I rode for the first time in 25 years today...

Ummmm k.... lol

Glad you got back in the saddle! Never too old to ride… maybe too old to use the camera, though 🤣

Amazing how it looks both over and under exposed at the same time! LOL.

   Awesome that you got out riding again! I've been away from riding on a regular basis for a little less time than You. I've ridden here and there though. So its maybe been about 3 or 4 years since I rode  at all. 

My pause started off with injuries stacking up, and then after healing for years , I got an EMTB to get into shape and get back on an MX bike. But my Mother  had some health issues that required a lot of help. And I was her primary care giver for the last 4 or 5 years. And I could not afford to get hurt since my mother relied on me for so much. She passed away early this summer , so I've been thinking alot about riding again. I just need to grow my savings again after spending so much of it to be able to care for my mum. I've got an RMZ450 that I might ride or try converting to electric. Or get a Stark Varg. 

 What was it that kept you away from riding for so long , and what made you decide to ride again?

Cool , did you ride in a Cave ? 

Try opening your eyes next time

My question is, WHAT did you ride?

Must be the time for all the oldies to have a go again, I did a race yesterday at the age of 56 after 10 years out. I hadn't even sat on a bike since retiring till morning practice, and all I can say is.... what the hell happened to 450s since the last time I rode one in 2006...? Borrowed a friends' CRF and the thing was a missile.

Had a great time till two guys collided in mid air off a jump right in front of me and I only just avoided piling into the wreckage as I landed. One poor guy broke his pelvis and my wife watched it all happen. It made me realise that this was going to be just a one-off, then back to retirement.

I ride XC endurance races and considered myself pretty fit but today I can't get out of a chair without help and my wife had to help me get dressed 😄

I rode Saturday for the first time in 15 years. It’s Monday and I can barely walk. 🤣🤣🤣. It was a blast though. I’m 48 and have a replaced knee.

Got the old man back on his ‘05 CRF450 this summer. 64 y/o and still hit the big double on the farm track. Sorry for the crap photo, it was pulled from a video.

I rode a Varg after not riding in about 18 or so years. Well I had ridden a customers bike here and there . Some customers insist I try their bikes and I have  a place I can ride right on the property my shop is so its hard to say no to. But its mostly just a couple laps or less.  I have trails and  wide  dirt road like sections that I've built for my MTB and SXS and also my mother to drive her jeep and walk on. I have some jumps but all are super safe and mild. Its built on an old farm field that was  abandoned  in the 80s and has mostly newer growth. The dirt is amazing, but its not much elevation change. Its a loam that gets hard packed if I am out on it a lot. Right now its covered in grass, and I'm wondering how the grass on my track looks better than my lawn.  I keep thinking about going out and ripping it up and doing some moto's , feeling what it felt like to ride Unadilla in the old days . But I seem to have misplaced my boots , that I got and rode in one time so far.  I will try and get out there before it gets cold and my chance at riding of a  grass track goes away. 

When I took a Stark Varg out I had been riding my EMTB almost everyday . Just doing a mile or 3  ,short rides.  But I was shocked at how comfortable I was on the Varg and how it felt like I had never stopped riding. It makes me want to go through a current generation RMZ I have as a display bike and get out and ride it and see if the Varg was just an amazing fit for me, or if I somehow just feel more comfortable riding now after so many years off. But around that time my Mom had started to need more and more help and had been diagnosed with something that we knew was only going to result in her needing more as time passed so I suspended that idea. 

 I do hope that You are able to get out and ride more. One thing I really liked about the Varg was that I could turn the power way down and ease back into riding, but I wouldn't be stuck with a slow beginner bike and I could dial the power up as my skills come back . No matte how quickly or slowly that was. And 450's are so fast, but my physical size, 6'9" and currently 320lbs ( 240 ish is my in shape weight) so there are not a lot of bikes that would be a fun bike to ease back into riding like the way the Varg or a similar electric option would be.I had always rode Honda's , CR250 and CRF450's since I was about 14 I've been over 6'7" so I got onto a full sized bike early on.  For me the Varg was the most fun I've had on a bike , maybe ever!  Although I have had some really fun battles with buddies, so I would say the most fun I ever had riding alone. And really close to the most fun riding a bike ever. 

Hopefully you can change that setting and get out on a more familiar surface and do some more riding sometime soon.  I had a similar issue with the auto white balance with my Insta360 X5 . I was able to make some of it viewable with some tweaking in the video editing software. But it was still really bad.  My attempt at filming myself on the Varg went a little better. I had a different insta360 camera mounted up and got most of the ride . But the mount was loose and started to rattle and ended up falling off. It got a really cool looking shot of me riding away from it though. And the camera was fine. I still haven't posted any of that video anyplace. I wanna try and get rid of the rattle from the mount, but keep the other sound. And I just have not taken the time to do it yet.  If you ever get the chance to try a Stark Varg, try one. Even if you think you will not like electric. Its a super fun bike. I know it sounds like an add for a Varg. But right now its the best option for a real dirtbike that is also electric. There are some smaller companies and other bikes coming out.  So that segment will grow. 

Sounds just like my experience. My last race was in 2001 or so on a CR250. My RM125 seized the week of the race and I had to borrow a bike. B class at Cathy's Creek MX In NC. Sold the RM right after without even fixing it. Got a 2017 YZ250F in Jan 2022. Thought I would just jump right back in. Found out i was terrified to jump literally anything! Not even a speed bump. lol. It took my 4-5 months of riding to finally get back in the groove a bit. Having a track in my backyard definitely helps. I feel pretty good on a bike now. Have a 2017 KTM 250SX. Went back to a 2T. Kept stalling the 4t's too much. 

Congrats on getting back into it! I had a long 16 year layoff after kids and career reprioritized. Started back up a few years ago after moving and seeing a nice track just minutes from my house. It was too tempting. It's amazing how well we remember our riding habits from two decades ago. Unfortunately, they're often self taught bad habits that are tough to reprogram for us old guys.

It's amazing I stopped riding with a newborn, and yesterday I went to the track and he came with as a certified first responder (just in case).

Glad you’re back. But Why TF did you take off for 25 years? 🤷‍♂️

Congrats to y'all on your return! 

I'm 63 and ride often just for fun offroad, but still usually still at a pretty good clip riding with my 2 grown sons. I've definitely slowed it down though, because even though i ride a fare share, i'm 63 dammit and the knees are sore! My swollen LCL survived and is being iced. This past weekend I had 2 longtime friends, and one of their buds join a big annual Fall ride. Two of them hadn't been riding in about 2 years due to injury, and one of them is getting back into riding after 17 years off! Got himself a sweet Beta this earlier this spring!

Haha, man, I’m sorry the footage didn’t turn out. I’m laughing with you btw. Sounds like fun though

We forgive you Tuttle. As long as you don't do that again. What bike are you getting? You went to college so you should be getting a new Factory Edition (your choice)

Did you use protection, were you worried about damaging your knee? Was the next day pain equaly all over, or centered around your knee?

I see lots of deals on low hour used factory editions on Marketplace. 

I didn’t wear any protection. I have a CTI custom brace, but it was from before I had replacement surgery so it probably doesn’t fit. Knee feels okay, it’s just all the muscles that get used when riding are sore. The quad on the replaced side is more sore, but muscles are smaller on that side. I need to hit the gym.