I am smiling right down to my pedals reading your story.
I too am competitive, but my ability and stamina are going to need some building. I took some time off to heal from a bad health scare in 2016, and am tired from riding 20 miles at and average speed of 12mph.
I am feeling 100% this year though, and need to find a trainer for inside work. The weather stinks too much to ride outdoors in the Washington monsoons in Winter. My 93 year old MIL is now living with us, and my Wife is caregiving, so she is distracted. I will have to get strong enough to power her through when her loving chore is over.
For those who think old peeps riding a bike is crazy, just remember the joy of being a child, and add in the challenge of getting better every day at it. We have more time and $$$ to “waste” on the nearly pure ecstasy of “hauling ass” with the one you love right behind. We even added a trailer to haul gear, all the comforts of home in a 2’ x 2’ trailer.
The vast majority of people we see out riding on the bike paths and even country roads are middle aged and beyond. Outside of Seattle, young people do not ride very much in this area at least.
I have to admit that two years ago we tried riding up the John Wayne trail from Rattlesnake Lake up through the tunnel under Snoqualmie pass and then over the top and back down I-90 to the Homestead Valley Trailhead where we got back on the trail.
We went with one of my friends from my bicycle racing days. We had done this ride many times before and had planned to just go back through the 2 mile tunnel and back down the trail to Rattlesnake Lake that way. But my friend got claustrophobic, and refused to go back through the tunnel. My wife was very upset with him because she knew that I was not feeling well.
The ride on the trail is an easy and steady grade mostly in the shade for the 18 miles up to the tunnel. But the ride over the pass literally just about killed me. It was hot and the hill is quite steep at the top. I was in extreme distress since we had not been training and my friend was setting a merciless pace as payback for all the times I had given him the similar punishment in previous years. Our rear tire started going flat when we got back up the steep grade to the trail, but it had gotten dark by that time and we did not feel up to trying to fix it since our only desire was to get back to the van. But misery makes for a memorable day.
I looked on Performancebike.com to see which trainers they have available at this time. They have got their “Travel Trac Comp Mag + Trainer” marked down 40% to $89 with free shipping. They also have 3 stores in the greater Seattle area plus one in Tacoma but the sales people will probably try to talk you into something more expensive. I prefer a mag trainer these days because they are so much quieter than the old wind trainers and the resistance is variable. We also have rollers to ride on with variable resistance as well, but most people prefer a stationary unit so that they can watch TV or read a book.