Geezer talk: Mountain Biking Isn't A Sport For Guys In Their 60s. Or Is It?

December 21, 2008

I came across this article in our local paper and some of you old folks might

enjoy this.

Doc

Ralph Giarnella MD

Southington Ct USA

courant.com/features/outdoors/hc-mountainbiking.artdec20,0,3975163.story

Mountain Biking Isn't A Sport For Guys In Their 60s. Or Is It?

The Hartford Courant

December 20, 2008

Mike Cappiello says mountain biking saved his life, or at least his health.

The 56-year-old said he had an epiphany in his mid-30s. Powerboating was his

hobby at the time, and he realized that meant he spent a lot of time sitting and

drinking beer. Right about when he noticed his expanding waistline, he

discovered mountain biking.

Cappiello, of Vernon, has mountain-biked three to four times a week for the last

20 years and is in significantly better shape. He is among hundreds who bike

through the state's 126 parks and forests, which offer hundreds of miles of

trails.

Mountain biking has grown in popularity in the last few decades. There are now

more than 3,000 members of the New England Mountain Bike Association and 32,000

members of the international organization.

Going " off road " on specially designed bikes that include knobby tires, front

and rear shock absorbers and low-range gears are what these self-described

" adrenaline junkies " love. The goal is to find the most challenging course

through the woods that will include jumps, drops, and water crossings. Cappiello

rides a " hard-tail " bike, which means it has no rear suspension and gives a

bone-jarring ride.

Like most sports, mountain biking has its own language and attitudes. When

discussing a recent ride, Cappiello and his two riding buddies, Mark VanOstrand

of Hebron and Al Tinti of Glastonbury, acted and sounded like twentysomething

skateboarders. Both of the other men are in their 60s.

" The niner rolled through the rock garden but had trouble hucking the small

drop. It cornered like it was on a rail, but maintaining traction on the steeps

was difficult, " VanOstrand said.

For Cappiello, mountain biking is an obsession. He says that if he does not ride

at least three times a week, he goes crazy. In the summer, the three elder

statesmen of mountain biking try to hit the trails every day of the week.

" I can sum mountain biking up in one word, " says Cappiello. " Life. "

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