Cycling & Age

[oldwheels]

At home I am limited by the availability of suitable routes for a trike. On the mainland I currently would not like to tackle more than about 25 miles due to lack of fitness and I do not rush as I like to observe my surroundings. With a bike I could do more but my balance has gone so restricted somewhat. Into my 80's I was still touring about 50 or 60 miles per day but the last 3 years have see a lack of distance and therefore fitness. I am currently 86 and see no prospect of improvement.

 

[simongt]

Age definitively slow you down but it doesn't make any difference to distance. It just takes a bit longer to get there.

Exactly my thoughts. At 69, I'm still cycling but as a cruiser rather than clock beating. It may take longer to get to your 'destination' than it used to, but so what - ?
It's all about enjoying the ride.

 

[Venod]

At 70 I am definitely slower than I was 10 years ago but not by much, I still get PBs on Strava, which is good motivation, I got my first KOM of my 70s a few weeks ago, it was a newly refurbished track with a tailwind, but good for the soul.

 

[robjh]

I'm 60 in a couple of weeks. I do a lot of longish-distance riding of 100+ miles and weekly club runs, and my endurance is as good as it's ever been, certainly better than when I was 25 and was daunted by rides of half that length, but this is almost certainly down to experience and regular riding.
I do however notice that I am gradually losing the peaks, or the ability to put on or maintain an extra spurt of speed, and I feel it on club runs with younger members, whereas when I joined 10 years ago I kept up with the best. I remember then seeing riders a few years older than me who would gradually move off to slower groups, and I have now got to that age myself. It's a gradual thing, and I think/hope I have quite a few good years in me yet!

 

[Teamfixed]

Can be deceptive. There is one 75yr old in our patch, that does exactly that, but if you could wind the years back by 50, he was a pro, riding in the UK and on the continent and in six day races. Relative to his own standards, he has probably slowed quite a bit now.
But it does show that if you keep riding, you can achive good results still.

I remember a coupleof times we would be trying hard and out of the blue he would literally float past us with a friendly wave and that was the last you saw of him.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

70 and I've slowed down a lot, I don't have time to ride these days, I've gone from riding two 50 or 60 milers most weeks to riding one 20 or 30 miler most weeks, I've gone from averaging sixteen to seventeen mile an hour when i was in my forties to barely averaging thirteen miles an hour now.

 

[postman]

Having been off the bike since September 2020,because of the hydrocele I am setting my mind back to zero and starting all over again,and anything will be wonderful.And I can't wait to start.Three people have volunteered to help me out,how brilliant is that.

 

[Rusty Nails]

Age is just a number.
If you want to do it, I mean WANT to do it, you will.
If you would like to do it, then you won't.
Performance at any age is largely a mental thing.

That sounds like a series of those quotes on posters that are put on the walls of gyms or call centres.

Age is a hell of a lot more than just a number. People have peak fitness and peak performance levels which they build up to and gradually drop down from. The rates of increase and decrease vary between individuals but they do exist.
I agree that performance, at some level, is a mental thing in that it takes some will power to maximise it and also to minimise the rate of degradation, but it is also a physical thing and performance, absolute and relative to past history, will eventually degrade with age.
It gets to me sometimes that, at the age of 75, I know that I am getting gradually but surely slower, and take longer to recover from a heavy workload, but the alternative is far worse. The only difference between the way I do things now and what I was doing ten years ago is the time that has passed and the fact my body has aged.
I hope I am still riding in five years time, even if it means an e-bike, but I guarantee I will be slower without an e-bike.

One thing I would add is "use it or lose it". Once you stop a sport or form of exercise it gets a lot harder to take it up again. I played squash for forty years until I was 60 and was OK at it, but when I was 68 some old opponents over the club persuaded me to play again. Big mistake, it had all gone.

 

[Chief Broom]

As a newbie of 61 ive no cycling history to compare! After a steep learning curve things have improved a lot especially on the hills and for me its more about hills than distance. I regularly do a 24m route which is getting easier and can appreciate the countryside more rather than wondering whether my heart is going to burst out of my chest i dont know what the future holds but am hoping for steady improvement with strength and endurance at least for a few years. If i can only reach the heady heights of 40-50 miles over varied terrain thats fine by me!

 

[nagden]

One concession I have made to my increasing age is changing to a smaller chainring. I live in a hilly area and was using 50/40 chainring with a 14/28 cassette. I have changed the chainring to a 46/30. It has made the hills a bit more comfortable.

 

[GuyBoden]

Yes, your physical abilities will diminish as you get older, but, Just enjoy the ride, whatever your age.

 

[Venod]

One concession I have made to my increasing age is changing to a smaller chainring. I live in a hilly area and was using 50/40 chainring with a 14/28 cassette. I have changed the chainring to a 46/30. It has made the hills a bit more comfortable.

Never mind age, 46/30 is a good setup for anyone, 46/11 is a bigger gear than we used as youngsters, when 52/13 was a common biggest gear.

 

[nagden]

Never mind age, 46/30 is a good setup for anyone, 46/11 is a bigger gear than we used as youngsters, when 52/13 was a common biggest gear.

Yes it is a good setup. I am very pleased with it and my average speed has increased. Would reccomend the setup to anyone.

 

[KnittyNorah]

Speaking from experience sadly, I think an injury free body is much more important than age. I put as much, if not more effort into my exercise but disc herniations and two really bad episodes of sciatica on both sides which have left me with nerve damage/numbness and the legs feeling weaker than they should be for my age have slowed me down a lot more than the ageing process.

Agree 100%.
Plus it is a sad fact that the repair of injury as we age gets less efficient and we are often more prone to injury as we age.
It is rarely mere age alone which limits us if we are 'basically' healthy.
So I think the moral of this is to try to avoid injury at all times of life but especially as one ages ...

 

[kingrollo]

Speaking from experience sadly, I think an injury free body is much more important than age. I put as much, if not more effort into my exercise but disc herniations and two really bad episodes of sciatica on both sides which have left me with nerve damage/numbness and the legs feeling weaker than they should be for my age have slowed me down a lot more than the ageing process.

Similar experience to me.

Injuries limit my bike time - ergo I get slower.