Oh, the irony

[21SC]

I am getting old. Throughout life I have observed that as people age, they get more careful. More aware of risk and danger, more afraid of getting injured.

There is some logic to this, of course, as the older we get, the harder it is to bounce back to full health after injury. And we get injured more easily.

On the other hand, if we have already lived - more or less happily - for 60, 70 år 80 years, why should we stop doing things we love just because of risk? I mean, if you end up as a paraplegic at the age of 20 due to some risky actions, your time spent in a wheelchair will be drastically longer than if the same thing happens at the age of 80.

But here I am, just weeks away from turning 60, finding myself erring more and more often on the side of caution. I do not get the pleasure from pushing the envelope like I used to. I now find myself taking some caution that I did not do 10 or 20 years ago, be that when riding motorcycles or lifting weights or running down slippery slopes.

I am, quite honestly, slowly turning into a wuss.

We all make the (hopefully) appropriate decisions as we complete more trips around the sun.
Myself, I'm hitting 70 this summer. My garage has less the bikes, and the bikes I have are smaller, and for this stage in life, more enjoyable. Being back in the gym helps stamina and bounce back ability, hopefully. Whatever the future holds, at the very least I have adjusted my equipment and attitude as I grow older.

[faffi]

We all make the (hopefully) appropriate decisions as we complete more trips around the sun.
Myself, I'm hitting 70 this summer. My garage has less the bikes, and the bikes I have are smaller, and for this stage in life, more enjoyable. Being back in the gym helps stamina and bounce back ability, hopefully. Whatever the future holds, at the very least I have adjusted my equipment and attitude as I grow older.

Sounds clever!

[adventurelounger]

Like the OP, I too am knocking on the door of 60. And I feel like I've had an analogous thought process and experience with another life-passion: skiing.

I'm a lifelong skier, and have skied all over the US, Canada and Europe. Raced way back in high school. Continued (until recently) racing NASTAR for shits and giggles...and always hit times in the top of my age group handicap. Also done my share of top-climbs/hikes out West.

My kids all ski, and up until 5-6 years ago I could still out ski them. Then one year, my knees just crumpled while trying to keep up with my twenty-something son, who's become a beast on skis. That's when I started to slow down and prefer groomers. And in the last couple of years, I find I'm good for a morning, or afternoon, but not both.

Point is, I'm still going to do it. I love it (and thank goodness for the Icon/Epic passes because without them it would be impossibly, absurdly expensive). And the same I find is happening to my riding. I've done a few BDRs. Baja in Mexico. I've always been a cautious rider, but now I'm even cautious-er because I don't want to get hurt, and don't want to ruin months or years recuperating from an idiotic, avoidable mistake.

Obviously, just choosing to continue to ride puts you at the mercy of the luck Gods. I'm just trying to do everything sensible I can do to appease them (ATGATT, never alcohol, daylight only, aggressively defensive riding, and on roads as far from traffic as possible) so I can keep on enjoying the sport. Which I may even love more than skiiing because there's no lift tickets.

[faffi]

That was well summed up, adventurelounger!