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Ageing Mamil’s bodies

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  • December 28, 2014 at 3:08 pm #22916
    Leviathan

    I’ve noticed a lot of threads recently asking advice about rehabilitation after crashes or back problems. Both on the forum and people in the 2015 plans thread saying they just want to get back on the bike after this or that lay off.
    I wonder what age some of these guys are as they don’t often say. I admit I am 38, but hope I am a young 38. I have been riding as an adult since 1996 various mountain bikes, I bought my first road kit in 1999 and have been slowly building up especially since 2008 and giving up some of my other more extreme sports. I therefore was surprised to find myself in the Mamil category as I though it was meant as a dig at people getting into biking later in life – the new golf, as they say. I though I might be exempt as it is not so long ago that I was actually young, no-one said when I was buying lycra shorts ten years ago that I would only have a small window of opportunity to wear them without being branded some kind of aging wannabe.

    So at what age are some of the newbies here getting into bikes? If you crash are you concerned about breaking a hip or just grazing your gluteus maximus (my fat arse has hit the deck a few times on the ice and I never though it was a vulnerable point compared to wrists or shoulders – both broken before.) Do I have all this to worry about in the future or if I just plough on I should stay robust whilst less active contemporaries go downhill (figuratively.)
    They say you should inform your doctor before beginning strenuous exercise like training for a marathon. I had never ridden 100miles before 2013 but didn’t think I wold have to take see a doctor before I did it. At what point do you start booking regular appointments for such things? What problems have you experienced as an aging cyclist? Maybe it is just the time of year with little news, bad weather and people reviewing and planning… keep yourselves in one piece for 2015 guys and gals.

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  • December 30, 2014 at 1:52 pm #824413
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    Bazza155

    Ccwisaway wrote:I bought my

    Ccwisaway wrote:
    I bought my first bike at 40 ( a hybrid) then my first road bike three months ago (at nearly 42). I am fat and told myself I’d never wear lycra, but now have tights and the tops and try not to give a stuff what other people think. I am rubbish – can barely get up anything, can only afford to buy the cheapest stuff (Sports Direct rather than Rapha), could only get the bike (Giant Defy 5) thanks to Cycle to Work saving me 40%.

    But I love it. It keeps me fit and there is nothing like the feeling of being on quiet country roads on a summer’s morning whizzing along at a thousand miles an hour (OK, OK – 16 mph).

    So I couldn’t care less what people say. Mamil & proud, say I.

    DHB from Wiggle are good quality at reasonable prices

    December 30, 2014 at 1:51 pm #824411
    0
    Bazza155

    OnTheRopes wrote:mrmo

    OnTheRopes wrote:
    mrmo wrote:
    Bazza155 wrote:
    Where does middle age stop and old age start???

    well….

    this really annoyed someone i work with….

    Take average life expectancy abut 75

    Divide by 3 that gives young middle and old.

    So..

    Middle age is 25 and old is 50…

    Except that 60 is the new 50?

    Being 56 I like you version.

    December 30, 2014 at 1:45 pm #824409
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    Ccwisaway

    I bought my first bike at 40
    I bought my first bike at 40 ( a hybrid) then my first road bike three months ago (at nearly 42). I am fat and told myself I’d never wear lycra, but now have tights and the tops and try not to give a stuff what other people think. I am rubbish – can barely get up anything, can only afford to buy the cheapest stuff (Sports Direct rather than Rapha), could only get the bike (Giant Defy 5) thanks to Cycle to Work saving me 40%.

    But I love it. It keeps me fit and there is nothing like the feeling of being on quiet country roads on a summer’s morning whizzing along at a thousand miles an hour (OK, OK – 16 mph).

    So I couldn’t care less what people say. Mamil & proud, say I.

    December 30, 2014 at 1:43 pm #824407
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    Kapelmuur

    I skipped the MAMIL stage,
    I skipped the MAMIL stage, coming in as an OMIL. I watched my son and son-in-law complete the 2011 Stoke Tour Ride, thought it looked like fun and bought myself a bike as a 64th birthday present.

    I then did the 2012 Tour Ride but didn’t enjoy it, my first and only sportive.

    I enjoy pootling around the countryside going “hello clouds, hello sky”, but next year I’m planning to enter the Eroica Britannia and ride the Manchester 100 miler to raise money for a fund set up to raise money for research in memory of the teenage son of a family friend who died this year.

    As for the physical effects, I’ve lost over 2 stones and a beer gut, reduced my blood pressure sufficiently to come off medication, ‘cured’ a knee condition that was preventing me from walking more than 15 minutes without severe pain and now have a RHR in the mid 50s.

    December 30, 2014 at 12:04 pm #824405
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    Accessibility for all

    MAMIL is a badge non-cyclists
    MAMIL is a badge non-cyclists and generally unfit people give to those of us who care about our health and fitness enough to do something about it.

    I’m 42 now, been cycling regularly (on and off, admittedly) since I was about 17. I’ve always loved it, it’s like low altitude flying. The only thing that will ever get me off a bike is if a doctor tells me that the next hill will kill me. And even then, I wonder if I wouldn’t rather just die doing something I love.

    So let people call me a MAMIL. At least I’m not drinking my wages away, or smoking my lungs dry, or clogging my arteries with rubbish.

    December 30, 2014 at 11:47 am #824403
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    OldRidgeback

    kev-s wrote:Im 37 and been

    kev-s wrote:
    Im 37 and been riding roadbikes for 5 years now, been a bmx’er for over 20 years (here’s to another 20 more!)

    tbh falling off dosent bother me (happens quite often on the bmx) which helps you to learn how to fall/deal with coming off

    wearing lycra actually bothers me more lol

    I’m 52 and ride BMX and MTB. I race the former while the latter is for fun. At the British BMX Championships this year, there were two guys in their 60s still racing in the cruiser category, so I’ve a few more years to go. I don’t have any lycra, just my BMX race kit instead. I haven’t had a road bike for a long time but am thinking more and more about getting another one, probably an old school steel bike though.

    December 30, 2014 at 11:42 am #824401
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    OldRidgeback

    jacknorell wrote:runskiprun

    jacknorell wrote:
    runskiprun wrote:
    I 37 yo with one leg, busted and dislocated hips and carrying 4 stone too much.
    started cycling post amputation, and have found the freedom I only remember from cycling like a kid. I commute now, ride sportives and have been gifted a Specialized Roubaix, which won’t be ridden hard until the Spring. Hell yeah I wear Lycra, and I don’t care who calls me what. when I get on my bike, I’m no longer the old boy riding, I’m the 10 yo burning the daylight!

    Respect!

    +1

    December 30, 2014 at 8:33 am #824399
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    davecochrane

    Since moving to New Zealand,
    Since moving to New Zealand, I’ve been astounded at the difference the climate here makes to people….with regard to weather and attitudes. I am 38, took up riding and triathlon properly (up to 70.3 at this point) at 33, and although I’m an ex serving military officer, I’ve never been fitter. I regularly ride here with people who do the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge Enduro at varying levels – with some people in their late 60s and early 70s riding 200, 300, or even 800 miles non stop other than snatched 1.5-2 hour roadside naps.

    If you used the word MAMIL here, you’d be met with a quizzical look in many places…because it’s a typically negative UK sentiment. People just get on with it and enjoy it, regardless of age, size, or gender. It’s a shame it can’t be that way everywhere without sneering chimps chipping in their tuppence’ worth.

    December 29, 2014 at 11:30 pm #824397
    0
    OnTheRopes

    mrmo wrote:Bazza155

    mrmo wrote:
    Bazza155 wrote:
    Where does middle age stop and old age start???

    well….

    this really annoyed someone i work with….

    Take average life expectancy abut 75

    Divide by 3 that gives young middle and old.

    So..

    Middle age is 25 and old is 50…

    Except that 60 is the new 50?

    December 29, 2014 at 10:59 pm #824395
    0
    mrmo

    Bazza155 wrote:Where does

    Bazza155 wrote:
    Where does middle age stop and old age start???

    well….

    this really annoyed someone i work with….

    Take average life expectancy abut 75

    Divide by 3 that gives young middle and old.

    So..

    Middle age is 25 and old is 50…

    December 29, 2014 at 10:01 pm #824393
    0
    Bazza155

    Where does middle age stop
    Where does middle age stop and old age start???

    December 29, 2014 at 9:59 pm #824391
    0
    ChuckB

    Climbed back on the bike at
    Climbed back on the bike at 61, in an effort to get a bit of conditioning back following some serious surgery when my appendix went to the dark side and gave me septicemia. I remembered how it felt from my youth, decided the CX bike I bought wasn’t my favorite and picked up a CAAD8, which was appropriated by my son, and now ride a SuperSix. In keeping with my over-estimation of my cycling prowess I challenged my son to the Paris Roubaix Challenge last April, this coming April (right after I turn 63) we have the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix (again) and for dessert the Etape Atlas. So at this age it does take longer to train up, and “up” ain’t near what it used to be. Conditioning drops off faster and injuries heal slower and it takes longer to get back up to speed, but feeling better ALL the time, and with a resting pulse down from 90+ to 58 both me and my doctor (who is Irish (see profile for relevance)) everyone is much happier. I don’t recall seeing MAMILs or for that matter OAPILs when I was growing up, but more power to all of us…

    December 29, 2014 at 8:11 pm #824389
    0
    jacknorell

    runskiprun wrote:I 37 yo with

    runskiprun wrote:
    I 37 yo with one leg, busted and dislocated hips and carrying 4 stone too much.
    started cycling post amputation, and have found the freedom I only remember from cycling like a kid. I commute now, ride sportives and have been gifted a Specialized Roubaix, which won’t be ridden hard until the Spring. Hell yeah I wear Lycra, and I don’t care who calls me what. when I get on my bike, I’m no longer the old boy riding, I’m the 10 yo burning the daylight!

    Respect!

    December 29, 2014 at 7:20 pm #824387
    0
    runskiprun

    I 37 yo with one leg, busted
    I 37 yo with one leg, busted and dislocated hips and carrying 4 stone too much.
    started cycling post amputation, and have found the freedom I only remember from cycling like a kid. I commute now, ride sportives and have been gifted a Specialized Roubaix, which won’t be ridden hard until the Spring. Hell yeah I wear Lycra, and I don’t care who calls me what. when I get on my bike, I’m no longer the old boy riding, I’m the 10 yo burning the daylight!

    December 29, 2014 at 6:23 pm #824385
    0
    geekinthesticks

    I am almost 60 and have
    I am almost 60 and have plenty of old injuries from my other sport (mountaineering). I have been cycling regularly for about 25 years. Just about the only time I see a doctor is when I end up in hospital with some injury. Not had any serious injuries from cycling (yet:). Like others say, it does take longer to recover as you get older.

    I am hoping to do some long cycling trip next year to celebrate my 60th year. Possibly LEJOG, although it doesn’t really interest me as a route. I have never cycled abroad, so maybe some Alpine passes and combine it with a climbing trip.

    One problem is that my 16r old son is now faster than me, although he has been rowing and training regularly for a couple of years. However, it does give me an incentive to improve!

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