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105-Year-Old Cyclist Rides 14 Miles in an Hour En Route to a World Record

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Re: 105-Year-Old Cyclist Rides 14 Miles in an Hour En Route to a World Record

#52
post #42
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good way to learn is to get a bicycle (borrow maybe?), remove pedals and cruise to build up confidence. Lower the seat, start at a flat ground and just push yourself (as kids do). Then you can move on a slight downhill to gain some speed and learn to operate the brakes. Once that becomes easy you can move onto pedaling.. which is cycling!

this is terrible advice

What's so terrible about it?

Re: 105-Year-Old Cyclist Rides 14 Miles in an Hour En Route to a World Record

#53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hell, I used to ride 20km a bit under 40min when 29, and I wasn't coasting ... that puts me just above that old man.

A sub 3 marathon is like 6 minutes 50-something seconds per mile. A 40 minute 20k is like a 3 minute 13 second mile. More like "basically double" not "just above." Unless my math is off someplace.

I meant ride on bike. Sorry if that was unclear.

Re: 105-Year-Old Cyclist Rides 14 Miles in an Hour En Route to a World Record

#54
post #42
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good way to learn is to get a bicycle (borrow maybe?), remove pedals and cruise to build up confidence. Lower the seat, start at a flat ground and just push yourself (as kids do). Then you can move on a slight downhill to gain some speed and learn to operate the brakes. Once that becomes easy you can move onto pedaling.. which is cycling!

this is terrible advice

Actually, this is how I taught my son to ride with one of these skuut bikes:

http://www.twowheelingtots.com/skuut/

Re: 105-Year-Old Cyclist Rides 14 Miles in an Hour En Route to a World Record

#55

Mind blown. His diet that consists mainly of fruits and vegetables along with his lean body are likely major factors that contribute to his youth like health at 105.

I think I saw a variation on this article that said he started cycling regularly when he was 68. Our city has been taking steps to make bicycle commuting more friendly, but they haven't gone far enough. I really hope we end this absurdity with having too many cars; they are ruining everywhere nice.

My biggest issue is lack of physical barriers between bicyclists and cars. I'm too afraid to take a bike because of it. I already don't trust other drivers when in a car. I also dislike it when riding a car because you frequently get weird issues around turn lanes etc that are shared with bikes that behave completely differently from cars.

Re: 105-Year-Old Cyclist Rides 14 Miles in an Hour En Route to a World Record

#56
post #42
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good way to learn is to get a bicycle (borrow maybe?), remove pedals and cruise to build up confidence. Lower the seat, start at a flat ground and just push yourself (as kids do). Then you can move on a slight downhill to gain some speed and learn to operate the brakes. Once that becomes easy you can move onto pedaling.. which is cycling!

this is terrible advice

You should see my three-year-old on his coaster bike. I can no longer keep up with him, even running. I haven't transitioned him to pedals yet, but I have to feel there's something to the idea that the balance is the hard part and once you're confident in that you can pedal while you do it.

Edit: He became proficient with it slightly after his second birthday. He walked fairly late, too, after 16 months or so. I don't think he could have learned to pedal this early, but he's got the balance, steering, and speed control (braking and accelerating as needed) out of the way. Even knows how to ring a bell when passing people on jogging trails.

Re: 105-Year-Old Cyclist Rides 14 Miles in an Hour En Route to a World Record

#57
post #42
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good way to learn is to get a bicycle (borrow maybe?), remove pedals and cruise to build up confidence. Lower the seat, start at a flat ground and just push yourself (as kids do). Then you can move on a slight downhill to gain some speed and learn to operate the brakes. Once that becomes easy you can move onto pedaling.. which is cycling!

this is terrible advice

I taught my kids this way at ages 5 and 6. It worked very well.

Re: 105-Year-Old Cyclist Rides 14 Miles in an Hour En Route to a World Record

#59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most American cities ;p

I haven't seen "steps to make bicycle commuting more friendly" in my city. Maybe people don't want to bike on ice in -5F weather :P

I do. Dress warm and live in a place that aggressively salts when possible. While road salt is ineffective in extreme cold, snowfalls are pretty rare at those temperatures too. I can generally bike right through the winter here in Hamilton, Canada.

Re: 105-Year-Old Cyclist Rides 14 Miles in an Hour En Route to a World Record

#60
post #32

I remember reading that there is a correlation with height and longevity [1]. He is only 5' tall. His height is probably easier on his heart. [1]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1071721/

Makes sense. The heart wouldn't need to be as strong to circulate blood, and by extension not need to be as large or need as much nourishment either.
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