I led a fairly active life-style as a child and teen-ager bicycling and active in sports in high school. During World War II I served in the Field Artillery. After the war my life style deteriorated, smoking, drinking, bad diet, inactivity, weight gain to the point of obesity. At 50 years of age I realized that if I did not change my life style I would soon have deep physical problems.

I had developed high blood pressure, borderline diabetes, Reynaud’s Syndrome and arthritis of the spine. I was 50 pounds overweight and tired all the time.

I gave up smoking and drinking and started running and cycling. As I became fit I increased my distances to running marathons and cycling centuries, besides recreational cycling. Osteo-arthritis destroyed my right hip; it was replaced at UCLA using a new method.

I returned to running and had to have it replaced seven years later. My doctor told me not to run anymore so I concentrated on bicycling and some race walking. I have competed in the Senior Olympic program in track, fencing, race walking and cycling. I now concentrate on riding centuries, double centuries and multi-day tours.

At age 69 I was struck down with Meniere’s disease. A severe inner ear disease that causes loss of balance, dizziness, and double vision partial deafness. It took months of self-rehabilitation by bicycling. Staying upright on a bicycle was one of the greatest challenges of my life.

I celebrated 20 years of fitness at age 70 by bicycling 1750 miles down the Pacific coast, camping in state parks along the way, with five other seniors. My wife and I rode 1100 miles of it on the tandem and I did the rest on my touring bike.

When training for RAAM I rode five centuries and one double century.

In 1994 I rode in the RAAM team race with three other men over 60 years of age. We were the first and only Master’s team to ever compete in the race. We finished in 8 days, 5 hours and seven minutes, establishing the record for Master’s division. In 1995, at 71 years of age as Captain of Team Secure Horizons/SCOR Antiques, our team raced again in RAAM. We took 2nd place in the Master’s Division finishing in 8 days, 7 hours and 42 ruins. In 1996 our team raced again finishing in 8 days, 7 hours and 6 min. for 1st place in the Master’s division.

In 1997 my training was interrupted by a diagnosis of prostate cancer and subsequent surgery. I have recovered well and am back to my training regime, looking forward to RAAM 98 and racing in the Grand Master’s category with my teammates all over 70 years of age.

In 1978 I worked in a very stress related job and used to smoke 2 to 3 packs of cigarettes a day. One day I had a pain in my neck, it also went down my left arm. I went to see my doctor, he told me I was having an angina attack. He sent me to see a cardiologist down the hall. Two days later I had triple bypass surgery. That was a traumatic experience!

One of my doctors stated he thought it was caused by stress, that I should watch what I eat and get on an exercise program or I could come back and see him again in a few years ±. I took him at his word and it has now been 19 years since my bypass surgery.

I started cycling with SCOR Cardiac Cyclists in 1980. I have cycled from San Francisco to Los Angeles; also across Arizona and from Canada to Mexico. At present I try to ride about 200 miles per week whenever possible.

In 1996 I suffered a broken ankle and had to be of off my bike for 5 months. Needless to say I gained weight and developed high blood pressure. I ended up in the hospital for my high blood pressure and pain in my chest! An angiogram was done and my arteries were completely open; 100%, so I began cycling once more: my weight came down as well as did my blood pressure and I feel much better now.

In 1995 I was crew chief for Team Secure Horizons/SCOR Antiques. I was awarded Cyclist of the Year for 1984 and Cyclist of the Decade in 1994.

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Born April 22, 1922 in Yellow Jacket, Colorado. At the age of 3 and a half I had appendicitis. At six years of age I had Scarlet Fever and double pneumonia. At age eleven the doctor told my parents that there wasn’t any more to be done for me and he suggested my parents invest in a horse. This they did and my horse and I became inseparable.

In Junior High I entered sports and played baseball and basketball, football in high school. During World War II, I served three and a half years in the Pacific as a Navy Seabee.

A cardiac arrest in September of 1981 led me to join SCOR Bicycling Club. I am not a typical heart disease candidate. I have always been physically active, working in the construction field as a carpenter and never smoked or been overweight but after my heart attack I chose a bicycle as my vehicle to aerobic fitness.

My personal cycling since 1981 is varied and impressive at my age. On June 5, 1982 along with fourteen fellow cardiac patients I pedaled from Los Angeles to New York’s Central Park in only 12 days. In 1990, I rode every double century (200 miles) held in Southern California as well as riding the difficult Paris-Brevet trials. I continue to ride in centuries and double centuries and worn out two bicycles and hundreds of inner tubes and tires along the way.

Normally, I ride four or five days a week, averaging 65 miles a day. I am 75 years old and according to my two daughters I look great in bicycling shorts. I have been married 51 years to the same wife, have four children and five grandchildren and proud of it all.

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Riding has enabled me to keep my weight under control, helped lower my blood pressure, relieved stress and has gotten me into the best physical condition that I have enjoyed since age 30.

My orthopedic doctor says that if I weren’t riding so much I would be in serious condition due to the great amount of arthritis in my knees! My internist marvels at my strong motor every time he checks my heart! My bike club members and riding partners are amazed that I can compete with performance oriented cyclists 30 to 40 years younger than myself.

This is a sport, which builds every part of the body without doing any harm (unless you go down!) The 40 to 50 MPH downhills are thrilling! The 18 to 25 MPH speeds on relatively flat terrain mile after mile are exhilarating as your body smoothly powers the bike. Big hills are a hate-to-do type of thing, but attaining the top is so satisfying that you immediately forget the pain of climbing and discover you really love hills! Biking adds zest to life!

There are still the aches and pains of aging, and I have my share with knee pain, back pain leftover from back surgery in 1987, blood pressure problems, prostate problems, etc., etc., but none of these things dominate my life. I’m too busy having fun to acknowledge them! I’m excited about the prospect of riding the Race Across AMerica this year at age 73 and am looking forward to many more challenges in the future.

Retirement should not be a time for wasting away in a sedentary life. After working for 45 years or so we have earned this wonderful time in life-a second childhood. But it’s up to each of us individually to choose what we want to do with our lives. It’s never too late to get started on an active fulfilling life as exercise will usually correct any problem.