First extended ride of the year after effects

[Gliderjohn]

Today was my first extended ride this year at about 220 miles. Overall the weather and day could not have been much nicer. I am in good overall shape and workout formally at a gym 4-5 days a week. That being said I am 60 this year. 
This evening my neck muscles and shoulder muscles ache some. During the ride and some this evening my thumb sockets are aching. Used low heat on the grips and that helped. Takes more time now to break in. Still got to keep trucking.
GliderJohn

[oldbike54]

 Welcome to late middle age John  After 100 miles something always hurts , my hands , or one of my feet , back , knee , you will learn to adjust .

 Dusty

[charlie b]

At 63 this year, the only two things that usually hurt for me are the neck and a thumb that I injured a year ago.

But, I always get off the bike every hour or two, get gas, walk around, get something to drink, etc.  500mi days are easy.

[guzzi4me]

Aches, pains and general hurts become more common as we get older.

The way we deal with them is the important part.

After my Doc told me I have moderate arthritis in my hips and shoulders I try to manage with exercise and meds. It does affect my riding but you learn to manage.

A 50 mile ride is just as enjoyable as a 200! The important thing is not to let your ailments take that away from you. At some point in time it may be time to hang up the helmet but we need to do whatever it takes to make that time a long way away!!

Here's to many more years of two wheel enjoyment for all of us!!!

Jeff

[lucydad]

Wow this sounds familiar.  Turning 62 in May.  Great physical shape, but my back tends to react to the V7R cafe geometry.  Stops and stretch breaks make all the difference. 

[Triple Jim]

In my last ten years of riding, I've been a little surprised at how important it is (to me) to relax.  It's easy to tense up body parts, especially shoulders and arms.  When I've been off for a while, I have to tell myself "just lay your hands on the grips and rest them there."  If I forget, I can get tired of riding in half an hour.

[ohiorider]

Relax, all you 'old' guys who just turned 60+.  I turned 73 in January of this year, and noticed I have the same issues on the first couple of rides that I had when I was 63 .......... hips, knees, wrists, etc.  I'm not making light of your symptoms, only want to offer some empathy and encouragement, and let you know that, with any luck, it happens every year, but can be cured by more of the same ...... putting on the miles!

[drlapo]

I'm 67 and did100 miles on the V7 and 200+ on the tiger early this week.
Only slightly sore shoulder muscles.
And I did discover that if you obey all the speed limits in Rhode island it takes 3 hours to go100 miles

[leroysch]

Summer road trips for me always include a 3000-4000 mile jaunt....somewhere. How I feel when I return is my metric of how this 61 year old body is holding up.

So far, so good.

[Dean Rose]

Relax, all you 'old' guys who just turned 60+.  I turned 73 in January of this year, and noticed I have the same issues on the first couple of rides that I had when I was 63 .......... hips, knees, wrists, etc.  I'm not making light of your symptoms, only want to offer some empathy and encouragement, and let you know that, with any luck, it happens every year, but can be cured by more of the same ...... putting on the miles!

Same here.

Dean
 

[blackbuell]

Took first fairly long ride of the year Tuesday: 215 miles. I'm 67; was a bit stiff all over the next day, but not too bad. Due to the warm weather we've had most of the winter, I've been able to take short rides at least once every few weeks; maybe that has made the first long ride a bit easier.

Am getting ready for a real big one in May: 6-7,000 mile loop through all the Rocky Mountain states from Cincinnati.

Jon

[swordds]

Am getting ready for a real big one in May: 6-7,000 mile loop through all the Rocky Mountain states from Cincinnati.

Jon

First, I agree with the need to tell myself to relax sometimes when I find my neck and shoulders starting to ache.  Second, perhaps for another thread, I am in the very stages of planning a cross country ride, perhaps spending eight or more weeks on the road. It won't be this spring/summer but perhaps next spring/summer. It will be a combination of light camping, hotels and State Park cabins. So I am interested in others route planning tools. I use ridewithgps.com for actual route planning on on the road turn instructions plus Google Maps for gas, etc and a Rand McNally road atlas for general routing. The Rand McNally identifies scenic routes through each state but it doesn't show the smaller back roads that I sometimes like to travel. My plan is to avoid almost all interstates (except perhaps when I drive accross Oklahoma - no offence intended) and to only travel about 300 - 500 miles/day.

I have a Rand McNally US wall map that I am tracing the generic route and stopping points on but it doesn't have enough road details. So I am interested in thoughts on other mapping apps or map sources. When we were young my wife and I did a similar trip in a car and AAA back then provided a really nice route guide. Do they still do that?

[trippah]

If you mean trip tickets, I believe they do (as of 1 year ago for sure).

[Triple Jim]

...So I am interested in thoughts on other mapping apps or map sources.

I took the advice of several forum members and got "CoPilot".  There's a free version, and if you want voice commands, you can by that version.  I paid $5 for it, but I think it varies, depending on what kind of sale is going on at the time.

One advantage over some of the alternatives is the ability to download all maps ahead of time, so you don't need a cell phone connection while traveling.  I downloaded map coverage of all of North America in one package.

[M0T0Geezer]

I'll be 76 in July and still ride a lot.   I have put 36,000 new miles my '04 Breva 750 since I bought it in March 2013.

My findings and recommendations are:

(1) More pain during & after working out means less pain during & after riding.
(2) Use #1 to lose 10% of your body weight for more stamina on both road and trail.
(3) Learn about glucosamine, chondroitin (joint lubes) and other food supplements.  Use them.

Here's a link to learning more about #3:
http://www.smart-publications.com/health-a-z/

'Geezer

[Tom]

A lot of good advice here.  I'll throw in aspirin and stretching before, after and during a ride.  I "pop" my back and don't have ride pains that I see most others have.