I finally understand.

"Maggie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

GaryG said:

You, on the other hand, seem to celebrate and embrace your impending
decrepitude, and disparage those of us who take pride in our
accomplishments...what's up with that? Is that a Jersey thing?

I'm laughing out loud. No, I don't think it is a Jersey thing. I think
it's a Maggie thing. I am far from embracing my impending decrepitude.
And I have told many of you over and over how I admire your
accomplishments. Don't make me look back at my previous posts now.

I guess I am trying to come to terms with my age. Who the hell knows.
You think I have a clue?? I am two french fries short of a happy
meal.

I'm riding my bike and I am trying. Do I get any points for that?

Sure...that's a good thing. Here's hoping that someday you'll enjoy
celebrating your strength and accomplishments, rather than focusing on your
age and the things you can no longer do.

GG

Quoted message said:

Believe me, I am not sitting in my rocking chair waiting to die. I am
in this office playing on the internet too much. That might be a
problem. But I am trying to stay in shape as I gracefully age into a
sexy old broad with attitude.

I want to be Bette Davis. That was a wicked woman with attitude.

"She got....Bette Davis eyes".

Maggie

Maggie said:

I just figured it all out. This is the NG where no one ever grows old.
I finally get it. "18 till I die" is the motto for this secret
society.

Everyone is exactly the same as they were when they were 18.

I guess I have not put on the funny hat, and taken the secret oath, or
been privy to the secret handshake and sacred handbook to be part of
the group yet.

How does one enter this secret society? Do I need to be sponsored or
sign an oath in blood? When do I get my funny hat?

Do I go through the ritual on my bike while riding upside down, holding
a twinkie? Do I get a membership card that self destructs if I take the
secret outside of the society of "ageless, timeless, cyclists".

Maggie.

Since no one else has yet answered your questions I guess I must. No
blood oaths are required but you do need a sponsor to become an "ATC"
(Ageless Timeless Cyclist). It *is* a quasi-religious thing so
Applicants generally tithe 10% of their annual income- gross, not net-
to their Sponsors for the first three years. Those first three years
are a probationary period during which time Applicants are expected to
take more than their share of pulls, carry extra water so their Sponsor
may ride unburdened, and always volunteer to stand in the registration
lines for whatever rides the Sponsor chooses because of course the
Sponsor will be too busy with secret society duties to register on his
or her own. Only after Applicants complete their probationary period
will they be awarded their "cyclist crossing the finish line with arms
raised" pendant and bicycle chain bracelet(sorry, no funny hats- we try
to appear just like everyone else so we can remain unseen except by
other ATCs) and learn the answers to the questions you pose above.
If you ask very nicely I *may* agree to sponsor you. My willingness to
do so depends both on what 10% of your gross is and the quality of the
post-ride snacks you would provide. (Homemade chocolate chip cookies
would increase your chances.)

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Bob said:

Since no one else has yet answered your questions I guess I must.

Thank you. Now I fully understand rules for membership. I'll start
baking.

Maggie.

Maggie said:

I just figured it all out. This is the NG where no one ever grows old.
I finally get it. "18 till I die" is the motto for this secret
society.

Everyone is exactly the same as they were when they were 18.

I guess I have not put on the funny hat, and taken the secret oath, or
been privy to the secret handshake and sacred handbook to be part of
the group yet.

How does one enter this secret society? Do I need to be sponsored or
sign an oath in blood? When do I get my funny hat?

Do I go through the ritual on my bike while riding upside down, holding
a twinkie? Do I get a membership card that self destructs if I take the
secret outside of the society of "ageless, timeless, cyclists".

Maggie.

Most of the time I think and sometimes act like a 5 year old.

In reality I'm 50.

Joe Canuck said:

Most of the time I think and sometimes act like a 5 year old.

In reality I'm 50.

Well my time for acting like a five year old is over for the day. It
is almost quitting time. I have to do eight hours worth of work in the
next hour. So long, farewell.....I'll be back tomorrow....just like a
fungus.

Maggie.

As a rule, would you say that cyclists tend to take better care of
themselves when it comes to excessive eating, use of alcohol, etc.? The
bikers I know seem to be that way. It's not exactly a "party hearty"
crowd. Maybe that has something to do with how they feel about aging
and affects how they deal with it.

Bob said:

Maggie said:

I just figured it all out. This is the NG where no one ever grows old.
I finally get it. "18 till I die" is the motto for this secret
society.

Everyone is exactly the same as they were when they were 18.

I guess I have not put on the funny hat, and taken the secret oath, or
been privy to the secret handshake and sacred handbook to be part of
the group yet.

How does one enter this secret society? Do I need to be sponsored or
sign an oath in blood? When do I get my funny hat?

Do I go through the ritual on my bike while riding upside down, holding
a twinkie? Do I get a membership card that self destructs if I take the
secret outside of the society of "ageless, timeless, cyclists".

Maggie.

Since no one else has yet answered your questions I guess I must. No
blood oaths are required but you do need a sponsor to become an "ATC"
(Ageless Timeless Cyclist). It *is* a quasi-religious thing so
Applicants generally tithe 10% of their annual income- gross, not net-
to their Sponsors for the first three years. Those first three years
are a probationary period during which time Applicants are expected to
take more than their share of pulls, carry extra water so their Sponsor
may ride unburdened, and always volunteer to stand in the registration
lines for whatever rides the Sponsor chooses because of course the
Sponsor will be too busy with secret society duties to register on his
or her own. Only after Applicants complete their probationary period
will they be awarded their "cyclist crossing the finish line with arms
raised" pendant and bicycle chain bracelet(sorry, no funny hats- we try
to appear just like everyone else so we can remain unseen except by
other ATCs) and learn the answers to the questions you pose above.
If you ask very nicely I *may* agree to sponsor you. My willingness to
do so depends both on what 10% of your gross is and the quality of the
post-ride snacks you would provide. (Homemade chocolate chip cookies
would increase your chances.)

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Bob, you forgot two rules. The applicant may not overtly or covertly seek
to be the center of attention for the probationary period, and they must
resist having and expressing any thoughts of running over, shooting,
ripping off of the bike and/or the pulling out of the hair of fellow
riders.

Oh and don't forget the wearing of excessive makeup, wearing colorful
lycra, hair to be worn in pigtails, along with bobby-sox white and tan
shoes and knee-high support stockings.

HTH,

jj

max said:

I see it in my cohort: people of my age band, +/- 5~10 years, are
bifurcating into two ever divergent classes, the single greatest
predictor of class membership being their physicality, with diet being a
not-so-close second.

I'm a decade older than you and I see the same divide, only it's grown
deeper. I thought of the 40's as the beginning of the "use it or lose
it" period of life.

Quoted message said:

Thus, i learned the unicycle last august, at the age of 45. (which is
what i'm going to do this afternoon for a couple of hours, before i hop
on my road bike to go to work. :-)

That's inspiring, I've thought about that, if only to relish the
absurdity of a 6'10" middle-aged unicyclist. You have my envy.

Maggie said:

I just figured it all out. This is the NG where no one ever grows old.
I finally get it. "18 till I die" is the motto for this secret
society.

Everyone is exactly the same as they were when they were 18.

I guess I have not put on the funny hat, and taken the secret oath, or
been privy to the secret handshake and sacred handbook to be part of
the group yet.

How does one enter this secret society? Do I need to be sponsored or
sign an oath in blood? When do I get my funny hat?

Do I go through the ritual on my bike while riding upside down, holding
a twinkie? Do I get a membership card that self destructs if I take the
secret outside of the society of "ageless, timeless, cyclists".

Maggie... You're already there!

Ride on, sister...

--

John ([email hidden])

Maggie said:

Bob said:

Since no one else has yet answered your questions I guess I must.

Thank you. Now I fully understand rules for membership. I'll start
baking.

Maggie.

Chocolate chip, no nuts. Email me your tax returns from the last three
years and we'll talk.
Regards,
Bob Hunt

psycholist said:

"Maggie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I just figured it all out. This is the NG where no one ever grows old.
I finally get it. "18 till I die" is the motto for this secret
society.

Everyone is exactly the same as they were when they were 18.

I guess I have not put on the funny hat, and taken the secret oath, or
been privy to the secret handshake and sacred handbook to be part of
the group yet.

How does one enter this secret society? Do I need to be sponsored or
sign an oath in blood? When do I get my funny hat?

Do I go through the ritual on my bike while riding upside down, holding
a twinkie? Do I get a membership card that self destructs if I take the
secret outside of the society of "ageless, timeless, cyclists".

Maggie.

No Maggie, you're not really getting it. It's not that we're ageless and
timeless. It's that we're just plain superior to others of our species.
You don't qualify for membership unless your resting heart rate is below 40.

--
Bob C.

Is not KKK, Aryans and White supremacist used to claim they are plain
superior race than any race on earth? Why is that AMericans are so
osbessed
with race or color of skin?

Quoted message said:

"Of course it hurts. The trick is not minding that it hurts."
T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia)

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

psycholist said:

"Maggie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I just figured it all out. This is the NG where no one ever grows old.
I finally get it. "18 till I die" is the motto for this secret
society.

Everyone is exactly the same as they were when they were 18.

I guess I have not put on the funny hat, and taken the secret oath, or
been privy to the secret handshake and sacred handbook to be part of
the group yet.

How does one enter this secret society? Do I need to be sponsored or
sign an oath in blood? When do I get my funny hat?

Do I go through the ritual on my bike while riding upside down,

holding

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

a twinkie? Do I get a membership card that self destructs if I take

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

secret outside of the society of "ageless, timeless, cyclists".

Maggie.

No Maggie, you're not really getting it. It's not that we're ageless

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

timeless. It's that we're just plain superior to others of our species.
You don't qualify for membership unless your resting heart rate is below

40.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

--
Bob C.

Is not KKK, Aryans and White supremacist used to claim they are plain
superior race than any race on earth? Why is that AMericans are so
osbessed
with race or color of skin?

Why RedCloud troll still have envy for White Penis Power, which troll can
never have? Too bad, too sad.

BTW, in reference to the previous post, look up "irony" in your dictionary.

GG

"Maggie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

max said:

Our definitions of comfort and luxury are mired in ante-industrilization
thinking. The correct view, is, of course, that for the majority of the
industrialized world, exercise and physicality is a mitzvah to be
treasured and not avoided.

I see it in my cohort: people of my age band, +/- 5~10 years, are
bifurcating into two ever divergent classes, the single greatest
predictor of class membership being their physicality, with diet being a
not-so-close second.

Thus, i learned the unicycle last august, at the age of 45. (which is
what i'm going to do this afternoon for a couple of hours, before i hop
on my road bike to go to work. :-)

Quoted message said:

.max

You sure use alot of big words. ;-) I especially enjoyed the word
bifurcating...why not just write divide instead?
Never use a 10 dollar word when a dollar word will do. ;-) That is
what I was taught anyway.
Maggie

You seem to have a problem with anyone who uses words not generally heard on
prime time TV,or Oprah. You took me to task on one of my posts for a
similar transgression. What a dull world it would be if everyone just used
the simplest way of communicating. For my part, I just find it is fun for
me to speak, or type, in a more interesting way, using words that are not
commonly used. The downside is that there will always be some who feel
inferior and get put off when they come across anything they do not know.
That is one of life's pleasures, the realization that there is always
something more to learn. I'm know there are those who just want to impress
people with their vocabulary, but I think that increasing one's knowledge of
their language makes for a more entertaining time on this rock. When I
hear, or read, a word used that I don't know, I'll often look it up and get
a little kick by opening up my world just a tinny bit more. I would never
consider taking it's user to task.

Tim

On Tue, 31 May 2005 12:03:54 -0700, "GaryG" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Oh, I will...I like to take photos during my yearly "big" rides. In fact,
I'm getting a free trip to Colorado this year, because the ride organizers
liked my photos enough that they offered free registration/food/etc. in
exchange for permission to use them in their marketing materials (thus
fulfilling one of my goals to become a "professional cycling
photographer"!).

You can see some of my past tours here:

http://www.shastasoftware.com/CycliStats/biketours/BTC2003/BTC0017.htm

http://www.shastasoftware.com/CycliStats/biketours/MTLASSEN2004/RAML_001.htm

--
~_-*
...G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

Had a chance to go look at the two tours you mentioned. The 'Deathride'
(7/9) with its five peaks looks about on par with the first day of the
Everest Challenge that Terry Morse did back in Sept 04. Yours is 129 miles
with 15000 feet of climbing, whereas the Everest Challenge is a two day
ride 120 miles, 15,456 feet, and the second day being about 86 miles,
13,570 feet.

Are you planning to set up your bike with any special gearing? Do you agree
with the recommendation to try to ride at a cadence of 70-90rpm?

I think they normally suggest a 39/28 for the DeathRide, but that would be
at about a Cat 1-2 level, going by the gearing recommended for the EC.

Looks like you're kind of using the Tour of Colorado (6/26-7/2), with its
415miles and 32,000feet of climbing as a warm up? ;-) Nice pics of your '03
ride. The shot of the climb up Loveland pass looks simply amazing. Looks
like about a 10% grade or more.

Thanks for the tips and links!

jj

Maggie said:

I just figured it all out. This is the NG where no one ever grows old.
I finally get it. "18 till I die" is the motto for this secret
society.

Everyone is exactly the same as they were when they were 18.

(snip)

Quoted message said:

Maggie.

Nice teaser, Maggie. You write them so well.

I made a three semester false start at college. Nine years and one Vietnam war
later I tried again. It was obvious to my classmates that I was not fresh out
of high school, and a few brave souls had the brass to ask how old I was. I
didn't tell; not once in four years. Instead I always answered, "Old enough to
know better and too young to care".

Eighteen years old? Ha! My knees make a snapping sound when I put them under
too much load; I have a touch of lower back discomfort; even though I hate
headgear of any kind, I wear a cap outdoors so that my bald spot doesn't get
sunburned; for eleven years I have needed glasses for reading; I can no longer
eat an entire 14-inch pizza without paying dearly with indigestion. I'm no
teenager but neither and I an old fart. I am old enough to know better and too
young to care.

Michael "ibuprofen" C.

Maggie wrote:
(snip)

Quoted message said:

I want to be Bette Davis. That was a wicked woman with attitude.

"She got....Bette Davis eyes".

Maggie

Or try Kate Hepburn. Talk about attitude!

Bob wrote:
(snip)

Bob, do we know each other? Does "99125" or "B System" ring a bell?

Michael "Z2" C.

"jj" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 31 May 2005 12:03:54 -0700, "GaryG" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Oh, I will...I like to take photos during my yearly "big" rides. In

fact,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm getting a free trip to Colorado this year, because the ride

organizers

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

liked my photos enough that they offered free registration/food/etc. in
exchange for permission to use them in their marketing materials (thus
fulfilling one of my goals to become a "professional cycling
photographer"!).

You can see some of my past tours here:

http://www.shastasoftware.com/CycliStats/biketours/BTC2003/BTC0017.htm

http://www.shastasoftware.com/CycliStats/biketours/MTLASSEN2004/RAML_001.ht

m

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

--
~_-*
...G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

Had a chance to go look at the two tours you mentioned. The 'Deathride'
(7/9) with its five peaks looks about on par with the first day of the
Everest Challenge that Terry Morse did back in Sept 04. Yours is 129 miles
with 15000 feet of climbing, whereas the Everest Challenge is a two day
ride 120 miles, 15,456 feet, and the second day being about 86 miles,
13,570 feet.

Are you planning to set up your bike with any special gearing? Do you

agree

Quoted message said:

with the recommendation to try to ride at a cadence of 70-90rpm?

It's pretty hilly around here, and I'm not getting any younger, so my Trek
5200 is set up with a triple that gives me a 30-23 low gear.

Quoted message said:

I think they normally suggest a 39/28 for the DeathRide, but that would be
at about a Cat 1-2 level, going by the gearing recommended for the EC.

Looks like you're kind of using the Tour of Colorado (6/26-7/2), with its
415miles and 32,000feet of climbing as a warm up? ;-) Nice pics of your

'03

Quoted message said:

ride. The shot of the climb up Loveland pass looks simply amazing. Looks
like about a 10% grade or more.

Yes...the Colorado ride will definitely help. Especially with the
elevations. After a week of riding at elevations up to 12,000 feet, the
Death Ride elevations (which top out around 8,700 feet) shouldn't be much of
an issue.

FWIW, most of the climbs in Colorado are well under 10%...it's the elevation
that hurts (even 5% is tough when you're above 11,000 feet).

GG

Quoted message said:

Thanks for the tips and links!

jj

On Wed, 1 Jun 2005 06:41:00 -0700, "GaryG" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Yes...the Colorado ride will definitely help. Especially with the
elevations. After a week of riding at elevations up to 12,000 feet, the
Death Ride elevations (which top out around 8,700 feet) shouldn't be much of
an issue.

FWIW, most of the climbs in Colorado are well under 10%...it's the elevation
that hurts (even 5% is tough when you're above 11,000 feet).

GG

Cool. The 'altitude' was something I suspected... I notice in your pictures
you're always looking fresh and smiling. If you had to characterize the
amount of 'suffering' you do on these epic (to me) rides, would you say
that you only suffer mildly, or do you feel you have developed strong pain
tolerance, or what. Obviously you never skip the base training and you ride
the right fitted bike and have learned to spin at 80rpm on climbes, but
thought it would be interesting to hear your thoughts on the perceived
difficulty. The 42 mile climb up to Mt Lassen springs to mind. ;-)

TIA!

jj

Tim McTeague wrote:
:: You seem to have a problem with anyone who uses words not generally
:: heard on prime time TV,or Oprah. You took me to task on one of my
:: posts for a similar transgression. What a dull world it would be if
:: everyone just used the simplest way of communicating. For my part,
:: I just find it is fun for me to speak, or type, in a more
:: interesting way, using words that are not commonly used. The
:: downside is that there will always be some who feel inferior and get
:: put off when they come across anything they do not know. That is one
:: of life's pleasures, the realization that there is always something
:: more to learn. I'm know there are those who just want to impress
:: people with their vocabulary, but I think that increasing one's
:: knowledge of their language makes for a more entertaining time on
:: this rock. When I hear, or read, a word used that I don't know,
:: I'll often look it up and get a little kick by opening up my world
:: just a tinny bit more. I would never consider taking it's user to
:: task.

I agree. I keep dictionary.com open on my desktop so I can look up words I
don't know quickly.