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My son sent an article to me this weekend, about a French Centenarian setting out to break the record for a 100 Km bicycle ride by someone of his age. Robert Marchand, who will turn 101 years old on November 26th, covered the 100 Km in 4 hours, 17 minutes, and 27 seconds. While his average speed of 23.3 Kmh won't earn him a spot on a professional cycling team, it's nothing to sneeze at, either. For you American readers that haven't memorized the metric conversions yet, 100 Km is about 63 miles, and his average speed was about 14.6 MPH. Remember, this man is almost 101 years old, and did a Metric Century at a speed that myself, at just barely over half his age, would be happy to maintain.
My son's comment with this article was, "If he can do it, you definitely can." I guess I have a good start, since I have about 48 years to train for my attempt. Be sure to check back in the October 2060 issue of Collector Times to see how well I did. By then, I suspect, also, that we'll beam each issue directly to your brain, so you won't even have to fire up a computer to enjoy each month's issue.
Of course, my son does have a point, and it's one that bears repeating and elaboration. Many times, what limits us is not our age or physical condition, but what we think. We can't do something, not because it's beyond our capabilities, but because we convince ourselves we're too old, or not good enough, or whatever. Because we think it's out of our reach, we never even try to reach for it, and the end result is that we fulfill our own low expectations for ourselves.
I'm sure there have been plenty of people that have tried to tell Robert Marchand that he's too old to be out riding his bicycle, particularly pushing his limitations. He's one hundred years old, after all, and that kind of exertion cannot be good for his heart. The funny thing is, he's already lived longer than probably 99% of the people born at the same time he was, and it's likely that less than 1% of any of us will manage to reach 100. Honestly, if he did have a heart attack or stroke while riding his bicycle, would that be any worse than having one while sitting on a porch somewhere, watching the world go by? According to the article, all the experts that are trying to figure out the secret to his longevity, have said he has the constitution of a 55 year old. I suspect part of the reason for that is, he's out riding his bicycle.
I figure, if it works for him, it should work for me as well. As my son said, if he can do it, I definitely can. So, if riding his bicycle takes 45 years off his effective age, then it should be able to take a similar amount off my age. When I'm out riding, I do feel a lot more like a seven year old, rather than a fifty-two year old. It's fun. One friend summed it up similarly to how I've felt about it for years - riding a bicycle feels as close to flying as you can get without leaving the ground. When we were kids, we didn't think of bicycles as exercise. We thought of them as freedom and fun. They were like magic carpets that could take us almost anywhere we wanted to go, and we could ride all day for nothing more than the price of our youthful enthusiasm. The price of gasoline meant nothing, nor did licenses, insurance, or any other such consideration.
We didn't even need a particular destination. We rode for nothing more than the sake of riding, but then we grew up, got our driver's licenses, and bought into the idea that the motor vehicle was all that. Somewhere along the line, fast transportation became an undeniable need, and driving the car a chore that needed done.
What if the legendary Fountain of Youth was not some burbling spring of magical water, hidden away in some distant wilderness? What if it were as close as your local bicycle shop, and recapturing that wondrous magic carpet feeling of riding along with nowhere in particular to go? What if we can pedal away the years, just by thinking we can?
It certainly seems to have worked for Robert Marchand.
Now, if I may be excused, I have a magic carpet waiting for me . . .
You can read about Robert Marchand's record-breaking ride at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/active/9572770/French-centenarian-cyclist-aims-for-100km-record.html
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