new thread
Well I had something really bad happen to me around a month and a half ago. I think I was drugged or poisoned. Instead of increasing my depression, it reversed it. I have started a new job training program, and my hair has never looked better and the way I view myself is getting better as well.
Also as a former nyc bike messenger, I'm one of the best road cyclists in the town I'm in. Which gets me noticed in a town not really known for its love of bicycles.
Well my 30s are looking better than my 20s did, and I hope it stays that way.
Fellow long-haired roadie here, and also in a town where the words, "bike culture" are seldom found in the same paragraph, let alone together.
Taking up cycling again at 49 gave me a new lease on life. Changed my entire outlook. At 57 now, I'm delighted that I can push a standard double with a 12-23 out back on my daily commuting and errands.
I'd been car-free for many years when I returned to cycling, and remain so to this day. I put in about 10 miles a day during the winter, and about 35 miles a day during this time of year.
My two commuter bikes both run 105 along with their full fenders and rear racks. My favorite bike is the 1996 Litespeed Classic frameset I bought a few years back and hung with Dura-Ace 7800, Velocity A23 PRO wheelset and Conti 4000S rubber.
The photo is from last autumn on a century that has over 10,000 feet of climbing. (Although for that ride, I swap to a compact crank in front and 12-27 in back.) It was still early in the day so I could still smile. Of course, with my hair in a tail, you can't see it in the pic, but everyone knows me by it.
Darned typoze.
Congrates, Kenneth. Sounds like you have a good outlook for yourself. A very nice, positive post.
Hi Kenneth,
Thanks for the check-in! I am so happy to hear you are okay! Depression is a terrible thing. I used to be a heavy drinker because of depression and am glad you have reversed the effects! I wish you nothing but the best with your future endeavors! You're making me want to get another bike. But I like to ride mountain bikes. I sure do miss my Trek 930 with metallic green paint! Please keep us updated and be well my friend! My prayers are with you!
Ted
Awesome that you're zeroing in on what makes you rock, and that you're doing it at an age where you have many decades left to revel in life! You've traveled a rough road at times to get to where you are, but it takes some guys a decade or two to sort things out. I got to tackling the task way too late, in my late forties, and it took a few years to get the job done. That delay left me with far fewer years to really live.
Don't fault yourself for a rocky start; such problems are not usually with the rocket, they are with the launch pad. There's no need to blame others, they are far behind you now. What matters is that you not blame yourself.
Besides nailing down my own longhair identity and striving to help others on that path, my love has been hiking. You don't get as far in a day on foot as you do on a bike, but the thrill at pushing the hills and miles behind you is the same. Once a man has found his road, life there is best savored in the slow lane! Nobody ever smells any roses on the freeway.
You've worked hard to get to where you are. Now you can muster the energy to enjoy the fruits of your labor and just enjoy life. Godspeed!
Bill