New and experienced climbers over 50 #4

62 pitches in a month is totally doable. Make that your goal. 

Helen

For my wife's 50th birthday (15 yr ago), we had a group of friends do 50 for 50. All of us added each pitch we did at the Gunks to see if the total by late afternoon, would add up to 50 pitches climbed. A young couple heard about it and decide to join in on the fun. We all decided to meet up at the Brau House for a late lunch and beer. We did do over 50 and Jean had a great birthday with a group of climbing friends.

Jean has the beer mug in her hand with her back to us.

 

Old lady H wrote
@Dallas and Barbara, should I pencil in Smith Rock for May? Will you be close to there? Tom, would you be interested?

Always interested! It's been difficult to climb outside here last couple of weeks. Been in the gym a lot and looking forward to better weather.

Lori Milas wrote: ...What are you all doing over these holidays?  Any goals for 2019?  Places to climb... routes to send?..  

I'm off to Mount Arapiles the day after Christmas until New Years Day to do some trad clambering.  

Then when I get back from Araps I'm going to learn how to ride my new motorcycle (see below)
.

Nice scooter Carl! You're going to need the buddy seat and rear pegs when that thing turns into a chick magnet!

Classic styling and a cool history "Made like a gun" gotta love it......

Just don't get hurt on that thing...... ;)

Oh, almost forgot....Two of my favorite motorcycle quotes.....

 "Don't worry, sooner or later you'll use all the power" and....
"When in doubt, gas it"
JB

Carl Schneider wrote:

I'm off to Mount Arapiles the day after Christmas until New Years Day to do some trad clambering.  

Then when I get back from Araps I'm going to learn how to ride my new motorcycle (see below)
.

Sweet ride! Here’s mine... (AGAT = all gear all the time) Have fun and keep the rubber side down!!

ErikaNW wrote:

Sweet ride! Here’s mine... (AGAT = all gear all the time) Have fun and keep the rubber side down!!

Don't forget WFO (wide full open or Woman flat out...whichever applies ;)

And ITP (in the pipe) where I try to stay......

Edit to add: I like the street fighter look of that Aprilla, starting to see some of them on the trails in OK now too

Women flat out!! Love it. The Aprilia has been amazing - added to my GS 1150 and replaced a Monster. Still regret selling my first love - Honda NT650. Motorcycles.... they are like potato chips. 

Yes Like potato chips - bad for you at any age

ICKM`s - It can Kill Machine`s

Lay it down - or go-, clown - over the handlebars

Laid out flat ? No coming back

 only takes once. -  fender bender? street rider's ender

defender of the right to be stupid! - no helmet law state_  freedom to make that big mistake
&
But ( we live in a no helmet law state....)
&

I married a woman who had a bike when we met. A rider, so I get the crotch rocket addiction and think it is great for anyone other than the mother of my children.

Life is like riding a bike; short, fast and dangerous, so might as well make it fun.

I like to make fun of it

Im always torn as to what to say.

We get it, & have good friends who ride, they still make it look sexy,
 taking off for fun weekends to Air B&Bs, camping in state parks & festivals.
It has kept some of  them young & alive
and then, killed some too.

I never know what to say when they want us to get bikes again.
So I always say - more ice cream, for her (& potato chips)  & I'll think about it.

It's all good though, go scootering, and I love Brag brapBrap-grbrag pbrag brag brapbr aaggrr 

I love to get on dirt bikes - it is so much fun! - &, the best way to access some deep woods southern stone and other places all across the globe

plain and simple, it is totally complicated trying to explain how schizophrenic I am about this one!

OLH, We both forgot the funniest one --

Ride Responsibly

&

Lori!!
 A lot of what you said is in my experience. I knew a world-class, Olympic Bicycle rider who lost his leg in a near head-on, while riding his motorcycle.
 he eventually got some help to end his life, after suffering for about a decade,
No surprise that control freaks like climbers have the adrenaline buzz under control so that it seems reasonable to ride but the exterior forces are so incredibly stacked against you.  
And yes, sadly, not if but when,

Carl Schneider wrote:

I'm off to Mount Arapiles the day after Christmas until New Years Day to do some trad clambering.  

Then when I get back from Araps I'm going to learn how to ride my new motorcycle (see below)
.

Lessee....it's pushing fifty years since I drove one, but, if memory serves, my problem was kick starting, and working the clutch/gas thingys to get rolling in first without stalling. After that? Like they said, keep the wheel side on the pavement and go fast.

Uh. And watch out for cherry trees.

And loose gravel.

And. Uh. Try to look innocent if the owner (dad) asks where the rearview mirror is. 

I think that covers it.

Best, Helen

Suburban Roadside wrote: 
plain and simple, it is totally complicated trying to explain how schizophrenic I am about this one!

I'm with you on this one, Suburban.  I sold my bike after realizing I didn't love it enough to die for it.  Someone wisely said "Not if but when..." you lay down your bike and break something, I realized, nah... I don't love it that much.  
And I guess it's not our call what others do.  My daughter... the same one who got lost this summer and SAR helicoptered her out... bought a bike a few years back, and rode alot with her future husband.  But when she had babies, I wondered, why take chances when you have small kids?
Maybe it's just my luck but I have driven by more dead bodies on the side of the road... ambulance lights blaring, bike laying on its side... and come close to hitting several riders as they passed to my right ...  I don't want to hear "I'm a careful driver!"  You can't be careful enough to hedge your bets.    
I also helped care for a quadraplegic for several years... young guy, now 38, who was broadsided at a stop light.  Game over for him.  Stomach tube feeding is no fun.  Seizures.  Lost his daughter and wife... they had to move on.  Many times he begged me to help him die.  I mean, that's the reality when things go wrong. 

Then again... climbing isn't exactly risk free. And life itself is risk.  As you said... schizophrenic... 

Interesting how many of us here have owned motos. I gave mine up after moving to LA and seeing a guy get clipped by a woman making a right turn out of the middle lane of a 4 lane road (Santa Monica and Vine) and driving right over him. I sat with him in the middle of the road waiting for the ambulance to come. I'm pretty sure he was okay in the end but that was enough to make me not want to ride a motorcycle in a big city. I'd still gladly have one if I lived in the country.

Señor Arroz wrote: Interesting how many of us here have owned motos. I gave mine up after moving to LA and seeing a guy get clipped by a woman making a right turn out of the middle lane of a 4 lane road (Santa Monica and Vine) and driving right over him. I sat with him in the middle of the road waiting for the ambulance to come. I'm pretty sure he was okay in the end but that was enough to make me not want to ride a motorcycle in a big city. I'd still gladly have one if I lived in the country.

I'm trying to think who or where I heard the words 'managed risk', but maybe that's a big part of the conversation we've been having here in this forum.  What we do at this 'age'... what we risk in various kinds of climbing... what's acceptable risk to some is not to others.  I've taken a pass on a lot of climbing this year that I'll probably be fine with next year.  Maybe there's an adrenaline quota???     
I'm also willing to be much more careful in some areas so that I can have what I want... I'll stay with a job, lock down finances, keep the car tuned... so there's some ground to fly free.  I'd be pissed if my party permanently ended because I fell off a bike... but that's because I don't love bikes the way some do.  Surfing.  Now there's a better idea.    

I think that's right. I stopped riding motorcycles because getting run over by a bad driver in city traffic isn't a risk I can "manage" other than choosing not to expose myself to that risk. Whereas I could manage the risks of me crashing, solo, cruising up some mountain road. Climbing risks are mostly manageable. Surfing risks are mostly manageable. 

Suburban.... a RE?? Those are made in India right? Have fun, use your head and a mature attitude to stay safe!

Going very very fast..... I love it EVEN MORE than climbing. Once you get on a track and can run with the boys right at the class record for that track things get really fun. When you learn how to do the little tricks like sliding, early apex, late apex, the over-under the whole *not scared at all* attitude look out! At Willow Springs (my local track) the WSMC races attract about 250 regulars for each race. We held two to six funerals per year... most from street accidents. I parked mine! And got into Karting-much less pain on Monday morning!

Dangerous activities. Many I meet think climbing is dangerous. It’s not- unless you go hang out below seracs, and climb up through ice falls that sort of climbing. I have been to those funerals too.

Sorry to go OT..... if there is a topic. But I think a lot about how rock climbing and other so called dangerous activities are not all that dangerous when you look at it. Does horseback riding appear to be dangerous? Any parent will let their kid ride right?
Lori.... have no fear or worries about Sidewinder when following nobody has died on it. But stay off of the sharp end on Double Cross.... that’s a widow maker for sure.
I hope everyone enjoys the climbing and life over the holidays.
See you all later... I am going climbing- it’s Southern California in the winter what else are we to do? 

Have I mentioned I don't like you people in CA? Lol!

Motorcycles were all way before I was legally old enough, just tiny bikes bombing around the neighborhood or on dirt roads out camping. And not that fast. I really did hit a cherry tree. My brother neglected to tell me to lean, like a bicycle, to turn. The mirror was a separate oops....and I actually didn't know I knocked it off until my pa pointed out it was missing.

Fast, was trying out the first new car I had. Got to 119 then backed off, as it started shimmying.

Playing on the training track with the cops was a real hoot, even as a passenger, but I let my son drive that time. We were with the instructors, so it was a real treat. 

My truly high risk activity? I still consider that bicycle commuting. Sheesh.

So, uh. Those 62 routes in January? Will likely include some ice climbs. There's that. Am I the only one?? Hard to believe!  ;-)

Best, Helen

Edit to add: I'm not sure the common thread is adrenaline. My guess? It's managing something serious, yet fun. All of these are more than an activity, they require thought and being very, very engaged in the moment. For some, I'm sure that includes pushing right up to edges...and sometimes past.

The street is dangerous, I stay in the woods where it's safe..... ;)

Adrenaline? Why yes, I'd love some......

John Barritt wrote: Nice scooter Carl! You're going to need the buddy seat and rear pegs when that thing turns into a chick magnet!

Classic styling and a cool history "Made like a gun" gotta love it......

Just don't get hurt on that thing...... ;)

Oh, almost forgot....Two of my favorite motorcycle quotes.....

 "Don't worry, sooner or later you'll use all the power" and....
"When in doubt, gas it"
JB

Ha ha yeah.  Getting a pannier bag too to see if I can fit a rope, harness, shoes and chalk bag in it :-) Or maybe the chick on the back can carry all that???

Old lady H wrote: 
Best, Helen

Edit to add: I'm not sure the common thread is adrenaline. My guess? It's managing something serious, yet fun. All of these are more than an activity, they require thought and being very, very engaged in the moment. For some, I'm sure that includes pushing right up to edges...and sometimes past.

I’m having a tearful moment (of gratitude). I didn’t realize how much I needed to totally trust someone in order to learn to climb, and to be willing to fail.  Ryan has had the vision and patience of a saint. 

Today I asked him for some ground training so I can start to take care of myself and a partner.  The onlookers remind me that most here at the gym have never been on a rock.  
Could we possibly have chosen a more technical or complicated “sport”? Just when I think I’m gaining some ability at climbing, edging, chimneys, overhangs...it really hasn’t even begun. Ropes, gear, anchors and slings... and important procedures to remember.
“Ok Lori. You just tied into something so what are you going to untie? Oops! There goes your rope!”    Let’s do it again!  This is a very long learning trajectory and yes, Helen, it requires total engagement and presence.  Much gratitude here... much. 

Guy Keesee wrote:
 Does horseback riding appear to be dangerous? Any parent will let their kid ride right?

Is horseback riding statistically dangerous? I've been bucked and I once had a horse roll over on me when it fell going down a steep hill, but I wonder how HB riding compares to, say, skiing or SCUBA?

A friend of mine is a first responder out at Catalina. He says I wouldn't even believe the mayhem they see when lobster season kicks in and all the out of shape divers decide to do underwater heroics in pursuit of a tasty bug.