One of the members of my bike riders club The Pedal Pushers was out riding with several other members and her bike apparently hit some loose gravel and the bike went one way and she another. She had on elbow, knee and head gear but hit at the street on her shoulder. She is in hospital now with a splintered shoulder bone right where the arm goes into the shoulder blade and they are very worried about her. They said they were going medium speed enjoying the scenery when hitting the soft gravel. Even with all her protection she still got hurt. The doctor said a younger person may have only come away with only a bruise. Now she is only 61 and I am thinking of retiring my bike. I don't need any more trips to the hospital.
She is the second person badly hurt while riding.

How awful! I don't ride a bike because I don't feel steady enough to be safe. I never learned to ride as a kid and was well over 40 before I learned - my partner bought me a bike for my birthday and helped me learn. He wouldn't let me put training wheels on it .

chatty, how sad. It's so upsetting when boomers are out having fun and get hurt. Kathleen Gage recently got hurt running. It's so discouraging.

Shoulder pain is tough to live with. It's hard to get comfy to sleep. Please tell her it's best to sleep in a recliner. I did that after my shoulder injury. It was the only way I could get comfortable.

I don't blame you for fearing getting hurt. Do you have a walking club?

Let us know what you decide chatty.

For yourself, you could simply stick to safe routes with smooth surfaces.

However I personally know of several people who are the opposite: they are gung-ho about cycling in their middle years and beyond. So they do lots of it --this includes women.

Experienced cyclists usually have fallen at least once in their lifetime (minus childhood since we're more resilent at that time).

Let me give a different story of inspiration:

My partner is currently cycling in southern Quebec by himself. He's done around 500 kms. so far. Most likely has an additional 400 kms. to do over next 6 days. Yesterday he was in a pleasant suburb in a retail area. He watched a hunched over old man walking with a cane ..walk to his adult tricycle. The guy carefully and slowly placed his cane in his back basket and mounted the bike. biked away.

Several hrs. later by coincidence, my partner had to go grocery shopping several blocks away. He stopped by to park his bike and noticed the same tricycle parked also. My partner was impressed.

So my half-joke to him over the phone last night was:

"Ok dearie. I know you plan to cycle when you're 90."

In all honesty, it wouldn't surprise me. He has fallen on his arm...when he was in his mid-50's. It mended after a few weeks. But his body is geared to cycle to feel better.

Does it worry me? I worry abit about the car traffic for him but then it doesn't stop me...I just plan regular routes that minimize daily exposure to car traffic (can't eliminate it, it's a fact of city life), i don't cycle on gravel often and walk my bike if gravel road/path has a hill I can't descent/ascend confidently.

It is important to do some additional exercises for stretching (to prevent /reduce sudden back /muscle pain/spasms) and balance in general also. Tai chi and yoga, for instance, has a number of poses for gentle suitable balance improvement (some poses require balancing slowly on 1 leg, while standing), coordination, etc.

Speaking of which I have to get back into such exercises. I've been neglectful last 2 wks. while visiting people. I also have my lst yoga & pilates class later this wk. and don't want to be too sore on lst day.

orchid, your cycling posts are so uplifting. I guess people have to weigh the joy against the fear of being hurt. Some people are so married to their sport that they heal and keep going because it's such a way of life. I wish I had a sport that jazzed me so much.

I just had my second pilates class last night. My core hurts today. It's a tough class. I wouldn't do it without my friend who holds me accountable. It's great for flexibility. I look forward to hearing about your experience. I bet it will be a breeze for you.