# Turn 50 NEXT year :/ , hit me ♤♡◇♧



## Iksobarg (Mar 26, 2012)

Greetings Ladies and Gents,
Can't say I'm feeling my 49 years quite yet but I'm glad to hear any of your special 50+ experiences.
I just know that it's more important than ever to ride within my limits. And that was with Enduro class rides and tours but then this year I lost my marbles and am diggin'
downhill. At least til I get myself killed...
x l
Fire away...


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## be1 (Sep 4, 2013)

50 is nothing. 60 is a *****.


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## driver bob (Oct 12, 2005)

Colonoscopy, Gastroscopy and Shingles vaccination were nice gifts up here in Canada.

All clear for the first two and shouldnt now catch the last one. 

Prevention is always better than the cure.


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

Blah, blah, blah, just another day.

Keep having fun, it's all frosting when you're still able to ride your bike.


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## Horseshoe (May 31, 2018)

Spent my 50th birthday backcountry snowboarding in Durango last January. While it was some of the most fun I have ever had on snow, it was also a bit of an eye opener that i am not in my 20s (or 30s, or 40s) anymore. It has been a wistful year as I've embraced that while I still bike, snowboard, lift weights, etc, my hard charging days are mostly behind me. I'll still ride double blacks but have just have much fun on the groomers. I still lift heavy and am stronger than most but probably won't hit another PR. I may or may not do another powerlifting competition. I'm still getting better technically on the bike, and if I'm a bit slower, so what? I've got nothing left to prove to anybody. 

Embrace it, enjoy it, don't stop doing what you love. Accept that you may not be as strong or fast as you once were.


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## SoDakSooner (Nov 23, 2005)

Just a number.... don't sweat it. Do what you do, take care of your body(Colonscopy,shingles, whatever that other thing was...lol) and all will be good.

Im a bit fatter, a lot slower, my blood pressure and cholesterol are a little high, but I still get out and do the things I was doing 10, 20, and 30 years ago. Maybe not as well, but like horsehoe said, I don't have anything to prove.


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## drich (Oct 9, 2015)

I picked a great location and spent 5 months training to do a 50 mile mtnb ride on my 50th. Instead of trying to wrap my brain around the fact I was turning 50, I was outside busting my ass and enjoying life. It was the prefect way to celebrate. I'm a stronger rider now than I was in my 40s, but injuries take longer to heal and I take recovery more seriously.


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## sturge (Feb 22, 2009)

I just hit 60...still riding year-round 3x/week in New England singletrack. Lots of similar aged folks think I'm crazy riding a freakin bike in the woods, in the dark, when it's 20 degF but it's what I do and love. I'm technically better than I ever have been (one would expect that after 30 years) and with the new bikes it's easier to rip rough terrain than it ever was. But...I've had my share of 'incidents' and the older I get the more my focus is on NO CRASHES due to the fact that recovery takes longer as the years go by. 

Just do what you do but be smart about it...adjusting risk and taking an occasional 'go around' is better than the alternative as your body gets older.


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## Outrider66 (Jan 30, 2018)

Turning 30 hit me hard. Real hard. I actually shed one or two tears. At that moment, I realized I was no longer young.

Turning 40 was just another day for me.

Turning 50 hit me fairly hard, but not nearly as hard as 30 did. I realized that I was half of a freaking century old.

I expect 60 will be about like turning 40 was.

Unless I can still do active and fun things at that point, I really do hope that I never see 70, or have to watch people having to take care of me. "Living" in a hospital once for 1.5 months gave me that outlook, and I said, "Never again".


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## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

I wrote a story/essay on turning 50 that Dirt Rag published and my wife and kids threw me a surprise birthday party. Other then that, no big deal.

No big deal turning 60 (except another surprise party but in the ballroom of the Grand Hotel in Monticatinni, Italy which proves things only improve with age). 

Turning 70 was a nothing event but I had two birthday cakes. One on my actual birthday and one on the day we had a small family party.

I ride better then ever, have all the time I need to ride as much as I want, and the money to afford the bikes I really don't need but always wanted. 

Life is good until it's not.

Happy Birthday!


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## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

Sad outlook on life. Who says you can't do everything at 70 you did at 30? Not me, that's for sure. If you keep moving you'll keep moving, regardless of your age.


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## bsieb (Aug 23, 2003)

Turning 70 next year, I still ride... and do construction work, which is a hell of a lot harder than riding. Doesn't feel much different than 40, 50, or 60, so it is what it is, don't quit too soon. You may have another 30 years of riding in ya'.


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## rod9301 (Oct 30, 2004)

Rev Bubba said:


> I wrote a story/essay on turning 50 that Dirt Rag published and my wife and kids threw me a surprise birthday party. Other then that, no big deal.
> 
> No big deal turning 60 (except another surprise party but in the ballroom of the Grand Hotel in Monticatinni, Italy which proves things only improve with age).
> 
> ...


Amen, brother. Same here. I also add that i ski steeper stuff then ever, most of it going up under my own power.

Sent from my Armor_3 using Tapatalk


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

My father backpacked into his early/mid 80s, just gave it up a couple of years ago. I'm hoping I'm able to pursue the things I love that long as well. So 50 isn't quite two-thirds of the way in.


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## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

I didn't even bring up skiing. I can get out 80 days a season now. Couldn't do that when I had to work. I ski better then ever and travel to an ever expanding number of mountains. I skied my 129th mountain last season and will likely add six new ones this year including my first trip to ski the Tahoe region. Last year I skied Alaska.

It just seems to be getting better but maybe that's because I believe it will keep getting better, not that life is down the toilet at a certain age.


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

Okay, Xer.


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## Radium (Jan 11, 2019)

If yer not counting, 50 will come and go without you ever even noticing it.


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## bcaronongan (Nov 8, 2006)

I 50. I don't feel 50. I still feel like 21. Just keep riding.


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## UPSed (Dec 26, 2010)

Just turned 55 and I'm in the best cycling shape of my life. I still have tons of energy. Keep riding and stay active.


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

bcaronongan said:


> I 50. I don't feel 50. I still feel like 21. Just keep riding.





UPSed said:


> Just turned 55 and I'm in the best cycling shape of my life. I still have tons of energy. Keep riding and stay active.


Totally. I felt awesome at 50. Still felt great at 60. Less great after 65.


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## Iksobarg (Mar 26, 2012)

Many thanks for your thoughtful responses. I feel very fortunate for good mental health which allows me to have a bright outlook on almost anything I do. I agree 100% with staying active and just enjoying. Since I was a teen I recall watching Carl Sagen's Cosmos series and well with turning 50 soon I'm still ever in awe at how we came to be on this rock orbiting our sun and what an amazing story that keeps unfolding into.
There are few experiences that come as close to that feeling of one with nature, or world, as when I'm riding. But I have to add that if you haven't snorkeled or scuba dived def. try those! Happy landings, Best Christmas and holidays to All.


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## Cayenne_Pepa (Dec 18, 2007)

My 55th birthday present to myself.... was this 22-pound, Titanium Singlespeed. Why? because I was depending on Granny(gear) way too much and I simply wanted a bike that would easily outlast me. This machine turned all my boring loops.... into eye-openers, now:


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

You only think your old, of course that’s the problem.


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