Shortly before retirement at 64 I sold my race operations and haven’t looked back.
Wondering what others, in the same boat, have turned to?

I’ve gone all in cycling. I have a 2016 Specialized Roubaix CF road bike. I ride with a group 2 times a week. It’s a social ride that rarely exceeds 25 miles. I also ride solo 50 to 60 miles at a time weekly. Not to fast yet at 15-19 mph on the flats. My 2019 goal is 150 miles a week and road 5100 miles last year. I’m in the best shape in decades and certainly less weight then the last 40 years.
I also volunteer at a local charity bike shop a few days a week as a bike mechanic with 2-4 other retired men. We refurbish donated bikes for local kids. Gave away 1,700 at Christmas. Darn rewarding.
I do miss the race competition and some of the racers, but doubt I’ll ever race again. I definitely got off the Merry go round.
Share your story.

I still work but have slowed down not my choice.

quote:

Originally posted by Footloose:
Metal detecting is fun at times. I also bought a nice RCA plane never put fuel in it.Whole deal is still new. I tried to fly a friends plane and my neck cannot lean back long enough to watch. So All that is for sale. I also have 3 German Shepherds in Training. I have trained dogs since I was 12 yrs old.In clubs etc. Of and on I do mechanic charity work.

If I’m not racing I’m fishing! And then there is Pheasants...
Was wondering what you were doing Paul. Retiring slowed my personal racing but as a crew chief for Jeff my work has doubled... then there are the folks who say; you are retired, do this for me...

I have taken up cycling as my hobby. I lost 50lbs and bought a used 2016 Specialized Roubaix road bike. I ride in a group 2 times a week and solo longer rides (50-60mes) 3-4 times a week. Average speed 15-18 mph and 150 to 200 miles a week. I continue to challenge myself. Not as exciting as qualifying in a T/D or Quick 16 race or going rounds, but great deal for better for health. I volunteer as a bike mechanic a few days a week at a nonprofit bike shop in West Palm. A group of retired folks and I refurbish and make road ready donated bikes with most being kids bikes. We work on them throughout the year and have a big community give away at Christmas. Last December we gave away 1,700 bikes on one day. Lots of happy kids and tremendous satisfaction. I do have a part time job w2 work, working for Spark Cognition from home. It’s AI work and keeps my mind in the game.
I also bought a 2600RB Imagine camping trailer and get in camping when the wife and me find time. Last summer we looped the country. +8000 miles in 2-1/2 months. 27 campgrounds. A week on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, a week in Yellowstone and a week in Wakefield Mi. Meet with Cashflow (Vern and his lovely wife) near Carlsbad NM and that was a highlight. Meeting an old on line friend is terrific. A once in a lifetime trip. The Grand Canyon was the best. So much to see and do and fun cycling the rim. America is spectacular to tour around. Signed up for an Africa trip for later in the year. SafariS and other South African spots for 2 weeks. Wife’s bucket list item. Wife does not cycling but she’s volunteering at Peggy Adams Animal rescue 6 days a week. She’s very happy doing that.
I do miss certain parts of bracket racing, but the sport had lost most of what I enjoyed about it over the last 10 years and when IHRA ended Sportsman racing, including NitroJam and the ProAm races, it was time for me to change. 30 years of mostly terrific memories.

You and your wife are enjoying life and retirement! That’s key!

Never played organized baseball but I'm going to train to play over age 80 softball pretty soon.

Bill, no more sitting in front of the tv with your hand in your pants? Seriously, at 80 that’s awesome!

quote:

Originally posted by Bill Koski:
Never played organized baseball but I'm going to train to play over age 80 softball pretty soon.

Make sure you guys ain't using Red Dots!

My father would love to get back into softball or tennis, but after having one knee replaced at 74 and not wanting to damage the other, he is sticking with fishing!

When he was in his 40's he played semi-pro softball, yes, was on a team and got paid to play. He used to be a professional baseball player, but that was in the 60's.

Anyway, I was the designated pitcher for batting practice at our home. We only had three acres. We would play in the corner of one of our horse corrals. My brother was the outfielder, my sister the middle fielder. He could hit way further than we could throw! Once in awhile I would mix-in a Red Dot just to see how far he would hit it. I am not sure of the distance from that corner of our property to the street, bet it was 500 feet, but he could hit it an easy 350+ feet and it would roll the rest of the way! Heard that baby sizzling through the damn air on a humid day!

Have fun!

I like guns and shooting but I can see that getting harder for me now and I am only 50. The eyesight is going and the anything other than shooting from a bench rest is getting hard on me.

Probably end up selling the guns and cars and using that money on a convalescent home lol.

Mike, I thought a red dot was what you saw, as a batter, on an incoming slider.

quote:

Originally posted by moparacer:
I like guns and shooting but I can see that getting harder for me now and I am only 50. The eyesight is going and the anything other than shooting from a bench rest is getting hard on me.

Probably end up selling the guns and cars and using that money on a convalescent home lol.

I was thinking I was going soft with my shot until a couple weekends ago. Finally got a decent shot and dropped a coyote at 210 Yards. That felt good.

I guess I got a little bored with my combo, and there were a couple deals I wanted to try before I was too old to do it well. Last winter I converted to efi, and now I am playing with turbos. Not trying to rotate the earth. Just a little quicker and something different. Not ready to move on from racing yet. In fact, my son will be in jrs for a few more years. We will see what he does after that.

Heck, basketball and track seasons keep me busy spectating plenty.

quote:

Originally posted by Bucky:

quote:

Originally posted by moparacer:
I like guns and shooting but I can see that getting harder for me now and I am only 50. The eyesight is going and the anything other than shooting from a bench rest is getting hard on me.

Probably end up selling the guns and cars and using that money on a convalescent home lol.

I was thinking I was going soft with my shot until a couple weekends ago. Finally got a decent shot and dropped a coyote at 210 Yards. That felt good.

I guess I got a little bored with my combo, and there were a couple deals I wanted to try before I was too old to do it well. Last winter I converted to efi, and now I am playing with turbos. Not trying to rotate the earth. Just a little quicker and something different. Not ready to move on from racing yet. In fact, my son will be in jrs for a few more years. We will see what he does after that.

Heck, basketball and track seasons keep me busy spectating plenty.

Nice shooting. Funny you mention Coyotes. Other night we had a large pack right out behind the house. They are really getting bad around here and I thought about hunting them some too. Don't think anyone else in my area does.

There may have been a fair amount of luck to that one I must admit. But it was me and I will take credit for that one!
I have heard of trapping (tried it and could never get one...they may be smarter than I am), poisoning (scares me that I may get unintended victims, including my own dog. One guy I know had a real coyote issue going on. He took an old swing set and hung treble hooks...big ones from it. Threw part of a chicken on it, and he said he got about one a night. It's kinda horrible, and I'm not sure I could bring myself to do it. But if I lost a family pet to them I bet I could. He hung high enough that most dogs couldn't get to it.
One neighbor is serious about it in a sporting way. Kinda. He will throw a dead pig or calf from a farm into a cattle trough full of water in the winter. The tapered plastic ones. Once it freezes he turns it upside down and there is a bait sycle. They have to work at it a bit and it gives him some time. He has a trail cam that takes a picture with motion, and sends it to his cell phone via text. He sneaks over to the window, slides the window open, slips on the night vision, and pops them. I bet his has 25 under his belt this last winter. (he warns to get the muzzle of the gun out the window, as the pressure release will blow plastic window trim off.

I left that coyote up on the hill, and I haven't seen one come through my property since. In fact, nothing but bugs has touched it. I thought the buzzards would at least pick at it. Nope.

I also may take up conservative activism when I retire. Just for fun.

Feels great to give back to the children in my area. If you ever get off the Merry go round, please turn out.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/w...he-distance/27829807

Since I'm moving back to the mountains when I retire, ATVing!!! Add in camping and enjoying what Mother Nature has to offer!

If hunting coyotes gives you a thrill, come on by we have lots of them. You won't have to leave the front porch to bag the limit.

Anyone have a good recipe for coyote?

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by RPROGAS:
If hunting coyotes gives you a thrill, come on by we have lots of them. You won't have to leave the front porch to bag the limit.

Anyone have a good recipe for coyote?

Bob

ACME Recipes! LOL!
They are here too Bob... Air soft... Getting chickens , cats and small dogs..

I'm 56. Racing is going to be my retirement hobby. Too busy working and saving for retirement currently to go all-in on racing right now. And "all-in" for me will still be an extremely low-dollar operation, just looking to be able to go more often than the 12 or so Saturdays per year I get to do it right now.

I raced my dragster till I was 64. I would of still been racing had IHRA not eliminate Sportsman races like Nitrojam or the division races (I forgot what they called them). Add to that the bracket finales for the Fla tracks opted out of the big races that I enjoyed once a year.
You folks in the Carolinas are very lucky to have a very active bracket program.

Forgot to mention the $$$ winter series races dried up. The big bucks bash at SGMP was great. BMP winter $$$ race is also gone. Ralph still has a great winter race at IRR and I miss. PBIR will never recover from wrecking the 5 day.