Feeling Old and Decrepit

[warthog1]

Well, I seem to be old and decrepit. Somehow I've managed to aggravate my back. I will not ride tomorrow I think. I didn't notice it at all until this afternoon.

My way of unwinding and clearing the head. My approximation of mindfulness or meditation or whatever you want to call it. I feel much better when I do ride and crap when I dont. So I ride.

Bravo!

Cheers
Hope your back comes good quickly.

[brumby33]

[/quote]


I don't go every day and like to do hundred k rides.
Couldn't really give too much of a rat's what the data says apart from a side interest.
I am getting slower not faster but I still really enjoy riding and have worked out I need it.
My way of unwinding and clearing the head. My approximation of mindfulness or meditation or whatever you want to call it. I feel much better when I do ride and crap when I dont. So I ride.
[/quote]

Possibly a good time to consider touring Warty, nice n slow, stop to smell the roses and just enjoy the atmosphere, you mightn't be riding fast but with some luggage, you might be a wee heavier. Victoria might be a smallish state but from what i've seen, there so much to see.
This mightn't be your thing and I don't know if you're a social type of chap but Bicycle Victoria have a Anniversary ride in November so I want to get ride fit for it, it from Wodonga to Omeo over 9 Days pretty much fully catered camping.....be a good chance to give it a try to see if you'd like it. I did one of these rides in 2005 and had a ball but it's 19 years later.....worst comes to worst, there's always the sag wagon

Just thought I'd mention it. https://bicyclenetwork.com.au/rides-and ... bike-ride/

Cheers

brumby33

[brumby33]

Well, I seem to be old and decrepit. Somehow I've managed to aggravate my back. I will not ride tomorrow I think. I didn't notice it at all until this afternoon.

My way of unwinding and clearing the head. My approximation of mindfulness or meditation or whatever you want to call it. I feel much better when I do ride and crap when I dont. So I ride.

Bravo!

gboaf, sorry to read about your back, perhaps you might try and walk it out, especially if it's lower back. A week before I made the move to Albury, I was trying to pack boxes for the move and i must've pinched a nerve in my lower back right side. It was excruciating and it comes on me sometimes, feels like someone if touching my skin with a bare 240volt a/c wire......so wheni couldn't pack boxes, I went for a very slow long walk around the block and as I did, I could feel the pain and the jolts easing so I ended heading home and pack more boxes till it came back to me then off for another walk.....after about the 5th walk of 2kms or so, I ended up getting most of them packed ......I truly didn't think I was going to depart that previous house on time. Just start out slow if it's really bad and as you walk, try to straighten your back and even look up as you walk.....I found it eased the pain very well.

Has anything moved in the set up on your bike?

Cheers

brumby33

[warthog1]

Possibly a good time to consider touring Warty, nice n slow, stop to smell the roses and just enjoy the atmosphere, you mightn't be riding fast but with some luggage, you might be a wee heavier. Victoria might be a smallish state but from what i've seen, there so much to see.
This mightn't be your thing and I don't know if you're a social type of chap but Bicycle Victoria have a Anniversary ride in November so I want to get ride fit for it, it from Wodonga to Omeo over 9 Days pretty much fully catered camping.....be a good chance to give it a try to see if you'd like it. I did one of these rides in 2005 and had a ball but it's 19 years later.....worst comes to worst, there's always the sag wagon

Just thought I'd mention it. https://bicyclenetwork.com.au/rides-and ... bike-ride/

Cheers

brumby33

Thanks, something to think about I guess.
I am happy just going out for a few hours still and like getting home and being at home. Not a very social person really.
Used to do lots of bunch rides but much less now. I still could go on a few but would be sitting on a lot more.
Happy just tapping along with my own thoughts for company. Maybe some rail trail touring could be on the cards in the future though.

I dont feel confident enough in our driving standards to go riding on unfamiliar roads at highway speeds. Far too many people not paying enough attention to the task at hand so that the risk is too great imo.

[g-boaf]

Had a hot bath last night and slept somewhat okay, it’s a bit better today.

I have a feeling it might be the backpack I’m using, it’s just the freebie one the Haute Route event gave me last year - when loaded it might be causing aggravation. Not that it’s very heavily loaded up. I might have to look into finding something proper since none of my bikes are suitable for storage racks. Apologies for long paragraph, it’s the only way to stop the adverts mid-post.

[foo on patrol]

I am 55 and did 15000km last year.
I am getting slower and perhaps it takes longer to recover.
So what, if I aint feeling it on the bike I just slow down. Beats not riding at all imo.

Yeah well that's 41Klms a day and when you're already fit, that's easy but it's when blokes go out and try and bust their gut every day is when it all goes to chit and the muscle tears don't geta chance too heal properly.

Foo

Not too many people who have been riding a while are silly enough to ignore what their body says and bust a gut every day. What is important is to just get on the thing and get some consistent mileage. Get those legs turning and listen to how you feel imo.
Anyway, I am no expert but that is what works for me.

I don't go every day and like to do hundred k rides.
Couldn't really give too much of a rat's what the data says apart from a side interest.
I am getting slower not faster but I still really enjoy riding and have worked out I need it.
My way of unwinding and clearing the head. My approximation of mindfulness or meditation or whatever you want to call it. I feel much better when I do ride and crap when I dont. So I ride.

Thess are the important parts.

Foo

[brumby33]

Possibly a good time to consider touring Warty, nice n slow, stop to smell the roses and just enjoy the atmosphere, you mightn't be riding fast but with some luggage, you might be a wee heavier. Victoria might be a smallish state but from what i've seen, there so much to see.
This mightn't be your thing and I don't know if you're a social type of chap but Bicycle Victoria have a Anniversary ride in November so I want to get ride fit for it, it from Wodonga to Omeo over 9 Days pretty much fully catered camping.....be a good chance to give it a try to see if you'd like it. I did one of these rides in 2005 and had a ball but it's 19 years later.....worst comes to worst, there's always the sag wagon

Just thought I'd mention it. https://bicyclenetwork.com.au/rides-and ... bike-ride/

Cheers

brumby33

Thanks, something to think about I guess.
I am happy just going out for a few hours still and like getting home and being at home. Not a very social person really.
Used to do lots of bunch rides but much less now. I still could go on a few but would be sitting on a lot more.
Happy just tapping along with my own thoughts for company. Maybe some rail trail touring could be on the cards in the future though.

I dont feel confident enough in our driving standards to go riding on unfamiliar roads at highway speeds. Far too many people not paying enough attention to the task at hand so that the risk is too great imo.

Yeah I mentioned this ride due to the safety aspect of it, the Organisers have to make sure it's safe for the Majority of riders on this tour and if the NSW ride back in 2005 that I went on is any indication it was a bitter sweet ride because at the start of the ride coming off the Mountains a young female rider went a bit fast down the hill, lost it and hit a tree, she ended up deceased and in the entire history of the Annual ride, it was a first. There's always a group of HWY Patrol on bikes and cars that are with us for the entire ride, they constantly go up and down the group to ensure of no traffic issues....they do a great job in keeping the riders safe but i guess nothing could be done to prevent what happened to that young lady rider. I guess theres elements of risk in all activities. The ride above is actually the 40th anniversary ride so they've gone back to the first original ride to commemorate the occasion. In this day and age of Insurances and stuff, it's not easy to keep costs low and to organise an event of this calibre. You can still ride in your own head or you can ride alongside anyone for a chat....it gives those a chance that haven't bike camped before a chance to try it in a safe way. Good for old and decrepit like me lol......if i get tired, i just wait for the sag wagon

[g-boaf]

Possibly a good time to consider touring Warty, nice n slow, stop to smell the roses and just enjoy the atmosphere, you mightn't be riding fast but with some luggage, you might be a wee heavier. Victoria might be a smallish state but from what i've seen, there so much to see.
This mightn't be your thing and I don't know if you're a social type of chap but Bicycle Victoria have a Anniversary ride in November so I want to get ride fit for it, it from Wodonga to Omeo over 9 Days pretty much fully catered camping.....be a good chance to give it a try to see if you'd like it. I did one of these rides in 2005 and had a ball but it's 19 years later.....worst comes to worst, there's always the sag wagon

Just thought I'd mention it. https://bicyclenetwork.com.au/rides-and ... bike-ride/

Cheers

brumby33

Thanks, something to think about I guess.
I am happy just going out for a few hours still and like getting home and being at home. Not a very social person really.
Used to do lots of bunch rides but much less now. I still could go on a few but would be sitting on a lot more.
Happy just tapping along with my own thoughts for company. Maybe some rail trail touring could be on the cards in the future though.

I dont feel confident enough in our driving standards to go riding on unfamiliar roads at highway speeds. Far too many people not paying enough attention to the task at hand so that the risk is too great imo.

I’m also doing less group rides now. They just end up being rants about left versus right, woke this and that so I started tuning out or riding ahead, now I just don’t bother joining. I want to ride, not have the group ride version of Sky News After Dark.

Riding is what I care about, not the other nonsense.

[brumby33]

Hmmm....sorry I mentioned that ride now......

[Retrobyte]

Have never had back pain or issues in my life but now at 62 for the first time I'm in a lot of pain. Am seeing a physio tomorrow to see if they can help - I'm assuming it is muscular given I've not lifted anything heavy recently.

I suspect there are a few contributing factors - spent three days last week sitting on a picnic rug on hard ground at a music festival, slept in an AirBnB with a very soft mattress, and went for a longer ride with a younger friend who rides in A grade and pushed myself a bit too hard. Thought I felt good enough to ride to work yesterday and that has aggravated it considerably.

Saw the physio on Thursday night and she did some massage and release of the lower back muscles. That, coupled with Voltaren tablets meant I was quite a bit better on Friday - I no longer walk like Joe Biden. My GP gave me a script yesterday for combined muscle relaxant and painkiller and today after another physio session I am walking and twisting my body with ease, although bending forward is still tight and a bit painful. This all points to the issue being muscular rather than structural, which is good news.

Can't ride until at least Wednesday when I see the physio next and she gives me the all clear.

[foo on patrol]

Hmmm....sorry I mentioned that ride now......

Don't be silly, if you can't mention things like that, then there is something wrong. Now you have no excuses left, so get ya arse back out on the bike.

Foo

[brumby33]

Hmmm....sorry I mentioned that ride now......

Don't be silly, if you can't mention things like that, then there is something wrong. Now you have no excuses left, so get ya arse back out on the bike.

Foo

Well, I i've been on rides like this back 20 years ago, can i get the endurance enough to cope with 9 days of riding, not sure, maybe, maybe not..... there are 3 and 5 day options but what's the point in doing the tour and experiencing it without doing the whole thing. It works out to be roughly $135 per day but mostly everything is provided. It's starting from Wodonga this year and finishing in Omeo i think.....how to get back, well maybe I'll have to ride to the nearest town with a train station attached. I'll have my own tent and sleeping kit. Victoria is truly a bicycle touring Paradise. Yeah I think i'll do it, I'm retiring (again) very soon so I'll have something to aim for.
Time to make use of the bicycle I bought that was designed to do the thing i've wanted to do for years...it's now or never.

brumby33

[foo on patrol]

Hmmm....sorry I mentioned that ride now......

Don't be silly, if you can't mention things like that, then there is something wrong. Now you have no excuses left, so get ya arse back out on the bike.

Foo

Well, I i've been on rides like this back 20 years ago, can i get the endurance enough to cope with 9 days of riding, not sure, maybe, maybe not..... there are 3 and 5 day options but what's the point in doing the tour and experiencing it without doing the whole thing. It works out to be roughly $135 per day but mostly everything is provided. It's starting from Wodonga this year and finishing in Omeo i think.....how to get back, well maybe I'll have to ride to the nearest town with a train station attached. I'll have my own tent and sleeping kit. Victoria is truly a bicycle touring Paradise. Yeah I think i'll do it, I'm retiring (again) very soon so I'll have something to aim for.
Time to make use of the bicycle I bought that was designed to do the thing i've wanted to do for years...it's now or never.

brumby33

Of course you can do it, you just need to stop doubting yourself and get consistant training/riding days in and do it in a way that isn't going to leave you flat.

I don't know how far off your ride is or what the distances are but you will need to be on the bike at least 6 days a week for the build up and make sure that you hydrate and eat properly in the lead up and during it. If you can do 20klm a day for six days for 3wks for a start and then bump it to 35klms for the next two weeks and then 50klms for five days with a 60-70klm ride on one day to make up the 6 days of riding. You can have your rest day anytime through the week but make sure that you do have one.

Foo

[Retrobyte]

Have never had back pain or issues in my life but now at 62 for the first time I'm in a lot of pain. Am seeing a physio tomorrow to see if they can help - I'm assuming it is muscular given I've not lifted anything heavy recently.

I suspect there are a few contributing factors - spent three days last week sitting on a picnic rug on hard ground at a music festival, slept in an AirBnB with a very soft mattress, and went for a longer ride with a younger friend who rides in A grade and pushed myself a bit too hard. Thought I felt good enough to ride to work yesterday and that has aggravated it considerably.

Saw the physio on Thursday night and she did some massage and release of the lower back muscles. That, coupled with Voltaren tablets meant I was quite a bit better on Friday - I no longer walk like Joe Biden. My GP gave me a script yesterday for combined muscle relaxant and painkiller and today after another physio session I am walking and twisting my body with ease, although bending forward is still tight and a bit painful. This all points to the issue being muscular rather than structural, which is good news.

Can't ride until at least Wednesday when I see the physio next and she gives me the all clear.

Have been improving slowly and saw the physio again this morning. Still a bit tight bending forward, but the physio said I can start doing short rides again this weekend and see how it goes.

[brumby33]

Yep, starting this afternoon, will put my bike on the stand, do a bit of TLC (not much required, just a bit of a clean and lube job) then do some adjustments to this pesky Specialized saddle I have and then just go up and down my street till I get it right.....

The Easter Weekend here in Albury is going to be 8/8ths of Magic blue sky in the mid to high 20's and I got all weekend to go on some rides in the area......Enjoy getting back on the bike Retro

[brumby33]

Awesome day Easter Saturday although it did get up to an unexpected 32C by 2pm so yeah, maybe should've left earlier than 11am.
Packed a couple of light sangas of peanut butter and the other vegemite lol. A Banana and a protein chocolate bar and 2 bidons of cold water

I went along to checkout some bike paths I haven't used yet but they really didn't take me anywhere except near a major road so that was a lost cause. There is a bike path I've been wanting to ride that I've been eyeing off when working in the bus so yesterday I set out to ride it....really enjoyed it.
Firstly was a diversion I'd done a few times on my Motorcycle and it was one way in and one way out but it was right on the banks of the awesome Murray River.....I will go there for a BBQ picnic one day....good fishing spot too.
On the cnr of Riverina Hwy East of Albury and Tabletop road, there was a bike station with water fill up tower, somewhere to sit and shade so I sat there and ate my sandwiches.

Continued on and went in and called in on some friends near the Thurgoona Community Centre then headed back home via Union road.

Around 33kms all up

My legs were pretty tired by that time and so the ride home was a bit slow plus a slight headwind seen me crawl along at not much more than 10kph......But i had quite a few rests on the way, stopped in at the IGA near home and bought a can of coke that barely touched the sides but jeez it was good and I rarely drink that stuff but it was what i needed to get me home. Haveng a break today but if the weather is fine, I'l be out again tomorrow. (Easter Monday)

https://maps.app.goo.gl/QDSEuH7us1zdkpmY8

Still old and still a bit decrepit lol....but i'm getting there

Cheers

brumby33

[foo on patrol]

Good onya, now that's a more positive post.

Foo

[brumby33]

Another 23km round town ride done today, me bum still gets rather sore if i don't stop every now n then.

I'll get game soon and ride up Nail Can hill.....it's like a roller coaster. It's where the MTBers go and ride, in fact i'm toying with getting a new MTB, nothing serious but it's more than the Vivente can handle.

Bit concerned if i go downhill in the bush, that i won't get uphill to the end/ start point.

One of the mechanics at work is 70 and regularly rides his MTB with mates and rides to work every day......he doesn't look his 70 years, fit feller and he also does kayaking. We have a couple of school bus drivers in their mid 70's who ride pushies to work.....I'll be joining them now that it's not so stinking hot.

Feeling better but still a bloody long way to go

brumby33

[DavidS]

Lovely morning in Melbourne today, and with last week a write off with vertigo, much improved this week.

So, of on my usual 50KM ride to Mordialloc and back and all good. Little unbalanced this arvo but not much worse than usual.

A relief to get a ride in.

Tomorrow off to Port Melbourne so a shorter ride in the morning and home in the afternoon, hopefully not too much rain.

DS

[g-boaf]

My usual somewhat hilly rides seem to take a lot out of me, I’m stuffed for the afternoon after them and seem to need 3 hours of sleep.

Alright now but seem to be quite exhausted at times.

My sleep is still not the best.

[brumby33]

I still get tired in the legs and a sore backside from the saddle, If I don't adapt to this saddle soon, I'm going all out and buy a Brooks B17....if i'm going to get a sore butt, then i'll do it in style

Today was the first time I ventured interstate on my pushy hahaha......rode over the drink to Wodonga and rode some of the Wetland area but i was really trying to find where the railtrail started to Tallangatta. Wasn't successful in that but I now know how to get on the other side of the Murray by using the bike paths...it seems like a decent network of paths too.

Hadn't been on the bike for over a week so all I could muster up today was 28.1kms. not much i know but you can cover some distance with 28kms. It definitly filled in 4 hours on a Sunday including meal & snack breaks.

[LateStarter]

I still get tired in the legs and a sore backside from the saddle, If I don't adapt to this saddle soon, I'm going all out and buy a Brooks B17....if i'm going to get a sore butt, then i'll do it in style

... but i was really trying to find where the railtrail started to Tallangatta. Wasn't successful in that but .....

I still have a B17 "Carved" (ie cutout) that I will never use, yours if you want, next time you are in big smoke or I am down your way, I might be in Holbrook in May

The Tallangatta rail train appears to start at the end of Mill St Wodonga and continues as High Country Rail Trail, view on Open Street Map

https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/- ... /146.89858

or Ride With GPS (I have plotted the route)

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46212060 ... mIi4zMP3Nz

Looks good, seems like a great ride, 37kms, much along the lake and only 312m ascent, of course you have to come back but that would be more downhill, it says there is gravel but your local knowledge would tell you what sort.

It goes further than Tallangatta but gets more hilly and less travelled?

I will have to come down and do it, you are very lucky to have such great (Victorian) rail trails on your doorstep.

[brumby33]

Hi LS, yes I'm very interested in the Brooks saddle so if you're heading to Holbrook in May, might get on the Motorcycle and zoom up and meet you.

The saddle that I'm using now is one from Specialized that I got the sit bone measurement for and cost me $143 which I was hoping would make this bike more comfy but it feels like I'm sitting on a fence post.

I'm not sure if cut outs really make a difference or not.....I mean what is their main aim? Is it mostly beneficial to blokes only or do women get benefits as well?

Yeah As I get a trifle fitter, i want to do the Tallangatta ride but it goes on to Shelley and you can ride down as far as Corryong but i heard that out there you're on and off paths. Maybe by next Spring/Summer, I'd also like to try the Wangaratta to Bright via Myrtleford and Beechworth. Maybe camp or stay over somewhere.
But even some of the local wetlands rides are relaxing and super quiet.

[foo on patrol]

Hi LS, yes I'm very interested in the Brooks saddle so if you're heading to Holbrook in May, might get on the Motorcycle and zoom up and meet you.

The saddle that I'm using now is one from Specialized that I got the sit bone measurement for and cost me $143 which I was hoping would make this bike more comfy but it feels like I'm sitting on a fence post.

I'm not sure if cut outs really make a difference or not.....I mean what is their main aim? Is it mostly beneficial to blokes only or do women get benefits as well?

Yeah As I get a trifle fitter, i want to do the Tallangatta ride but it goes on to Shelley and you can ride down as far as Corryong but i heard that out there you're on and off paths. Maybe by next Spring/Summer, I'd also like to try the Wangaratta to Bright via Myrtleford and Beechworth. Maybe camp or stay over somewhere.
But even some of the local wetlands rides are relaxing and super quiet.

It takes pressure off your sompin or other that affects your prostate. I have one on every bike that I constantly ride and the one bike that doesn't have one on, is the one that gives me grief.

Foo

[CmdrBiggles]

Hi LS, yes I'm very interested in the Brooks saddle so if you're heading to Holbrook in May, might get on the Motorcycle and zoom up and meet you.

The saddle that I'm using now is one from Specialized that I got the sit bone measurement for and cost me $143 which I was hoping would make this bike more comfy but it feels like I'm sitting on a fence post.

I'm not sure if cut outs really make a difference or not.....I mean what is their main aim? Is it mostly beneficial to blokes only or do women get benefits as well?

Yeah As I get a trifle fitter, i want to do the Tallangatta ride but it goes on to Shelley and you can ride down as far as Corryong but i heard that out there you're on and off paths. Maybe by next Spring/Summer, I'd also like to try the Wangaratta to Bright via Myrtleford and Beechworth. Maybe camp or stay over somewhere.
But even some of the local wetlands rides are relaxing and super quiet.

Brooks saddles gradually form themselves to the rider's bone structure; you may need to try out any second-hand one on offer; it is not the same thing to swap over these saddles freely like the synthetic jobs that are now so common. In bicycle touring, having a Brooks B52 was the very, very last word in long-term comfort (and prestige), and they can still be seen on long-haul bikes: we all used one, despite the horrendous expense in our poverty-stricken student days!

Not sure what you mean by being on and off paths on the section of path toward Corryong? It is a very up and down journey from Tallan' and quite scenic in places. The paths are often speckled with walkers, runners and locals walking their woofers. There were some rough/broken patches around Clack-Clack (aka Colac Colac); no such troubles if you take the very long route (and climb) around Cudgewa with a screaming downhill heading toward Corryong.

Wang to Bright is a gem whatever way it is done, just a bit exposed to hot sun and winds. There are water stops and shelters along the route, along with locals getting their walks and runs in on the paths too in many places.