Is 52 too old to start?

[wisdom]

Not a problem I would have thought as long as your medically ok.I am 56 and do around 4000 miles a year commuting and the odd charity ride and tbh ive never felt better.

 

[jefmcg]

Nope, I feel much older than that and still cycle

I say cycle not done much lately but still clean my bikes

I say clean my bikes, I go not the garage now and then and look at them

I say look at them, I usually google it

I'm still buying cycling gear and clothes though, why do I do that?

doing a bit of cycling in June

June 2012.

There is literally no reason to reply to this thread.

 

[wisdom]

June 2012.

There is literally no reason to reply to this thread.

Sorry.didn't. See.the date.

 

[david k]

Oh I see, so does anyone know if he cycled or not?

 

[CXRAndy]

Lasted 2 weeks on here in 2012, so make your best guess?

 

[SGG on a bike]

Maybe he was only 42 when he started the thread?😁

 

[craigwend]

Have peoples started using defibrillators on threads recently...

 

[All uphill]

Wonder what he's doing now at 62?

 

[harlechjoe]

Age is no barrier. For over 30 years I replaced pedal power with engine power and returning to cycling I was mindful that roads are more hostile than they were so brought a book called Cyclecraft ( cyclecraft.co.uk )

 

[Jameshow]

I wondered if he still needed a bike?🤔🤣🤔🤣🤔🤣

 

[ColinJ]

Even though this is an ancient thread, I got chatting to someone yesterday who had the perfect answer to the question posed in the thread title so I might as well quote it here...

I found a puzzled-looking older man staring at my bike and that led to a long chat. He had noticed that the bike didn't have derailleurs but wondered what the strange gear set-up was. He could see that it probably wasn't a fixed gear bike, but he couldn't quite figure it out. I explained that it had been a singlespeed bike for whizzing up and down the valley on but that I had later added a second gear so I had the option to manually switch to the other gear for significant climbs. I told him that I needed the chain tensioner because I don't have horizontal dropouts so I can't move the rear wheel back to tighten the chain. I said that he must be a cyclist because a non-cyclist would be very unlikely to even look at my bike, let alone be intrigued by it...

Yes, a fellow rider! Like many of us, he had cycled as a child but he stopped cycling when he was aged 16 or 17. Nearly 50 bicycle-free years passed, but finally he bought a used mountain bike when he was 65 years old. He said that he struggled even to ride along a short length of the Halifax Road, off which the Lidl store is located. That road only has about a 0.5% gradient along there. I sympathised with him, because I remembered how hard it was when I started again after only a 20 year break from cycling, and he was over 30 years older when he restarted!

He had stuck at it though, and soon got fitter. Eventually, he spotted a bargain bike at a stall at Todmorden Market. It was an Orbit tourer in very good condition which he got for about £50 and he has been riding it ever since. He has done thousands of miles on it. He said that he isn't quick, but he still enjoys his cycling, except for the occasional encounter with an idiot driver.

He is now 77 years old and he looks fit and chirpy. The benefits of regular exercise, eh? 'Use it or lose it'!

Simply... NO (52 is NOT too old)!

 

[wooster]

Well I'll chip in here. I'll be 67 next month if I'm spared and I'm fat, ( 4 stones overweight ) flabby, with intermittent Atrial Fibrillation and arthritis. I bought a bike 3 weeks ago and I'm re-learning how to ride it. I'm hoping to get a bit fitter but we'll see.

So far I've limited my riding to the streets and wooded paths around where I live and only gone for short 2 or 3 mile rides. I have no interest in racing around anywhere ( or falling off at speed ) so I'm taking my time. So far so good. I did fall off once but fortunately I went into some bushes when I was going slowly and no-one saw me

Honestly, I'm past caring if I'm too old for it or not so I'm giving it a go. Lycra's probably out though.

 

[Sharky]

Never too old to start cycling, but always too young to stop.

 

[biggs682]

When this thread started I was younger but would still have given the same answer which is get on a bike and ride

 

[Toe Clip]

Re-started at 71 (2 yrs aga). Still slow and hills present a challenge. What the heck though, as long as it is enjoyable and gets me out of the house on a bi-daily basis.