Retirement

[teamsaint]

There is maybe the difference vints ..... I love walking

Yep, me too.
No better way to see the world AG.

Santa has been approached for a shiny new fitbit, though no doubt not as swish as yours which I’m guessing is a Fenwicks Soecial Edition ?

[Bryn]

Yep, me too.
No better way to see the world AG. , , ,

Beats jogging, for sure. Cycling gives the opportunity to see over hedges more easily but also makes it rather more risky.

[Dave2002]

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... o I'm sure statistically that exercise is a Good Thing, and I wdn't want to put anyone off it. It doesn't appeal to me (apart, as I say, from the pretty regular walking that I do) : I have already outlived my father, who led a far more active life than I do. I am not prepared to spend time doing things that I find tiresome.

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I'm with the others who suggest that exercise is a good thing, particularly as one gets older. However, I'm also with you in some respects. I don't think there's much point in doing exercise if you really don't enjoy it. Cycling, walking and swimming are all supposed to be good, and then there's sport. Some people still play tennis, or maybe just walk round a golf course.

However, I did have a work colleague who was obviously fitter than I was at the time. He used to run most days, and could do a mile in not much more than 4 minutes, even aged 40. I just about managed a similar distance in around 7 minutes then after weeks of "training" to get my time down to under 10 minutes. He was a few years older than I was. One evening he went out for a run, then came back, sat down and died. I think he was 44. That must have been around 30 years ago.

[antongould]

Yep, me too.
No better way to see the world AG.

Santa has been approached for a shiny new fitbit, though no doubt not as swish as yours which I’m guessing is a Fenwicks Soecial Edition ?

Sadly not ts ..... one of my daughters cast offs ....

[LMcD]

I'm with the others who suggest that exercise is a good thing, particularly as one gets older. However, I'm also with you in some respects. I don't think there's much point in doing exercise if you really don't enjoy it. Cycling, walking and swimming are all supposed to be good, and then there's sport. Some people still play tennis, or maybe just walk round a golf course.

However, I did have a work colleague who was obviously fitter than I was at the time. He used to run most days, and could do a mile in not much more than 4 minutes, even aged 40. I just about managed a similar distance in around 7 minutes then after weeks of "training" to get my time down to under 10 minutes. He was a few years older than I was. One evening he went out for a run, then came back, sat down and died. I think he was 44. That must have been around 30 years ago.

I was recently told by a nurse practitioner that swimming was the most beneficial form of exercise, followed by gardening. Walking round the neighbourhood delivering newsletters is also a good way of killing two birds with one stone.

[antongould]

Every Tuesday two ex-work colleagues and I go, rain or shine, on a long walk usually on the walkways left by the ending of the North East’s, once great, railway network. I regularly discover places I hardly knew existed and some beautiful scenery.

To echo bbm pet, I too look forward, to more of your home concert listings ......

[LMcD]

I find it's helpful to have a some fixed points during the week (I would say we all need to retain a degree of routine) which still leave plenty of opportunities to try something new or just revel in the luxury of sometimes not HAVING to do anything. Volunteering once or twice a week confers a feeling of worthwhile commitment, allows you not to feel guilty when apparently 'doing nothing' and is also a great way of making new acquaintances and friendships.

[Zucchini]

Beats jogging, for sure. Cycling gives the opportunity to see over hedges more easily but also makes it rather more risky.

Of course a flea filled beard is de rigeur if you have a Harley Dee ...

[gurnemanz]

Cycling has obvious benefits:

Good exercise which as with swimming does not stress the leg joints, cf jogging etc
Saves money
Easy and cost-free parking
Environmentally sound
Saves time - quicker than walking
Kindred feelings towards other cyclists

drawbacks:

Punctures
Rain
Occasional confrontation with pedestrians
Inadequate provision of safe routes leading to injury or violent death (I have broken a front tooth twice but now ride more sedately and have not fallen off for over 20 years)
Not suitable for long distances

[gradus]

Of course a flea filled beard is de rigeur if you have a Harley Dee ...

Given the ludicrous price of half-decent Harleys and the constant maintenance required for older models - plenty of time -filling in retirement - a flea-filled beard would be the least of your problems.

[Dave2002]

Every Tuesday two ex-work colleagues and I go, rain or shine, on a long walk usually on the walkways left by the ending of the North East’s, once great, railway network. I regularly discover places I hardly knew existed and some beautiful scenery.

It's the rain bit I don't like about walking. Not just the rain, but also the ground which may become very muddy and difficult to traverse. I know people who go out walking in most weather, though in an urban environment (which I don't like so much) the problems with muddy and flooded fields are less severe. I prefer walking in a more rural environment.

[vinteuil]

It's the rain bit I don't like about walking..

... in my younger days I wore contact lenses, and was quite happy walking in the rain. ("There's no such thing as bad weather - only bad clothing.. ")
With spectacles, rain removes any joy to be derived from walking.

.

[Alain Maréchal]

Of course a flea filled beard is de rigeur if you have a Harley Dee ...

Does not the brightly coloured bandana solve that problem? I understand a goggle-wearing chihuahua in matching leathers is the appropriate passenger.

[Serial_Apologist]

Kindred feelings towards other cyclists

Often mutually negative though, I've found.

drawbacks:

punctures

Particularly in winter, when wet conditions made it harder to detect eg broken glass on surfaces.

I would also add potholes, now increasingly a problem with road maintenance cuts. There was a time when I could just ring up the council, and they'd have the thing filled in by the same time, next day.

Not suitable for long distances

The longest I ever did was 80-odd miles in a day, in my early 30s. Today, aged 74, 20 miles is about my limit - age brings the problem of greater difficulty in building up and maintaining muscle strength, as a result of which tendon strain at the hips and knees brings discomfort at distances one would once have cycled with comparative ease.

[antongould]

It's the rain bit I don't like about walking. Not just the rain, but also the ground which may become very muddy and difficult to traverse. I know people who go out walking in most weather, though in an urban environment (which I don't like so much) the problems with muddy and flooded fields are less severe. I prefer walking in a more rural environment.

I have only been walking with the group for about 3 years but they have been going for about twenty and have some special routes for rainy days with overhanging trees ....... so it takes a really appalling Tuesday to stop us ...... we have never missed a day since I joined .....