At some time every cager has to hang up the Chuck Taylors or a more modern shoe. Bill Bradley said that one should do it at 40 years old. Not being as smart as Bill I played until 50 but every morning in my late 40's after playing hurt like hell until I got my knee joints moving freely again. And the occasional lower back spasms that required massage therapy to fix were unbearably painful. The love of the game makes us play but at some time you just have to stop. And playing in an old guys league just won't cut it. For me I was always a bike rider and started training to race. It is easier on the knees but to be competitive as a bike racer you need cardio fitness WAY better than what you ever needed playing hoops. And you need explosive power if your intention is to win a sprint. Most good cagers have that. And there is also the bike handling skills. And knowing that crashes are inevitable and broken bones are very common. Just think about being thrown out of a car traveling 40 mph in your underwear. That is what a crash is like in a bike racing sprint. Guys get hospitalized for months sometimes. It is NOT a sissy sport. I did that for a number of years until my intensive cardio training gave me afib but not horribly bad. They can treat it with drugs but now my heart rate is limited so no more super hard efforts so no more bike racing. I miss it. It is a super cool sport.
Bike racing absolutely rocks. I did some and settled on triathlons - which I love as well. I have young kids, so did my first tri is years in 2023, and training now to resume in 2025. Trail riding is really bad ass too. I don’t remember the last vaca I did that didn’t include daily riding. I love hoops, but playing with out of shape older guys that take bad shots is my definition of torture…so biking and tri’s remain in my life. Far more peaceful and just as awesome for me. Ps - if you can hit 40mph on a sprint then you’re a beast!
That’s why I play in leagues with younger guys I definitely want to start biking more. I bought some Brompton foldable bikes a couple years ago to do city exploring with my wife. Not quite the Tour de France, but still enjoyable.
biking and swimming are definitely two sports/activities that can slow the tides of time. Father Time is still undefeated, but at least you can fight him into the late rounds. Basketball is a young man's sport for sure, and like Lurker said it's not nearly as fun playing with the old guys - in part because they're dirty as hell and part because it just reminds you of how old you are. Where as playing with young guys is so damn frustrating, because you're always thinking 'in my prime I woke have smoked you, you cocky punk'. At least that's what's going through my get off my lawn mind
Many other posters have said it also, but you are spot on. It's amazing how I can go the gym and lift, including squats and deadlifts, run for miles on the pavement, ruck march with weighted vests, etc... but 25-30 minutes of basketball just murders my joints and muscles. It really feels like I got jumped by MMA fighters. Random deep tissue pains, and general achiness. The crazy thing is as a young man, I really didn't get any of this pain, and that was mostly playing on outside courts, which are the worst. Basketball is just super tough on the body.
it really is. after a full game of basketball (hell, even 3 on 3 sometimes) I feel like it takes me 2-3 days to fully get over it, whether I've played on concrete outdoor or in a gym. Knees, back, feet, ankles - you name it. It's like being in a car accident and not really feeling the pains until much later. Sometimes you feel fine while playing, then you wake up the next day unable to stand up without back spasms or limping. It ain't any kind of fun. At least now I can barely jump, so less rolling of the ankles. People that don't play basketball don't understand how hard it is on the body - so when I see NBA players now playing into their early 40s, I'm in awe. Even with all that money and treatment, those guys put on incredible miles. Vince Carter, Chris Paul, Jordan, Lebron...they all had to change their style of play, but even to be competing at a high level against the best young guys in the world at that age is incredible
Were a beast. On a very good day I could on flat ground, no wind, and no lead out. Usually I topped out at 38-39 mph in a true drag race sprint with no lead out. This was when I was in my late 50's. I do have to admit that I trained REALLY hard to get fast. No coaching but knew enough about bike race training to get things right. It was a huge time and pain commitment.
Nice. I was more about 37mph. But I could hold ~28-30mph for 45 minutes in my riding prime (small group, rotating). On a 10 mile time trial, I think my best was 23mph...but I didn't have a tri-bike at the time actually. I don't ride often enough these days to reach that speed anymore...I miss it!
