Photo

Being Old in Romania Can Be a Lot of Fun

By Cristiana Negoescu

My friend was harping on at me the other day about how much it's going to suck when we reach old age. "Can you imagine having to set aside 15 minutes every time you want to cross the road, or constantly have to deal with shitting yourself in public?" she asked.

I got what she meant, kind of, but she's clearly been watching too many movies about old people that rely exclusively on tired cliches and stereotypical situations that don't have any base in fact. My grandparents, their friends and my great-aunts and uncles don't tick any of those boxes, but are all perfectly capable of joking, at their own expense, about the topic of growing old.

I decided to take a series of photos to demonstrate that age really isn't an issue, and that you can happily ride a pink bicycle in your pants or make inappropriate hand gestures, all the way into your retirement.

Davies (74) has remained active throughout his entire life and still loves to cycle as much as possible. When I asked him why he wears those snowboard goggles instead of normal sunglasses, he replied, "If I crash my bike, these glasses won't fall off my head."