Pkittle,
I understand you were an English major, so naturally I assumed you would be in great shape, with bulging biceps and ripped abbs. 
It is the nerdy science types that tend to be pallid, pencil-necked geeks. I have a Master’s degree–in science. 
Scott
Ok we’ll give you a break by subtracting 1,000 from your age? You’d only have to ride 529 miles! 
Long ride ahead of you
Let’s see, 100-1529 equals -1429, so for this modified ride-your-age you have to ride 1429 miles backwards! Ouch.
You might want to stick with the traditional model and just ride 1529 miles forwards. Either way you might have to lighten up the traditional rules and allow yourself more than a day. Heck, take the whole year.
Like the Chairman said, a journey of 1529 miles starts with the first rotation of the pedals. Would that be on a 24”, 29” or a 36”? Go for it Boethius you’ve got the rest of your life to do it!
That’s just 4.2 miles per day. Now to find a pub that is 2.1 miles from my abode that is willing to trade spirits for my words of wisdom. The hunt is on.
haha excellent! Anyway, just to bring this thread down to earth here is a poor quality vid of my year as a unicyclist. I posted it here as it is quite relevant to the 55+ thread I think. Better take a look before it gets taken down for infringement of copyright
Awesome set of moving pictures!!!
Your accomplishments within one year are quite an inspiration to beginners of all ages. As I understand it, in this modern age there is a light weight version of the age old helmet that is inexpensive and provides a great deal of protection. Maybe you can find an armor craftsman to fit you with one?
I’m sure your birthday ride will go great.
I’m clear of injuries at present so in the run-up to my Ride-Your-Age attempt I thought it would be fun to show the present proposed route I have planned. The route is familiar to me through car driving and I bet there are plenty of dudes who can tell me how flat it is! The one-way distance is a tad over 20 miles so I have to do it three times to make the planned 61 miles. That means, of course, I will be riding twice in one direction and once in another. So I will be assessing the easiest direction to ride and doing that twice! I hope to recruit some friends who will video the exploit and also confirm I have ridden the distance!
I recently successfully rode a 50 mile attempt but I was at the very limit of my capabilities at the finish – so I am in unfamiliar territory with 61 miles. If I succeed it will be a boost to my appetite for the 100 miles next summer. I wondered what are the standing records for distances covered by dudes in the ‘mature-riders’ bracket. Any figures around?
You’ve got about as close to a pancake as Wales will offer, but it is about 30m heigher in Newtown, so it would be easiest (marginally) to start there and get that downhill twice and only up once.
When are you planning to ride? If it’s a Saturday I may be able to come (PM me). It’ll be a very pleasant 65km ride up the A44 from Aber, if you don’t start too early!
Sam
This is an amazing distance for anyone never mind for a 55+ rider. It will be a challenge to start the second and third laps when you can just get off at those points and go home. Good luck!
This may sound odd but I don’t have a really clear idea of the distance a guy of my age might be expected to achieve! That’s why I was wondering if there were any records of distance against age to give me a perspective. The 50 miler I did a few weeks ago had me at the limit but I had enough daylight hours to plod through it. The 61 miles now gives a much smaller daylight-window and will force me to pace the ride - to say nothing of the extra 11 miles! If I don’t make the distance at least I can fall back to the 50 mile stint!
Haha yeah well said - just what I thought. I think the second lap will be OK because I will only have done 20 miles when I start the second. So I should hit 40 miles. However the temptation to stop at 40 miles will be the hardest to overcome since I will be in my own no-mans-land somewhere between 40 and 61 miles.
Golden Oldy Goals
The issue of what is to be expected from an aged body is tricky. I cannot imagine riding 80 miles on my 29 inch, which would be the rough equivalent of your 100 miles on the 36 inch. When I finished off my uni year at the end of October with 25 km in 2 hours (plus some XMD rest time) I was finished. Very tired legs of course, but it was low back pain that bothered me the most. I can see training to increase leg strength, but back pain doesn’t seem to have a cure despite exercises of various kinds. My aim is to pick body-specific goals with enough challenge to be stimulating but without pushing myself onto a stretcher or the embarrassment of a long walk home dragging the uni and sniveling the while.
That’s a great vid, I’ve been learning just over a year as well and it brought it all back…the sense of achievement when you crack the different aspects is fantatic.
Haha surely us mature dudes have lost the will to be embarrased long ago – I know I have. These days it’s mostly other people, like family and friends, I embarrass through my antics…that are set to continue. So a ‘long walk home’ is just the same as riding and you have my respect because you are getting out there and doing it 
Hey it’s nice to compare notes! I experience sense of achievement as Zen-like moments of reflection travelling along the road and momentarily ‘discovering’ myself sitting on top of a big wheel wondering how I ever got there. 
Then I simply slip back into subconsciousness and carry on riding until enlightenment at the next UPD - ouch! 
I wish you all the best Geoff and I know you’ll make it! Maybe for us “younger” riders, we should do a “ride-twice-your-age”! 
I honestly don’t know whether I could do 61 miles, having maxed out at a little more than 50 to date. Have a great ride! 
Now that you mention it Terry, last month I did a “ride twice your age”. At age 50 I rode 100 miles. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep that one going.
Congrats! I guess I really have to do it now! I’ll wait 'till about 2/2010 and go for 108 miles!
ready, set, …
Two days to go …
Riding Someone Else’s Age
Riding one’s age is excellent motivation, but comes only once a year, even if the time between rides seems to be reducing. I have ridden my friend Bill’s age twice at the same time he was riding mine. It occurred to me that it can be fun and motivating to ride someone else’s age, even if that person cannot be present.
Now should this extraordinary honour be given to non-unicyclists? It is one thing to ride to honour a far-away unicycle friend, as I did for 47 not-so-gruelling furlongs on Sunday, but should we ride for other people? Is the little treasure in your life going to be impressed with another excuse to ride away from domestic responsibilities? Would it even be appreciated? What about riding for someone you don’t know, like a celebrity or historical figure you admire? Anyone care to remember Beethoven (born 1770)? However 239 is a very large number, even in furlongs (47.8 km).
Or, more down to earth, perhaps we can ride to celebrate birthdays of other members of the +55 uni group. Although my spreadsheet keeps me motivated, having this kind of link with another unicyclist would be a bonus.
