# Getting old reluctantly



## Clawed Butler (18 Mar 2016)

I live at the top of a ¾ mile, 6% average gradient hill. I cycle a 20 mile commute 3 days a week, always ending (of course) with this hill. I have done this for about 10 years. In fact I have cycled all my life and am pretty fit, but I have never gone in for racing, sportives or touring. What bugs me is that this hill never seems to get any easier. But I have turned 60. Should I just accept that it never will get any easier, and that it is all uphill from here on? Or is there anything I can do about it at my age?

PS - As a matter of principle, I never use my lowest chainring/gear combination. I think of that as my safety blanket.


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## Rooster1 (18 Mar 2016)

I'm 46, and I am feeling the exact same. Been cycling the same roads for 8 years and I am getting slower, finding the going harder.
I do have some positive options ahead though, as I am a few stone overweight, only 1 or 2, but enough to make a big difference.
If I can shed those, I think I will find the going easier again, at least for a time.
I think a new bike will also revitalise my riding also.

I like the idea of leaving the last gear as spare.


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## mjr (18 Mar 2016)

It never gets easier: you just go faster.

Getting old is better than the alternative, especially if you can keep cycling.


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## steve50 (18 Mar 2016)

Clawed Butler said:


> I live at the top of a ¾ mile, 6% average gradient hill. I cycle a 20 mile commute 3 days a week, always ending (of course) with this hill. I have done this for about 10 years. In fact I have cycled all my life and am pretty fit, but I have never gone in for racing, sportives or touring. What bugs me is that this hill never seems to get any easier. But I have turned 60. Should I just accept that it never will get any easier, and that it is all uphill from here on? Or is there anything I can do about it at my age?
> 
> PS - As a matter of principle, I never use my lowest chainring/gear combination. I think of that as my safety blanket.



Do you do any other cycling other than your commute?
If you do the exact same distance every day your body gets accustomed to cycling at a set pace for a set distance and as a result your bike fitness does not improve, can you vary your commute to cover a longer distance and perhaps a steeper climb or a couple of shortish climbs that will work your legs .
When I used to attend the local gym (heavy weight training) the best bit of advice I got was never stick to the same work out routine for more than a couple of weeks, the body gets used to the routine and gets stuck (plateaus).
The way to kickstart your fitness gains is to change your routine, give your body a wake up call, spin faster in different gears, challenge yourself to a new hill or a mile or two more than usual but don't forget to feed the extra miles.
I am fifty eight in April and still seeing gains in stamina and strength / bike fitness because i tend to set myself a goal and go for it.


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## Katherine (18 Mar 2016)

What's wrong with spinning up the hill in a lower gear?


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## Flying Dodo (18 Mar 2016)

Get an e-bike.


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## screenman (18 Mar 2016)

60 on Sunday for me, I started off 2 years ago to get as fit as I could for the big day. I can happily say I feel 20 years younger, swimming and cycling combined has transformed my shape and overall fitness to a level I never had from cycling on its own.


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## deptfordmarmoset (18 Mar 2016)

Katherine said:


> What's wrong with spinning up the hill in a lower gear?


Absolutely nothing, as far as I'm concerned. And I've always got gears to spare, the only occasional problem being when they're all on my other bike.


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## ayceejay (18 Mar 2016)

Remember age is only a number and 60 is a really BIG number.


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## ColinJ (19 Mar 2016)

Clawed Butler said:


> I live at the top of a ¾ mile, 6% average gradient hill. I cycle a 20 mile commute 3 days a week, always ending (of course) with this hill. I have done this for about 10 years. In fact I have cycled all my life and am pretty fit, but I have never gone in for racing, sportives or touring. What bugs me is that this hill never seems to get any easier. But I have turned 60. Should I just accept that it never will get any easier, and that it is all uphill from here on? Or is there anything I can do about it at my age?
> 
> PS - As a matter of principle, I never use my lowest chainring/gear combination. I think of that as my safety blanket.


I'm 60 and I rode up a 17% hill yesterday. It was hard work, but not a complete killer.

I ALWAYS use my lowest chainring/gear combination. I think of that as my sanity blanket! Oh, and I make sure that the gear in question is VERY low - yesterday's was frequently a 26/28.

No point in not using the gears for the job and then complaining that it is too hard!

How much do you weigh? If you are overweight, then losing some flab would be a simple and effective way of making the hills easier.


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## PeteXXX (19 Mar 2016)

Sell that house and buy one at the bottom of a hill, that way you will get the gradients done first thing and then freewheel home..
Simples


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## steveindenmark (19 Mar 2016)

I am almost the same age as you.

You need to change your mind set.

Be thankful that at the age of 60 you are able to get up that hill at any speed. Many of my school friends and ex collegues have passed away and I cycle most days. I ride along lovely tracks and by the sea and think how lucky I am to be here.

I have some big hills to get up and I can get up them in my own time. More importantly, when I get to the top I can keep going.

Just be thankful.


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## Clawed Butler (19 Mar 2016)

Believe me, guys, I am thankful to be active, fit and able. I don't even have any flab to shed. I just hoped there would be some improvement over time. Actually I don't know whether I climb faster because I abandoned my bike computer when its first battery died (too much clutter on the bike). So it is possible that I always climb to the same degree of effort. Although the spring-time switch to my better bike is like releasing a spring, I get just as puffed climbing.

I will take Steve50's advice about varying my commuting route -- well in fact I already do -- although at the end of the day there is always this same hill!


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## ColinJ (19 Mar 2016)

A Michael Mosley Horizon documentary suggested that there are 3 broad groups of people, athletically speaking ...

Super-responders, making up about 15% of the population. These are natural athletes who don't need to work that hard to get very fit. You clearly are not one of them!
Average-responders, making up about 65% of the population. I think I am one of them. I can get fit if I make the effort, but it doesn't come that easily to me. Maybe you are in this group?
Non-responders make up about 20% of the population. Their health can still benefit from regular exercise but it is unlikely that they will ever get really fit. If you are in that group then that would explain your problem!


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## Speicher (19 Mar 2016)

ColinJ said:


> I'm 60 and I rode up a 17% hill yesterday. It was hard work, but not a complete killer.
> 
> I ALWAYS use my lowest chainring/gear combination. I think of that as my sanity blanket! Oh, and I make sure that the gear in question is VERY low - yesterday's was frequently a 26/28.
> 
> ...



I like the idea of a sanity blanket, rather than a safety blanket.  I think I will knit myself one of those.


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## ColinJ (19 Mar 2016)

Speicher said:


> I like the idea of a sanity blanket, rather than a safety blanket.  I think I will knit myself one of those.


I liked it too!


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## Pat "5mph" (19 Mar 2016)

ColinJ said:


> A Michael Mosley Horizon documentary suggested that there are 3 broad groups of people, athletically speaking ...
> 
> Super-responders, making up about 15% of the population. These are natural athletes who don't need to work that hard to get very fit. You clearly are not one of them!
> Average-responders, making up about 65% of the population. I think I am one of them. I can get fit if I make the effort, but it doesn't come that easily to me. Maybe you are in this group?
> Non-responders make up about 20% of the population. Their health can still benefit from regular exercise but it is unlikely that they will ever get really fit. If you are in that group then that would explain your problem!


Love this explanation, as I have never improved in my cycling since I started.
Ok, started at 48, 53 now, so I never had youth on my side, but still, I was a disaster at all kinds of athletic pursuits even as a teenager


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## Ian H (19 Mar 2016)

I find there are more aches and pains these days, and an increasing amount of leverage required to get out of a chair. But once I'm on the bike I'm still okay... thus far.


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## Clawed Butler (19 Mar 2016)

ColinJ said:


> A Michael Mosley Horizon documentary suggested that there are 3 broad groups of people, athletically speaking ...
> 
> Super-responders, making up about 15% of the population. These are natural athletes who don't need to work that hard to get very fit. You clearly are not one of them!
> Average-responders, making up about 65% of the population. I think I am one of them. I can get fit if I make the effort, but it doesn't come that easily to me. Maybe you are in this group?
> Non-responders make up about 20% of the population. Their health can still benefit from regular exercise but it is unlikely that they will ever get really fit. If you are in that group then that would explain your problem!



Isn't there a confusion here between how readily your fitness responds to training, and whether or not you can ever be fit?

Relatively, I am already pretty fit irrespective of my age, though one can find fitter people. So I can easily beat our neighbour, a lean 20-something with a super lightweight carbon bike, up our hill. But a few months back I was dropped on the same hill by two middle-aged guys who seemed rather serious about their cycling. 

I was really looking for age-related advice, or experience from other perhaps older guys. Should I expect performance to plateau at this age, or is there still some point in ratcheting up training intensity?


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## ColinJ (19 Mar 2016)

What speed do you do up that hill?

Why wouldn't your performance plateau, given that you have been doing the same thing for 10 years? 

It sounds to me like you are doing enough to keep yourself pretty fit, but not enough to get REALLY fit, so I think you could do more if you really wanted to.

I know somebody who still races, well into his 70s, and occasionally wins so I don't think your age should stop you getting fitter. Obviously though, you will never be as fit at your age as you could have been when you were 20.


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## Blue Hills (28 Mar 2016)

Rooster1 said:


> I think a new bike will also revitalise my riding also.
> 
> .


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## derrick (28 Mar 2016)

Hills have never got easier for me, Have always been a grinder, but i am trying to spin more as i get older, I just ain't a spinner.
I am 64 years young. I ride this sort of ride regalary https://www.strava.com/activities/527176285


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## ColinJ (28 Mar 2016)

derrick said:


> Hills have never got easier for me, Have always been a grinder, but i am trying to spin more as i get older, I just ain't a spinner.
> I am 64 years young. I ride this sort of ride regalary https://www.strava.com/activities/527176285


So, you try to avoid hills then ... 

I really don't get the grinding up hills thing! If a rider is super-strong and can do it efficiently, fair enough, but for anybody else who struggles on climbs spinning lower gears is the obvious answer.

I am definitely NOT super-strong or super-fit and am 60 years old, but by using a 26/28 bottom gear where I felt that I needed to I had no problems on my forum ride a week or so back which was over pretty hilly terrain.


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## ColinJ (28 Mar 2016)

Wait a minute ... @derrick - what is going on on the Strava profile of your ride!? I noticed that the summits appeared to only be at 100 ft above sea level so they seemed very small hills, but I have just noticed that the base level appears to be at -250 ft, which can't be right!


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## Venod (28 Mar 2016)

Clawed Butler said:


> I was really looking for age-related advice, or experience from other perhaps older guys. Should I expect performance to plateau at this age, or is there still some point in ratcheting up training intensity?



Keep at it put the miles in, ride with a group now and again to see how you compare to others, don't be afraid to drop down a gear and spin.

I have cycled and run since my mid twenties, 64 now, I packed in work full time at 59 did part time 3 days a week for a few years, not worked for past 3 years but done a lot of cycling, I can't push the big gears of my younger days (and no desire to do so) but I feel my performance is as good as it was in my 30s ( I may be kidding myself here)

Get a GPS and put your rides on Strava, not a scientific comparison with others, but a hell of a good feeling when your times beat much younger riders.


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## derrick (28 Mar 2016)

ColinJ said:


> Wait a minute ... @derrick - what is going on on the Strava profile of your ride!? I noticed that the summits appeared to only be at 100 ft above sea level so they seemed very small hills, but I have just noticed that the base level appears to be at -250 ft, which can't be right!


Not sure what's going on there. Strava has never been accurate.


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## gavroche (28 Mar 2016)

I am 65 and although my head feels a lot younger, my body is beginning to act its age. Best example was last Thursday when I was helping fellow teachers to shift stuff to the brand new school they are moving into after the Easter holidays.I had to go up and down two flights of stairs all day long to get rid of rubbish. It nearly killed me and had to stop frequently to recover. Slept well that night though.
I never keep my lowest gear in reserve ( 32teeth) and use it frequently, that's what it is for.


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## Globalti (31 Mar 2016)

I'm also 60 in a few days and pretty fit. I've learned that fitness varies through the season and much cycling ability is linked to leg strength and muscle bulk, which is why I like to do steep hill stuff as well as fast flat rides and easy recovery rides. 

The main problem will always be that a cyclist will choose a gear that feels right fo their fitness and push that gear hard, so will seldom feel they are improving.


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## Dirk (31 Mar 2016)

I'm 62 this year. I started cycling 4 years ago, just to get more exercise, after being diagnosed type 2 diabetic.
I was never particularly athletic when younger, but now I'm fitter than I ever was. Regularly do 30+ mile rides with 2 - 3000 feet of climbing and hold a few Strava KoM.
I put this down to the area I have to cycle in - North Devon. Not renowned for being flat! We've got some serious hills every way you turn. I must admit to being beaten by one the other day and had to get off and walk..............well, it was 33%.


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## Cush (31 Mar 2016)

For those that know it I use the hill from the ferry landing at Wetheral as a "Tester" If I can cycle up it without stopping I am smug (not always possible due to traffic coming down). My other tester is walking up the 99 steps to Wetheral station without stopping (but I have always finished up out of breath) Oh I will 73 in August


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## User16625 (31 Mar 2016)

Clawed Butler said:


> Isn't there a confusion here between how readily your fitness responds to training, and whether or not you can ever be fit?
> 
> Relatively, I am already pretty fit irrespective of my age, though one can find fitter people. So I can easily beat our neighbour, a lean 20-something with a super lightweight carbon bike, up our hill. But a few months back I was dropped on the same hill by two middle-aged guys who seemed rather serious about their cycling.
> 
> I was really looking for age-related advice, or experience from other perhaps older guys. Should I expect performance to plateau at this age, or is there still some point in ratcheting up training intensity?



You may have survived an ice age or 2, but thats no reason to give up the ghost just yet. Check this out guy out, hes ancient: Cycling in your 80s


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## PaulSB (31 Mar 2016)

I'm 62 this summer and have cycled off and on for 50 of those years. I'm not as fast as I used to be but can still knock out an average of 14.5 over 75 miles - well I could before the heart attack so I'm sure I'll get back to it. 

I am though a much better cyclist all round than I have ever been. Road craft, stamina etc. Etc. 

Since my mid 50s I've felt these are, generally speaking, the best years of my life. 

At 61 I'm the second oldest in my club but hold my own on the club rides. The oldest member is 68 and he can kick an awful lot of backsides. Pensioner pace with Mike is best avoided.


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## SpokeyDokey (19 May 2016)

I didn't realise how many 60 ish or 60 +'s there are on here!

I'm 60 in November and am fairly fit and have slowly pushed my mileage up in the 3.5 years I have had my bike - did 2400 last year.

However, my average speed does not really change much (13.5 - 14.0 mph av') although I live in the hilly Lake District.

Not particularly bothered either - just happy to be out and about doing something fairly enjoyable and good for my anti-Grim Reaper campaign.

Interestingly (or maybe not!) it is rare that anyone passes me on my bike and I pass quite a few myself - so maybe I'm not that slow after all. The ones that do pass tend to be lean, mean racing machines who I could never compete with anyway so they don't bother me at all. And well done them!

My passion is hill walking (with a good measure of scrambling thrown in) and I regularly do 8-10 hour days and occasionally go up to 14-16 hours (got one coming up in August). Not that it's a race but my mate (he's 55) and I rarely get overtaken on long routes and without trying we reel in many fellow walkers esp' youngsters who can't seem to pace themselves very well.

I think in our age group we are probably blessed with good stamina if not outright speed - and long may it continue for us all!


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## recycling (20 May 2016)

I will be 71 next month and started cycling in January this year. I don't have the experience to offer any advice, but on the subject of hills, which are everywhere round here, I have already found them easier than when I started..I can now ride, very slowly, up some I had to walk up at first.
I don't understand the reasoning behind not using the lowest gear. I change down very early and just try to keep pedalling without looking too far ahead. I also try to keep in mind Rule 5.


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## tyred (20 May 2016)

Speak for yourself, I get more childish everyday.


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## youngoldbloke (20 May 2016)

By this time last year I was over the 2000 mile mark, but my hip has been the limiting factor this year. Due to be replaced later in the year - I'll be 69 by then - but I'm concered that any residual cycling fitness will have been lost by that tme 




<<<<<< otherwise this says it all


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## Jerry Atrik (20 May 2016)

Get strava premium then compare your times in your age group . It's a real booster and great for the ego .


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## bozmandb9 (20 May 2016)

Clawed Butler said:


> Isn't there a confusion here between how readily your fitness responds to training, and whether or not you can ever be fit?
> 
> Relatively, I am already pretty fit irrespective of my age, though one can find fitter people. So I can easily beat our neighbour, a lean 20-something with a super lightweight carbon bike, up our hill. But a few months back I was dropped on the same hill by two middle-aged guys who seemed rather serious about their cycling.
> 
> I was really looking for age-related advice, or experience from other perhaps older guys. Should I expect performance to plateau at this age, or is there still some point in ratcheting up training intensity?



I'm not sure anybody can answer that.

Or rather I suspect nobody could answer it with any degree of accuracy, since nobody knows your DNA, or adaptations. Theoretically, you should be losing muscle mass, and some degree of aerobic capacity, as you age. However we all age at different rates. Also, my theory, or daily rant, is that age related decline is only inevitable once you've reached 100% of your potential at a given age.

So for what it's worth, I'd say No, you should not NECESSARILY expect to plateau, unless you really have maxed out your potential.

Also factor in training methods, nutrition and rest. You may have reached your potential given your current strategies, and in order to progress, you may need to mix things up a bit, look at improving nutrition, changing your rides. It is highly likely that if you are only repeating your commute, that you will not see any improvement, whereas if you vary your training, you will force adaptations. Your body will long since have adapted to your standard commute, so you almost certainly have plateaued in that ride.


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## RMurphy195 (27 May 2016)

I'll be 66 in a few weeks. never been ashamed to use the granny gear up hill (I live on top of a not-particularly big one, it just feels like it after 25-odd miles!). And my "Granny" is 21"! If you run out of gears, you can always fit smaller chainrings!


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## Gatters (27 May 2016)

Speicher said:


> I like the idea of a sanity blanket, rather than a safety blanket.  I think I will knit myself one of those.


you'd be mad not to


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## oldwheels (30 May 2016)

What on earth is all the fuss about. 60 is quite young really. I will be 81 soon and see no prob cycling regularly. Just use a bit of common sense. I have had to change to a Brompton due to a rheumatic problem with getting my leg over ( the saddle that is ) but tried out my old touring bike yesterday and expect to be out on it soon. Mileage is not as high perhaps as in past and I rarely go beyond about 50 miles in one day now.


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## Vertego (18 Jun 2016)

Don't really get all this 'age' stuff.

I shall be 60 next month, assuming I get there. I never worry about it. Age just happens, until it stops (which is probably a bit of a bummer).

I've been riding for ages - 50 years probably. Apart from when I had some years off due to the kids (and me being lazy) and a couple of surgical interferences I've always ridden, but at different levels. Yes, I was faster when I was 20 but that's almost inevitable. Jumping up to more recent times, I'm certainly riding more, and harder, now than I was even 2 years ago. Speed is up, on average, by 2-3 kmh. Cadence is up from 75ish to nearer 90rpm. I can go up hills, although don't tend to do much more than 20% if I can help it. 25kms at an average of 5% - bring it on! Alps are this year's holiday destination.

So, no, I will not accept that you slow down as you get older. Well, certainly not 60.

My inspiration has to be Robert Marchand - he's 'only' 105 and still riding well beyond many a quarter of his age. This is him of 2 years ago, but still at it today...

http://ardechoise.com/en/News/News-of-l-Ardechoise/Robert-Marchand-103-years-old


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## Yorksman (25 Jul 2016)

Clawed Butler said:


> I live at the top of a ¾ mile, 6% average gradient hill. I cycle a 20 mile commute 3 days a week, always ending (of course) with this hill. I have done this for about 10 years. In fact I have cycled all my life and am pretty fit, but I have never gone in for racing, sportives or touring. What bugs me is that this hill never seems to get any easier. But I have turned 60. Should I just accept that it never will get any easier, and that it is all uphill from here on? Or is there anything I can do about it at my age?



I'm guessing that after so long, you've reached your best for this hill. If you wanted to find it easier, you'd have to train on harder hills, then you might notice that this one seems a bit easier. You get into the law of diminishing returns when you are fit and often have to work disproportionately harder for a small improvement.


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## Shut Up Legs (25 Jul 2016)

ColinJ said:


> Wait a minute ... @derrick - what is going on on the Strava profile of your ride!? I noticed that the summits appeared to only be at 100 ft above sea level so they seemed very small hills, but I have just noticed that the base level appears to be at -250 ft, which can't be right!


Perhaps he was using a Garmin, which was having a very bad day. The altimeter on my Edge 800 has a few times informed me that I'm not above ground, but instead in . My record to date is about -300m.


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## AnneW (25 Jul 2016)

ColinJ said:


> A Michael Mosley Horizon documentary suggested that there are 3 broad groups of people, athletically speaking ...
> 
> Super-responders, making up about 15% of the population. These are natural athletes who don't need to work that hard to get very fit. You clearly are not one of them!
> Average-responders, making up about 65% of the population. I think I am one of them. I can get fit if I make the effort, but it doesn't come that easily to me. Maybe you are in this group?
> Non-responders make up about 20% of the population. Their health can still benefit from regular exercise but it is unlikely that they will ever get really fit. If you are in that group then that would explain your problem!




I've always felt like a 3, but keep at it anyway or I'll lose what I have.....


I didn't start cycling until my 40s so I'm reassured to read so many of you say you're 60, 70 plus. I really will keep plodding on !!


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## united4ever (20 Oct 2016)

Well, I feel like a spring chicken at 41 but great reading this thread. Suppose its a very individual thing but wondering which age you start to plateau. Like someone said, if you do the same commute or number of miles each time (like me) you cannot really expect to improve at any age. I shall look at adding a few miles on once a week.


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## dim (20 Oct 2016)

thats where Strava kicks in

forget about competing with 20 year olds who ride on Cervellos and Pinarellos

compare your speed / segments to people in your own age group

I read somewhere that Strava will soon be implementing KOM statistics for age groups


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## HLaB (21 Oct 2016)

Clawed Butler said:


> I live at the top of a ¾ mile, 6% average gradient hill. I cycle a 20 mile commute 3 days a week, always ending (of course) with this hill. I have done this for about 10 years. In fact I have cycled all my life and am pretty fit, but I have never gone in for racing, sportives or touring. What bugs me is that this hill never seems to get any easier. But I have turned 60. Should I just accept that it never will get any easier, and that it is all uphill from here on? Or is there anything I can do about it at my age?
> 
> PS - As a matter of principle, I never use my lowest chainring/gear combination. I think of that as my safety blanket.


I'm nearly 41 the pre 1975 category and I found out at an open my mate who regularly equals or more often than not beats me on TT's is the pre 1945 category. He's just one of a number of older cyclists I've come across who are fantastic. Never accept it, just keep on, thats what those guys are doing


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## ColinJ (21 Oct 2016)

HLaB said:


> I'm nearly 41 the pre 1945 category and I found out at an open my mate who regularly equals or more often than not beats me on TT's is the pre 1945 category. He's just one of a number of older cyclists I've come across who are fantastic. Never accept it, just keep on, thats what those guys are doing


Don't you mean 'pre-1975' for yourself?


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## HLaB (21 Oct 2016)

ColinJ said:


> Don't you mean 'pre-1975' for yourself?


Fixed sorry, I really should turn on a light so I can see the key board properly, too lazy to get out of this sofa though


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## ColinJ (21 Oct 2016)

HLaB said:


> Fixed sorry, I really should turn on a light so I can see the key board properly, too lazy to get out of this sofa though


I've got a new laptop on order and I made sure that it has an illuminated keyboard so I can use it in poor light.


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## mjr (21 Oct 2016)

ColinJ said:


> I've got a new laptop on order and I made sure that it has an illuminated keyboard so I can use it in poor light.


Just get a backlit touchscreen, fossils!


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## ColinJ (22 Oct 2016)

mjr said:


> Just get a backlit touchscreen, fossils!


My tablet is great for playing games on but using it has taught me that I don't like doing much typing on screens! 

I could have spent (significantly!) more and got a touchscreen version of the new laptop but it had an excessive screen resolution which would have had a negative impact on battery life, possibly caused legibility problems with poorly designed software/websites, and it had a glossy finish which would be bad for picking up reflections of sunlight and artificial lighting.

The non-touchscreen version is still full-HD, which I think is perfectly fine for a 13.3" screen. It also has a non-reflective coating. It is very bright and apparently usable outdoors even on sunny days, as long as the screen does not directly face the sun.

I admit that watching my niece or nephew speed-typing text messages on their iPhones does make me feel a bit old! Mind you, their thumbs will probably be worn out by the time they hit their 40s ...


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