Senior senders

Simon Carr, 64, leading Sinecure, 5.9, South Wales   Photo: John Eales

Rock climbing is not for everybody.

But don’t let your age discourage you from giving it a go, veteran climbers say.

“Being older doesn’t matter,” says Simon Carr, 64, a long-time climber from the Washington, D.C., area. “One great aspect of climbing is that you can have fun no matter what grade you climb.”

To minimize your risk exposure, start by learning to top rope, the safest form of climbing, the veterans say.

“Taking classes at an indoor climbing gym is a good way to learn the basics,” says Peter Parker, 62, Wintergreen, Va.

“Climbing gyms . . .  have introductory classes and meet-up type events for new climbers,” adds Lew Glasener, 72, a climber from the northern Virginia area.

Some senior climbers have been at it over the long haul. Carr, for example, first started climbing 46 years ago, during his university days in New Zealand.

Glasener first tied into a climbing rope 36 years ago, when he was 36. “I’ve been climbing half my life,” Glasener says.

Plenty of others don’t start climbing until they are older.

Carol Clayton, 66, another D.C.-area climber, didn't start until she was 60. Parker was already 56 when he first learned to buckle a climbing harness properly.

Many outdoor climbers say they were drawn to the sport by their attraction to the physical challenge, and their love for the outdoors.

Carr says that part of climbing’s appeal for him has been the opportunity it presents for camaraderie with his climbing partners.

“I tend to climb with friends, and that’s an important part of the activity,” Carr says. “My choice of partners is that you won’t kill me and you are fun to be with, nothing to do with how hard you climb.”

If you do try climbing, you’ll figure out quickly whether it’s for you or not.

But don’t make the mistake of thinking you are too old to try it, just because you may not be able to climb as hard as some of the world’s younger rock stars.

"Be competitive with your own fitness level, and don't compare with others, especially not younger people," Clayton says.

“There’s a lifetime of climbing available at lower grades,” says Carr.

“It’s so important as we age to have regular exercise,” adds Glasener. “I think the younger climbers think it's cool that I'm still at it.”

Clayton, topping out at Seneca Rocks, W.V.  Photo: Nancy Tran

Glasener, 72. getting his jams in, Joshua Tree

Glasener heading for the crag

Parker using his spider moves on schist

Carr at El Potrero Chico, Mexico

Trikes not just for kids

When I bought my fifth bicycle two years ago, I vowed never to buy another.

But I recently took a recumbent trike out for a test ride.

Now the only question is not whether I will buy a trike but when.

One of the sales pitches for recumbent trikes is that they are more comfortable than bicycles. They literally force you to recline on the job.

The fact that trikes come with three wheels instead of two makes them more stable than regular bicycles.

If you somehow manage to fall from a trike, you won’t travel far, and certainly not as far as you could fall from a standard bicycle.

Most trike owners I have visited with on my hometown bike paths in the Washington, D.C.-area are seniors. They have told me they opted for trikes because they were uncomfortable riding regular bikes, some due to various ailments. Even paraplegics can ride trikes, thanks to the availability of hand-propelled models.

Many recumbents are stout enough to carry a rack and all the gear required for a cross-country tour.

Some trikes also fold, making them easier to transport and store. But before you pay extra for a folding trike, make sure it will fit into your car.

One advantage bikes have over recumbents is that the former are generally faster up hills, at least shorter hills that aren’t particularly steep. Bike riders can stand up on their pedals on hills, adding their weight and the strength of their arms and core to their ascents.

There’s no way to stand up on the pedals of a trike. So if you invest in a trike, make sure it has low enough gears to let you pedal up any mountains you plan to climb with your legs.

I can see myself using a recumbent to cruise bike paths, and I would love to ride one on an extended tour, and maybe on the 4,211-mile TransAmerica Trail.

With a trike, you might  be able to do that, too.

If you like the idea of riding outdoors under your own power but aren’t comfortable on a bike, try a trike. It may open the door for you to start cycling.

On the road

 I’ve dreamed about owning an RV for years. But I am happy I resisted the temptation to buy a gas-guzzling behemoth.

Had I acquired a larger RV, I would have regretted it—been shell-shocked, actually—when I saw how big my first refueling bill was.

Along with their expense, additional downsides to larger RVs is that they are challenging to drive and maintain.

Just finding a parking spot for one while you are out on the road is a major headache.

At home, your neighborhood regulations may require you to store it offsite.

And unless you are living in it 24/7/365, it’s likely to just sit somewhere most of the time collecting dust. It’s hardly a vehicle you would want to use to do your grocery shopping or for other neighborhood errands.

If that’s not bad enough, many RV camping areas I’ve seen, which tend to be more expensive than tent-only sites, are grim, cheek-to-jowl parking lots that force you to get a little too close for comfort to your fellow RVers.

So when my girlfriend and I started seriously researching road-tripping-capable vehicles recently, we came up with a checklist of the key features we wanted, and built-in bathrooms, kitchens and wide-screen television sets were not on it.

Topping our list was that it be large enough to allow us to sleep inside, and to accommodate our bicycles and camping gear. But at the same time, we wanted it to be small enough to fit into less-expensive and more appealing tent-only sites at campgrounds, and into our home garage.

In addition, we wanted the vehicle to be economical and practical and reliable enough to use as a personal vehicle when we were not exploring distant regions on our birding, hiking, cycling and camping adventures.

The eventual vehicle of choice for us, the one that ticked off all of our boxes, was a Toyota Sienna minivan.

True, this soccer mom favorite, which is supposed to get 26 mpg on the highway, is not marketed or designed to be a camper. To get it into into road-tripping shape, some modifications are required.

Right out of the box, I added a U-Haul trailer hitch to accommodate a rack for our bikes. The particular rack model I bought swings out of the way to ease access to the vehicle’s rear cargo area.

In addition, I removed the van’s middle seats and made a folding plywood bed platform for the space. This spartan design allows us to use the van’s rear seats when the platform is folded forward. While folded, the platform serves as a table. The space underneath the platform is for storage.

We are planning to add a cargo case to the roof rack for additional storage.

In addition, we are planning to install rain protector/wind deflectors and homemade insect screens to the van’s rear windows. We will use the rear windows to ventilate the van while we are sleeping inside.

We’re  avid campers so already have all the gear we need to do extended car-camping trips. But one new the appliance I bought for the van is a 45-quart RTIC cooler. It cost $200. But it’s supposed to keep food cold for up to 10 days on a single load of ice.

We’re looking forward to heading out on the road for our first van-based birding-hiking-cycling-camping adventure soon. I’ll provide updates to let you know what worked and what didn’t, and I’m sure we’ll figure out ways to improve the system as we go.

Folding platform in table mode

Folding platform in bed mode

Platform with the folding mattress installed