I recently celebrated 70 orbits around the sun, and I did so by riding 1 mile for each year of life.  It was cold in the morning when I started, there was a little wind, and overall it was a challenging ride for me.   Mostly it was just a long and tiring ride, and I had to stop twice for off-bike breaks with a snack to replenish my energy reserves.   

This was my first time to celebrate my birthday with an equivalent miles per year ride.  My birthday is in late November, and the weather can be rather unpredictable then - but it would be even worse if it fell during the winter months.   Still, I like the concept of riding my age on my birthday.  My recent tour of the Great Rivers South route included a couple of days when I rode more than 70 miles, and that was on a loaded bike with panniers, so those were certainly more challenging rides - but I hadn't quite reached my birthday during the tour, so I suppose those rides didn't count.   Do you ride your age on your birthday?  Who's the oldest person you know who has ridden their age on their birthday? 

FWIW, the medical experts say that cancer will likely keep me from celebrating another decade birthday.  While I have every intention of proving them wrong - and even have a plan of sorts to do so - the fact is that it may be a good thing to not reach my 80th birthday.  As hard and challenging as the ride was on my 70th birthday, if I do live to be 80 the bicycle ride will almost certainly kill me!   

 The way I see it, anyone who can ride their age on their birthday is still young.  Best wishes to all, and consider joining the ride-your-birthday-age-mileage club along with me. 

Congratulations! And Happy Birthday! 

I rode my 81st birthday, but it was in kilometers, then added two for my husband's 83rd birthday. Rain made us postpone the birthday ride, so it wasn't on the actual birthday but it was still in the same month. I'll accept anything in the same year. This year I somehow didn't get around to a birthday ride and now it's too cold. So maybe next year it will be 83 km for me and then two more for my husband. But at this age, let's not plan too far in advance!

My birthday is June 3, so unlike you I have a long, usually warm day to ride, and since I'm "only" 56, riding my age in miles is no big deal. In fact, the average distance of my rides in 2022 so far is 64 miles.

The last few years I've tried to achieve the following ambitious goal: Riding 3 times my age in miles on my birthday.

I was in pretty good shape the first time I tried it, in 2020 (age 54), and was successful:

The next year I wasn't able to do a long ride on my 55th birthday itself; I can't remember why now, but the weather might have been bad.

However, a few months after my birthday, I did my longest ride ever: Nearly six times my age, during a 24 hour race on an automobile factory test track in Indiana:

This year I turned 56, and needed to do a 168 mile ride. Unfortunately I broke my foot in March, and was in a boot for almost two months. I was able to ride by my birthday, but I was very out of shape. To increase my chance of success, I did the ride on the flat Madison County Trail system in the Metro East area of Illinois. Despite my best efforts, I came up short, missing my goal by 15.5 mile after I bonked severely:

So that's my little tradition. Next year: 171 miles!

I can't go fast anymore, so I try to go long.

I also count in kilometres and rode 70 for my 70th.

I am 80 this year and shortly after my 80th and not really thinking about it I did 77km on my new e-assist using level 1 (of 5 )only. The e-assist is enabling me to keep up again on the hills  with  my usual riding group.    

So good that you can still ride up with your usual group.  An e-bike is a blessing as one gets up in the 80's. My riding with friends last summer would never have been possible without that great bike.

Based on the cycling-your-age-in-miles measurement,  Leigh and I at 58 and 62 respectively are still a long way away from being too old to cycle.

But, given windless conditions,  sixty miles through the pampas is very different to sixty miles through the Andes.  Of course, the likelihood that either the pampas or the Andes is windless on an average day is pretty low.

Also, cycling on a feather light road bike versus a loaded touring bike also skews things.

So what are the conditions in which this definition holds true?  

On the point of e-assist, I think it is a great tool to hold off the age at which cycle touring becomes impractical/unenjoyable.

Congrats on the birthday ride . I started doing birthday rides the year I turned 60 . One of my best rides  was the year  I hit 75 and my son surprised me and came home to ride it with me and he had never ridden that far and it was brutal headwinds for 37 miles and cold but we made it .  I am now trying to get ready to try and do my 80 year ride this coming April , it has been difficult prep as I have had to undergo 3 heart procedures in the last 10 months but the doctor gave me the okay . So here is hoping that I make it . Congrats to all who attempt these rides as it keeps you feeling young at heart .

J-M,

Nothing like a strong head wind to take the fun out of your day's ride!

I don't think that there are any rules as to what you ride to get to your age in kilometres/miles. Suzanne and  I ride e-assist, if you want to do it with a touring load or on a feather light road bike,just go for it.

Mike

Congrats, Robert!  Glad you’re still in the game on this.  I’ve got to start thinking about my ride this winter, somewhere down south where it’s warmer.  

Thanks for the reminder!   I don’t try to ride it on my actual birthday, but wait for a suitable day - I might as well enjoy the experience!  We flew home from France on my birthday last week so that would have been a poor choice.  I’ve been making an annual event of this though for at least the last 5 years and posting the rides here.  Here was last year’s, the 75 miler.