm not done street riding. I can't stop because the wife says so, that would be for the wrong reason. I would wind up being resentful if I did. Its like trying to stop smoking, a person has to want to for the right reasons.

Life is not risk free. You can't live in fear. We all are gonna die one way another. We just don't how, when or why. Thinking that stopping street riding will let you live wrong is false reasoning. No one knows how long they will live, thats why living each day the best you can is so important.

I say ride and live well

 

[iehawk]

There was a dude in the BMW K Forum, who bought a K1200S for his dad for his 70th (or maybe 68?) birthday present. This was several months ago.

It's just funny whenever people put an age limit on stuff like this. The limit should be you as an individual, how you feel, etc. It's a question that one should ask oneself, not a group to come to a consensus and tell you.

 

[FemmeLaMoto]

NEVER! I will stop for two things: death or paralysis. Other than that, if you're riding becomes unsafe for you and others around you please STOP ASAP. :2cents :thumbup

 

[MrCrash]

I don't plan to stop riding, but I am planning on a few other things:

- I plan to avoid riding on a regular basis in heavy traffic if it's at all possible

- I plan to avoid riding like an irresponsible tool

- I plan to avoid riding with irresponsible tools

- I plan to keep my most spirited riding to the track, while still holding back from taking unnecessary risks

- I plan to be as aware as possible when I ride - aware of my surroundings, aware of the road conditions, and aware of my pace and the safety margin it leaves me

I don't know when my time is coming, but I do think there are things that I can do to minimize the chances of it coming sooner rather than later. We're not powerless against fate - there are things we can do and choices we can make.

 

[afm199]

Locke McCorkle started riding in his mid 50's, and went racing.

Last time I rode with him was nearly a decade ago, he was in his early 70's, and although not quite as quick as me, I'm sure that was his restraint and my reckless impatience, not lack of skill. Or rather, he used his better judgement and skill
.

Yes, I remember Locke well from twenty years ago. He was inspiring to me, as he was an old guy who really enjoyed riding fast and living life. I saw him at the track last year, still riding and enjoying himself. He has slowed down a bit but still having fun. I always say him to him, and tell him how much he meant to me twenty years ago.

 

[codger]

well youve got a couple years on me ive been riding 46 years and ive been giving a lot of thought to this same topic. I read an interview many years ago with keenan Wynn old days movie tough guy who said he'd quit riding when he could no longer kick his own bike over! with the invention of Electric starters weve lost that limitation. I think when the time is right it will become aparent its time to hang it up.
no on can make that decision but you. ive given serious thought to hanging up the helmet more than several times but didnt know what i would do with myself. During the short periods i didnt have a bike ive been miserable so its a quality of life issue for me. you might try dirt riding for a while even Trials which is low impact but great fun and definitly a challenge physically and mentally.
The RIP threads have taken a toll on me even though i'd never met any of these riders. The fact that it could have just as easily been me puts me even more in touch with my mortality. Every time I jump on a bike I think this could be the last ride but one twist of the throttle and a couple upshifts and it all fades away.

 

[sksksks]

old age making love? and dying while doing it? :green:barf

id rather die young going faster than my skill level than that!

 

[DataDan]

old age making love? and dying while doing it?

id rather die young going faster than my skill level than that!

The OP, whom you're quoting about dying while making love, has been riding for 45 years and commuted daily from Berkeley to SF (as of the time of that post). Just out of curiosity, how old are you and how long have you been riding? Do you have any passions outside of motorcycling, any other interests that make live worth living?

 

[island4bobo]

3 wheels?

Please, everyone, be gentle on me when I say this --- if you are thinking about giving up on two wheels --

have you considered a trike?

You're still in the wind, you're still by yourself, you still have the motor between your legs. I understand its limitations, and certain safety issues, but it seems reasonable to me.

Or, and again, be gentle folks...... a 3-wheeled scooter like the Piaggio MP3?

Sure, perhaps some of the ego and testosterone is missing, but I'm told they can be a bundle of pure fun to ride.

 

[HumboldtReign]

ive come to realize recently that life can change in a blink of an eye.

lets face it, you can die in your car on the way home from work.

and id much rather go out doing something i love than....not.

i dont have a family to look after so take my opinion for what it is worth. but if you love to ride, dont stop...

 

[FemmeLaMoto]

We live to die. I may be young and I definitely don't know everything, but I know the value of life. I've seen such beauty in this world and the greatest has come from riding. I've met the most amazing people who share the same passion as myself. Riders have such a strong bond, unlike many others. There are many things that can kill us, yes, riding only increases the probability of death. If you love it, enjoy it, find value in it, continue to do what makes you truly happy. That is a rare thing.

 

[masameet]

If I ever go blind or somehow become incapacitated enough not to be able to handle a motorcycle, I sure hope a friend or two lets me ride pillion or in his sidecar.

May we all :ride forever.