Yeah, and the "retirement means letting your mind and body rot" meme is the most regurgitated of all.

Biking VT-> Quebec beginning next Sunday myself but I did just go through something like this.

A friend(a couple of years older than me) was recently visiting me in Steamboat. When I bought this place a couple of years ago and was planning to move here fulltime(which as it turns out hasn't happened yet), she asked me what I planned to do here. I said ski and bike. She asked about when I got older(like 80 I guess). I said I'd still be skiing - the bus picks up next the building and will take me to the mountain and the gondola will take me up part the way. As long as I can point the skis down, I expect to continue to ski. There are definitely people much older than me still passing me on bikes so I expect to continue to be doing that, too.

I would say to be careful where you live and who you are around. People here just keep on keeping on and that's the example I like.

I read "Younger Next Year" right around when I turned 50 and that's when I learned to row.

I do work about 25% time as a consultant and will until it's not fun anymore.

I will say there are people who believe that stuff and spend their time talking about ailments and medical costs starting even before SS retirement age so, yeah, you can have a self-fulfilling prophecy to be in a rocking chair and long term care.