derrick
The Glue that binds us together.
- Location
- On the edge of London
At 70 I am still chasing PRs on Strava. Only down hill and on the flat. Mostly in my age group 70 to 74.đź‘Ť
Cycling & Age
- Thread starter GmanUK65
- Start date
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Mo1959
Legendary Member
- Location
- Perthshire,Scotland
KnittyNorah
Ăśber Member
- Location
- The Frozen North (of England)
OUCH! How did you manage to do that?
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
Put some clothes on Mo
youngoldbloke
The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
At least there's electrical assistance available nowadays. I had to avail myself of it when my leg muscles stopped working properly, but at least I can still ride with the steady group 
Mo1959
Legendary Member
- Location
- Perthshire,Scotland
Stupidly not paying quite enough attention busy looking to my right approaching a give way which is on a bend in the road. She was coming in from my left and a combination of cutting over due to the length of her bus, and maybe not seeing me I clouted the side of the bus. She was muttering about not seeing properly due to a sign so who knows. It happened so fast it was just a blur.
fatjel
Veteran
- Location
- West Wales
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
I was totting up my hundred milers recently and cursed my youthful self for not keeping a careful log book of my distances. Of course if I had kept such a book I'd have lost it by now.
But on topic - I'll be getting my free bus pass soon. I've never been anything of an athlete and in my younger cycling days (and running) days I just trundled / plodded around slowly - but for quite long periods. And that's what I do now (without the running bit). I imagine if I met my younger self and went on a long ride with him we'd be fairly evenly matched. But we wouldn't get very far as we wouldn't be able to stand each other's company.
kayakerles
Have a nice ride.
- Location
- Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
Hope that one heals up quickly, Mo. I know it wasn't fun cleaning that one with alcohol on the wound! My index finger knuckle looked just the same last Saturday when playing billiards with a friend I scraped it with force across a small piece of metal on the table. When I doused the open wound with alcohol, the knuckle skin peeled back, it made me do quite the little dance! All that for a (lousy) pool shot! 
But thankfully you bumped the bus instead of it taking you at a right angle!
But thankfully you bumped the bus instead of it taking you at a right angle!
cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
indeed , injury recovery is limiting my time i can ride so i havent got the fitness to do longer rides
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
Another thing many avoid is hard efforts. You don’t need a lot, but if you hardly do any you’ll see a decline in your speed.
kayakerles
Have a nice ride.
- Location
- Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
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 chesti 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!
Okay g
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
Hi CB ~
Responding to your “newbie” post from July 2021. 65 yrs old here been riding pretty regularly now for about 8 years. Where are you? Most on this forum are from the UK. I am from the US, (right outside Washington DC.) Until 8 years ago I hadn’t ridden a bike since I was 18 years old. Now I ride either 10 or 15 miles every other day on primarily FLAT roads. Best of success to you with lots of hills! Every once in a while I take 20 mile rides, but so far that’s my limit. Then I skip a day or two. Unlike most of the folks on the CC forum that seem to ride way more than I do, and on a regular basis! I also only average 10 or 11mph. So many boast of regularly riding 15 - 18mph on average no matter WHAT the length or terrain of their ride, and even show their software statistics to prove it! But I don’t care, I’m just out to enjoy riding, even it I ride less and am slower. So it goes.
Another thing, I’m married and love to ride, but my wife does not. Having been hit by a car when she was a little girl makes her uncomfortable on roads for any form of transportation. A 10 mile ride is an hour. A 20mi is 2 hours. I value my time with my wife too, so don’t really have the desire for 5 - 10 hour rides. I guess it can be done, as evidenced by many here, but it’s beyond what I want to do.
If you don’t track your rides in one way or another yet, there is a FREE and simple app for your phone that gives you the basics called SportsTracker. It will give you the length of your ride, your average speed, a little picture that shows your route, maybe one or two other items, but those are the ones that I look at. It is not like Strava, which lets you compare your ride to every other persons on the globe, but has a MONTHLY cost. SportsTracker is free and does what I want to see about my rides. Perhaps you might like to check it out.
What kind of bike or bikes do you ride? I have both an aluminum hybrid Trek and an old-school steel mountain bike. The mountain bike can handle absolutely any terrain, where I try to keep my hybrid on roads or very smooth trails.
Take care, enjoy riding and be safe, good riding weather is here.
Les
Chief Broom
Veteran
Hi Les glad youre enjoying your riding
i live in Brora in the Scottish highlands and ride a Dawes 201 which is a simple ally rim braked hybrid. I dont have any interest in comparing my ride and wont be adding any tech stuff to my bike guess im a bit of a luddite! A shame your wife cant join you on rides, perhaps you can take your bike with you on holiday/camping trips where you could enjoy different scenery/terrain but wouldnt leave her alone for too long.Since ive been riding i have appreciated how much there is to see locally and ive a tremendous amount ive yet to explore. I may have to buy a gravel bike in the future to cope with rougher routes.
Regarding fitness- i find persistence is the thing while keeping a happy balance of 'grin' and 'grimace'! too much toil would start to make riding unattractive. Good to have days of gentle spinning and admiring the countryside/wildlife.
Im much fitter than when i started and can imagine i'll be powering up the hills when im in my 80's
Gixxerman
Guru
- Location
- Market Rasen
I'm 57 and can do 50+ mile rides at the drop of a hat. I did a 75 mile road ride the other week with no special training, at a decent average of 17mph. I still play six-a-side football too. Fitness is not the issue for me, but aches and pains are though (knees and ankles). I still do 50-odd mile off road rides too. I also do a few trail centres. I still seem to bounce well for an old'un, though I give the insane downhill routes a miss. Diet is the big thing. Eat well, and not too late or too much. Hills are getting harder though.
