John B. considered Mon, 09 Jan 2017 08:04:20
+0700 the perfect time to write:

On Sun, 8 Jan 2017 16:59:32 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 1/7/2017 12:28 PM, Tim McNamara wrote:
On Sat, 07 Jan 2017 09:21:58 -0500, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per Tim McNamara:
If I get to my 80s and can still ride a bike, I would consider that a
pretty darned big win. I'm delighted to still be riding in my 50s.

I think your chances are pretty good. I'm in my late 70's and can
barely walk - but riding a bike has not yet become a problem

That's encouraging. I think one of the keys to being able to do those
things in our later years is to start them in our younger years and to
keep doing them. My wife is a backpacker and regularly meets people in
their 70s and 80s who are still backpacking.

Keep riding, Pete!

I recall going to a national bike convention in Indianapolis, sometime
in the 1980s and eating dinner with a gentleman who was 80 years old.
He had ridden his bike, with full touring gear, from Toronto.

I think there's a lot of luck involved. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

I'm pretty well convinces that, excepting for traumatic physical
injury, activity during old age is largely a factor of having been
active during the period when one is growing older.

Well, traumatic injury or serious illness, at any rate.

My grandfather who
raised chickens on a commercial basis until he we in his 80's with no
help was also quite happy, well into his late 70's to load a pack
basket and walk 20 miles through the bush to a very remote lake, camp
out for a couple of days, and walk back.

On the other hand, people I've known who's greatest physical effort
consisted of walking to the car in order to drive a mile to the shops
seem to deteriorate rather rapidly.

I've seen some of them hang on for years or even decades, although
heavily and increasingly dependent on others.
The fit ones tend to go downhill fast, once they drop off the fitness
level they are accustomed to maintaining.
My grandfather went from running a minimum of 5 miles every morning,
rain, shine, sleet, snow or fog, to his grave in about 18 months after
breaking his hip badly. We had to buy him a new tent for his 76th
birthday, as his old one had woodworm in the poles, and he was still
regularly hiking the long-distance paths of the UK (having campaigned
for many of them to be opened). No hotels or hostels for him - he
wanted to walk until it was too dark then pitch camp for the night,
and wake at dawn for the next day's hike! He was still fully active
into his 80's, but died at 86.
My mother, at the other extreme (who I don't remember ever doing
anything remotely athletic), enjoyed poor health for around 35 years -
and didn't live as long!
I know which way I'd prefer, and which is better for society, and they
are the same.