At what age did you feel too old to learn new things?

[Shaaarrrp]

I'm wondering when the more experienced folks out there started to feel that they were too old and withered to pickup a new hobby that most consider physically taxing. Maybe something like surfing, skiing or skateboarding. Or if you hear it a lot from friends but aren't there, how old are you?

If it was unrelated to age, what made you slow down? I assume it's the usual stuff like kids or a job you can't live without, or injury but if there are other reasons please share.

Also curious what physical hobbies some of yall successfully picked up at older age

[rod9301]

I started climbing at 51

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[Harry]

In my 40s I was a skier who also was a fly fisherman.

Now in my 60s I am a fly fisherman who also skis.

My heart problems slowed me down a lot. Made me embrace a slower pace of life. I’m fine with that, I’m stoked on life.


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[Mudfoot]

I've always said that once you stop learning new tricks you are nothing but an old dog.

[North]

My dad started MTB in his 50s and is pushing 70 now. Rides singletrack 3+ days/wk during the summer and it's his favorite thing. Gets excited like a little kid when he's out there.

I think it's harder to develop the instinctual skills that keep you from getting hurt when you start a new sport late. He's had a few semi-serious injuries (broken collerbone, broken elbow). I think the health (mental and physical) benefits are worth the risk so I encourage it.

[VTskibum]

Started surfing at 39y/o. Don’t live close enough to the beach to ever really get more than probably 10-15 sessions a year. I enjoy it, but know I’ll never be what would be considered good. Better than sitting on the beach all day and made me enjoy beach vacations which was not the case beforehand.

Learning to jump bikes better in my mid 40s now. Broke my scapula/shoulder a few years ago so taking a cautious approach to learning. Slow&steady but seeing some progress.


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[Meadow Skipper]

The core memories of having been injured a lot doing ‘fun things’ make me kind of reticent to take up new things where there’s a strong likelihood of getting fucked up. Also aging has taken a certain amount of flexibility and strength away, so there’s that too.

Admittedly, I’ve been giving up more things I used to do than taking up new things.

[Bunion 2020]

Been there and done that on most physical endeavors. My heart seems good but I am starting down the Harry path. I am joining a gym.

[Danno]

I started cross fit a few months ago (at 55), does that count? My first rule of cross fit*? Don't get injured.


* The first rule of cross fit for me is generally don't talk about cross fit, but it seemed appropriate here.

[The AD]

In my 40s I was a skier who also was a fly fisherman.

Now in my 60s I am a fly fisherman who also skis.

My heart problems slowed me down a lot. Made me embrace a slower pace of life. I’m fine with that, I’m stoked on life.

I think this is the right attitude. There are things that can keep you entertained and active regardless of your fitness or physical ability. It's probably not a great idea to let one specific activity dominate your life, anyway.

[PB]

Ya know, checkers can be physically taxing for peeps of a certain age.

[AlpiNord]

Pro Tip: a full suspension emtnbike takes 20 years and 20 pounds off of you and opens up a whole new batch of possibilities.

[raisingarizona13]

I'm getting better at jumping on the mountain bike but at 48 I take things very slowly and safely. The last two injuries I had were brutal. In fact I'd say all injuries since 38 have been really tough and painful, like I'm still feeling all of them. that pain sticks with me and it's harder to want to progress when I basically know that at some point another good crash is just around the corner.

That being said I'm not about to pick up another sport/hobby where I should expect severe pummelings as part of the learning process but this is more me than some sort of aging rule imo.

As I'm approaching 50 I'd like to throw it into a sort of cruise control and be stoked on my achievements and skill levels as is and work towards new things that I find exciting and rewarding but don't break my bones.

[da klixter]

I'll be 77 in March. I still ski - resort and backcountry - as much as possible, 22 days so far this year. In the non-ski season, I ride a dirtbike and an adventure motorcycle. After an episode of cancer, surgery, and radiation, my motorcycling is on temporary hold while my vision recovers. For new things, I got an electric dirtbike to ease back into it. My mantra is don't be stupid or do stupid stuff. Don't crash. I'm not fast, but then I never was. I'm technically a better skier than I ever was, and I probably enjoy it more than ever. As one of my (same age) friends says "don't let the old man in". This is not practice, folks. Make every day count. Happy new year.

CK

[crankplank]

Great thread. 33 and committed to kind of maxing out my skillset on board the next few years, taking a methodical approach to sending and practicing. Picked up a skateboard because id like to learn how to do that stylishly at a low level and know there will be some slams required and that my window for that is not endless. Im basically looking at raisingarizonas cruise control horizon and trying to make good use of my current time. I don't want to look back on my current years and wish I had tried a little harder

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[singlesline]

There's always pickleball...

[raisingarizona13]

Great thread. 33 and committed to kind of maxing out my skillset on board the next few years, taking a methodical approach to sending and practicing. Picked up a skateboard because id like to learn how to do that stylishly at a low level and know there will be some slams required and that my window for that is not endless. Im basically looking at raisingarizonas cruise control horizon and trying to make good use of my current time. I don't want to look back on my current years and wish I had tried a little harder

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Good call, 38 was a major turning point for me. At 32-34 I was still going full send. I hit my last big cliff drop at 33, 60-ish footer and was fucking pinning it down steep terrain. I can't imagine some of those hits and airs I was doing at that point any longer. Becoming a Dad though definitely had it's affects and probably induced that 38 yr old turn down.

[toast2266]

Having kids was the turning point for me. I was still feeling pretty good in my late 30's - skiing and biking as well as I ever had. Yes, injuries hurt more and took longer to heal from, but I was better at riding hard while staying *just* within my limits, so I wasn't taking too many bad crashes. I think I'd still be going pretty strong if I hadn't had kids.

After kids (just before I turned 40), I just don't have the time to get out as much, and when I do get out, it's generally for shorter adventures. Less ski touring, less all day bike rides, and overall just less fitness. Which also means less muscle mass to help when I crash.

At this point, I'm less interested in finding a new active sport as I am in clinging to the prowess I once had in the sports I'm already skilled(ish) at. That said, this winter is so terrible that I really need to find a viable alternative to skiing.

[Buster Highmen]

I tore my acl 23 years ago. Recovery was a bitch and I more or less stopped rage skiing then. No more 45+mph, no cliffs bigger than 15'. And I started doing the gym up until Covid.

One of the interesting things is that up until about that time 23 years ago, skiing in the PNW was reasonable in terms of crowds. It was for so long the best kept secret in skiing. Sure, there were a few crowded days and Alpy chair 2 was a zoo on pow days, but the scene was so much more mellow. The Crustal side country was empty. In that interval, skiing around the Puget Sound has gotten fucked, so crowded and I guess the wide adoption of fat skis hurt the stashes a lot. The pow frenzy days got really onerous, in part due to my reaction to the competition for resources and I changed my whole approach. Fuck powder days and fuck the rope drop madness, I redirected myself to avoid all that and enjoy the crud or cut up stuff more. I optimized away from the hysteria and I'm much happier skiing in the lower density zones. I embrace a new mindset about skiing.

I used to love to river rat too and in particular find big cliffs to jump and obscure places to fish. Parenting saw that curtail and now with the pending empty nest, I'm doing more slower stuff like gardening, planting trees and carpentry, math puzzles and reading. I've learned a lot about carpentry and the value of the appropriate tools. I bike a lot more now too, but not anything tech, just slow rolling around the dirt and side roads in the neighborhood. I'm more crash averse in the last 30 years, but that's no big change.

[Jvhowube]

At this point, I'm less interested in finding a new active sport as I am in clinging to the prowess I once had in the sports I'm already skilled(ish) at. That said, this winter is so terrible that I really need to find a viable alternative to skiing.

Were you in my moving thread? Either way, I moved from Steamboat to Bellingham at the beginning of November. My ski-wall-art installation is going unused because of this season's lack of snow up here, but I've been mountain biking non-stop. Trails are in perfect condition. Part of my move was motivated by my becoming jaded about the state of skiing (which are especially front-of-mind in Steamboat) - the fighting for powder, the lines, the rushing to wake up early, the building for the sake of churning out more cash. The other part was my body was starting to feel torn up during ski seasons (35). Biking is easier on everything (except when you crash) than skiing.

If it ever snows up here, I'm thinking it's time to start heading into the backcountry more often.

[Dantheman]

33...Picked up a skateboard because id like to learn how to do that stylishly at a low level and know there will be some slams required and that my window for that is not endless.

I tried to learn BMX at 33, also with modest goals in mind. That did not end well.

[tellybele]

The age will be what you are whenever you pull the plug on yourself. Fortunately I got a little f'd up at a young age and started PT when I was 19 and had a gym membership since(56 next month) until COVID. I managed to still do what I love to a couple years with minimal, very minimal PT until last summer. Damn, my shoulder lost a bit of ROM(full AC separation when I was 20) and the old knee and hip shits resurfaced and it was actually hard rolling out of bed and making easy direction changes etc when strolling about. After a moto day last fall, I realized I needed to get my ass back in the gym as it is the easiest thing to do to stay active in a fun way...just put-putting along and not pushing it or trying new things is essentially a form of death. At 45 I finally got a dirt bike and it has been one the funnest things I have done, both in terms of the learning process as well as where it has taken me. My first year or so I'd pick the bike up 20+ times a ride and I just figured it'd help with deadlifting ;^). So I bought a book and would go to the local TH and work on the drills outlined in the book. I did this for about 30 hrs. Been on the MTB for about 40yrs and I wouldn't realize the crossover techniques until I learned to ride the moto. It was a process and I am loving the throttle and all the shit we get to ride in MT, ID and UT.

Whatever you do, don't give up on yourself. Realize that anything worthwhile takes a lot of work and even more past 45 or so...

Good luck, giv'r and Ride with Conviction!!

[XXX-er]

Kind of wierd for me cuz I quit working at 49 to ski/ padle/ bike/ drink beer smoke dope and chase wimen so i would say not having to play hard ball definatley had an effect on me, covid might be a low point and coming out of Covid has been positive

[tang]

Age is partially state of mind. Stay curious. Challenge yourself on new things. I’ve picked up woodworking, after being inept in shop class in middle school. I’ve achieved a functional level, next step is aesthetic value.
On ski objective stuff, I do feel the clock ticking tho!

[AdironRider]

Warren Miller really knew what he was on about.