Old as you feel....

K

kreature

Squid
Hi...I have just noticed that I would be called a veteran in MTB terms and all I can say is you are as old as you feel. I am forty years old and have just bought my first DH bike and planning to try out DH. Yes I am forty but I still ride a jump bike. Maybe I am not so brave as I use to be but I have fun on it and now I am gonna try some DH. I think sports like ours not only keep us fit but keep us young at heart and that's the main thing. If I couldn't ride then I think life would be very boring. Yes I am a little saddened that I am a veteran but I am glad to see that there are others like me still pushing it to the limits....maybe life really does begin at 40.

Matt
 
moorey

moorey

call me Mia
kreature said:
Hi...I have just noticed that I would be called a veteran in MTB terms and all I can say is you are as old as you feel. I am forty years old and have just bought my first DH bike and planning to try out DH. Yes I am forty but I still ride a jump bike. Maybe I am not so brave as I use to be but I have fun on it and now I am gonna try some DH. I think sports like ours not only keep us fit but keep us young at heart and that's the main thing. If I couldn't ride then I think life would be very boring. Yes I am a little saddened that I am a veteran but I am glad to see that there are others like me still pushing it to the limits....maybe life really does begin at 40.

Matt
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Actually, you are 'masters'. Vets is for the whipper snappers 35-40yo :lol:
 
moorey

moorey

call me Mia
The Duckmeister said:
It actually gets worse... Some events have the veteran age group starting at 30! :Cry:
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Shit, youre right. I've been out of the DH game for too long. I remember being eligible for vets 10+ years ago....but continued to race expert, coz the competition in vets was soooo much tougher:tape:
 
Big JD

Big JD

Wheel size expert
kreature said:
Hi...I have just noticed that I would be called a veteran in MTB terms and all I can say is you are as old as you feel. I am forty years old and have just bought my first DH bike and planning to try out DH. Yes I am forty but I still ride a jump bike. Maybe I am not so brave as I use to be but I have fun on it and now I am gonna try some DH. I think sports like ours not only keep us fit but keep us young at heart and that's the main thing. If I couldn't ride then I think life would be very boring. Yes I am a little saddened that I am a veteran but I am glad to see that there are others like me still pushing it to the limits....maybe life really does begin at 40.

Matt
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f*ck your old mate - why bother
 
Norco Maniac

Norco Maniac

Is back!
You're just a baby. I ride three classes (albeit badly) on Retro, 20" and cruiser BMX at 48 having started in my 40's and never riding bikes till then. And I commute on a bike every day these last 18 months due to an acquired brain injury from an assault. I ride 14+ or 30+ max because there's no one my age doing it and most female riders anywhere near my age are former and/or current guns.

I mountain bike for fun and gate at BMX on my hardtail sometimes just 'cause I can.

and I'm a current dual State plate and dual State Series plate holder.
 
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Big JD

Big JD

Wheel size expert
I am feeling really old at the moment and feeling like my riding is getting slower and slower and I am reluctant to take the sort of risks i did in the past.

Thinking I might sell my MTBs and buy a road bike and a CX and a set of golf clubs.
 
Hugor

Hugor

Likes Dirt
Big JD said:
I am feeling really old at the moment and feeling like my riding is getting slower and slower and I am reluctant to take the sort of risks i did in the past.
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I can relate to that completely.
I still really enjoy mtb but dont like adrenaline or high risk obstacles. The personal and financial consequences of another injury are much greater than they were in the past.
I'm actually negatively progressing with my riding, and walk things these days that I would ride without hesitation in the past.

I still really enjoy technical singletrack though but do it at my pace which is not completely slow, but gives me plenty of margin for error if something goes wrong.
Personally I wouldn't do cx. I reckon its even sketchier than mtb. If your thinking of going that way why not ride the same trails on a hardtail with skinny tyres.

For me a fatbike has been a revelation.
When I ride that thing time stands still and I'm on another level to every other rider.
People dont expect you to go quick and usually laugh when they see you coming.
The bouncy tyres and huge drag introduce new challenges at slower speeds.
 
moorey

moorey

call me Mia
Being an old fart is BONZA. You can blame your age when you don't perform, and rub it in extra when you do. Win win:dance:
 
S

stackyard59

Likes Bikes
You really have to risk manage much better when your older in all styles of cycling. More than two eyes in the back of your head when on the roadie,protect up as max as possible and review your track on the dirt. I turned 54 this year,and still ride road,dirt jump and downhill. I found i improved my balance and co-ordination heaps by learning to ride a unicycle this year.Give it a try !! It made the two wheel variety seem damm easier when i get back on them. I ride some sort of bike every day,and i am still striving to improve skills. Some do find the risks of downhill to much at this age bracket,but it's only as dangerous as you make it !! Come along to any Vic or NSW Downhill state rounds,and you will see how quick the Masters/Supermasters old folk are without ending up in the helicopter every meet!
 
Big JD

Big JD

Wheel size expert
Ridenparadise said:
You don't stop playing when you get old. You get old when you stop playing.....
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oh dont get me wrong - i still love it and push boundries - it is just that the opportunities to ride have deminished and so to the skills abit.

i havent given up just yet
 
C

cabbo

Likes Dirt
Just through ya leg over your stead point on down grandpah, and when ya get off at the finish youll be thinking you could have raced under 19s.. Where has all the pain gone?
 
T

tubby74

Likes Bikes and Dirt
starting to feel old now (38). Last weekend a stupid OTB's during capital punishment (easy trail, mind wandering) left me with badly bruised left hand and various scrapes. the next weekend I entered my first tae kwan do tournament (joined up when my 5 year old son asked me to accompany him). First 10 seconds I had a twinge in my calf, fought on with adrenalin pumping but at the end could barely walk. Now a nice tear and swelling in the muscle, waiting a week to go back to see if surgery is required.
i'm sure I did every inch as much dumb stuff when younger but was never this bad to recover from. muscles were more flexible, bruising went away faster. must say it's not done anything to discourage me from either sport though, it's more frustrating as I want to get back in. Perfect riding weather during autumn, and now I've had first tournament I know what I want to work on but can't. hate being limited like this but it's a case of treat injury well know or it could drag out a lot longer
 
barron

barron

Likes Dirt
At 34 don't think I should be claiming old age benefits yet, but with a wife a mortgage, 2 kids, a job with RESPONSIBILITIES, a share of grey hair and some chronic sleep deprivation I must admit to feeling old at times. But every ride wipes away the years, I feel 13 just looking at my bikes. Its true that i don't heal like I'm 13 and the aches last a lot longer, but I revel in having scrapped knuckles and bruised shins again. They're simply reminders that i haven't succumbed to the drudgery of middle age life.

I got hooked late after a mate gave me my first hit of DH at thredbo 3 years ago, first race at ourimbah shortly after had me as a virgin "master". Plenty of older guys out there keen to ride hard and able to keep the younger ones honest.
 
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