Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

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DrShifty
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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby DrShifty » Fri Jul 27, 2018 11:07 pm

A few riders from the Newcastle area have appeared here and I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Geriatric Play Group. This is a bunch of mostly retired riders who have loosely organised rides most days here in Newcastle. There are road riders and a bunch of mtb riders as well.

I started with them when I retired two years ago and next year I turn 70 so I don't know if that makes me elderly or only moderately elderly. Some of the riders are super fit and much older than me and it's half embarassing and half encouraging as they pass me uphill.

I grew up riding, just like everyone out in Condobolin. Lots of boys used to ride to Forbes for the sake of it on weekends - dirt roads and single speed bikes back then.

I commuted on the bike through the 60s and 70s in Wollongong to the Pt Kembla steelworks, and in the 80s lived in the UK the commuted by bike there as well.

With a bit of luck I'll be able to do a 'gentle hundred' when I'm 80.

CKinnard
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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby CKinnard » Sat Jul 28, 2018 12:24 am

For the overwhelming majority of over 50s, the worst exercise is jogging....most people over 50 who have enjoyed cardio over the years have dodgy hips, knees, low back..and carry 10+kg of ballast...so running isn't comfortable. That's where cycling starts.

Nevertheless, I know a lot of over 50s who also gave away cycling after 1 or more crashes resulting in broken bones.

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uart
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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby uart » Sat Jul 28, 2018 9:16 am

CKinnard wrote:For the overwhelming majority of over 50s, the worst exercise is jogging....most people over 50 who have enjoyed cardio over the years have dodgy hips, knees, low back..and carry 10+kg of ballast...so running isn't comfortable. That's where cycling starts.

Nevertheless, I know a lot of over 50s who also gave away cycling after 1 or more crashes resulting in broken bones.
Yes, cycling is an exercise that is very forgiving of little excess body weight, that is one big positive for many of us. :)

Good point about the broken bones thing. The potential for that type of injury is definitely one of the few down sides to cycling in ones later years, especially as bones weaken and healing times increase. (Though for many people this doesn't become a big problem until well after their 50s, or even their 60s).

Anyway, this is where good safe cycling infrastructure (both on road and paths) is so important. It's also important to stress that cycling doesn't need to be treated as a competitive sport or race - things which greatly increases the risk of such outcomes. People need to know that just getting out there with the fresh air and exercise, seeing some sights and having the social interaction - that's great - no pace lines or chasing strava KOMs really needed.

Scintilla
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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby Scintilla » Sat Jul 28, 2018 8:46 pm

uart wrote:
Thoglette wrote: Bubble wrap was part of it (originally "stranger danger") but most of this was blatant anti-bike attitude.
Of which MHL was a part. If not by the original (misguided) proponents then certainly by those eagerly enabling its roll out.
Yes MHL was only a part of the problem, and it didn't instantaneously change things either.
Where I lived, rode, and worked at the time the change was rapid. A 90% decline in use in 3 months. I did the count. And I spoke with the kids; the MHL was the key cause of this major decline. It also did not ever recover much at all.

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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby CKinnard » Sat Jul 28, 2018 9:02 pm

Scintilla wrote:
uart wrote:
Thoglette wrote: Bubble wrap was part of it (originally "stranger danger") but most of this was blatant anti-bike attitude.
Of which MHL was a part. If not by the original (misguided) proponents then certainly by those eagerly enabling its roll out.
Yes MHL was only a part of the problem, and it didn't instantaneously change things either.
Where I lived, rode, and worked at the time the change was rapid. A 90% decline in use in 3 months. I did the count. And I spoke with the kids; the MHL was the key cause of this major decline. It also did not ever recover much at all.
I don't want to go into the MHL thing here cos it has been done to death in that other thread.....but it is worth pondering when helicopter parenting became a thing, which included parents doing school drop offs and pick ups...the early 90s was also when homes started to connect to the internet and gaming began to ramp. I'd imagine one would find the number of children being raised in single parent homes also increased significantly (single parent households increased 65% over the 15 years from 1988). Population growth of capital cities also increased much faster in the 80s, and house prices increased dramatically, with interest rates hitting 18%.

All these things would have adversely impacted factors that favored teenager cycling, especially in larger cities.

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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby Scintilla » Sat Jul 28, 2018 9:37 pm

As I said above.... I spoke with the kids (my teenage students). The helmet-law WAS the killer punch. The other social and attitude changes came afterwards, and many of them were the results of the fearmongering that MHL promoted amongst 'caring' parents :roll:

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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby grt046 » Sun Jul 29, 2018 5:11 pm

In my area of outer northern Brisbane I see a sizeable number of kids of all ages riding or walking to school which is pleasing to me. Still in the minority but a significant percentage.

I personally gave up riding when I got a license and car at 18 and didn't get on a bike until 50 years later when encouraged by my son in law purchased a second hand drop bar which came with clipless pedals and went cold turkey.
Was hooked after 3 months so upgraded to a new carbon endurance geo roadie which served me for 5 years before I upgraded again.

I currently ride 4 or 5 days a week predominately on the road ..... not keen on paths particularly shared ones. Weekends are club group rides and usually work towards a challenging ride or two each year. My major challenge this year is the Noosa Classic (120km and 1460 metres up). I am nearing 77 and enjoy riding with a mixed age group.

I would recommend oldies to give it a go.
Giant Defy Advanced 1 (2014) Orbea Gain M20 (2021)

CKinnard
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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby CKinnard » Sun Jul 29, 2018 6:55 pm

Scintilla wrote:As I said above.... I spoke with the kids (my teenage students). The helmet-law WAS the killer punch. The other social and attitude changes came afterwards, and many of them were the results of the fearmongering that MHL promoted amongst 'caring' parents :roll:
Adult and primary school riding levels were not significantly effected by MHL, and recovered to pre MHL levels and higher, quickly.
Teenagers who stopped riding to school either walked, or the fearmongering 'caring' parents paid for public transport or drove them.....which makes a mockery of how tough some adolescents think they are.

human909
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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby human909 » Sun Jul 29, 2018 11:20 pm

I would like to see the data backing up that assertion.

Scintilla
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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby Scintilla » Mon Jul 30, 2018 11:39 am

CKinnard wrote:Adult and primary school riding levels were not significantly effected by MHL, and recovered to pre MHL levels and higher, quickly.
Teenagers who stopped riding to school either walked, or the fearmongering 'caring' parents paid for public transport or drove them.....which makes a mockery of how tough some adolescents think they are.
NOT what I have observed on the streets around many local schools and public spaces over the past 28 years. Nor what I observed and counted over a 10+ year period at one secondary school (1988-2001) All the data has demonstrated that there has been a bit of a rise in inner urban adult commuting (in certain suburbs), but overall bicycle modeshare as a transport mode in our cities is lower now than it was in 1990, and even lower now than it was in 2011.

Check out the recent National Cycling Strategy report:

"Measured over the previous week the cycling participation rate has declined from 18.2% in 2011 (95% CI: 17.6% – 18.8%), to 15.5% (95% CI: 14.4% - 16.6%) in 2017. The decline measured over the previous week is mirrored when measured over the past month and year:

Cycling participation over the past month has declined from 27.1% (95% CI: 26.4% - 27.8%) in 2011 to 21.8%
(95% CI: 20.6% - 23.0%) in 2017.
Cycling participation over the past year has declined from 40.2% (95% CI: 39.4% - 40.9%) in 2011 to 34.1%
(95% CI: 32.8% - 35.4%) in 2017.
These changes are statistically significant at the 5% level. Moreover, the general downward trend appears to be supported by the survey results from 2013 and 2015."

https://www.onlinepublications.austroad ... /AP-C91-17

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antigee
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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby antigee » Mon Jul 30, 2018 7:39 pm

think you can pick and choose your sources on impact of MHL law and think I saw somewhere a several thousand post strong thread on the topic ;-) - I quite like the summary in this short piece......

http://www.cycle-helmets.com/mja-july-2016.pdf

"In addition, the focus on helmet
legislation detracts from more important discussions
around the uptake of cycling."


as to being older ( I fall in the getting closer to 60 by the day category ) I worry that statistically I'm more liable to be hospitalised than younger riders....is it because I ride so slowly that my exposure to wet leaves and moron drivers is longer for the same ride or do I day dream too much? ....and of course it is getting more dangerous every year.......

Image

compare 2014 aged 17-25 763 admissions aged 26-39 1626 hospital admissions

from https://bitre.gov.au/publications/ongoi ... 16_Web.pdf

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find_bruce
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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby find_bruce » Mon Jul 30, 2018 8:12 pm

[Mod says]Discussion of MHL's should remain in the Mandatory Helmet Laws & stuff (MHL discussion)[/Mod]

Ivanerrol
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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby Ivanerrol » Wed Aug 01, 2018 9:49 pm

Age related??

Been down to my local LBS looking at a new ride to replace my car damaged N.

The bike I like in my preferred size is sold out for this season. Except, there is one Di2 unit left costing over the $7,5K mark.

I told the sales guy that sort of money was probably over the top for the retiree cyclist such as me.

On the contrary, the majority of Di2's sold (in his shop at least) were to over 65's.
Probably has something to do with arthritic hands setting in - easy to push buttons than shove levers back and forth - at least that's the sales guy impression

fat and old
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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby fat and old » Thu Aug 02, 2018 7:51 am

Nah, we old blokes have more disposable money and a greater taste for the finer things in life 8) :lol:

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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby mikesbytes » Thu Aug 02, 2018 9:14 am

I know of one older rider who's hands were giving trouble with the mechanical shifting and has been totally delighted with Di2
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby RobertL » Thu Aug 02, 2018 10:01 am

mikesbytes wrote:I know of one older rider who's hands were giving trouble with the mechanical shifting and has been totally delighted with Di2
Serious question - is he OK with braking? He has trouble shifting gears, but can brake properly?

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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby Ivanerrol » Thu Aug 02, 2018 10:12 am

fat and old wrote:Nah, we old blokes have more disposable money and a greater taste for the finer things in life 8) :lol:

That's what I said :D
RobertL wrote:
mikesbytes wrote:I know of one older rider who's hands were giving trouble with the mechanical shifting and has been totally delighted with Di2
Serious question - is he OK with braking? He has trouble shifting gears, but can brake properly?
The sales guy did mention the issue is with pushing the levers sideways - changing gears.

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Re: Popularity of cycling with the elderly (and moderately elderly).

Postby mikesbytes » Thu Aug 02, 2018 11:23 am

RobertL wrote:
mikesbytes wrote:I know of one older rider who's hands were giving trouble with the mechanical shifting and has been totally delighted with Di2
Serious question - is he OK with braking? He has trouble shifting gears, but can brake properly?
He didn't report any issues with braking
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

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