It’s time for the transition. Turning 65 is not just a birthday, it’s also the end of a career. I’ve been flying since 1982, and with the mandatory retirement age of 65 my 38 years of aviation have come to an end. It’s also the beginning of my wife’s and my next phase; we’re kicking off retirement with the “big purge” (the most difficult part of the process), selling our home, selling our vehicles (we may keep one) and heading off to Europe for hopefully a few years of travel. 2020 is booked already and includes time in Budapest, Prague, Ireland and the UK. My daughter and I are doing Kilimanjaro in August and I’m going back to Italy for another week of biking. There will always be time for hiking, running and cycling. Which leads me to the reasoning behind my clownish “65” birthday feats. I figure if I’m really lucky, I might have 10 years of mental and physical fitness to do many of the things I’ve put off because of time commitment while working….kayaking the Inside Passage, skiing in Greenland, any one or more of the long trails, cycling endurance events etc. With this in mind I have kept on top of my fitness with an eye towards preparing for retirement. Essentially, I figure I should be able to run a half marathon, bike a century, or hike over 25 miles per day for multiple days at the drop of a hat with minimal extra preparation.

*Partly cloudy skies on the west side of Lake Sammamish*

My “test” of progress took 4 days, centered around my birthday. On day 1 I confiscated the stair machine and climbed 6500 feet in 3 hours. The next day was weight day, so I did a plank for 65 seconds, leg pressed 65 pounds 65 times in 65 seconds. Next up was bench press; 65 pounds, 65 reps in 6.5 minutes….this was actually the hardest thing I did. There was little time for rest between sets to get under the time limit and I was sore for days. Lastly I grabbed some 20 pound dumbbells and curled 65 times in a row. Day 3 was treadmill time. After a half mile warmup, I ran 6.5 miles at 6.5 MPH pace. Weather delayed my final task, the 65 mile bike. It’s been rather wet and gloomy here in the PNW but a few days later the forecast was for partly sunny skies. With temps in the mid 30’s I set off on my Salsa and rode north and back, looping around Lake Sammamish in the process and riding around a neighborhood a few times to arrive at home with 65 miles on the Cateye. My 5 hour ride (2000’ climb) was mostly pleasant, with some rain showers, followed by sleet and snow about 50 miles in.

I kind of chuckle with the whole “65” contrived workout thing, but it did validate my training regimen and has positioned me physically to handle strenuous outings for my upcoming events. Of course, there is always the caveat that shit happens, but we have no control over many things in life. I’m concentrating on what I do have control over. Thanks for reading.