cycling into old age

[djnotts]

The weather helps! 35 miles today to meet up with local CTC Saturday Ride at lunch. Solo, I need to choose my speed and route. Longest ride YTD at 76 y.o. and not counting....

[Carlton green]

The other day I was chatting to an old chap who seemed cheerful and sprightly. I was surprised when he told me that his son was in his middle fifties and then enquired what his age was, to which he replied eighty one. When I asked how he’d managed such good health the reply was plenty of non-contact sport (his list included cycling); he explained that contact sports almost always result in injuries which, even though healed, still impact on your longterm health.

I think that there might be something in what he says (about old injuries being a drag on good health) but also noted that he was an intelligent chap -doubtless a good intellect helps longevity - who wasn’t scratching along on a limited income (apparently being comfortably off in old age enables you to have the heating on, eat good food, wear good cloths and live in good accommodation). It seems to me that if you want to cycle into old age then looking after your pension / funds - to make certain you have at least sufficient for your needs and a few wants too - is one factor to consider.

A pal of mine who’s in his nineties seems to think similar. He’s careful what he eats, has a comfortable pension (it doesn’t need to be massive), lives a stress free life, takes exercise (which has included cycling), is sociable and has a lifelong interest in playing music (playing music exercises the mind and brings him joy).

[djnotts]

Casual Internet browsing re cycling into older age and with significant health issues brought me (back) here.

Hit 77 in August and 2 mths later formally diagnosed recurrent prostate cancer, advanced metastasis ,no curative treatment, delay-only.

Simple busyness at Oncology, scans, dealing with inept GPs etc hit my cycling and while not the common "fatigue" the new meds do make me tire more easily.

So, a struggle to reach 5,052 miles for 2025. And weather since Xmas not helping - my bone density weakened as a result of original treatment over 2021-2022 so ice best avoided! Daily 10 turbo miles becoming boring.

Cancer plus ever limiting COPD makes for a drastically reduced "target" for this year - 2,000 would be good, but that assumes I live more than 6 months, far from a given!

Happy riding (and living) in 2026 to all.

[willcee]

hello all. sorry to learn of your current issues, old age has many hidden and sudden events for many of us who escaped the 'normally' dangerous 50 to 60 age range and landed in our 70's with problems that seem to take over ones existance , longevity in sight..
myself was happily cycling away until i attended an old friends wifes funeral on a hilly steep country graveyard walked down to the plot and had issues breathing hard on the way back to my car, i had some issues , with swollen legs and ankles, laying flat breathing issues, blue lips, which all came to a head after Christmas 24 in earlyJanuary i felt as if someone had turned on the off switch.
so A&E was attended through an off hours medical service who wouldnt let me go after doing some quick tests and i was in their care for 15 days with pneumonia diagnosed and released [after they managed to get me smit with Covid] with a blood oximeter reading of 88/92 and i was fine for most of the year never out of breath cycling weather permitting did about ten 30 milers ..
then my oximeter started to read in the 70's instead of the 80's, in early December i used same way back into Hospital and was immediately on oxygen they did many tests and[ i have yet to chat with my GP]
i was released with oxygen at home after 10 days rest,prescribed for 16 hours a day and a heart with an ejection fraction of 50%..and mild COPD..I have an appt. with my GP today so i can then discover what they think is the best way forward, i dont feel ill i don't have breathlessness.. but cycling, well i just don't know... will

[djnotts]

^willcee. Hope you get to the cause soon.
For getting on for 10 years after copd diagnosis I maintained 98 O level. Covid, very few symptoms, dropped it to 93. Did recover but never back to 98, now hovers around 96.
Good luck with GP!

[roger72]

I am 86. Last summer I was doing 25-30 miles 3 times a week, my average has gone from about 15 mph 10 years ago to now 12-13 mph. My knees are OK and I try to run in the winter twice a week (slowly) as I feel the cold and its warmer running . I don,t know anyone else in my town that is still cycling over 80. Several in there 70,s.

[toontra]

I am 86. Last summer I was doing 25-30 miles 3 times a week, my average has gone from about 15 mph 10 years ago to now 12-13 mph. My knees are OK and I try to run in the winter twice a week (slowly) as I feel the cold and its warmer running . I don,t know anyone else in my town that is still cycling over 80. Several in there 70,s.

Excellent. Gives us all hope! I've just turned 70 and this gives me inspiration to achieve what you're doing - health matters permitting!

[willcee]

OK my locum... GP, a young chap in his late 20's reckoned that I could forget the cycling , he discussed COPD And its hold on me more so than my heart which had actually 52% when what they're saying 54% is Good and more normal ....so the heart isn't the main cause that my retired ,very experienced sister, many years in our local ICU felt was congestive heart issues.
I'm adjusting as I also care for a partner, herself just through a serious session this past summer on a ventilator for a good week, who is disabled left side after an anneurism and vascular spasm back in 98.. so stress may have had a finger in the pie...
I'm never really out of breath or energy I just know sometimes I have to dig a bit deeper like you would when a hill appears.. my own fitness is suspect which has a bearing and my nephew an ex world champion oarsman now London based has given me 2 pages of mild workouts and to walk more...I don't give up easy.. W

[Ron]

OK my locum... GP, a young chap in his late 20's reckoned that I could forget the cycling ,

I wonder about the image in this doc's head when the word 'cycling' cropped up, was it discussed? The word covers such a vast range, from a would be Olympic contender to the guy who pushes his bike around for support rather than actually getting anywhere.
Strangers who learn that I cycle usually over rate the energy required, in fact the last time I broke sweat on a bicycle was on a hot summer day pre covid.

[Mike Sales]

When I lived in Bangor and was having trouble with one hip I was given an appointment in Blaenau Ffestiniog. Without a car this requires two train rides, one is the picturesque but infrequent service from Llandudno Junction..
I cycled over the Crimea Pass on my one and a half legs.
The receiving nurse told me to go and get an X-ray. I had got the impression that this was an automatic part of the system. So I asked if it was necessary. The nurse said not, with bad grace.
To help the chubby young doctor to better appreciate my condition I told him how I had made the journey. He was surprised. My guess is that he would have had difficulty doing the climb with his two good legs.

[Carlton green]

When I lived in Bangor and was having trouble with one hip I was given an appointment in Blaenau Ffestiniog. Without a car this requires two train rides, one is the picturesque but infrequent service from Llandudno Junction..
I cycled over the Crimea Pass on my one and a half legs.
The receiving nurse told me to go and get an X-ray. I had got the impression that this was an automatic part of the system. So I asked if it was necessary. The nurse said not, with bad grace.
To help the chubby young doctor to better appreciate my condition I told him how I had made the journey. He was surprised. My guess is that he would have had difficulty doing the climb with his two good legs.

Bangor has a large Hospital and Blaenau Ffestiniog hasn’t much at all, how it can make any sense to send patients on a thirty plus mile journey escapes me but it does seem to be common in the NHS. Apparently the time (to allow) to cycle between the two is four hours, which might seem a lot for the distance but the terrain is somewhat challenging.

A lot of Doctors are good at passing exams and working to protocols, but when it comes down to empathy, life experience and common sense it’s a bit of a lottery . As an aside the Nurses are much the same. How would I know? I’ve the experiences of friends and relatives to call on: some work(ed) for the NHS and some have used it.

OK my locum... GP, a young chap in his late 20's reckoned that I could forget the cycling ,

I wonder about the image in this doc's head when the word 'cycling' cropped up, was it discussed? The word covers such a vast range, from a would be Olympic contender to the guy who pushes his bike around for support rather than actually getting anywhere.
Strangers who learn that I cycle usually over rate the energy required, in fact the last time I broke sweat on a bicycle was on a hot summer day pre covid.

Quite, one of the reasons that I cycle is because it’s easier than walking. If I start to break-out in a sweat or feel the pulse rate overly rising then I slow down or stop. Crikey, exercise, , you have to be careful about that .

[Morzedec]

It does help me to know that I am only 53 - years older than Pogačar. Even if I am currently 50 kilos heavier than he is (some will come off again on the longer summer rides later this year). I blame Christmas, and all that brandy cream.

[Cugel]

When I lived in Bangor and was having trouble with one hip I was given an appointment in Blaenau Ffestiniog. Without a car this requires two train rides, one is the picturesque but infrequent service from Llandudno Junction..
I cycled over the Crimea Pass on my one and a half legs.
The receiving nurse told me to go and get an X-ray. I had got the impression that this was an automatic part of the system. So I asked if it was necessary. The nurse said not, with bad grace.
To help the chubby young doctor to better appreciate my condition I told him how I had made the journey. He was surprised. My guess is that he would have had difficulty doing the climb with his two good legs.

Quite a large majority of people one meets these days think that getting out of breath to any significant degree means that they're either damaging themselves or have become ill. In their whole life, even as a child, getting out of breath didn't occur to any noticeable degree. It got a lot worse for many of the young once the car got a-hadden of every household. Even worserer when gazing-gizmos became de-rigeur, even for 5 year-olds.

And, of course, this being their history, getting out of breath becomes increasing easy to achieve, which they avoid by avoiding exercise or exertion of any kind; and so are even less able to process the oxygen efficiently or to employ the organs (such as muscles) that being able to breath is all about, as they age.

"Rest" still seems to be a go-to for many medics as some sort of route to improved health. In my experience, "rest" seems to either delay recovery or, in the worst cases, prevent it ever occurring. "Do a bit less for a while" may be justifiable but lying supine for days or weeks is surely just a rot-inducer?

Use it or lose it. Many seem to have lost the ability to make any exertion beyond walking slowly to the car from the sofa and later around a shop. "I'm exhausted!", they cry as they flop back on the settee after driving home following their buying of all the crisps and ready "meals".

*********
Happily there is the opposite syndrome surviving albeit only here and there. A local 80+ year old rides her bicycle (a knackered sit-up-and-beg) every day (every) the two miles down the hill to the shop and 2 miles back up the hill to deliver not just her own groceries and such but also those of her even more ancient neighbour (who is usually in the garden doing things). Nothing stops her, not even gales and snow. I've been watching her do it now for seven years, since we moved here, with no sign of her weakening.

"Jane, would you like me to go to the shops for you?"

"Poof - I can manage; always have and always will".

And she's less than 5ft high, in her wellies and including a fine head of hair.

[Cowsham]

It does help me to know that I am only 53 - years older than Pogačar.

80! -- mere pur te ye!

[djnotts]

Seems latest (recurrent) cancer treatment on top of ever worsening COPD finally bringing my cycling to an end at 77 years and 5 mths. Too much pain and inability to breathe!

Fair run in all the circumstances I reckon.