[jeepster93]

I friend of mine wants to ride the MS 150 in Colorado in June, this year.
It is a 2 day event covering 75 miles a day. From Denver to Colorado State university in Fort Collins. Then back.
His wife suffers from MS.

His bike is like 30+ years old. My guess on the bike is mid '70s new.
He is 61.
It was a nice bike in the day.
But it is ...old.
It is a "racing" bike so the gearing is a bit...tough...for me. it is a friction shifter 10 speed. the ratios are 50/53 in front and 12/20 cluster. Has an aluminum frame, so it's ride is...stiff.
That is a pretty steep ratio for a mere mortal 61 year old man.

Is this something worth attempting?
He does not want...issues.

[Industry_Hack]

What's his current mileage?

[jeepster93]

Yeah...now see, that's tough.
We live in a state where winter riding is not really possible.
So I would have to say zero.

BUT...
He does run 4 to 5 days a week with 15-20 miles ran per week.
And the weather is about to change over from winter to spring, so he will be getting back on his bike soon.

But he realistically has not rode (ridden?)in 4 months.

[Industry_Hack]

Is that 15-20 miles per week a recent thing, or has he been doing that for years and years?

[CTD50]

It's one thing if the bike has been mothballed; but if he gets out and rides regularly, even a winter layoff will not be that big a deal.

It doesn't matter what YOU think of his setup; if he's used to it/dialed in to it, then that's the item that matters.

He has training time for it; if he's a regular rider during the season, then he should be able to train up to the challenge.

I wouldn't discourage him; if he looks to you for guidance/validation, then be real about it. His desire will be the pivotal factor.

[TxCyclist]

So long as the frame has no cracks or rust and the components / tires have been updated he should be good to go.

[Industry_Hack]

If he's fit enough, then I don't see the problem. Are you really worried that a 2x5 friction shift setup might give him trouble? I'd take that over ten year old STI any day. A tuneup, check the rubber, and some new brake pads, (assuming the bike has been ridden/maintained over the years) and he'll be fine. Oh, if it's 30 years old, I'm not inclined to believe that it's aluminum. But if it is, it's unlikely to be as stiff as a modern frame.

[wild]

I don't think I could make 75 & 75 but I am 65 maybe in a cupple of months I would be able to if I put in the miles, I did ride 62 miles last year.

[Jake_The_Snake]

I know someone who rode the Tour of Tuscan on a department store mountain bike. I rode with him once and we covered 45 miles of hilly roads in just over 2 hours. I was on a CX bike with 700x23 road tires. As hard as I tried, I couldn't drop him. He wasn't just drafting me either, he led his time too.