What will you be doing when you’re 85?

If you’re Sydney Abrams, you’ll be getting ready to ride this weekend’s Group Health Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic. Sydney’s been riding the event for as long as he can remember. When I gave him a call to share with him that he’s our oldest rider this year, he said “Surely there’s someone older.”

Nope. He’s got the next oldest rider beat by five years. But he thinks there should be more octogenarians on the ride.

“A few years ago, I looked around the ride and didn’t recognize anyone,” he lamented. “I had more friends who rode, but they got older and decided they didn’t want to or couldn’t, or they died.”

For the past few years, Sydney, too, has cut back, riding half the STP and returning home from Centralia on the train. He emphasized to me that his ride “doesn’t count” since he doesn’t finish in Portland. But clearly, when he doesn’t see any people his age riding bicycles, it does count.

He decided to get into biking when he moved to Mercer Island 55 years ago.

“They told me, anyone who lives on Mercer Island and doesn’t ride a bike is crazy.” So he went to get a bike. When he visited a shop, he was overwhelmed by the technical aspects the sales person peppered him with, and told the mechanic he had no idea what he was talking about.

“He told me, ‘Well that’s a funny thing to say about a $400 bicycle,’ and he was right! Back then, four hundred dollars was like four thousand dollars. So I bought a $150 bike instead.”

Even that, he admits, was a chunk of change to drop on a bicycle. Sydney figured if he spent that much, he’d have to ride it, or “My wife would give me hell if I didn’t.”

And ride he did. Sydney recalled how he worked in wine distribution and sales, and would park his car and ride his bike to do his sales calls.

Sydney remembers attending Cascade membership meetings on Mercer Island, where the Club was formed 42 years ago. He also served as the chair of the citizen’s advisory committee on bicycling, a joint venture of the State House and Senate Transportation Committees. “If it ever had anything to do with bicycling, I supported it,” he said.

Today, though, he is troubled by conflict on the trails among users. He shared story after story of pedestrians – particularly elderly ones – who have been “scared off the trails” by bicyclists who ride fast and aggressively. His stories are sad – and embarrassing. No elderly women out for a walk should get cussed out or threatened by guys on bikes. His own wife, a noted artist, was clipped by a pedal and had to have surgery to repair the injury.

Sydney presses on, a good ambassador for staying active later in life.

“A few years ago, I had to walk up the Puyallup hill. I was exhausted. But I tell people, ‘Even if you have to walk a hill or two, you can still have a nice ride.’”

Look for Sydney riding his blue Rivendell Romulus on the first leg of this weekend’s event. Take a moment to ponder, “What will I be doing when I’m 85 years old?” and consider how impressive it is for Sydney to be out there. Then, when you’re back home and riding your local trails, look out for the other octogenarians. After all, if you keep bicycling in your life, you’ll likely live to be one of them.

[Author note: Is this what our community has come to? It interests me to think, here’s an 85-year-old man who’s been biking for most of his life. He's just like each of us, plus a few decades. Sharing the trail with care and mutual respect should be the norm so that we’re not literally running the active senior citizens, insulting the walkers and intimidating the kids off the trails. Who are the vulnerable user in those instances? We who ride bikes want courtesy, safety and respect on the roads and trails. That means we have to give it as well.]

For Ben Talbert and his family, the Group Health Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic has already changed their lives.

The Talbert family

A middle school principal, Ben started cycling a year ago to set an example for his students. After budget constraints forced the school to cut some transportation runs, he decided to start riding his bike to the school to show students and parents that it was doable.

“My argument was that if I could do it –as fat as I was– they could do it,” said Ben.

Riding to school instantly became a daily habit, and Ben was soon biking to all his other usual activities such meetings, church, and errands as well.

After a few months of biking every day, a friend – who’s an avid one-day STP rider – encouraged Ben to try doing the STP.

“Two hundred miles sounded outrageous to me at the time, having only gone 16 miles as my furthest ride to date,” recalled Ben. “But he was encouraging, supportive and inspirational, so I decided to start going after longer rides to see what I was made of.”

Thirty-mile-rides turned into 50, then 80, and finally, 100 miles.

“I rode every day, rain, snow, or shine,” Ben said. “My son began riding back and forth to school with me, and my wife started going out with me, too. We found we enjoyed riding together so much that we would make the STP a family commitment.”

The Talbert family joined Cascade Bicycle Club in November and signed up for the STP on the first day of registration. In February they used their tax return to outfit their six-member family with new road bikes.

Meanwhile, Ben’s dedication and lifestyle change has been contagious.

“My younger sons started riding with me after school and on weekends, too. A couple of my friends have started riding and commuting daily because they say we’ve inspired them, and I’ve seen a dramatic increase in students riding at my school,” said Ben. “We even organized a Thanksgiving Day ride/run/walk we called the Turkey Trot. And we had about 50 kids participate in ride to school month.”

All the biking transformed Ben’s physical health.

“I’ve been a Type II diabetic for over 10 years, and in 2008, I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and cardiomyopathy,” said Ben. “I’ve made slow improvements in my health since then but preparing for the STP really accelerated my progress.”

Ben has lost 100 pounds, his heart function is back to normal and his diabetes is under control and he no longer has to take medication or insulin.

What makes the STP a special event for the Talberts is that it gave the family a huge goal that ultimately transformed their lives, said Ben.

“The health benefits have been great, and just as important will be the impact on our family. We’re so excited to be doing this together as a family with some of our friends,” he said.

Following the STP, Ben plans to attempt his first triathlon in August, and he’s running a half-marathon with his wife on Labor Day.

“Our family has been greatly blessed by taking on this goal together. I wanted to let [the folks at Cascade Bicycle Club] know how much [they’ve] helped our family by offering great events and great support,” said Ben in closing. “I wanted to make sure you know that you’ve made a difference in ours.”