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Getting Too Old To Ride...


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Hi everyone. I've been a member here for a while but I'm not sure if I've posted much at all. I tried doing a search for this topic, but couldn't find anything specific. If I'm wrong, the mods can steer me that way, and merge this into that thread.

 

Basically, when I was a boy I went to Disneyland and Magic Mountain (Revolution just opened!) and it was the happiest time of my life. I didn't get to go back for years, many years. So when I did, I couldn't get enough. I became a junkie like everyone else here. I've been to both coasts, and ridden so many rides I've lost count. Familiar story, I'm sure.

 

But now, I'm over 50, and despite the fact I still wish I was 15, I've found in the last 2-3 years I just can't handle rides the way I used to be able to, and I used to be able to handle anything, any ride. But now, the spirit is willing, but the body can't take it. And I'm not just talking about the Vekoma "hang and bang", or really old wooden coasters. I've found that gigacoasters and just other fun rides take their toll. My back seems to hold up okay, but I get somewhat concussed, my brain seems to go one way, my head the other, I even get a little nauseous at times.

 

Anyone else have this problem? Any solutions? I know, everyone gets old, such is life. But I'm hoping others have at least little secrets I don't know. Be that hydration tips, stretching, exercise regimens, sleep regimens, meditation(?), Dramamine(???) or something else, can help me extend my youthful years enough to keep riding these rides just a little longer.

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Sucks getting older but it's the reality we all have to face. I find that I have to work my way up to certain rides. Not because the mind is unwilling but because it is easier on the body. For example, a ride on Maverick throws me around a good bit. I will usually hit up a few other rides first and then I'm good. Kinda like warming up before you exercise.

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I am not sure how old you are, but my partner is 72 and he has noticed that the past couple of years have been harder for him to handle some of the bigger coasters & rides.

 

During Banshee Bash last year, he went on Delerium after doing Banshee during morning ERT and he was done for the day. He said that he was just nauseous after riding them with all of the crazy spinning/loops so we spent most of the afternoon just relaxing...doing the water park (lazy rivers, wave pools, etc) as well as the backstage coaster tours. We still had a great time despite the fact that he didn't want to ride any more rides after those two.

 

He has now stopped doing anything that spins as well as stuff like Top Thrill Dragster or any rough wooden coasters. Although, we went to Cedar Point for Halloweekends a few weeks ago and he did Rougarou, Magnum, Gatekeeper and Millennium Force and had no problem at all!

 

Maybe it just depends on the day and like you said, hydration, exercise....or how much we had to drink the night before.

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Ahhhh, I was thinking about making a similar thread! Although I'm not "getting too old," - well, we're all aging - my nausea threshold has fallen precipitously in recent years, and I'm definitely more sensitive to forces than I was as a kid. I remember running on youthful adrenaline at a park, all while probably being very dehydrated & baked from the sun, yet I'd still come home with energy to spare. As an adult, I need my caffeine, food, a good night sleep, plenty of water, breaks in the shade, occasional Dramamine, etc.

 

Even with more management of my stamina, I'm done with flat rides. I still ride spinning coasters once, but I pray for a gentle spin cycle. I notice that I'm more sensitive to aggressive coasters like GG woodies, which I now place in a "once or twice is enough" category because the thrills don't justify the personal toll my body takes. I'm talking about headaches, bruises, and general fatigue.

 

I haven't figured myself out completely. I love Maverick. I love SkyRush. There's some aggressive stuff that I could ride all day, but then one unsuspecting ride on a moderate coaster like Rebel Yell and I simply feel unwell. Some people might say, "You should see a doctor," and I have a good one -- this is just the natural, physical maturation process. Inner ear & all 'at. My parents have had very similar "tolerance life cycles," where spinning flats were first to go, then pendulous flats, spinning coasters, clunky loopers, rough woodies --- but they still love Millennium Force and Fury!

 

I remember doing the "dizzy bat" spin in the yard seemingly all day as a kid. Today, I can't even watch my nieces spin in a circle without feeling sick. Those Oktoberfest flat rides that run seven-minute cycles would be ultimate torture for me. To be honest, I've shied away from TPR trips because I just didn't feel like I'd hold together well given some of the demanding travel mixed with marathon ERT & kitschy fun on bad coasters and flat rides.

 

My "sweet spot" seems to be when I have a nice dinner and then go to a park during the evening. With food/drink in me and the sun down, I tend to feel much better when riding. I've replaced the whole "get there at rope drop, run to this, run to that, then sprint to the back and bang out the three rides there, then run here..." style of strategy with "Screw it, give me the fast pass, I'm doing whatever I please."

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I'd like to think I have many years of happy riding ahead of me, but perhaps I should reduce my arrow coaster consumption a bit. I definitely f'd my lower back up for a while after my last ride on the Corkscrew @ CP. I know, I know, I should know better, but it's an old love of mine!

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It is normal for many people to have a decreased tolerance for spinning rides and intense forces as they age.

 

Also, medications and dehydration play a bigger role when you get older. I used to be able to go a park and ride coasters from opening until close and not worry about staying hydrated. Nowadays I need to drink water before I start riding and throughout the day to last. Otherwise the headaches come pretty quickly even on smooth coasters.

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^ When octopusses (?) did me in in my 30's, and then an Enterprise caused immediate headaches in my 40's,

and in my 50's and 60's, flat rides (huge ones actually) that are swinging disks of some kind/sort. I did ride

the new ride here in Vancouver, The Beast, four times since it opened. But I won't any more. The intensity

on my chest with the restraints is too much to physically handle any more. I felt like my upper torso was being

totally crushed. And I don't consider myself that overweight, etc.

 

So, for myself, avoiding flat rides has been all early experiences for me, as opposed to it all happening after

say, 50 etc. I actually hit my stride in riding stuff/anything, when I started up taking the TPR Tours, at age 53!

Now I'm 62, and am planning to break my #700 count, which is very cool to do, at my age, lol!

 

I am still on the same meds I need to take, through most/all of these tours. It's all part of the planning, etc.

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#600 - Six Days - Before I turned 60!

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I'm going to be 42, and where I can still handle rides quite well, I've grown to dislike rides with strong lateral forces, though... (like Hurricanes)

 

BUT... what I have noticed, is that as a younger fella, I would want to ride and re-ride over again, but now, I'll ride something maybe twice or three times at most and want to move on to something else.

 

My other limitation is my fat a$$, so I can't do some rides now that I was able to do when I was skinnier.

Edited by John Peck
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I am 37, so I can still pretty much ride anything. But where I notice a difference from when I was 25 is the way I feel AFTER a day at the park. I find myself limp and weary. My whole body feels like a dish-rag. 12 years ago, it wouldn't have phased me. Oh well.

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30 years old, definitely not too old to ride anything, but I have realized that I simply cannot sprint from ride to ride all day long and have multiple rides over and over anymore. Something screwed with my equilibrium the past couple years, and now I just can't do it. I start to get motion sickness, I get exhausted earlier in the day, and also I've done so much riding through my life that I just don't NEED to do it all anymore.

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I am 37, so I can still pretty much ride anything. But where I notice a difference from when I was 25 is the way I feel AFTER a day at the park. I find myself limp and weary. My whole body feels like a dish-rag. 12 years ago, it wouldn't have phased me. Oh well.

 

This is me. Same age, generally same problem. Although for the past ten years or so I have begun to avoid anything that spins in a tight radius (tea cups, spinning mice) I can still ride and re-ride and even marathon coasters, even the not-so-smooth types, without issue, all day. I'm pretty proactive and do tend to avoid drinking the night before a day at the park, I take Advil before I ride anything, and I stay as hydrated as possible all day. But the day AFTER, forget about it. Especially when I'm riding/walking/riding/walking non-stop all day, its like a full blown hangover the next, sometime next two days. I'm weak, tired, random unexplained pains, and I just want to lay in bed all day. Every time I'm like "Boo-hoo I'm old!"

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Almost forgot to add. When we were in Tokyo Disneyland, in the 2013 TPR Japan Tour,

David did something I never thought he would do... and him neither, it turned out LOL.

 

He rode Raging Spirits coaster as a Single Rider... on his own...at age 66!

 

I was so proud, heh heh. And that coaster was smooth as ... buttah.

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Woo Hoo!

Edited by Nrthwnd
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I'm going to be 49 in April, and my partner is going to be 57 in March.

 

He's not able to do anything with strong forces, so he tends to sit and watch if I do coasters that feature that -- but on our recent trip to Kings Dominion, he DID get on: Rebel Yell, Hurler (mistake), Ricochet (the mouse), Flight of Fear, Anaconda, Volcano, and the Woodstock Coaster.

 

leaving me to ride the rest solo. . but he did pretty good.

 

as for me? I will ride most things (other than a top spin. . HATE those). . but I really am, in most cases, a 1-and-done.

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I'm in my 40s now, and sometimes I can go just like I used to, other times I have to take a break. My biggest problem for some reason are B&M looping coasters. They really mess with my stomach. But I can ride other manufacturers all day long, and I can flat out marathon on RMCs.

 

My doctors also says that as you age, certain foods simply must be avoided before riding (mainly acidic drinks like Coffee and Orange Juice), and a good night's sleep is a must.

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i sometimes think about this. i'm often ask myself, is it me, or was that ride really bad?

 

SFMM Viper. back in like '95-'96 i used to marathon that thing. 57 times in 4 hours was my record. loved every ride. today, 1 ride and it might have been my last. lol

 

SFMM Green Lantern. one ride opening season. also probably my last ride on it ever.

 

SFMM X2. every time i ride it i think the same thing. wow, this is cool, then ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!

 

19 years ago KI Vortex was so awesome to me. Last year, i got off slow to make sure my back was still in alignment.

 

Circus Circus Adventuredome Canyon Blaster. 20 years ago did like 50 in a row. this year, i made it to 10 in a short span of roughly an hour or so. but each time hurt after the double loops. i was just trying to get my moneys worth going back and forth between it and el loco. el loco which doesn't bother me one bit.

 

those are just some of the examples that have changed. my guess is that the rides haven't aged well. but, because i'm now 46 nearing 47, i question myself. getting queasy isn't a problem. but i also don't marathon crazy flat rides. i know i can do at least 8 in a row on Twisted Colossus without any problems. sure i could do 100 without issue. so i think it's just the rides that have changed more than me. i'm probably just not as tolerant of a rougher ride these days with smooth ones on the other side of the park.

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We should start a support group or something! lol

 

I think for me, I'm still able to really ride just about anything. My biggest hurdle is my fear of heights which is actually something that has gotten better for me as I've aged. I no longer feel the same levels of anticipation and anxiety on really tall rides, especially coasters. However, I'm still unable to get on something like Falcon's Fury.

 

I also have 2 kids that are soon to be 9 and 12. That certainly keeps me going as they're just now at the point where they're riding just about everything. That keeps me pushing myself to keep up with them.

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Im still fairly young being in my mid 20's and all. I dont mind heights. The only issue I have with rides are restraints that put pressure on my groin. Like the new B&M vest restraints. I almost get closterphobic (cant spell it) and do not like the feeling. I can pretty much handle everything else!

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Its interesting to think about but I certainly can't ride anywhere near the amount I did when In was in my early teens now. I can't even ride some rides at all any more.

 

I think it all started around 2007 after a ride on Colossus at Thorpe Park caused me the heave my guts up on my cousins shoe after riding. Ever since that moment I haven't been on Colossus and really struggle with dizziness after any ride with inline/barrel rolls. Not really promising for me considering in now only 24 but I can still ride the things I enjoy without any real issues and just take it a lot easier at parks now.

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Hit 40 this year, and although I feel different playing football (soccer) now than I did 20 years ago, I don't feel any different on coasters or at theme parks. I have tried to stay fit and I walk and cycle a lot...so maybe this helps.

 

My wife was amazed though at Seaworld last year when we rode Manta, her ride companion was an 82 year old Grandma. When my wife asked why she was still on coasters at age 82 (and she had done Kraken earlier in the day)...she said she wasn't the type to sit around "knitting on the front porch".

I hope I can still be getting on the rides at 82!!!...although by then they will probably be 0-500 mile an hour launched rides that go 800 feet up before inverting you 20 odd times. I might not have the gumption by then!

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