Can you Ride Your Age (miles)

[Webbo2]

Well I'd say it's harder to ride 80 miles at 80 years of age than 40 miles at 40. Aside from double the distance it's the additional factor of reduced ability.

Go ahead and argue as we know you will but I'd say it's pretty accurate.

That is unless you do stuff to stop your ability reducing. Lots of people just ride then complain about their average speed reducing. You need to keep training so the decline is less like dropping off a cliff.

 

[Velorum59]

No!
I am 67
As long as I can do 5 to 10 miles a day at slow to moderate speed Im happy - I am more of a potterer and utility cyclist anyway. I havent owned any lycra, helmet, cycle computer etc for over 35 years!

 

[postman]

Now then what a challenge.For me that would be Meanwood to York back to Meanwood then turn around and go back to York ,could i do that mentally once home i very much doubt it.

 

[ColinJ]

Now then what a challenge.For me that would be Meanwood to York back to Meanwood then turn around and go back to York ,could i do that mentally once home i very much doubt it.

'Just' ride up to Garsdale Head station then catch the train back? That would solve the mental issue! Of course, it might introduce some extra physical ones...

 

[PaulSB]

Realistic goal yes but my point was and is as you get older it will be tougher. Plus increased age = increased miles hence double whammy.

This is an interesting discussion. I tend to agree with your general point but feel there is a lot one can do to mitigate or perhaps manage this.

At 72 I can still ride on rolling/flat at the same level as at 67/68 and definitely at the level I was two years ago. Where my ability has declined is in climbing. When I say climbing I mean 3½/4 miles or more ascent, not a short, sharp ascent. Broadly I've lost a minute a year, some climbs are four minutes longer, others six. I need to add some context to the climbing point. Late June 2024 I had a major RTC and lost 9/10 months of real riding. Six years ago, 2020, is the point where I make my comparison, lockdown and nothing to do except ride two hours a day, I was at a peak. It's impossible to calculate the impact of these events.

I'm working at the gym to manage any decline in three ways:

general stretching
pelvic and core stability
cycle specific strength training

As a result of the above my muscle mass is increasing as is my bone density. Both unusual in older people.

Aside from investing in myself I've bought a new bike, more lightweight and aero, a bike built for endurance. I equipped it with GRX to help with both climbing and endurance. Last week I was on a route I last rode in early June 2024. 73 miles and 6000 feet. The GRX was a dream, the climbing was noticeably easier.

I think your overall point is correct. I have several friends who say the same but we are all working to manage this. What is difficult, perhaps impossible?, is improvement.

I find recovery times are longer. The days of regular 200 mile weeks, say 3 x 70, have been replaced with 130 - 150 mile weeks and extra rest days. It all helps to add to longevity.

My expectation is to ride 90 miles at 90 but it may well be a couple of hours longer and the only ride of the week. 🤣

 

[Gillstay]

I was going to do this as an aim when I realised I would be doing it on my birthday in the middle of summer.

Problem is my brother in law does his in the middle of winter in Aberdeen and goes up into the mountains. He goes off in the dark and ice and comes back the same. So I did not bother.

 

[Always Cross]

I tried my own chase the sun today. The sun won but I did do 73miles I’m 66. My problem is I ride a recumbent trike and upright bikes. I’ve concentrated on the upright bikes so far this year so I’m struggling on the trike. If I concentrate on the trike I lose fittness on the upright. I do use a torture machine called a Concept 2. I’ve never thought of cycling as exercise it’s just something I do.

 

[oxoman]

Youd be surprised how many 70 plus guys do 200 plus audax events every wk or so.

 

[Rusty Nails]

The last time I rode my age was ten years ago at 69...at 98 miles it exceeded my age. But that was the last time I rode anything over 45 miles as tbh I realised I have no interest in spending more than a few hours on a bike in a day and riding my age now would definitely take a hell of a lot more than a few hours.

As far as maintaining strength and stamina for cycling as you age goes the big problem is not keeping doing the right thing but the luck of the draw in avoiding those ailments that come along with age. I have played competitive sport and kept fit and healthy all my life, and relatively speaking I was probably at my most fit for my age in recent years nine years ago but then a series of mishaps happened, including a fall resulting in a detached quadricep tendon, having a pacemaker fitted, having two vertebrae fused together and last year having prostate cancer treatment. All have been got over but all took valuable time to recover and the cumulative effect is undeniable.

It's my birthday tomorrow and I will be going for an early morning ride, about 25 miles, back in around two hours in time for a coffee and read of the Sunday paper.

I have come to realise that I ride to keep fit so I can carry on enjoying life, not keep fit to ride.