Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

npr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 114 posts

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

#41

Post by Bud »

user837387 wrote: post #17
ploggingdev wrote: post #5

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.

We do not really know why. It's like trying to figure out why somebody won the lotto. Statistically speaking, somebody will. Same with longevity, statistically speaking, a few will make it pass 100. Edit: I found this about Jeanne Louise Calment from Arles, France who lived to 122: >>An interesting side question is how Jeanne Louise Calment managed to achieve such an advanced age? She smoked until the age of 117 and…

Chocolate is actually quite good for the cardiovascular system, and it need not contain terribly much sugar.

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

#42

Post by f4rker »

rplnt wrote: post #38
jakekovoor wrote: post #21

I am a 19 year-old and I don't even know how to cycle

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

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

#43

Post by aaron-lebo »

jdietrich wrote: post #40
aaron-lebo wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can drive to Plano, Texas and find packs of bikers attacking the open road as well. That's not a video of Marchand in lycra speeding down a Paris boulevard. Is it a particularly European belief that Americans are unenlightened savages? I mean, we are, but you don't have to assume it.

I don't believe that Americans are unenlightened savages. I believe that they have a very limited cycling culture, due largely to the dominance of car culture. America was fortunate enough to be the richest country on earth during the 20th century, so it developed a car culture sooner and more pervasively than any other country. At a time when cars were an unaffordable luxury for most Europeans, many Americans regard…

Yes, America has a "limited" cycling culture, but we're a nation of 300 million people; within that there are pockets of very real cycling culture informed by decades of experience from elsewhere.

Some of us do cycle, too. There are miles and miles of good trails running through some cities you wouldn't expect.

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

#44

Post by paulddraper »

EarthIsHome wrote: post #22
paulddraper wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Our city What city is that?

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

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

#45

Post by agumonkey »

melling wrote: post #14

This guy ran a marathon under 3 hours at 70, and under 4 hours at 85. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Whitlock

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.

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

#46

Post by agumonkey »

shortoncash wrote: post #7
ploggingdev wrote: post #5

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.

I wonder if horizontal bikes couldn't be awesome for elders trying to get healthy again. Avoids dangerous falls, probably a bit less demanding for your body. Just not where there are cars.

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

#47

Post by legodt »

aaron-lebo wrote: post #27
jdietrich wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If he's been doing serious road biking since that age it's probably not something that he's doing on regular streets. Of course he rides on regular streets, he's French. Seeing an elderly woman riding to the shops or a group of lycra-clad pensioners attacking a mountain pass is perfectly normal there. It is a peculiarly American belief that bicycles are somehow incompatible with motor vehicles. Cyclists need no spec…

You can drive to Plano, Texas and find packs of bikers attacking the open road as well. That's not a video of Marchand in lycra speeding down a Paris boulevard. Is it a particularly European belief that Americans are unenlightened savages? I mean, we are, but you don't have to assume it.

I dunno, I've ridden the roads in Plano before. The fact that most roads are multi-lane definitely make things more amicable to biking there since cars can move around cyclists. In denser urban areas (yes, yes, Plano is semi-urban with all its corporate infrastructure) where the lights are denser and the roads have fewer (or one!) lanes it is much more difficult.

Also, more pertinent to Plano, what if you want to replace your car entirely? Grocery stores are still pretty spaced out and you are SoL if you want to get into Dallas proper! The DART is incredibly slow, so that's out, and biking from Plano to a night on the town with your friends is Deep Ellum or Greenville Ave is a tall, dangerous order.

Keep it 214!

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

#49

Post by paulcole »

agumonkey wrote: post #45
melling wrote: post #14

This guy ran a marathon under 3 hours at 70, and under 4 hours at 85. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Whitlock

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.

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

#50

Post by paulcole »

ploggingdev wrote: post #5

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.

Get ready for the meat-lovers and keto-crowd to refute this.
Post reply on HN