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

[bmer97]

.....

Combine the above with the madness that I see everyday on the freeways and the Bay Bridge, with weaving inattentive drivers during commute hours, and road racing intoxicated idiots later at night (since I sometimes work late). Then, around the urban streets, I see people pulling in front of me from all sides, even though I wear very bright yellow and black gear. I have had a few scary moments, but have never had what I would consider to be a "close call", yet. .........

Oldapeman,

I am your same age, with the same riding history. I left the insane traffic of the West Coast big cities, SF and SEA, and returned to motorcycle heaven in twistie West Virginia. I always have tried to choose low risk times to ride, and feel confident that I will continue to ride for many years.

As a Physical Therapist, I work with older folks improving their balance and agility every day. There are a lot of new exercises, including WII FIT, that will assist in improving those skills.

Have fun, and follow that quiet inner voice.:ride

 

[Cereal KLR]

1955 vintage here, first ride in `65. I tried to stop riding a couple of years back,bought a nice 28' sailboat and went round in circles in the bay. Still had a bike in the garage (hey, I`m not crazy) but would walk by and look at it on the way to the boat. Then something snapped and the boat is now gone and the bikes are out whenever I`m off work.

So don`t give them up completely,take a small break for awhile and rediscover the joys of a new bike in the Spring or Summer. A couple of bikes I`ve had were the wrong size/fit/disposition for me so I thought it was just me starting to bore of riding. If you don`t get the naked supermodel smiling at you feeling whenever you ride,try another bike!

 

[stay'n upright]

other sites, software to recommend?

Oldapeman,

There are a lot of new exercises, including WII FIT, that will assist in improving those skills.

other than the WII Fit, are there any other web sites or dvds, etc. you could recommend for us older riders to improve balance, core strength?

 

[ThinkFast]

how about a bongo board or a balance board? kill two birds with those - core strength and balance all in one. http://www.fitter1.com/Catalog/Category/63/Products.aspx

 

[sksksks]

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?

I'm 21 and I'd rather die young and dumb than old and wise.:laughing

 

[moto-rama]

So, fellow riders, at what point do I leave this behind, accepting the physical limitations that come with age, that in turn make this an unsafe risk to myself and my family?

Well, that is up to you.

I may be a lot like you:
Started riding at 15, and have averaged about 20,000 miles a year. I am nearly 57 years old now, so that's a lot of riding.
I have had one catastrophic collision and a few smaller booboos. I have owned about 40 different bikes. I commute nearly every day on a motorcycle. I currently own two very different bikes. I do most of my own wrenching and all of my own maintenance.

Do I worry about my personal safety sometimes? Yes. But it is not due to my age or physical condition, which most people might consider a major consideration. I have the same concerns as any rider, traffic, road hazards, and particularly, deer, but those things have always been a consideration.


Do I ever think about quitting riding due to my age or physical condition....no.

When will I stop riding? When I cannot throw a leg over the seat. That seems like a reasonable test. But I may just learn to crawl on if I have to.

 

[moto-rama]

My history is similar to yours, apeman. In fact, if you were in Berkeley 35 years ago, we may even have crossed paths on Grizzly Peak.

Jeezus, you probably were around when Paladin claimed to be the toughest biker under 4 feet tall.....

Or long enough to remember the oil stains in front of TT Motors...or when The Wall still stood straight up.....

 

[moto-rama]

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

Unless of course you are referring to how long it takes to get into your riding gear.....


or , heaven forbid, how long it takes you to make your GF/spouse make those moaning/screaming sounds....

 

[GAJ]

I'm 21 and I'd rather die young and dumb than old and wise.:laughing

Oh yeah, dying at 21 is so cool!

I've ridden longer than you've lived; it never stops being fantastic...do you really want to miss that?

But as to when to stop riding?

I'm guessing when the vision and/or body doesn't allow it.

I've seen enough 70+ year olds on bikes to know that riding is possible for a long time given the blessing of good health.

 

[moto-rama]

Old people sex is disgusting!

How would you know?

 

[clutchslip]

First; a disclaimer: I will NEVER be as old, or rich, as AFM199. :bigbarf

Second; this age thing is SO subjective. And genetic biased.

Third; two other, good, old guy, stories:

A. My friend and step-father is 79. He road from Santa Barbara to Houston last year without stopping. He rode a ZX-11. He won't ride anything but sportbikes, unless he is in the dirt.

B. A guy that he and I have ridden with, Bob Lutz, (google for more), is that old, still rides the NEW sport BMW. AND pilots jets and P-52s.

So.... what does this tell you? Nothing. I just thought I would share old guy stories.
:teeth

 

[FickleBiker]

I started riding when I was 17, I'm almost 55 now. I've averaged 25,000 miles a year on bikes, and I've actually quit a few times.... but only once for a significant period of time. During that time I took up photography, beer making, and competitive handgun shooting.

They say,
"Motorcycles are dangerous."

I am not distracted by the depression of working a graveyard shift lately, I have no new hobby that I'm trying to master, and I enjoy a motorcycle NO LESS today than I EVER have ("...same as it ever was, same as it ever was..."!

But 'motorcycles....
they be say'n that they dang'rous!'

Yeah, I know.

I have no children, there is no wife, nobody is depending on me; but anytime ANYBODY with a wife, children.... dependents (of any kind) expresses to me their interest in riding motorcycles, I strongly discourage them. I can afford to be selfish, but I sooooo don't wanna get hurt and live the remainder of my life seriously/physically compromised.... either via the bike, guns, (tainted) beer, or falling off my roof.

I ride with gentlemen MUCH older than my 54 years, and they SCOOOOT! In MY case, I should quit motorcycles because they've kept me BROKE for 37+ years, and.......

it's being said that they're, well..... dangerous.

But motorcycles were far more dangerous the first two years we took up riding, than they will EVER be for the remainder of our lives. We shoulda quit bikes before we took 'em up, THAT woulda been the safer option.

 

[bmer97]

other than the WII Fit, are there any other web sites or dvds, etc. you could recommend for us older riders to improve balance, core strength?

Here are my general recommendations:
1. Use Wii Fit (comes with fantastic balance board that will really challenge most users) The Wii Fit is great at getting you moving, improving balance and agility. After a 30 minute session of Wii Fit, you will feel more like exercising on your other machines or activities. (I have an elliptical trainer in my living room, and find it ideal for core/extremity strengthening/aerobics)
2. Vestibular Ocular Reflex exercise: I will skip the rationale/physiology. As we age this vital balance/visual/movement reflex gets weaker. Imagine looking someone in the eyes as they offer to buy your sprot-bike for $5. Keeping your gaze upon their eyes (or nose), shake you head as you emphatically say "NO!!", continue this for a minute.

2. (cont.) You can practice this exercise gazing at your thumb, with arm extended, and this should be done a couple of times a day. This reflex should be strong enough to enable you to read a page while quickly shaking your head side to side.
The Vistibular Ocular Reflex exercise is a good one to do before your ride, and will result in greater balance, movement comfort, coordination, and safety. I will often do the exercise during a ride or drive(gazing at road signs or light signals) to make sure I'm 'tuned up'.

Does it work?
Yes, it is one of the primary exercises I teach older clients as they HAVE to improve their balance/coordination/prevention of falls and broken hips.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestibulo-ocular_reflex

:ride

 

[stay'n upright]

bmer97: thanks for the response; interesting about VOR.

ride safe

 

[Carlo]

I'm the same age as the OP.

I don't feel that my physical capabilities have deteriorated in any significant way since I was younger, and my reaction times and perceptive abilities are, if anything a bit better. I'm definately in better shape than I was when I was in my mid-30's, since I was 50 lbs overweight and didn't excersize. My weight is in control now, and I excersize regularly.

In addition, I know a number of enthusiasts who continued to ride up until they succumbed (some of them in their late 80's/early 90's) to age-related diseases.

I'd do my best to be realistic about my capabilities, and quit riding if it became necessary, but at worst, I see a reduction in the amount of riding, and more selectiveness about the times and places that I ride.
Most of the really old guys I know who continued to ride after some of their contemporaries were ensconced in nursing homes only rode at vintage club rallies, but they still rode until virtually, the day they died.

I won't quit until they pry my cold, dead cheeks off the saddle! :laughing

 

[louemc]

Interesting question by the OP. Interesting because, for myself, I can't handle the stress of commuting in the Bay Area, in a four wheels on the ground vehicle. I have to free myself from the victim of circumstance of what the traffic tie-up congestion, dishes out, and slip into the lane split, on a bike (on a bike that is particularly sweet at treading through the split.

It would shorten my life, from stress related illness, to creep-stop-creep, in a lane.

I find splitting on a bike to be easy, and kinda fun. I thank the mega hours of trail riding dirt bikes, that hone the reflexes to picking an exact line through objects (in dirt that would be trees, and rocks and ruts) that transfers directly to threading through heavy metal and mirrors, on pavement.

So I look at a commute from Berkeley to SF by bike as a survival method, not a risk/hazard. :cool :thumbup :ride

By The Way..... I'm 70, been riding dirt and pavement for 53 years, and (not recommending the bike for commuting, but ride a ZX-10 with flat tracker handle bars, now) :ride :thumbup

 

[afm199]

Dunno if I mentioned this, Joe Kerr and Fred Willink are both in their uhh, later sixties, and Fred comes close to WINNING the Thruxton Cup at times. Joe rides 50-60 trackdays a year, rides to them ALL ( including back east) and scoots. Reggie Pridmore is late sixties and still scoots along quite nicely.

 

[1000foxtrot]

when the calcium deficient bone in your leg can no longer support you bike without snapping like a fresh carrot.:rofl:rofl

 

[afm199]

when the calcium deficient bone in your leg can no longer support you bike without snapping like a fresh carrot.:rofl:rofl

Yep, one reason I run 15-20 miles a week. The constant beating on the skeletal structure actually strenghtens it. Never broken a bone in 30-40 crashes.

 

[1000foxtrot]

Yep, one reason I run 15-20 miles a week. The constant beating on the skeletal structure actually strenghtens it. Never broken a bone in 30-40 crashes.

shit,thats a pretty good record.i havent been in any wrecks on the bike "yet" and already had bones in my upper body broke.i was running 15 miles a week but i hurt my knee a couple weeks ago.do you run on the street?hopefully im still rolling on a sportbike in my golden years.cant picture myself on a damn harley.