cycling into old age

[cyclop]

Any old cyclists out there,say 75+.What are you doing?How has speed and stamina changed in later years?From an interested 65yr old cyclist.

[ossie]

Cant help as early 50's but if I didn't have another 25 years cycling and touring in front of me I would be devastated. Realistically the things that will probably stop me are knees and back.

If it means being electrically assisted in later years then so be it, every man and his dog are on the European routes and they are still banging away at it.

[eileithyia]

Most of the cyclists I know are well past retirement age, I don't see any of them 'planning' or contemplating giving up cycling in the near future.
Everyone I know just keeps going and assumes they will just keep going....

[Audax67]

At 60 my usual rate of climb (i.e. change of altitude) was 12 to 13 metres/minute. Nowadays, at 70, I'm happy if I hit 9. My average speed over a favourite 100k loop with 700m of climbing seems to have gone down by around 1 kph.

It varies wildly from rider to rider, though. I know a bloke who's 75 and leaves me standing. OTOH a few strong riders I knew 10 years ago are dead now.

There's also wear and tear to consider: knees, hips and ankles don't come with a lifetime guarantee. I know quite a few folk with tin hips & knees, and my own ankles have been dodgy since 2011. Anno domini is a bitch.

Would I contemplate giving it up? Yeah, sure, next time I decide to die.

[millimole]

I'm nearly 62 - so still young in this discussion, but my guess (based on personal experience) is that the greatest threat to continued cycling into later years is a period off the bike (due to illness, injury or life events).
I think that you lose fitness very quickly as you age, and it takes longer to rebuild that previous level of fitness. That combined with a knowledge of what you used to be capable of can lead to debilitating frustration.


You can easlily remove the Tapatalk spam using settings on YOUR phone

[Audax67]

I'd certainly agree that time off is pretty deadly. I was off for 10 weeks last year and it was a month before I managed 100k again.

There's also the factor that as you age you recover more slowly. This time of year 10 years ago I was doing back-to-back 160k rides at a fair lick over the 4 days of Easter; last week I did a 128 on Tuesday, a 70 on Friday and a 100k in the mountains on Sunday, and I've been too knackered to ride since. Basically, I did the 70 before I had recovered from the 128 and the 100 before the accumulated fatigue had left me.

Yet another thing - sorry to go on - is that beyond 60 the sins of your youth start to catch up with you. 10 years ago I had no stents: nowadays I have 3 and my heart only receives 50% of the blood supply that it should. It's a bit like climate change - you hardly notice it until it ups and bites you in the tender parts.

[Mick F]

So very true.

I turned 60 and hardly noticed it.
61, 62 and 63 came and went, but 64 feels like 90.
65 in a very few months, and I wonder about my future of cycling. It's hard work, I feel old, I feel tired all the time, and I feel cold.

However .................. chatting to The Wise One Mrs Mick F about this, she remembers how I was at 39 and how I felt old. By the time I was actually 40. I was absolutely fine.

Therefore ........ she says .......... that as I'm 64 and nearly an OAP, that when I actually make 65, I'll be fine again, just like I was prior to turning 40.


................ I hope she's right, and perception of age is in my head.

[fausto copy]

Blimey Mick, I'm 64 this year and now you've got me really worried.
I was thinking 63 was bad enough.
fausto.

[tatanab]

Same age as MIck. A bit down on mileage this year due to muscle strain. Not worried. I don't ride any great distances or regularity in this country, but I spend up to 4 weeks a year on tour in France hauling camping kit. I used to go by a rule of thumb that I estimate 60 miles on the map knowing full well it would be at least 70 when ridden, but last year I reduced that to an estimated 50 knowing it will be over 60 when ridden. So I suppose I've cut back a bit. I maintain that I ride on memories rather than any physical fitness because I know how it feels and I've done it so many times before. Seldom do more than 5000 miles a year.

When I got to 50 I remember talking to some members in their 70s and 80s. I was moaning about sudden onset of minor health problems and aches and pains. They said "you don't know anything yet sonny!"

[Mick F]

I supported some riders doing LEJOG in five days. First night was Bristol, after leaving LE at 06:00.
200 miles ish on the first day.
2nd day Chester
3rd Moffat
4th Kingussie
5th Thurso after finishing at JOG at around 10pm.

Youngest rider was in is late 20s ....................... and the oldest was 70.

[al_yrpal]

It's all in the mind. Don't feel any older than I did at 65, 10 years ago. Just take it steady.

Al

[oldmanonabike]

I supported some riders doing LEJOG in five days. First night was Bristol, after leaving LE at 06:00.
200 miles ish on the first day.
2nd day Chester
3rd Moffat
4th Kingussie
5th Thurso after finishing at JOG at around 10pm.

Youngest rider was in is late 20s ....................... and the oldest was 70.

I'm 70 next week and am planning my first lejog for next year

[Mick F]

I supported some riders doing LEJOG in five days.
Youngest rider was in is late 20s ....................... and the oldest was 70.

I'm 70 next week and am planning my first lejog for next year

Yes, but you're not doing it in five days.

I was out for a 30mile ride yesterday, and felt absolutely fine. It was a ride I often do, so I was able to compare my speed and stats to many other of them.
To my amazement, I wasn't as slow and "old" as I thought I was.

This doesn't mean I'm going to ride LEJOG in five days though!

[hondated]

Think I have found a good solution for continuing to cycle as you get older !
Not so long ago I completed the build of a carbon fibre race bike but I have been waiting for the better weather to use it. Well that arrived not so long ago and since its arrival have been continuously using. At the age of 66 its been a revelation as it feels so light and rides very smoothly. Unlike my Roberts Tourer which was of cause built for touring and not really for speedy local rides.
Its got compact gearing but as I fitted a long cage rear mechanism with a nice and big rear sprocket so hills are fairly easy now.
So for me the answer to the question imo is to get a lighter bike as it takes far less effort to cycle to wherever you want to.

[Audax67]

^^^ Good approach. I used a Ti Lapierre for Audax for 11 years and thought it was the bee's knees because I could manage it. Then I bought a Trek Domane in 2015, and it was like pedalling feathers - light, comfortable and manoeuvrable. Yesterday I did 80k on the old Ti carthorse and today I'm sore and my legs hurt.