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When should we stop riding? -- perspectives of an older rider

marcdanziger said:
Yeah, the other use case for the SMT is travel in our RV - we bought a 5th wheel and my wife's MY07 and the SMT are perfect for day rides around wherever we wind up.

We were just in central CA - Pinnacles > Paso > Yosemite and we'll do another trip there in early spring. Plotting out a bigger trip to the east Coast for next year.
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That sounds like the good life to me :thumbup
 
marcdanziger said:
Yeah, the other use case for the SMT is travel in our RV - we bought a 5th wheel and my wife's MY07 and the SMT are perfect for day rides around wherever we wind up.

We were just in central CA - Pinnacles > Paso > Yosemite and we'll do another trip there in early spring. Plotting out a bigger trip to the east Coast for next year.
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I did Blue Ridge Parkway back in the 70s on a Yamaha R5C 350.
 
oldapeman said:
I am a realist. Ageing is a one-way street, sloping downhill at an increasing rate. I know that doing this at age 75 is not realistic, unless someone finds the fountain of youth soon.
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Thought you might appreciate this:
 
I am turning 60 in a few months. I have ridden from 26 to 56 years of age and have had a series of unforeseen events these last 5 years that have kept my off my motorcycle. I a few weeks I will get the bike running and get back on the road. The first 6 months back on the bike will be relearning the roads. Next year (2027) I will restart the knee dragging. However, I will also restart doing Instagram motorcycle photos, and that does slow one's riding speed down. I think the most important thing when riding "old" are ones reflexes. Secondarily would be some sort of brittle bones thing because a simple fall off the bike in gravel could be catastrophic or deadly. And all of this also would pertain to track riding as well. My last ride in 2021 involved a slow car holding up 10 vehicles on a twisty back highway. I slowly passed to the front of this pack. The slow car pulls off the road and onto the shoulder. THEN! pulls back out to cross the road to enter a camping ground on the other side. I was right there seeing and experiencing this car make this unbelievable maneuver. My training kicked in. I looked away and at my exit and went down part of the driveway (about 40ft wide) then saw the gate and did a tight u-turn and headed up the driveway and watched that car head down as I passed them with 5 ft to spare. Then I entered the road and dabbled in speed and fun corners. Shit like this no longer scares me or even gets my adrenaline pumping. When I got home I thought about this indecent and thought about the possible "fvckery" mess that might of occurred with all the rest of the vehicle behind us - I should have turned around and returned to provide my information if any crashing occurred. Oh well. It is this type of behavior (Stupid car) that makes my hands sweat when driving our SUV or pickup on two lanes roads...If a vehicle crosses into your lane It only ends in impact or ditching the vehicle. With ditching, the (stupid) car could just drive away leaving you with all the insurance issues.
 
budman said:
Interesting.

The no alcohol and him being vegan is kind of :(
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It depends on what you want to do. When you get older, you have to pick your battles. Do you want to keep riding or do you want to eat burgers and fries and drink beer? Personally, I don't think being vegan is as important as regular exercise and a healthy diet. Cut back on the booze.
 
I'm a track guy. Streets no fun. My bikes are tools, no more no less. My body is part of that tool.

I haven’t been to the track in a while because my hands are constantly numb. When that subsides I’ll be back at it. I was fine until I started doing some home repairs, swinging a hammer every day. I’ll buy a nailgun for my next projects.

The deck was a pain. Stripped to sticks and started over.
 

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TTTom said:
I really don't worry about it.

I figure with Social Security headed down the shitter, the crooked bastards on Wall Street looting my 401K and the implosion of the mortgage bubble triggering the start of Great Depression II... once I'm too old to work my only "retirement option" will be to run the bike into a rock wall at 100 mph.
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This but flying a Cessna instead
 
Norton Margie said:
It depends on what you want to do. When you get older, you have to pick your battles. Do you want to keep riding or do you want to eat burgers and fries and drink beer? Personally, I don't think being vegan is as important as regular exercise and a healthy diet. Cut back on the booze.
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Pretty much describing my choices at this point of my life.

Becoming a vegan is not going to happen and zero booze could one day. :dunno
My Dad gave it up in his 80's.
 
It seems I gave up booze because of 'rona.
It was the bars, I went Hermit, and stayed home.
I still have booze, don't drink to get afu-ed, just a taste.
but from a full time pro brewer, view, I quit.
 
oldapeman said:
The recent reports of casualties of experienced expert bikers, plus my own experiences on the highways, have led me to pondering when I should consider parking the bike permanently. I encourage responses of all levels and ages of riders -- those over 50, who might be having the same thoughts as me, and those much younger, because, like it or not, you will be old someday too if your luck does not run out sooner.

NOTE: I apologize for the length of this post -- I guess I needed to set the stage for all this.

I am nearing 59 years old. I learned to ride a Honda S90 when I was 15, then rode a dirtbike for a while, then spent years in the Navy riding a wide variety of street bikes owned by my shipmates (Triumphs, BSA, BMW, Harley, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Puch(!) and many more I have forgotten I left motorcycles behind for a while when I was in my late 20's , switching to bicycling, and riding motorcycles only occassionally until about ten years ago. It was then that I sent my son to MSF training, and decided to go along and do the course with him just for fun. I remembered how much fun I was having and decided to get back into motorcycling.

I consider myself to be a very expert, experienced and safe rider. Despite riding for nearly 44 years, I have never once been in an accident, nor dropped a bike on the street.

I ride one of my vintage Kawasakis from Berkeley to SF nearly every weekday (although I avoid the rain). I am in generally decent physical shape, have good reflexes, and corrected vision. My balance is very good (something that usually deteriorates with age), probably because of my long term motorcycle and bicycle riding.

That said, I must be the first to acknowledge that I do not have the physical capabilities I had at my peak (which for me was in my mid to late 30's, when I was doing century rides and San Francisco hillclimbs on my Bianchi ). While motorcycling, I now make up for this with my knowledge and experience, knowing what is the right thing to do at all times, plus not riding like a foolish teenager who just discovered that sex and motorcycle riding are a lot alike. Without doubt, I am slower, with weaker senses (eyes and ears) than I once had, less than perfect balance, and losing a little bit of the physical edge every year.

I am a realist. Ageing is a one-way street, sloping downhill at an increasing rate. I know that doing this at age 75 is not realistic, unless someone finds the fountain of youth soon.

Combine the above with the madness that I see everyday on the freeways and the Bay Bridge, with weaving inattentive drivers during commute hours, and road racing intoxicated idiots later at night (since I sometimes work late). Then, around the urban streets, I see people pulling in front of me from all sides, even though I wear very bright yellow and black gear. I have had a few scary moments, but have never had what I would consider to be a "close call", yet.

I have no desire to go out in a flameball. I prefer to die in bed, at a very old age, making love to my wife.

I love motorcycling, which I believe energizes me and keeps me young at heart, and helps relieve the stress from my high pressure work (I am a lawyer). BUT, I truly want to live to see my children grow up and give me grandchildren, and to travel to far off places with my lovely wife, who has grudgingly induged my motorcycling thus far.

So, fellow riders, at what point do I leave this behind, accepting the physical limitations that come with age, that in turn make this an unsafe risk to myself and my family?
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You make it sound like at 59 you have one foot in the grave. If that is truly the case, you need to stop now. Hell, you need to stop now because after 44 years you are really pushing your luck. It's not IF, it's WHEN. But seriously, if you feel like your age is a limiting factor because you feel yourself degrading in the mentioned areas, you either need to stop riding now or get in the gym and build your core, leg muscles for balance, and general strength. If you are consistent, you'll be second guessing why you even thought about stopping in 6 months. Most of the limitations you describe can be alleviated by getting in good physical shape. Glasses fix your eyes, and who doesn't ride with earbuds in listening to jams now? I don't hear much more than my exhaust anyway. If you want to keep riding safely, become a regular at the gym.
 
Enjoyed your post Triple X. :newbie

FYI: No ear buds hear… or is it here??. :wave
 
I wish giving up booze was the answer to everything. I would have already won since I never really started drinking.
Always wore earplugs when riding. Pretty sure I don’t even realize how much grief that’s saved me after hearing about the constant agony some are living with from tendinitis.
 
That was pretty good.
 
Im approaching mid seventies and have been riding 58 years. I sometimes think about hanging it up, I know wifey would be happy if I did. I'm not ready, im still working and love to fuck with the youngsters at work. Regarding riding, if I don't FEEL it, I don't ride. When in civilization i'm on high alert at all times . I've been hit twice , last time in 2008 i was t-boned by a Lincoln in Az. Rode home w 2 broken ribs. I lust to kick start a 850 commando or ride a Laverda triple to hear and feel it come on the cam, but alas Im too old for those machines. I'll stick to my couch, an r13gs.
 
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It’s encouraging to read that balance deteriorates with age cause I figured it was the drugs and concussions. I rarely ride into town so not much city traffic to deal with although I did get hit in the metropolis of Quincy several years ago. I have become more selective like thinking I’d rather ride to Eureka than to Utah when it’s hot. I’ll save Utah for September.
 
I'm 67 and started riding again after close to 30 years away because I realized that if I ever wanted to ride again I'd better do it NOW, while I'm still physically and mentally able.

I was never a really take-it-to-the-edge rider, but I'm a lot more mellow now than I was in my teens through 30s. And I restarted on a bike that I enjoy riding but suits a relaxed riding style (2026 Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650).

After an intermediate level riding class and a couple of thousand miles on the road I'm still getting my skills and reflexes back on line, but I'm both enjoying the experience and kicking myself for laying off for so long.

It's the "enjoying myself" part that matters. I'm never going to challenge the dedicated canyon carvers on the twisties or out-accelerate the performance bikes on the straightaways, either, but that's OK. I'm out in the wind again, and intend to stay there as long as I can.
 
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