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Staying young



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 29th 04, 03:16 AM
Olebiker
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Default Staying young

My no-good brother-in-law left this morning to go back to Indiana.
He's my wife's brother and I love him, but all the guy wanted to do was
sit on the couch, watch television, and drink beer. The only time he
would get off the couch was to go outside to smoke since we wouldn't
let him smoke in the house. He's 50 years old and must weigh 300
pounds.

I tried my best to entertain him while he was here but, after he left I
was excited to get back on the bike and go for a ride. My friend
Matthew and I rode to the St. Mark's Lighthouse on Apalachee Bay. On
the way back we stopped at a biker bar/oyster house, the only place to
get a bite to eat in Newport, Florida. We weren't too sure about going
into a biker bar dressed in Lycra, but there were no motorcycles
outside so we figured it was safe.

We went in about 1:30 p.m. The only person in the place other than the
tatooed waitress cum bartender was a sixtyish guy nursing a beer. He
didn't even look up as we came in. I watched him as we ate. I figured
that he was no more than, at most, ten years older than me. I could
not see myself, in ten years, riding a bar stool alone on a Sunday
afternoon.

I could not help but think as we rode back to town of my bike riding
friends; many of them in their sixties and seventies. They do a lot
more than ride. They are intelligent, articulate, engaging people.
They are quite unlike my brother-in-law and the bar stool jockey.

I have to wonder if my friends ride bikes because they are intelligent,
or if they remain intelligent because they ride bikes and stay
otherwise active. I am going to operate under the assumption that
riding keeps you young and interesting. That way I can justify keeping
up this hobby and postponing my dotage.

Dick Durbin

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  #2  
Old November 30th 04, 12:50 AM
Tim McNamara
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Default

"Olebiker" writes:

I have to wonder if my friends ride bikes because they are
intelligent, or if they remain intelligent because they ride bikes
and stay otherwise active. I am going to operate under the
assumption that riding keeps you young and interesting. That way I
can justify keeping up this hobby and postponing my dotage.


Well, I know stupid people who ride bikes, average people who ride
bikes and smart people who ride bikes. I seem to know a lot of the
latter, actually, but that may say more about how lucky I am in
finding friends than about bicycling.

There is a body of evidence suggesting that aerobic exercise is
actually good for the brain, promoting (for reasons no yet known) an
increase in capillaries and blood perfusion to the brain. Regular
exercise does seem to be protective of cognitive abilities in aging,
which also tends to be true of mental activitiy as well. People who
regularly do crossword puzzles, for example, appear less likely to
suffer deficits in language skills; indeed, in general the
longitudinal testing has suggested that as people age, they tend to
keep the skills they use and tend to lose the skills they don't.

There are many famous examples of people cycling well into their
golden years, including three over-70 men who finished the 1200 km
ride Paris-Brest-Paris in under 90 hours (Roger Baumann, Jean Toulis,
and arrgh, forget the third- all of them have completed 10 PBPs).
Paul de Vivie (a.k.a. Velocio) rode well into his later years, doing
epic rides across France, the Alps, etc. He did complain of a loss of
abilities in later years, though, and decided he could no longer ride
more than 40 hours at a time. Dr. James-Edward Ruffier, who would
probably be called an exercise physiologist nowadays, lived to be 99
and cycled strenuously (on a fixed gear) into his 80s. He wrote a
number of books and developed an exercise method focused on developing
fexible strength, combining stretching and resistance training. Ed
Delano rode across the US at age 72 or something like that.

Age may take away some of your speed, but it shouldn't take away any
of your fun! I think the key to successful aging is to avoid acting
old.
  #3  
Old November 30th 04, 12:50 AM
Tim McNamara
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Posts: n/a
Default

"Olebiker" writes:

I have to wonder if my friends ride bikes because they are
intelligent, or if they remain intelligent because they ride bikes
and stay otherwise active. I am going to operate under the
assumption that riding keeps you young and interesting. That way I
can justify keeping up this hobby and postponing my dotage.


Well, I know stupid people who ride bikes, average people who ride
bikes and smart people who ride bikes. I seem to know a lot of the
latter, actually, but that may say more about how lucky I am in
finding friends than about bicycling.

There is a body of evidence suggesting that aerobic exercise is
actually good for the brain, promoting (for reasons no yet known) an
increase in capillaries and blood perfusion to the brain. Regular
exercise does seem to be protective of cognitive abilities in aging,
which also tends to be true of mental activitiy as well. People who
regularly do crossword puzzles, for example, appear less likely to
suffer deficits in language skills; indeed, in general the
longitudinal testing has suggested that as people age, they tend to
keep the skills they use and tend to lose the skills they don't.

There are many famous examples of people cycling well into their
golden years, including three over-70 men who finished the 1200 km
ride Paris-Brest-Paris in under 90 hours (Roger Baumann, Jean Toulis,
and arrgh, forget the third- all of them have completed 10 PBPs).
Paul de Vivie (a.k.a. Velocio) rode well into his later years, doing
epic rides across France, the Alps, etc. He did complain of a loss of
abilities in later years, though, and decided he could no longer ride
more than 40 hours at a time. Dr. James-Edward Ruffier, who would
probably be called an exercise physiologist nowadays, lived to be 99
and cycled strenuously (on a fixed gear) into his 80s. He wrote a
number of books and developed an exercise method focused on developing
fexible strength, combining stretching and resistance training. Ed
Delano rode across the US at age 72 or something like that.

Age may take away some of your speed, but it shouldn't take away any
of your fun! I think the key to successful aging is to avoid acting
old.
  #4  
Old November 30th 04, 07:45 PM
TBGibb
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Posts: n/a
Default

In article .com, "Olebiker"
writes:

That way I can justify keeping
up this hobby and postponing my dotage.


Current data suggests that regular exercise will do just that. Taking care of
yourself will, statisticly speaking, allow you to live 7 years longer than
those who don't and the period of incapacity at the end of your life will be
much shorter than that of those that die 7 years younger than you do.

I don't remember the name on the study but I think they followed a bunch of
graduates from the U of Pennsylvania.

Keep it up.

Tom Gibb
  #5  
Old November 30th 04, 07:45 PM
TBGibb
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Posts: n/a
Default

In article .com, "Olebiker"
writes:

That way I can justify keeping
up this hobby and postponing my dotage.


Current data suggests that regular exercise will do just that. Taking care of
yourself will, statisticly speaking, allow you to live 7 years longer than
those who don't and the period of incapacity at the end of your life will be
much shorter than that of those that die 7 years younger than you do.

I don't remember the name on the study but I think they followed a bunch of
graduates from the U of Pennsylvania.

Keep it up.

Tom Gibb
  #6  
Old November 30th 04, 09:22 PM
Denver C. Fox
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Posts: n/a
Default

Your no-good brother-in-law likely won't be around much longer in this world,
and will bother you no more!

I am 65, and I ride and weight lift and walk because I like the feeling of
being in control of my body and the absolute joy of being in the fresh outside.

I just came back from a 2.5 mile walk in the sunny snow. Such a pleasure, and
2.5 miles to me walking in the snow is as easy as a 25 mile bike ride!

However, there are no guarantees. September 1st I started continuous atrial
fibrillation, and have been fighting it ever since. This is despite my years
of biking, walking, hiking and eating right. However, my heart is otherwise in
such great shape that I can still do extended walks and rides with no
difficulty.

Dick Durbin wrote:
My no-good brother-in-law left this morning to go back to Indiana.

He's my wife's brother and I love him, but all the guy wanted to do was
sit on the couch, watch television, and drink beer.



http://members.aol.com/dnvrfox
(Family Web Page)

  #7  
Old November 30th 04, 09:22 PM
Denver C. Fox
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Your no-good brother-in-law likely won't be around much longer in this world,
and will bother you no more!

I am 65, and I ride and weight lift and walk because I like the feeling of
being in control of my body and the absolute joy of being in the fresh outside.

I just came back from a 2.5 mile walk in the sunny snow. Such a pleasure, and
2.5 miles to me walking in the snow is as easy as a 25 mile bike ride!

However, there are no guarantees. September 1st I started continuous atrial
fibrillation, and have been fighting it ever since. This is despite my years
of biking, walking, hiking and eating right. However, my heart is otherwise in
such great shape that I can still do extended walks and rides with no
difficulty.

Dick Durbin wrote:
My no-good brother-in-law left this morning to go back to Indiana.

He's my wife's brother and I love him, but all the guy wanted to do was
sit on the couch, watch television, and drink beer.



http://members.aol.com/dnvrfox
(Family Web Page)

  #8  
Old November 30th 04, 11:02 PM
Chuck Anderson
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Posts: n/a
Default

TBGibb wrote:

In article .com, "Olebiker"
writes:



That way I can justify keeping
up this hobby and postponing my dotage.



Current data suggests that regular exercise will do just that. Taking care of
yourself will, statisticly speaking, allow you to live 7 years longer than
those who don't and the period of incapacity at the end of your life will be
much shorter than that of those that die 7 years younger than you do.

I don't remember the name on the study but I think they followed a bunch of
graduates from the U of Pennsylvania.

Keep it up.



In a Scientific American Frontiers episode they explained how adult
mice, simply by running on running wheels, generate new brain cells.
They needed to run 4 -5 hours a night to do it, but .....

........ a mouse on a running wheel? Hours and miles on the bike? Think
about *that* the next time you're out riding.


--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO
http://www.CycleTourist.com
Integrity is obvious.
The lack of it is common.
*****************************
  #9  
Old November 30th 04, 11:02 PM
Chuck Anderson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

TBGibb wrote:

In article .com, "Olebiker"
writes:



That way I can justify keeping
up this hobby and postponing my dotage.



Current data suggests that regular exercise will do just that. Taking care of
yourself will, statisticly speaking, allow you to live 7 years longer than
those who don't and the period of incapacity at the end of your life will be
much shorter than that of those that die 7 years younger than you do.

I don't remember the name on the study but I think they followed a bunch of
graduates from the U of Pennsylvania.

Keep it up.



In a Scientific American Frontiers episode they explained how adult
mice, simply by running on running wheels, generate new brain cells.
They needed to run 4 -5 hours a night to do it, but .....

........ a mouse on a running wheel? Hours and miles on the bike? Think
about *that* the next time you're out riding.


--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO
http://www.CycleTourist.com
Integrity is obvious.
The lack of it is common.
*****************************
  #10  
Old November 30th 04, 11:23 PM
Karstens Rage
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Posts: n/a
Default

Olebiker wrote:
My no-good brother-in-law left this morning to go back to Indiana.
He's my wife's brother and I love him, but all the guy wanted to do was
sit on the couch, watch television, and drink beer. The only time he
would get off the couch was to go outside to smoke since we wouldn't
let him smoke in the house. He's 50 years old and must weigh 300
pounds.

I tried my best to entertain him while he was here but, after he left I
was excited to get back on the bike and go for a ride.


My dad left on Sunday. He's 75 yo and has trouble walking to the car.
The reason we walked to the car was so we could go get donuts or eclairs
or eat, eat, eat, eat, eat. It wasnt even gluttonous but it still made
me itch.

Literally the minute he left I went for a 40 miler with a hell of a lot
of climbing. I cant describe the feeling, but those who know already know.

Whether its true or not, the only thing that keeps me going is the
thought that at 75, Ill still be able to get on a bike, if Im still alive.

k
 




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