At what age did you lose your coordination?

[puukao]

I'm right at the age of retirement, and in the last year I had to come to some pretty awful conclusions.  I'm simply not coordinated in the same way as a few years ago, and this means zero chance of buying a motorbike.  It's little stumbling in your room that makes you realize this is getting older.  If you met me, you would think i'm very athletic.  And probably very coordinated; however, I know I'm losing that edge I had only a few years ago.  Yesterday I ran about 12 kilometers at a decent clip, but only because it's a relatively safe exercise.  The more dangerous exercises are not shelved. 

 

Today I saw an older guy cross a road on his bicycle without looking for cars, and a car had to drastically slow for him.  He was maybe 55 with an expensive bike.  I'm sure he thinks he's OK.  I see this countless times in CM.  

 

We live in the most accident-ridden city in the known Universe, and I think a few of us should really ask ourselves, "Should I really be driving a motorbike?"  Especially after we spill a drink, or stumble at night, or do something that clearly marks our age.   

 

It's slightly depressing, but I think I'm preventing myself from being a statistic.  Of course anything can happen, but if we are old and losing coordination, we are risking others as well.  We should know better.

 

OK my children, sleep well..... lol.  

 

My answer:  At the age of 50, I realized I need to slow down.  Don't cry for me.  lol.  

 

Maybe this should be moved to another section, but I'm trying to help people in CM decide not to ride a motorbike and crash into me tonight.  haha.  

[canthai55]

Been riding over 50 years. Living here for the last 5, all over LOS for the previous 10.

Driving here not so bad. I learned at an early age that everyone else on the road is trying to kill you. This goes for every country in which I spent any time.

While riding you need to pay attention - ATTENTION - and you will be OK. No finding an address, no looking at pretty girls. Watch the front tires of surrounding vehicles - your first indication while in traffic what the yahoo is going to do. Cover the brake at all times. But let it slip for a second and you become a statistic. Close calls - can't count that high. But I am still here, and will ride until I go up in smoke.

[eyecatcher]

Just spare a thought for 50% of the population that never had any co ordination.

 

Glad I was born a man.

[Dante99]

Puukao

 

Okay, slow down but don't toss it in.  Do some exercises about balance and coordination.  Do some meditation or other activity to improve focus.    Improvement of those conditions is possible and often not that difficult.  You most likely can get some of that edge back.

[kannot]

Just drink more..........youll soon forget all about it

[BritManToo]

3 hours ago, puukao said:

My answer:  At the age of 50, I realized I need to slow down.  Don't cry for me.  lol. 

I was chasing a young Russian chick uphill along a trail in the Doi Suthep jungle this morning.

Didn't trip, didn't fall, kept up with a bit of gasping. I'm 62, don't give up, if you give up, you're dead.

 

[MrPatrickThai]

There was a guy here called mr.hippo - I think he was a cyclist that got in a ba accident

[orang37]

3 hours ago, puukao said:

Yesterday I ran about 12 kilometers at a decent clip ...

 

"Should I really be driving a motorbike?" 

Sounds like you're in pretty good condition, congratulations !

 

imho, unless you've been riding motosai's for many years, and are an expert, hypervigilant, rider, with great vision and keen hearing, I think to start riding one now is throwing the  dice for prizes like orthopedic surgery, and cremation.

 

Around age 60 I thought about getting one; then, I talked to a long-time expat here who is well-known for his motosai riding skills and adventures: he told me I'd be a fool to start riding at my age ... and I was in good condition, then, myself.

 

I have too many close calls rising a bicycle round here.

 

~o:37;

[eyecatcher]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I was chasing a young Russian chick uphill along a trail in the Doi Suthep jungle this morning.

Didn't trip, didn't fall, kept up with a bit of gasping. I'm 62, don't give up, if you give up, you're dead.

 

Making up more stories......

 

You are a lot older than 62

[madmen]

I noticed it when throwing freshly opened beer bottle tops from the sofa to the bin in the kitchen. I used to nail it but have gone way off lately.. Up to 1 meter either side and some even landing in the sink.

[Puwa]

6 hours ago, MrPatrickThai said:

There was a guy here called mr.hippo - I think he was a cyclist that got in a ba accident

Did he hit a sheep?

[FolkGuitar]

There is no reason for a healthy person in their 50's-60's to even assume that they are losing their coordination. The key word is 'healthy.'

I'm 72. Last year I won the Gold Medal in Men's Foil in an international Fencing tournament sponsored by the Royal Thai Navy.  There's no doubt I can't move as fast as I did in my 30's, nor as agile, but certainly no loss of coordination!

If you feel as if you are losing it, please... get a full health check and specifically address that issue with the doctors.

[puukao]

Thanks for the replies.  I have a brain and am now trying to think.... maybe there was an imbalance in my ear (I stopped using q-tips for my ears) or my vision (had laser surgery forever ago) and so maybe will get some drops.

 

Maybe I'm just overthinking things and worried that I have had zero problems, maybe it's time.  In the last five years, maybe four people died in Thailand or the UK who I knew about.  

 

OK, tomorrow tight rope walking over a pit of crocodiles. 

[seancbk]

On 1/5/2019 at 4:58 PM, puukao said:

My answer:  At the age of 50, I realized I need to slow down.  Don't cry for me.  lol.  

 

If at only 50 you feel the need to slow down because you are losing coordination then I'd get yourself to a hospital and have as many tests as possible.  

At 50 I felt no different mentally or physically to when I was 30.  I certainly didn't feel I needed to slow down or that my coordination or reaction times where any different, and at 52 now I still feel the same.  If you are still running then it sounds like you are probably in good shape physically, but maybe there is something you need to get sorted out. 

 

 

[malt25]

On 1/5/2019 at 8:44 PM, MrPatrickThai said:

There was a guy here called mr.hippo - I think he was a cyclist that got in a ba accident

And ???

[soalbundy]

My wife says I get dizzy and fall off

[JimmyJ]

17 hours ago, puukao said:

Thanks for the replies.  I have a brain and am now trying to think.... maybe there was an imbalance in my ear (I stopped using q-tips for my ears)...

It definitely could be an inner ear problem.

[Emdog]

Wife has forbidden my wearing stripes with plaids. So I suppose I am now more coordinated...

[Gracas]

Coordination - If coordination is determined by your still at ball games then I was never given any (coordination) at birth.

[oldrunner]

At 78 I cannot walk without my cane and even then it's not fun. For shopping I'm wheeled around in my wheelchair and that is very humbling. I have a regular Hospital appointment this month and I'm going to talk to my cardiologist about a hip replacement, based on my having had a double bypass and existing heart care. Although she does not complain, I know I'm a burden to my wife. I'm retired from the USAF and while that isn't all that much we still have every day bills. Maybe I should just accept the cards dealt to me and be satisfied with waking up each morning.

[Hummin]

You can maintain your coordination or getting better by doing simple practice everyday. Multitasking while you use a balance board, walk on slack line and swimming. Little by little you improve, and in fact everyone should do some excersizes everyday to preper for their elderly days. 

 

Thaiboxing is great to. 

[MuuKondiao]

On 1/5/2019 at 8:45 PM, orang37 said:

Sounds like you're in pretty good condition, congratulations !

 

imho, unless you've been riding motosai's for many years, and are an expert, hypervigilant, rider, with great vision and keen hearing, I think to start riding one now is throwing the  dice for prizes like orthopedic surgery, and cremation.

 

Around age 60 I thought about getting one; then, I talked to a long-time expat here who is well-known for his motosai riding skills and adventures: he told me I'd be a fool to start riding at my age ... and I was in good condition, then, myself.

 

I have too many close calls rising a bicycle round here.

 

~o:37;

Thanks to PuuKao for bringing up this question. 

 

Some good, thoughtful comments too. I don't have advice for you; i hope you make the best decision and live to not regret it; I am facing the same decision now too. 

I am impressed that you can still run like that. I ran track and played football many years ago but I gave up even jogging a few years ago after my bad knee just kept on going out. Now I only run in my dreams and am always surprised to find I really am running.

I have had balance problems for years and constantly afraid that one slip - in the bathtub , or on the snow or stepping off a curb .... staning on one foot to put my pants on .... or anything - can cause a crippling fall that people at my age may never recover from.

I am 71 y.o., just returned to Chiang Mai from the snow of Utah (U.S.A.), I have ridden some different size bikes over the years but not all the time. e.g. 2011=2014 in Thailand with a Honda 150 scooter.

Looking at bikes again now, costs and insurance rates and thinking the same as you about the dangers as well as the need for transportation and independence.

 

Unlike some of the other commentors I decided years ago that driving a car here was too much for me and that I felt better on a bike. Dangerous as it is I reasoned that it was better to have control of a relatively light machine and be constantly on alert and trust my machine's brakes and acceleration and my reaction ability; and to not even try to convert my brain over to left-side driving and re-learning how to judge distances/spacial reasoning and shifting gears with the right hand. I used to yell a lot at my g/f driving like a clueless child all the time and Thai friends who would not get it that they have to stop and look and intersections and accelerate the car to get the hell out of the way of the vehicle they have just cut off, et cetera - but I never offered to take the wheel and show them how it is done. I did not have the confidence.

But - I reasoned - I could still manouver a scooter out of harm's way and no one follows any rules of the road anyway so I have as much chance as the next person on the road on a bike.

 

And now - I am even older than when I last got a Thai DL. Funny thing, 3 or 4 years ago in Arizona I had to take a motorcycle course to get the m.c. endorsement and I was amazed at what I didn't know: like the instructor used to yell at me to use the front brake when going into a curve and to look ahead to coming out of the curve - instead of looking just ahead of my handle bars as I had been doing all my life. I passed.

 

Anyway, now I think the moving bike creates its own balance - gyroscope effect and all that - and you do not have to use your balance until you are stopping or moving at 1 - 5 mph, when your feet are both on the ground anyway.

Right?

 

So - saying I someday get the bank deposit thing right and the visa thing and a bank account again and get to stay in LOS and don't die of a heart attack and am in a position to invest in a scooter again my question is: should I chance it? Is it feasible, safe, wise????

 

Any advice is welcome.

[Kentwants2run]

I agree with the above comments - go see a doctor.  I ran my fastest 5K, 10K, and Half marathon when I was 58.  No problems with coordination, although I don't know if I could hit the bin in the kitchen either...

[rumak]

14 hours ago, oldrunner said:

At 78 I cannot walk without my cane and even then it's not fun. For shopping I'm wheeled around in my wheelchair and that is very humbling. I have a regular Hospital appointment this month and I'm going to talk to my cardiologist about a hip replacement, based on my having had a double bypass and existing heart care. Although she does not complain, I know I'm a burden to my wife. I'm retired from the USAF and while that isn't all that much we still have every day bills. Maybe I should just accept the cards dealt to me and be satisfied with waking up each morning.

just curious.....do you have a thai or farang wife ?   How long have you been married?   

Keep doing the best you can !

[FritsSikkink]

On ‎1‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 3:59 PM, puukao said:

Maybe I'm just overthinking things and worried that I have had zero problems, maybe it's time.  In the last five years, maybe four people died in Thailand or the UK who I knew about.  

 

OK, tomorrow tight rope walking over a pit of crocodiles. 

I do think you have a problem, go see a doctor for a checkup, definitely not normal to loose coordination.

[hmficc]

It varies but as a rule men out live their motor bike and penis at about the same time of life.

[puukao]

Thinking about this more, I have a few thoughts:

 

1.  I've very athletic, so maybe I'm like a boxer who knows they lost their "super fast" jab.  To some, my jab now might be super impressive, but to me, it's clearly not like before.  I am hard on myself.

 

2.  I've had blood tests and other tests at the hospital during my own yearly check-up, no issues.

 

3.  I can still easily play basketball, run up and down a mountain, swim doing flip-turns, ping pong, and body fat is probably in the top 5%.

 

I guess I'm just convincing myself that a motorbike in CM is not for me, and recently I've heard so many horrible stories of older people crashing.  My mind would still like to race around the city, testing my limit, feeling young.......i don't mean simply going from A to B.  

 

We all have different "gut feelings," and mine says to slow down on the younger mindset of taking chances, because i might not be able to weave in and out of traffic like if i was 18.  

 

I'm even quite good at racquetball, which takes coordination.

 

So I THINK what I meant was "I lost my edge."    Yes, that's it.  

 

At first I wondered if it was coordination, but not in the general sense.  Maybe to my standard, but I really mean I lost my edge.  

 

Like skiing down a mountain.  You are young, strong bones, go 70 kph and get the rush of endorphins.  But now I would be at 60 kph, not as confident as before.  

 

Now that I think about it, that's really what I meant.   

 

[anterian]

I was 100% until I was 80, swimming, cycling, badminton etc. then my hip joints started to play up, I became more sedentary and my coordination is getting poor and balance is bad. Now at 83 if I kneel down I cannot stand back up unless I can pull on something with my hands. Basically once you lose the ability to be active everything goes to pot.

[canthai55]

Re: - the dangers of riding a bike in LOS

Fact - most deaths by country in the world.

Fact - 80% of those are motorcycles

Gut feeling - more than half of those deaths were after drinking alcohol, and half of the remainder from excess speed.

Using these guidelines, and having spent 15 years riding the highways in this country, on everything from a HD to a PCX, Thailand is no more dangerous than many other countries I have rode in.

To stack the odds in my favour - 25 years since I had a drink, and I do not ride at night.

 

Edited January 8, 2019 by canthai55

[villagefarang]

1 hour ago, puukao said:

Thinking about this more, I have a few thoughts:

 

1.  I've very athletic, so maybe I'm like a boxer who knows they lost their "super fast" jab.  To some, my jab now might be super impressive, but to me, it's clearly not like before.  I am hard on myself.

 

2.  I've had blood tests and other tests at the hospital during my own yearly check-up, no issues.

 

3.  I can still easily play basketball, run up and down a mountain, swim doing flip-turns, ping pong, and body fat is probably in the top 5%.

 

I guess I'm just convincing myself that a motorbike in CM is not for me, and recently I've heard so many horrible stories of older people crashing.  My mind would still like to race around the city, testing my limit, feeling young.......i don't mean simply going from A to B.  

 

We all have different "gut feelings," and mine says to slow down on the younger mindset of taking chances, because i might not be able to weave in and out of traffic like if i was 18.  

 

I'm even quite good at racquetball, which takes coordination.

 

So I THINK what I meant was "I lost my edge."    Yes, that's it.  

 

At first I wondered if it was coordination, but not in the general sense.  Maybe to my standard, but I really mean I lost my edge.  

 

Like skiing down a mountain.  You are young, strong bones, go 70 kph and get the rush of endorphins.  But now I would be at 60 kph, not as confident as before.  

 

Now that I think about it, that's really what I meant.   

 

In my opinion you have a healthy sense of self-awareness.  Not everyone is so attuned to their bodies and abilities.  Just continue to listen to what your body and senses are telling you.

 

Listen to your “gut feelings”  and continue to stay as active as possible, while being focused on longevity over short-term thrills.  At least that is my opinion.

 

On occasion I test my balance by riding my bicycle with no hands and notice a slight drop in confidence or what you might call edge.  I am 64 and try to gauge my abilities based on my own expectations and not by comparing myself to anyone else.

Edited January 8, 2019 by villagefarang