Printable View
I tried searching for something like this but "age" is invariably to short a term to use in a search. Blehhh.
Anyway, I was just really curious about the age distribution here. I seem to be in a twenty-something minority (at least that's the feeling I get) but I could be wrong.
Please vote in this anonymous poll!
Still too early to tell the distribution. I am feeling on my own too, but not as young!:)
Shouldn't be a problem, Reesha. After all, you really don't want to contribute to any discussion threads on menopause or perimenopause? :p
But you might be right in terms of feeling young-overwhelmed. At least you get latest scoop on what lies ahead in life...:o Don't freak out. :)
Some of those categories, look far-fetched...early 1900's.. we should crown the TE member who gets into the those categories.
Haha, it doesn't bother me at all! I just think it's really interesting is all! I would think that there would be a larger percentage of younger woman using this forum because in many ways we're 'the internet generation'... Those raised with the web. At the same time, I'm glad to see many women older than me using the internet as a social mechanism just fine :D My mom is 53 and just loves www.librarything.com, especially the social aspect!
Also, it is especially encouraging to see so many women in their forties and fifties who are still enjoying (perhaps even more than I am) cycling! :o
Ahaha, yeah... I was kind of hesitant to make them, but you never know! My grandparents are in their nineties and use the web with the help of my uncle... so I suppose it's not too far fetched for a senior lady using the web and cycling!! :p
I like this thread, facts and figures fascinate me. Must have taken you a while to work out all the dates.Quote:
Originally Posted by Reesha
Hey, I hope I am that senior lady in years to come, still using the web and cycling! :rolleyes:
Clock
I like facts and figures too, and as a co-worker just joked with me - all the world is a bell curve. And just look at the poll so far - a bell curve. :)
I want to be known as the crazy lady in the fake leopardskin coat,purple tights and rhinestone glasses who rides her bike all over town.
I don't yet know how I'll work in the tiara.
Ahem, what do you mean "you want to be known".........I thought you already were? :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Zen
Clock
Velcro will secure the tiara to your helmet very nicely.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zen
Pam
.............and zippy ties. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by PamNY
Clock
Heh, I feel rather young, looking at the age distribution here...
finally someone older than me posted!
You find an answer to every need here.
Not yet, Clock. But with any luck, very soon :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Owlie
Maybe the original question, instead of over 50, is to ask under age 30.
Sometimes more meaningful and just as accurate to have folks answer like this: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=7782
We can only trust that no troll will answer the poll. (What a poem.)
And I am feeling rather OLD!! NOT!!! 1949!!
Me too.. and I have three kids!Quote:
Originally Posted by Owlie
Oh my, what a lovely little bell curve...so far! :) I'm right there in the 'bump' at 50yrs...
Wow, where are all the young female cyclists at!?
I thought the tiara belonged to Snap.
I am 28. DH thinks I am a complete freak because I am actually excited that I will be 30 soon. I am so done with my 20's. He is turning 30 next year and is dreading it. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Reesha
I love that a woman who is 63 leads rides weekly for women mountain bikers. That is SO inspiring. I also have done many centuries with people in there 60-70's. Heck I did the MS150 with a man riding that was 90! He made it all 150 miles. I love that this board is a mix of ages, locations, experiences.
When my Mammaw was in her 70's she had a 1/2 acre size garden she tended to. At 92 she has a walker but she still does the NY Times crossword in pens and all kinds of crafts plus walks herself around the grocery store (we can't get her list right you see). I can't wait to be old AND active. Old and sitting on my butt eating bonbons is only for after the long bike ride I did that morning. :p
I'm 30 and agree with Aggie_Ama. Turning 30 was great! I too was done with my tumultuous 20s. I'm looking forward to see what my 30s will bring :cool:
I'm certainly not afraid of aging! Indeed, seems like the best is yet to come :D
the interesting low point 1975-79 - are those the women with kids who are too busy to play?
Good point. I only started riding in earnest after my kids were getting more independent and more interested in friends and being able to 'transport' themselves by walking or riding bikes in their preteen years...
LOL probably. I'm in the next oldest tier (1972) and I just got into cycling because my kids are finally old enough that I can easily go out for extended periods in the mornings without it greatly impacting the household (i.e., they can get their own breakfast; the fact that they are on summer break helps, too).Quote:
Originally Posted by Biciclista
This is a rather expensive sport (like I needed another one!), and requires disposable income, something which one doesn't always have in one's 20s.Quote:
Originally Posted by Reesha
The only reason I could afford the new bike was that I got a nice, cushy summer job in a chem lab.
I'm in this bracket and don't have kids... yet! But it's definitely an interesting observation. You are probably right!Quote:
Originally Posted by Biciclista
Yeah, I spent 10% of my pre-tax annual income on my first roadbike! :D It was a LOT of money back that. I just make the necessary sacrifices to support my hobby.Quote:
Originally Posted by Owlie
My observation is that there's not many of us, and it seems like Mimi's theory holds water. The younger women seem to have kids and jobs and no time for cycling.Quote:
Originally Posted by Reesha
I certainly wouldn't have time for the bikes if DH and I had children. As it is, my bikes don't get enough attention!
I agree that often the younger women are home with the kids. I can't tell you how many comments I got when riding in NC where I rode with primarily men. They all would comment 'if only my wife could ride!' when I would join the group. When I asked why she didn't they always said - "well someone has to stay home with the kids". :mad:
OH! I know a lady who has a tiara attached to her helmet. Not sure how she keeps it attached, but it seems to fit into the air slots nicely. I think it must be glued on or something, it never comes off.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zen
These are the women that I see at the bike shop. They're there with their husbands and children, and the wife corrals 3 young squirmy children so that the husband can look at more bike stuff and talk about his stats and bike equipment and how he did 300 miles last week.Quote:
Originally Posted by GLC1968
(I realize how bitter that must sound, but it's not- just frustrated.)
I'd like to think that will never be me, but who knows! I would want to be the mom tugging her kids in a trailer around the park 20 miles!
Kind of thing disgusts me, and I say this within the context of having 3 sisters who are all mothers of young children (or 1 did have young children. 2 mother-sisters are also working in jobs that put them on a defined career-track) and each sister works out the regular scheduling really well with hubby, to take turns for childcare, while each person goes out jogging/cycling or does yoga on their own. It's mutual cooperation and some awareness that some fitness and good health can add some positive vibes to the marriage.Quote:
Originally Posted by GLC1968
TE forum offers great value for such women who want to cycle but don't have in-person support in their social circles/family.
I have to speak to my earlier post in defense of my husband. I'm the working parent, while my husband stays home with the kids during the day. Not my ideal by far, but it makes the most sense for us financially. So my not exercising was in part due to my not wanting to (I'm an easy couch potato), and in part because I wanted to spend some time with my kids. When they were younger (and therefore required more sleep at night), that meant spending time that I'd be willing to exercise (basically mornings and early afternoon/evenings) with them. I had my morning ritual of making breakfast for them, and my evening ritual of spending a little time with them and cooking dinner (hubby will cook, but if I want real food, I'd better cook it :p). By nighttime I'm just done...I'm not a night person and nothing in hell is going to motivate me to do something I'm not keen to do in the first place (riding is the one thing that I do feel a desire and drive to do...everything else is just "because I should").
Now they are older and can get their own breakfast; they also stay up enough past the time that I get done with work that I don't feel deprived if I take off for some me time after work (although I don't right now, since it's also really hot around that time).
shootingstar - don't get me wrong - I'd met most of their wives eventually, and they were far from sedentary. This was unique to biking. The men were all supportive of their wives doing yoga or going to the gym, or whatever...and the women found a way to do it...but when it came to cycling, the men probably saw it as 'either I get to ride, or she does, so I'm gonna pick me'. Of course, the general 'men centric' view of the cycling world doesn't help this situation.
I don't think that if their wives were insisting on riding that they'd say no. It's just that the priorities get set in a certain way and no one thinks to alter it. 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' mentality. None of the women really wanted to ride...they wanted to stay home with the kids. It's just the way things were. As a non-mom, it probably annoyed me way more than it did any of the moms! :p
I realize for a parent, particularily of young children, personal time and energy is tighter, so during those years, exercise activities that are at home or closer to home makes life easier. And it is up to the woman to make certain decisions of what she wants for herself..which changes over time.Quote:
Originally Posted by GLC1968
Biking takes time. But then it is possible to design a route for 1 hr. of exercise, even if nothing else than a mental break.
The value of exercise for parents and for spouses to be mutually supportive, became more obvious when 1 sister did have significant post-partum depression (up to 1 yr.) after child #2, combined with shoulder muscle injury from rowing exercises that put her out for awhile. She couldn't even lift her baby out of the crib. Until she found yoga.
For the younger women age bracket, late teens to late 20's, there are also alot of women nowadays (in North America) who don't have children at all. They either haven't gotten to thinking about exercise or found some other fitness activity.
I just think they haven't found the forum. I see lots of women my age on bikes all over the place (and younger).
Some of them might find TE forum too boring. :D:pQuote:
Originally Posted by Reesha
I have to remind myself that some much younger folk just have different, more shorthand style of expressing themselves that sounds cryptic to others.