# Enjoy it while you still can



## ddoh (Jan 11, 2017)

Sobering stuff:

https://forums.mtbr.com/general-discussion/rip-legbacon-formerly-travis-bickle-1108095.html

https://forums.mtbr.com/midwest-il-oh-ky-ia-mo-mi/legend-passes-1105257.html

Enjoy life and MTBing while you can. I know I'm trying.


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## TheBaldBlur (Jan 13, 2014)

There was a guy my age who had a fatal heart attack while riding on trails system near my home last year. He, like the two in the links above, died while riding. I can think of - and witnessed - much, much worse ways to go.


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## waltaz (Oct 14, 2004)

I just turned 55, and am sure trying to. Nothing is promised, and I'm trying to live life and MTB to the fullest while I still can. It's why I want to retire and quit wasting my time on meaningless (if well-paying) work, before it's too late.


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## BCsaltchucker (Jan 16, 2014)

Very sorry to hear about this. And we are booked to go riding up in Cumberland this weekend. (but I just had a bad crash and laid up so not riding) . Had a friend die of a heart attack riding his mtn bike about 5 years ago here in Victoria. Makes me think of the 'weekend warrior' syndrome and question how much I should be 'hammering' sometimes. Already had open heart surgery.

'weekend warrior syndrome' is middle aged guys and older who work during the week then go out on weekends and do hammerfest workouts like hockey or mtn biking, die of sudden heart attacks. However even weeknd warriors are found to have lowered their risk of premature death compared to the sedentary.


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## 33red (Jan 5, 2016)

That is just our reality. We just do not know.
At 55 i became pre-retired to help my aging parents.
At 60 some urgency kicked in. Will an injury/sickness limit me soon??
Now 61, my dad is gone. He enjoyed 30 years of retirement and his last month he told his 3 kids to travel, enjoy life and i think he also meant make good memories.
I feel so lucky to have a brother and a sister. I can take time for me without leaving my mom alone.


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## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

I turned 70 last month and still ride regularly and hard though my definition of hard may be different then a younger person's. 

At my last annual physical a few days ago, the doctor said I was in amazing shape but my wife, an RN, pointed out that a physical is just a snapshot of how you are on one particular day.

The good thing is that she said my chance of a heart attack goes down after 70 and you are likely to die of something else.

So all this means nothing. Enjoy the day and live a good life.


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## bachman1961 (Oct 9, 2013)

TheBaldBlur said:


> There was a guy my age who had a fatal heart attack while riding on trails system near my home last year. He, like the two in the links above, died while riding. I can think of - and witnessed - much, much worse ways to go.


I recall if along the path near or just north of downtown area. Shocker and knew him and family for many years.


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## k2rider1964 (Apr 29, 2010)

Our group had a rider (Matt) go down on a ride last April 14th , 2018 at San Clemente Singletracks in Orange County, CA. He was 58 and up until his cardiac arrest had been riding better that day than he had in months. After leading the group the 1st half of the ride, he fell back to the back on the climb but made it up to the top where the group was waiting for him. As they started down and out on the last trail back to the trailhead, Blue Chair, he stayed in the back of the pack. 

This is where some sort of divine intervention kicked in....or some unknown own reason, the group stopped after less than 1/2 mile on a trail we'd normally not stop on until were were back at the TH. They realized Matt wasn't with them and instead of waiting 5-10 minutes for someone like we normally would, assuming he was taking a wiz, on the phone or had a flat, a guy that had never ridden with Matt went back after 3 minutes and found Matt unconscious on the ground. All the others went back and CPR was started when they realized he wasn't breathing. 

Divine intervention II....Less than 2 minutes later, a nurse who had been walking her dog came up to help. She later told us that she NEVER walks that way but her dog pulled her in that direction so she just went with it. She jumped in on the CPR cycle and they kept at it for almost 45 minutes. Life Flight came in but couldn't land because Matt had crashed right under the only power lines out there. However, that also meant it was easy for them to find us and the paramedics were able to drive down the dirt service roads. 

Matt was transported to a local hospital where his body core temp was lowered and he was placed in a coma for several days. Even after they warmed him up, he didn't open his eyes up for another week and even then, couldn't communicate. He was in the hospital another 2 weeks and then was sent to rehab as he had some brain injuries dealing with coordination. It was worst when he wanted to write or type something. His brain would say one thing but his hands didn't listen. It looks months of therapy but he's about 99% and was able to get on the bike last September and is back to 90% of his abilities on the bike. He used to be almost fearless on sketchy terrain (think High Line in Sedona) but now walks a bunch of stuff he previously rode. 

FWIW, my daughter is an RN and had ALS (Advanced Life Support) certification two days after Matt's incident. In the training, they were told that somebody who experienced Matt's incident IN THE HOSPITAL had an 11% chance of survival. He odds were less than 6% having it where he did. He's a lucky guy and living life...he's on his way to Bend right now and we'll be meeting him on Monday at the O'Leary trail!!


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## bachman1961 (Oct 9, 2013)

Great story k2rdier, thanks for sharing that.

That was not only a lot of stars lining up to get him help and outa there with all the right people, but those stats alone are dreary. 

I rarely ride solo because I'm more of a social rider with friends, feeling it's more of an outing or adventure with others. Yet I have to say, I know injury / survival come backs are different for the plus 45 or 50 y/o and above that even.... 

It would cause me to consider not riding solo if it was more of a norm for me just from a safety in number aspect.


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

Gawd, you all are just so friggin miserable, is this really how you want to think about life ... as a prelude to death?

We all die, just get over it and live until it’s your time, ain’t nothing more to it than that. Sympathy for the deceased, sure, but reflecting on death while still alive, yuck!

I swear, this forum is just like talking to a bunch of nursing home cast offs, nothing but complaints about illness, impairment, future illnesses, and future impairment.

It’s a mountain biking forum for Pete’s sake 🙄

On a bright and forum relevant note, we just got back from a PNW tour, rode seven out of eight days, over 100 miles of single track were slayed, even my lovely bride rode a solid fifty miles on her Pivot Shittle.

Today I had great ride today on the TRT with my daughter and our new son in law, they just got back from a month in Italy where they climbed and mountain biked in the Dolomites.

Life is good!


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## bachman1961 (Oct 9, 2013)

Nurse Ben said:


> Life is good!


Sooo;

Death is Bad &#8230;&#8230; right ?

I guess I'm just not seeing how divergent you are !! LOL

In my case it might be a different context.... this whole safety thing and trying not to die.
I used to read/study and came back to stats a bit lately. I'm a re-tread to motorcycling getting back to it around 2003 after being away from bikes for 20 years. I found a few sites that hover on safety and surviving the ride so-to-speak. It's not magic, it's just learning some simple things , traits, behaviors, skills and practice that just knowing , can make a huge statistical difference. At about that time, I found some articles by a guy writing things like Who Survives and Why dealing with the perspective that it isn't all about chance and how the cookie crumbles. 
People make wrong-headed decisions and choices they think are correct and intuitive but shoot themselves in the foot.

WWII Think Tank- Surviving aircraft were studied and reviewed to see about how to improve and reinforce them. One person in that group stood out from the rest. Everyone else studied the damage and holes in the aircraft and surmised ways to patch and strengthen based on the hits. Yet this was a surviving plane that made it back. 
The changes that needed to be studied and implemented would have been put in place completely opposite of what was needed had they moved forward from there. "Survivorship bias". The swiss cheese plane didn't need the holes armored or reinforced !! 

Motorcycles

"on a Vehicle Miles Driven basis, motorcycle riders have a greater than 38 (THIRTY EIGHT!!!) times higher fatality expectation than do automobile drivers. You are 38 times more likely to DIE from riding a motorcycle than driving an automobile."

That doesn't alarm or scare me. It compels me to learn more.

"In 38 motorcycle civil cases I've worked as an expert witness, I found that in ONLY ONE case the motorcyclist did not in any way contribute to the cause of the accident - JUST ONE!!!

Note, that does not mean that motorcyclists CAUSED the accidents (though in several cases they did), just that their behaviors contributed to that cause or to the severity of injuries that resulted."

I really think we can be realistic and aware of dangers, cognizant of risks we want to or choose to take but not be hung up on dying or paralyzed to get out and enjoy life. In fact, knowing the risks is how we mitigate or try to control them. I had a guy tell me a fishing license would enable me to call for rescue in the mountains if a life-threatening issue came up, yet I'd be spared the heavy costs involved because it's part of the FL benefit. I was up there mtn biking for 3 days in some remote areas and that would have provided cheap insurance !

Knowledge is good.​ ​
​


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## RooHarris (May 11, 2011)

*Biggest regret...*



waltaz said:


> I just turned 55, and am sure trying to. Nothing is promised, and I'm trying to live life and MTB to the fullest while I still can. It's why I want to retire and quit wasting my time on meaningless (if well-paying) work, before it's too late.


My biggest regret is I didn't retire 5 years earlier. I'm 72 and riding religiously three days a week. I'm having so much fun since retiring wish I'd done so sooner. Life moves way too fast in the later years...


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## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

The earliest I could retire (and get the benefits that have set me up for the rest of my life) was 62. I was gone within a week of my 62nd birthday and never regretted my decision for one second. More money? Who cares! I have more time and that is what is most important.


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## Forest Rider (Oct 29, 2018)

Is it possible to have this thread title edited to match the thread?

Title is useless, and/or misleading.


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## bachman1961 (Oct 9, 2013)

Reminds me, I'm appreciating the retirement related comments or 'advice'.
I've got some years ahead of me in the workforce but find it helpful to see how it's panned out for some others and what considerations they mention now, and looking back.

In fact, under the title Enjoy it now while you still can, when to retire is an especially handy and fitting correlation.

Thanks to those sharing some insights.


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## Finch Platte (Nov 14, 2003)

Nurse Ben said:


> It's a mountain biking forum for Pete's sake 
> 
> Life is good!


You _do_ know that Pete is on his deathbed, almost flatlining, surrounded by loved ones, right? It's only a matter of minutes. :eekster:


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## Forest Rider (Oct 29, 2018)

Finch Platte said:


> You _do_ know that Pete is on his deathbed, almost flatlining, surrounded by loved ones, right? It's only a matter of minutes. :eekster:


Thats cold dude.


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## Finch Platte (Nov 14, 2003)

Forest Rider said:


> Thats cold dude.


Too soon?


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## ddoh (Jan 11, 2017)

I'm sorry if the title or my original tone was misleading. It is sad that theses fine men are gone, but they died doing what they loved and lived great lives because of their passion for MTBing.

I celebrate what a great life I have every time I'm in the saddle and realize how lucky I am to be able to follow my passion.

This posting should be sobering but not not depressing.


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## dave54 (Jul 1, 2003)

One of the items on my bucket list is to outlive my pension and become a burden to the taxpayers. 
Riding, working out, and eating right will help me do that. Plus I get a rebate on my health insurance premiums if I maintain certain health markers, including regular activity.


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## bachman1961 (Oct 9, 2013)

ddoh said:


> I'm sorry if the title or my original tone was misleading.


Not at all , to my interpretation.
It may be a bit dark to some but I'm a guy who pours over stats and things to scare myself into being better informed and risk mitigation.
dave54 has the right idea too !

How nice that we can earn our way to better rates by proving better choices or less risk to the insurers.


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