Old man on Bike

So, while I was waiting for my green light and a chance to turn left, I see
this old guy coming the opposite way turn right, on to the road I'm headed
for. He's wearing an ancient helmet and a white t-shirt. He's got snow-white
hair, and a snow white beard, sorta like Santa Claus and he's maybe even as
old as Denver Fox, or Leo L., or one of those guys.

I think, as soon as the light turns green, I'm gonna catch that guy, no
problem. The light turns green, and I take off after him. Problem is, it
takes both all of my focus and all of my effort to try to close the gap
between us. As soon as I slack on either my focus or my pedalling, the gap
starts to widen again.

Finally, we get to the big downslope. I figure I'll catch him there, because
older folks usually aren't that aggressive going down hills. Damn, he's
still ahead of me! Only when a big truck pulls a doofus manoeuver, and
traffic is stopped in all directions do I finally manage to catch up to him.
While we're waiting for the truck to finish backing, I say to him, "You're
really fast for an old guy! I've been trying to catch up to you -- and for
quite a while. If it hadn't been for this truck, I never would have been
able to do so!" He seems to regard this comment as amusing. I make a
flattering remark about his legs. The road clears, and we both take off. At
the bottom I turn right, and he goes straight, and that's the end of my
tale.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referr*al/Cpetersky

Claire Petersky wrote:
So, while I was waiting for my green light and a chance to turn left, I see
this old guy coming the opposite way turn right, on to the road I'm headed
for. He's wearing an ancient helmet and a white t-shirt. He's got snow-white
hair, and a snow white beard, sorta like Santa Claus and he's maybe even as
old as Denver Fox, or Leo L., or one of those guys.

I think, as soon as the light turns green, I'm gonna catch that guy, no
problem. The light turns green, and I take off after him. Problem is, it
takes both all of my focus and all of my effort to try to close the gap
between us. As soon as I slack on either my focus or my pedalling, the gap
starts to widen again.

Finally, we get to the big downslope. I figure I'll catch him there, because
older folks usually aren't that aggressive going down hills. Damn, he's
still ahead of me! Only when a big truck pulls a doofus manoeuver, and
traffic is stopped in all directions do I finally manage to catch up to him.
While we're waiting for the truck to finish backing, I say to him, "You're
really fast for an old guy! I've been trying to catch up to you -- and for
quite a while. If it hadn't been for this truck, I never would have been
able to do so!" He seems to regard this comment as amusing. I make a
flattering remark about his legs. The road clears, and we both take off. At
the bottom I turn right, and he goes straight, and that's the end of my
tale.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referr*al/Cpetersky


Only proving that you never know who or whom you are messing with. Some
old guys may just be retired professionals or have been bicycling for
most of their lives. I probably wouldn't even own a car if not for the
need to carry large things once in a while or go to work out of town on
occasion, 50 miles or more out of town for me. I hate paying for gas,
insurance, tires, and all that other car related stuff.
Bill Baka

"Claire Petersky" : So, while I was waiting for my green light and a chance
to turn left, I see
: this old guy coming the opposite way turn right, on to the road I'm headed
: for. He's wearing an ancient helmet and a white t-shirt. He's got
snow-white
: hair, and a snow white beard, sorta like Santa Claus and he's maybe even
as
: old as Denver Fox, or Leo L., or one of those guys.


Claire, what do you consider old? I remember when my son was 16 and thought
that 25 was "old". Now that he's 28, he thinks 40 is "old". I have a
Schwinn I bought in 1984 and he told me today that it was "old timey". Me?
I think 70+ is "older", and 80+ is "old".

Pat in TX

Claire Petersky writes:

So, while I was waiting for my green light and a chance to turn
left, I see this old guy coming the opposite way turn right, on to
the road I'm headed for. He's wearing an ancient helmet and a white
t-shirt. He's got snow-white hair, and a snow white beard, sorta
like Santa Claus and he's maybe even as old as Denver Fox, or Leo
L., or one of those guys.

I think, as soon as the light turns green, I'm gonna catch that guy,
no problem. The light turns green, and I take off after him. Problem
is, it takes both all of my focus and all of my effort to try to
close the gap between us. As soon as I slack on either my focus or
my pedalling, the gap starts to widen again.

Finally, we get to the big downslope. I figure I'll catch him there,
because older folks usually aren't that aggressive going down
hills. Damn, he's still ahead of me! Only when a big truck pulls a
doofus manoeuver, and traffic is stopped in all directions do I
finally manage to catch up to him. While we're waiting for the
truck to finish backing, I say to him, "You're really fast for an
old guy! I've been trying to catch up to you -- and for quite a
while. If it hadn't been for this truck, I never would have been
able to do so!" He seems to regard this comment as amusing. I make a
flattering remark about his legs. The road clears, and we both take
off. At the bottom I turn right, and he goes straight, and that's
the end of my tale.

....and I thought shaggy dog stories were long gone.

"Pat" wrote in message
...

"Claire Petersky" : So, while I was waiting for my green light and a
chance
to turn left, I see
: this old guy coming the opposite way turn right, on to the road I'm
headed
: for. He's wearing an ancient helmet and a white t-shirt. He's got
snow-white
: hair, and a snow white beard, sorta like Santa Claus and he's maybe even
as
: old as Denver Fox, or Leo L., or one of those guys.


Claire, what do you consider old? I remember when my son was 16 and
thought
that 25 was "old". Now that he's 28, he thinks 40 is "old". I have a
Schwinn I bought in 1984 and he told me today that it was "old timey".
Me?
I think 70+ is "older", and 80+ is "old".

Pat in TX


To calculate "old" is really quite simple - you take your current age in
years, and add 10.

--
~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

"GaryG" wrote in message
...
"Pat" wrote in message
...

Claire, what do you consider old? I remember when my son was 16 and
thought
that 25 was "old". Now that he's 28, he thinks 40 is "old". I have a
Schwinn I bought in 1984 and he told me today that it was "old timey".
Me?
I think 70+ is "older", and 80+ is "old".

Pat in TX


To calculate "old" is really quite simple - you take your current age in
years, and add 10.

I wonder if that factor changes with age:

i.e.

To a 10 y.o 10 + 5 is old.
To a 30 y.o. 30+10 is old.
To a 50 y.o. 50+15 is old.

A 70 y.o. is old no matter what.

Pat wrote in message ...

Claire, what do you consider old?

I'm just razzing Denver and Leo, especially Denver because he gets so worked
up when anyone uses the term "elderly" to refer to someone his age. And I
thought, since Maggie wrote a Young Woman on Bike post, I'd write an, "Old
Man On Bike" counterpart.

What age do I consider old in a cyclist? It's my experience that many male
cyclists just a bit older than me, maybe 45 or so on up to possibly 60,
while knowledgeable, can be very condescending. "Little lady, let me show
you how it's done". Even worse, they often know a lot more than me, to boot,
so there's some value in listening to and learning from them, as opposed to
knocking them down for being arrogant and putting 50 tire tracks on their
backs, as tempting as that might be. By the times these guys get old,
though, past that age of superiority, they mellow out and turn nice. I'd
much rather ride with an old guy, under these circumstances, than someone a
bit younger. He'll be just as experienced and knowledgeable as the younger
guy, but he won't have the need to lord it over me.

I guess by that standard, some guys learn that equanimity early, and are
"old" when they're my age. And some guys never grow up!


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referr*al/Cpetersky

"lokey" wrote: (clip) A 70 y.o. is old no matter what.
^^^^^^^^^^^^
No way! Someone ELSE 70 y.o. is old. UNLESS he/she can outride me.

"Claire Petersky" wrote: I'm just razzing Denver and Leo, especially
Denver because he gets so worked up when anyone uses the term "elderly" to
refer to someone his age. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I'm not crazy about the term "elderly" either. Somehow, that term carries
the connotation of being bent over, slightly addled and unattractive. I am
the opposite of all of those. I don't know about Denver.

"lokey" wrote in message

A 70 y.o. is old no matter what.



One of my tennis partners is over 70. We go out and whup on those pony tail
girls in matches. She's not old. :-)