Quote Originally Posted by ny biker View Post
I'm trying to learn a new programming language for work, and am experiencing something similar. It seems to take more effort to learn complex things than it did years ago. Although I guess motivation and interest level is part of it -- I have no problem learning and remembering new roads in areas where I plan vacations or bike rides. And I agree that it is a great brain exercise dealing with maps and finding routes. (Honestly if I could find someone to pay me a decent wage to plan bike rides, I'd take it in a heartbeat.)
Yes, I agree with all of this! In my last few years at work (software engineering), I still learned a ton of new things -- different devices, protocols, etc, so my brain was obviously still firing on all cylinders. But the things that were less interesting to me, I tended to tune out, especially once I knew I was a short-timer. At that point, who cared?

And a job planning bike routes would be a blast -- have you ever thought of applying at Adventure Cycling? I remember seeing job ads for them in the past. Probably doesn't pay all that well, but what fun!