What hobbies have you quit and how did it affect you?

[Lsbcal]

I know the thread is about those who "gave up" a hobby, but I'd be interested in those who have maintained a hobby for a very long time and have no plans to give it up. Any interest here or should I start another thread (heh, heh, which I probably won't.)

Well DW is an avid artist. She is in her studio painting away as I write this. She occasionally sells art but she is not into the business end. She just really loves art. In her past she was a freelance artist.

I don't think I have anything quite equivalent although I do enjoy looking at trend following techniques in equities that seem to really work for me. They are generalized and the objective is just to get somewhat better then market returns. Not shooting for the skies although skies are nice.

I also keep updating my exercise routines. Not quite a "hobby". I keep logs.

 

[Koolau]

Well DW is an avid artist. She is in her studio painting away as I write this. She occasionally sells art but she is not into the business end. She just really loves art. In her past she was a freelance artist.

I don't think I have anything quite equivalent although I do enjoy looking at trend following techniques in equities that seem to really work for me. They are generalized and the objective is just to get somewhat better then market returns. Not shooting for the skies although skies are nice.

I also keep updating my exercise routines. Not quite a "hobby". I keep logs.

Way cool on the art. I have zero talent but appreciate art. Great that your DW can sell some - I'm guessing she can cover her supply expenses that way which never hurts. Thanks for sharing.

 

[kilgore]

For years I was a collector of Native-American art. Now I donate it to museums. No less gratifying.

 

[Lsbcal]

Way cool on the art. I have zero talent but appreciate art. Great that your DW can sell some - I'm guessing she can cover her supply expenses that way which never hurts. Thanks for sharing.

Anyone can get involved in art but it is no problem if one is not interested. It takes (1) an interest, (2) patience as one learns, (3) a stick-to-it determination. It is really easy to get discouraged and let that voice in your head that is self-critical take over.

DW and I enjoy hikes in nice weather where we do watercolor sketching. We take our light tri-pod chairs and sit down for an hour or two to sketch. We have very light art material on these outings. Sometimes we will sketch on European trips but not so much as there is so much other stuff to see and do.

 

[RunningBum]

A chronic health condition is putting some active hobbies in danger, like skiing and running marathons. Not giving up yet, but if I can't get relief from the nerve pain I will have to stop. Was not planning to stop anywhere close to age 63. I had ski friends hit age 90 and still ski, and hoped to at least make my 80s. I have a goal to live 100 years and run 100 marathons or longer (at 64 right now) but I'm not going to put myself through hell to run 100. I will still hit 40-50 ski days this year (5 at Snowmass, the rest at my local hill), but most have been much shorter than in the past. I'm currently not running, but using the elliptical to keep up the cardio.

It would bother me a lot to give up both skiing and running. Both because it would impact my health, but also social interaction. I stay involved with running by volunteering at races, like running aid stations or timing. Skiing would be harder to stay involved in but I see many of the same people playing pickle ball.

I have pretty much an unlimited budget for sports gear that helps keep me active, if I feel I have much chance at all to use them.

So my advice is to see if you can stay involved even if you are less active, as long as you enjoy it. OP almost sounds like they are looking for a reason to stop skiing. If you aren't enjoying it anymore, no reason to continue.

skipro, loved the video of you cruising smoothly through the trees.

 

[WhenIsItTime]

Use it or lose it.

 

[Lsbcal]

RunningBum I sympathize with your health related issues. We each have to decide when we must dial back on the activities as we age. I never ran a marathon and only did 10k's. At 75 I decided to just go out for walks instead of runs as my legs were an issue especially in cool winter weather. I'm still at it and enjoying things. But probably no bragging rights ... oh well.

 

[Ronstar]

A chronic health condition is putting some active hobbies in danger, like skiing and running marathons. Not giving up yet, but if I can't get relief from the nerve pain I will have to stop. Was not planning to stop anywhere close to age 63. I had ski friends hit age 90 and still ski, and hoped to at least make my 80s. I have a goal to live 100 years and run 100 marathons or longer (at 64 right now) but I'm not going to put myself through hell to run 100. I will still hit 40-50 ski days this year (5 at Snowmass, the rest at my local hill), but most have been much shorter than in the past. I'm currently not running, but using the elliptical to keep up the cardio.

It would bother me a lot to give up both skiing and running. Both because it would impact my health, but also social interaction. I stay involved with running by volunteering at races, like running aid stations or timing. Skiing would be harder to stay involved in but I see many of the same people playing pickle ball.

I have pretty much an unlimited budget for sports gear that helps keep me active, if I feel I have much chance at all to use them.

So my advice is to see if you can stay involved even if you are less active, as long as you enjoy it. OP almost sounds like they are looking for a reason to stop skiing. If you aren't enjoying it anymore, no reason to continue.

skipro, loved the video of you cruising smoothly through the trees.

Hope your health condition improves so that you can keep running and skiing.

I quit skiing more than 40 years ago and do not miss it, but it would bother me if I have to quit running. I usually don't run during the winter, but have been this winter since I decided to run a marathon at 70 yo this fall. It will be my 6th or 7th, and be 45 years since my first in 1980.

Hopefully you can get better to run some more, and it's good that you've realized that 100 marathons or longer is not something worth beating yourself up over.

 

[68bucks]

I recently retired at 64. I have been downhill skiing since I was 12, but I am seriously considering giving it up. I always thought I would be one of those "old guys" you see skiing into their 70's or later, but honestly, I am not feeling it this year. I came close to throwing in the towel last year, but at the end of the season I decided that since I would be retired this season, I would go more often and enjoy it more, so I bought another season pass. It has been a mediocre snow year in Colorado, and skiing groomed trails all day isn't that fun for me. My wife and all of my friends have given up DH skiing, either because of the same burnout I am experiencing, or because they have bad knees, backs, or whatever. The drive to/from is tedious and occasionally dangerous, and I just feel bored about the whole thing.

I realized today while I was skiing that all of my gear is overdue for a refresh. My boots are 17 years old, my skis are 10 years old, my helmet is 10 years old, I don't even know how old my ski clothes are, but trust me, they need to be replaced, duct tape only goes so far! Even if I shop sales and buy cheap or used, I am looking at $1500+ to replace everything with the same level of stuff I am skiing. Then there is the ever escalating cost of a season pass, you can't even dream of buying day passes and only skiing a few days per year now, it is simply ridiculous. So you have to commit to 12+ days to make a pass worth it, or not ski at all, and even with a pass, when you consider costs of gear, gas and the like, it is easily $100/day to ski now even at a local resort, and that does not include food.

To top it all off, there is world class cross country skiing even closer to us than DH skiing, a season pass for that *both* of us is $200, we have fresh gear for that, and we can get our fill of XC skiing in just a couple of hours instead of using up an entire day.

Really, the only barrier to giving up downhill skiing is that I feel like it is "giving in" somehow, especially since I have no physical reason to stop, and I have been DH skiing for so long. Has anyone else faced a similar dilemma in voluntarily giving up a long-term activity? Any regrets?

I live in the mid west and skiing isn't anything like you have. I have to get on a plane for that, I'm jealous. I'm 64 and have no intention of giving it up even though most of my friends have for similar reasons as yours. I love it. I can cruise all day. I don't have to do double blacks or run the bumps like I used to. I just love getting out and sliding down a hill. You can quit and sit inside all winter and complain about the weather. I look forward to winter and view the hot summer months as a time to just get through. Maybe I'm weird. I was asked by a friend on a ski trip when I was 45, "so how long are you going to keep doing this" she was not a big skier. I thought and said, 30 years. Fingers crossed.

 

[meleana]

No reason to feel regret. Let it go; everything has a life cycle, and it's clear this activity has reached the end of its cycle for you. You could always pick it up again later if you change your mind.

I'm starting to feel this way about travel. I'm still traveling, but the rapidly increasing costs/hassles and overtourism are sucking much of the joy out of it. Nowadays everyone is traveling and posting endlessly on social media, so it no longer feels special.

After our trip to Italy this past fall I declared I was done with flying anywhere.

Sure, if it were easier I’d like to see more things, but flying has only gotten worse so I’m going to be happy with short drives ( like 2-6 hours) for week long stays once or twice per year. Plus enjoy where we live, which has most everything we like to do.

I also had spine surgery two years ago which has slowed me down - opposite of what I expected as I have side effects from the surgery- so I have had to stop snowshoeing and hiking and just can’t move the same way anymore.

I do somewhat feel sad that I’ve had to cut that part of my life short, but at the same time feel relieved not to have to deal with the stress, hassles and exhaustion, as well as the high expense, of far away travel.

I do more reading and socializing and local sightseeing and I enjoy social media, plus swimming in our beautiful lakes and our neighborhood pool in the summer, and taking walks, and my husband fishes now instead of hunts, and he likes target shooting at his sportsman’s club. He’s going to be 71. I’m going to be 69.

 

[stevenr]

We only ski about once a year, when the kids insist that we join them. It's not worth it to buy all new equipment or a season pass, we just get daily rentals and a daily pass. It is still a wonderful way to spend a day.

I have been pondering a refresher lesson and getting back out there. How did your legs hold up?

 

[SnowBound]

Was going to say that I'm the odd one out: I gave up XC skiing twice and now only do Alpine. Sold all the XC equipment a year ago. Issue was when the conditions were really good for XC, conditions for Alpine were great (& the XC gear would just gather dust).

But after reading all the posts I realized I my hobby is not Alpine skiing, but collecting skis. I have a bunch and rotate through them regularly (used 4 different pairs Thursday because of typical East Coast weather/conditions). Maybe I should also get a pair of XC skis again?

 

[Koolau]

A chronic health condition is putting some active hobbies in danger, like skiing and running marathons. Not giving up yet, but if I can't get relief from the nerve pain I will have to stop. Was not planning to stop anywhere close to age 63. I had ski friends hit age 90 and still ski, and hoped to at least make my 80s. I have a goal to live 100 years and run 100 marathons or longer (at 64 right now) but I'm not going to put myself through hell to run 100. I will still hit 40-50 ski days this year (5 at Snowmass, the rest at my local hill), but most have been much shorter than in the past. I'm currently not running, but using the elliptical to keep up the cardio.

It would bother me a lot to give up both skiing and running. Both because it would impact my health, but also social interaction. I stay involved with running by volunteering at races, like running aid stations or timing. Skiing would be harder to stay involved in but I see many of the same people playing pickle ball.

I have pretty much an unlimited budget for sports gear that helps keep me active, if I feel I have much chance at all to use them.

So my advice is to see if you can stay involved even if you are less active, as long as you enjoy it. OP almost sounds like they are looking for a reason to stop skiing. If you aren't enjoying it anymore, no reason to continue.

skipro, loved the video of you cruising smoothly through the trees.

Have you and your doctor explored gabapentin? I got some relief for my back pain which is apparently due to stenosis. No fear of damaging anything by killing the pain in my case.

 

[KarenF]

I did my last triathlon in 2024 and am now focusing on more walking, swimming, cycling and flexibility and mobility. I started taking artistic swimming lessons and my coach wants me to go to Masters Nationals, so I guess I not done with competing, I am just doing it in a more joint friendly way.

 

[Pointby2]

A chronic health condition is putting some active hobbies in danger, like skiing and running marathons. Not giving up yet, but if I can't get relief from the nerve pain I will have to stop. Was not planning to stop anywhere close to age 63.

Been running seriously since I was thirty. (69 now) Did six marathons and lots of other races, but in the last ten years it's been a struggle with one injury after another. Physical therapy, weight training and stretching has always gotten me back, up until the last two years. I thought I was finally done. My hip constantly hurt and even walking was painful. Had everything checked out and my hip wasn't arthritic as I suspected and I'm again going through the process of rebuilding my endurance and shedding the weight I put on. Run/walking 3-4 times a week, up to 3 miles.
Hope it works out for you RunningBum.

 

[Lsbcal]

Exercise just gets harder as we age. Right now an IT band is acting up and so today is a rest day and taking Naproxen. This was just after a 3 mile walk in cool weather. Bummer.

 

[shafer9]

I recently retired at 64. I have been downhill skiing since I was 12, but I am seriously considering giving it up. I always thought I would be one of those "old guys" you see skiing into their 70's or later, but honestly, I am not feeling it this year. I came close to throwing in the towel last year, but at the end of the season I decided that since I would be retired this season, I would go more often and enjoy it more, so I bought another season pass. It has been a mediocre snow year in Colorado, and skiing groomed trails all day isn't that fun for me. My wife and all of my friends have given up DH skiing, either because of the same burnout I am experiencing, or because they have bad knees, backs, or whatever. The drive to/from is tedious and occasionally dangerous, and I just feel bored about the whole thing.

I realized today while I was skiing that all of my gear is overdue for a refresh. My boots are 17 years old, my skis are 10 years old, my helmet is 10 years old, I don't even know how old my ski clothes are, but trust me, they need to be replaced, duct tape only goes so far! Even if I shop sales and buy cheap or used, I am looking at $1500+ to replace everything with the same level of stuff I am skiing. Then there is the ever escalating cost of a season pass, you can't even dream of buying day passes and only skiing a few days per year now, it is simply ridiculous. So you have to commit to 12+ days to make a pass worth it, or not ski at all, and even with a pass, when you consider costs of gear, gas and the like, it is easily $100/day to ski now even at a local resort, and that does not include food.

To top it all off, there is world class cross country skiing even closer to us than DH skiing, a season pass for that *both* of us is $200, we have fresh gear for that, and we can get our fill of XC skiing in just a couple of hours instead of using up an entire day.

Really, the only barrier to giving up downhill skiing is that I feel like it is "giving in" somehow, especially since I have no physical reason to stop, and I have been DH skiing for so long. Has anyone else faced a similar dilemma in voluntarily giving up a long-term activity? Any regrets?

Yes. No.

 

[cheyrl]

I have been pondering a refresher lesson and getting back out there. How did your legs hold up?

No problem, but I'm a runner and my husband is also very active. I think I'd have a hard time going from sedentary to downhill skiing. We're both 68 now, so hoping for a few more ski years and many more running/hiking/biking years.

 

[Shelly24100]

Well, amateur radio has been my main interest for 40+ years. I built my dream ham shack when we remodeled the unused bedroom 10+ years ago but while I'm not totally inactive the club I belong to is hanging on by a thread.

View attachment 54109

We were avid RVers between 1986-2023 when we sold our last motor home. We criss-cossed the country any number of times before and after we retired in '05.

View attachment 54110

I fulfilled a life's dream by earning my pilot's certificate (Sport) in 2012. I self-grounded myself 7 or 8 years later when I started producimg kidney stones.

I was heavy into PC's for a number of years starting when they first emerged. I taught myself BASIC which came in handy at work for several years, wrote some BASIC programs for home and work but never followed up with other programming languages. But I'm still the go-to guy for friends when they start scratching their heads.

I just retired from ARRL, WB1ENT

 

[zangbao]

Photography. I got tired of lugging gear around then spending hours on the computer looking through and editing thousands of photos. I’m content taking photos with my iPhone now.

 

[rembrandt]

No skiing for me after I saw the agony of defeat on Wide World of Sports.

 

[1242Vintage]

Love lining up on a Saturday morning for a gravel endurance cycling race or a heart pounding cyclocross race.

Going to keep training and racing for a few more seasons … hopefully … but the end of competitive cycling is coming!

 

[Out of Steam]

Was going to say that I'm the odd one out: I gave up XC skiing twice and now only do Alpine. Sold all the XC equipment a year ago. Issue was when the conditions were really good for XC, conditions for Alpine were great (& the XC gear would just gather dust).

After 8 years or so of not using them, I've decided to donate my waxable XC skis and waxing supplies and keep only a waxless backcountry pair. The few days a year I can ski this far south aren't enough to keep any skill with waxing.

If I do enough skiing, I might buy a second, narrower waxless pair.

 

[youngr12]

I recently retired at 64. I have been downhill skiing since I was 12, but I am seriously considering giving it up. I always thought I would be one of those "old guys" you see skiing into their 70's or later, but honestly, I am not feeling it this year. I came close to throwing in the towel last year, but at the end of the season I decided that since I would be retired this season, I would go more often and enjoy it more, so I bought another season pass. It has been a mediocre snow year in Colorado, and skiing groomed trails all day isn't that fun for me. My wife and all of my friends have given up DH skiing, either because of the same burnout I am experiencing, or because they have bad knees, backs, or whatever. The drive to/from is tedious and occasionally dangerous, and I just feel bored about the whole thing.

I realized today while I was skiing that all of my gear is overdue for a refresh. My boots are 17 years old, my skis are 10 years old, my helmet is 10 years old, I don't even know how old my ski clothes are, but trust me, they need to be replaced, duct tape only goes so far! Even if I shop sales and buy cheap or used, I am looking at $1500+ to replace everything with the same level of stuff I am skiing. Then there is the ever escalating cost of a season pass, you can't even dream of buying day passes and only skiing a few days per year now, it is simply ridiculous. So you have to commit to 12+ days to make a pass worth it, or not ski at all, and even with a pass, when you consider costs of gear, gas and the like, it is easily $100/day to ski now even at a local resort, and that does not include food.

To top it all off, there is world class cross country skiing even closer to us than DH skiing, a season pass for that *both* of us is $200, we have fresh gear for that, and we can get our fill of XC skiing in just a couple of hours instead of using up an entire day.

Really, the only barrier to giving up downhill skiing is that I feel like it is "giving in" somehow, especially since I have no physical reason to stop, and I have been DH skiing for so long. Has anyone else faced a similar dilemma in voluntarily giving up a long-term activity? Any regrets?

It sounds like you just want to shift your focus more to XC skiing. Keep the DH gear for now in case an opportunity comes up, but XC is great for long-term health in lots of ways. I'm overseas this winter, but I'm looking forward to next winter when I can get out on the "skinny skis" again!

 

[Scuba]

The loss of previously enjoyed activities is something I find quite depressing as we age. I know that we all need to accept and be grateful for what we can still do and not dwell on what we can no longer do, but I sometimes find it very hard to have a positive attitude towards aging.

Some enjoyable activities I've given up or put on hold as a result of aging/health are:

1. Wine tasting - DH and I used to really enjoy visiting wineries, tasting, and collecting wines and entertaining friends with our finds. Now DH doesn't drink at all any more due to cardiac issues. I still enjoy the occasional glass, but find that I can no longer indulge in more than 1-2 glasses over an entire evening without feeling sluggish the next day. We never go to wine-themed events any more for these reasons.

2. SCUBA diving - DH continued to dive after his 2022 quad bypass. He passed his evaluation in late 2022 prior to our Australia trip by a DAN (Divers Alert Network) doctor trained in how diving affects physiology. In 2024, he had a stent put in and had a long ablation surgery for electrical problems with his heart. A significant percentage of diving fatalities are due to cardiac events, so even if he passed another DAN doctor evaluation, we may not be prepared to risk it. DH is fine with my diving with others, but I'm not close to any other divers and it was something we really enjoyed doing together. A lot of diving holiday destinations, especially ones with really great pristine diving conditions, are not that fun for non-divers.

3. Pickleball and fitness walking - Hopefully this is a temporary situation, but I have plantar fasciitis and have been treating it with various PT's and docs and daily exercises for almost 6 months now and am still about the same in terms of heel pain. I can still cycle and swim, but I really miss pickleball, and fitness walking was my second favorite form of exercise. Pickleball and fitness walking were very social for me, while swimming is solitary and even cycling is somewhat solitary, at least for me.

4. Adventure travel - While we still enjoy traveling, due to DH's health conditions, we are no longer very comfortable traveling to extremely remote destinations where it would be difficult to get timely medical care. We may feel differently if he gets a clean bill of health for his heart function after his tests scheduled in April, but for now, we are hesitant to go to "off the beaten path" places we've enjoyed so much until now. Not to mention, if my plantar fasciitis doesn't improve, I'm going to find it hard to walk/hike very far when exploring new destinations.