Too old to ride at 40? Think again: HISTORIC RIDE & GUINNESS RECORD... at 50.

Re: Aussie Steve's Post (Takes 1 & 2) entitled "Your age and your weekly mileage."

Hello to you all,

New on-board, I wish to thank, not only the site administrators, but also Aussie Steve for his above referenced post, a post which greatly incited me to join your interesting "cycling community."

Since, on the subject at hand, "riding a bike" seems to be closely tied up to age [Steve, now in his forties I believe, was reportedly told by his workmates that he was (I quote him) "... too old to ride a bike... "]. I would like to use this opportunity to re-assure him, and anyone else for that matter, that there is no age limit to ride a bike, nor any limit preventing anyone to reach "high peaks" in this sport.

With no pretention whatsoever of being an exception, I was one (1) month short of my fiftieth (50) birthday when I rode across the Westernmost English Channel in 1985 from Cherbourg (France) to Poole (England), a 92-mile (148 km) journey in 16 hours and 42 minutes. 4 years earlier, I had linked the Bahamas to Florida. All this is very much detailed in my fairly recent website: Yvon Le Caer .

In the early eighties, I was riding an average of 15,000 miles (24,000 km) yearly and during the few months preceeding the 1985 Channel crossing, it was not unusual for me, while in Cherbourg, to ride 60 to 70 miles on the road in the morning, then ride AquaCycle (pedal watercraft of my own design) for 2 or 3 hours in the afternoon, mainly in the "Grande Rade" (artificial harbor) of Cherbourg.

So, keep riding Steve. Trust me, you will gain the last word and outlast all these "couch potatoes" you are writing about.

Yvon Le Caer
Yvon Le Caer

This is a fascinating website that Yvon Le Caer is sharing with us here, with some great accounts of adventure, wonderful images and lots of press clippings. I may sound naive, but I personally had no idea that such timeless water cycling endeavors actually took place some years ago. So enthusiastic was I this morning that, as a teacher, I brought my class in on the subject. The world could certainly use today more people with such passion, determination and spirit of adventure. Thanks for your contribution, Yvon.

one that i know of lives next door to you.

__________________
Anything is Possible.

Hello BueridgeNC,

Thanks for your reply and your kind words as well. In checking your profile, I found out that you love riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. I am not surprised, as this road through the mountains is exceptionally gorgeous and perfectly suited for hard training too. My wife and I love this region and I recall driving once on said Parkway from Asheville to Little Switzerland where we spent the night at a nice little place called Big Lynn Lodge. Wonderful view and scenery... and food. Talking about nice places to ride in the United States? I think that this area is, in my opinion, one of the best and the safest. So keep riding, my friend, and thanks again. Yvon

I rode the Great Allegheney Passage from Cumberland, MD to McKeesport, PA for my birthday last year when I turned 56. A cousin told me I was "too old to be riding a bike" as well after I told her about the trip. I met many people in their 70's and 80's riding the GAP.

As long as you are physically capable of doing a sport or activity, you are not "too old" to do it.

Should you have some doubts about what cyclists in their fifties, sixties, seventies, or even eighties, are "still" capable of doing, in racing that is, and of course in their respective age categories, I suggest then that you CLICK on the two LINKS I am giving you at the bottom of this message. These links are going to take you to the 2009 RESULTS of the UCI MASTERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (Road & Time Trial) which take place each year in St. Johann in Tirol, in Austria, at the end of August. You will see that there is no age limit for riding a bike, nor racing for that matter. I truly believe that going through, and assessing as well these results, will be worth a few minutes of your time.

LINK 1 (Road): www.masterswm.org/v4/?info/en/wm
LINK 2 (T. T.): www.masterswm.org/v4/?info/en/tt

Re: 2009 UCI MASTERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - RESULTS (Road & Time Trial).

SORRY, BUT I MADE A MISTAKE IN MY POST OF YESTERDAY (here and above).
I posted the "SCHEDULE LINKS" instead of the LINK TO THE 2009 RESULTS.
Please accept my apologies.

That said, click on the following (correct) LINK for said 2009 RESULTS:
www.masterswm.org/v4/?info/en/results

The TIME TRIAL results can be found (by age-groups) Wednesday (Mittwoch) August 26, 2009.
The ROAD results (by age-groups) are spread out from Thursday, August 27th, thru Saturday, August 29th.

Re: Masters World Championships in St. Johann in Tirol

Coming from the States, which international airport is closest to St. Johann in Tirol?