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Old man's bike - Mortblanc - 13 December 2017

I stopped riding bicycles back around 1966 when I got my first issue of the driver's license which we over here considered a "rite of passage" back in those days.

Back in those days $500 would buy you a nice car, $2000 would buy you a new VW or Mustang, insurance was cheap, gas was cheaper ($0.25 for a 4 quart U.S. gallon). At 17 I was driving a 1 year old Mercury Cyclone "hot rod" paid for with super market "bag boy" earnings. Everyone down to the burger flipper at the soda shop had a car.

Riding a bicycle was reserved as transportation for the mentally challenged who could not pass the simple written test or who could not be trusted to place the vehicle in "park" when leaving it empty.

Earlier this year I was instructed by my doctor that constant exercise was imperative to me living the few months I have left to see age 70. He was serious! Sudden onset of type 2 diabetes with my blood sugar levels 5x too high and my A1c 3x too high.

That had thrown my cholesterol levels out of sight and my blood pressure along with it.

Cardio exercise was part of the over-all program and could not be ignored. For me that meant walking or biking.

My feet have become very messed up in the past few months, so walking had become a problem causing me both physical and mental issues. Becoming a crippled up old man.

My exercise alternative was a stationary bicycle. Allows me good exercise even in bad weather with no load on my feet.

I began with 1/2 hour daily and have worked up to 1 hour daily, which is about all I really need.

Glad to report that I have all things under control now and feeling much better, along with a 20 pound weight drop and more coming off as time goes by, since the diet I am on is a lifetime thing. If I go off it my life will end! That kind of lifetime thing.

No "choices" on this one as well as no cheating or that famous line "just a taste won't hurt!". I had "just a bite" of mince pie over the last holiday and my blood sugar was messed up for days.

At any rate this bike riding thing has become almost an obsession and I realized that if I were on the road I would be putting lots of miles behind me at 12 mph. A couple of trips to the village and back daily or a trip to the closest big supermarket daily, and if I lined the miles up end to end I would have been half way across the U.S. since I bought the bike.

All that being said, I do have a "real bike" out in the shed. It is an adult size "mountain bike" from some cheap maker here in the States. Not a racing model or anything of the sort. I believe that when spring rolls around again I might get it out install new tires, oil it up and start using it for quick trips around the country side.

All of my bicycling being done as a youngster, and for recreational purposes and not real transportation, what can any long term bikers recommend for luggage/grocery transport (not going with any wagon or such) and protective gear?


RE: Old man's bike - Straight Shooter - 13 December 2017

My cycling days are similar to yours MB way way back ....BUT i did see a guy using a trailer last summer ...looked like it was well made tubular pipe frame two wheels ,this was attached just under the saddle via one long curved tube to miss the rear wheel ...hook and eyelet type of hookup ...the frame held a loading tray ....i would say this was W 18" L 24" H about 18" this had a lid hinged like a fight case ...twist key lift and then slide out of the hinges to remove....he was stopped having a coffee , he have loads of stuff in there , i thought that was quite neat ....the wheels were around 12" ....i have also seen canvas type carts for holding a child for towing behind cycles.


RE: Old man's bike - Skean Dhude - 14 December 2017

Age catches up with us all. Good luck with your health. I've started to exercise a bit more as well. Will sort out the bike when the weather gets better.


RE: Old man's bike - Mortblanc - 14 December 2017

When I was a lad the bicycle was my first taste of independence, and also a big step in the "responsibility for my own actions" area. Once out of sight of the house it was up to me to make decisions and pay the consequences for those decisions. I managed to make the correct ones most of the time and stay out of trouble, or at least look over my shoulder before I did stupid things so I would not get caught.

It also taught me a lot about maintaining my own gear. If one did not properly service the bicycle they would soon be on foot. By the time I was 12 I could break down and repair a bike to the ball bearings. Our American bikes generally had only a single gearing, pedal brake and wide tires. As they aged and things came lose and rivets popped we removed the trim until they were stripped down to the frame and critical running gear.

As a lad I was a "newsboy" delivering the newspapers from my bicycle. That meant that after I rode to school and back each day, one mile total, I then put an additional 5-6 miles on the bike during delivery. Then I spent additional time riding with my friends for recreation, so I generally put 10-12 miles on the wheels daily. If the bike broke down I had to walk that "paper route". My general attitude was "that was not going to happen"!

Since the only tools my father kept were a couple of screw drivers and an adjustable spanner I soon had my own tool box set up and by the time I bought my first automobile I had helped the neighbors with maintaining their vehicles to know how to keep a vehicle running, mostly.

I learned a lot from having a bicycle back in the 1950s and 1960s.


RE: Old man's bike - Skean Dhude - 14 December 2017

That brings back memories. One of the first things I did when I was a youth was to build my own bike and I kept it maintained until I was able to use a motor bike. I was always out and about then and in those days you could have a shotgun without any hassle. If only i knew then what I know now. Smile


RE: Old man's bike - Lightspeed - 14 December 2017

Hi MB,

great to hear that the cycling regime is working for you.

Re your questions, here's my 2p's worth:

Tyres: Riding in the real world will probably be a good deal harder work than on the exercise bike, so make it easier on yourself by initially installing some fast and easy-rolling tyres. If you can source them I'd go for Panracer Paselas. We've used these with great success on our tandem, covering many thousands of miles without a single puncture. ( All up weight on the Tandem is in the region of 320 lbs so they should carry you and your groceries just fine)

Carriage: A tubular steel rack that attaches to the rear of the bike will be your best bet. Make sure its one that attaches to the correct mounting points on the bike frame. For mounting get your bike shop to supply good quality stainless steel bolts and washers.

Panniers, top bags, or wire basket above the rack are the way to go. Paniers made of Cordura or cotton Duck are best. Make sure that panniers fasten securely to the rack both top and bottom. Not sure if available anywhere near to you, but over here in Europe Ikea is selling very good quality waterproof panniers at a competitive price.

Foul weather gear: Firstly get full sized mud guards fitted. Better quality panniers will either be waterproofed, or better still will come with waterproof elasticated covers. For you the rider, there are many options, lots of high tech materials available these days and all come with high price tags to match....but 90% of the time I find that if its REALLY raining, best option is a goo old fashioned cycle cape.

Other gear you may need:

A wind-stopper jacket of some kind will be very useful, especially the ones made of fleece on the back and underside of arms with the semi waterproof wind-stopper fabric on the front ( chest) and forward facing half of the arms.

Padded cycle shorts: A must if you ride regularly. Buy two pairs and keep them wash-rotated regularly.

Water bottle mounted in cage bolted to the bike frame.

ATB

LS


RE: Old man's bike - Straight Shooter - 14 December 2017

Its the summer of 1964 ...i get my first bike so the guys suggest a day out to Castle Coch which is about 10 miles away , plenty of hills to climb and one mountain....Caerphilly mountain ....pretty steep....we slug it out and arrive alright and do the tour (free) there are four of us....we club together for two hot dogs and cut them in half and fill our canteens for the trip home , we slug it up to the top of Caerphilly mountain and stop for a drink ....."easy now boys down hill for a mile or two".....in those days Baseball Daps were the rage white rubber bands around the whole shoe with white discs to protect ankle joints ....only Glyn had these on ....brand knew they were ....he headed down (thorn hill) first ....we followed on up the rear ....Glyn is picking up some major speed ...we shout slow down! ....he is looking back and shouting back ...i can't stop! then we hear AAARRRRGGGHHH then blue smoke coming from the rear wheel then he heads up the bank and into ferns....we arrive on the scene to find Glyn frantically trying to remove his right hand BB dap AAARRRGGGHHH water water he shouts and points to the heel of his dap ....in the attempt to stop he had pushed the heel onto the rear tyre ...the friction had worn a groove through the heel and onto the skin ....we all take out our canteens are pouring water on his foot ...i remember the smell of burning rubber......the moral is as MB says good maintenance is essential


RE: Old man's bike - Mortblanc - 15 December 2017

At this point in time, and at my age, this bike "fix up" will be for fair weather use and light shopping trips to the nearby village.

No bugging out, no hill climbing except for the hill by the lake to my favorite fishing spot and especially no bad weather cycling. If the sun is not out and the temps between 15 and 30 the bike will remain parked.

I am thinking about a rear platform carrier, couple of water bottles and perhaps the addition of one of those nifty milk crates attached to the platform with bungee cords to contain the shopping goods. Real fancy stuff!


RE: Old man's bike - Lightspeed - 16 December 2017

(15 December 2017, 23:40)Mortblanc Wrote: At this point in time, and at my age, this bike "fix up" will be for fair weather use and light shopping trips to the nearby village.

No bugging out, no hill climbing except for the hill by the lake to my favorite fishing spot and especially no bad weather cycling. If the sun is not out and the temps between 15 and 30 the bike will remain parked.

I am thinking about a rear platform carrier, couple of water bottles and perhaps the addition of one of those nifty milk crates attached to the platform with bungee cords to contain the shopping goods. Real fancy stuff!

Milk crate's a good idea, just make sure its well secured and that you have a few bungees to hold things down in it as you plough down the road at break-neck speed :-)

Off fishin' by bike... I like it. :-)


RE: Old man's bike - Mortblanc - 16 December 2017

Oh yes, I have already had the brainstorming session over the transport of fishing rods by bike.

The lake I frequent is only a half mile down the lane and has good access. I will rig up some fixture from clamps and PVC to secure the rod and reel sets for the short trip, tackle box on the rear carrier.

It is well worth the effort and the trip. The lake is a public reservoir. A spring fed lake and the source of much of the county drinking water. The state wildlife management keeps it well stocked with catfish, bass, stripe and panfish.

Any kid with a hook and piece of line could roll some rocks over to find a few worms and keep himself fed around these parts. At least in warm weather they could. When deep cold sets in the whole lake freezes over. An ice patch 2 miles long and a mile wide. I have seen the ice nearly a foot thick across that lake.