Cycling Well being Poll at 40+

Ageing and cycling

  • I can cycle as much as I want - I don't do anything to avoid pain/injury

    Votes: 67 58.8%
  • I can cycle as much as I want - but do stretches etc to avoid injury

    Votes: 15 13.2%
  • I am mostly ok - but have injury flare ups now and then

    Votes: 23 20.2%
  • I use medication to manage my pain - but keep cycling

    Votes: 6 5.3%
  • I have periods where I can not cycle due to pain

    Votes: 1 0.9%
  • Pain severely limits my cycling

    Votes: 2 1.8%
  • Pain has forced me to give up cycling

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    114
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
At the ripe old age of 56 - I am finding my cycling curtailed by aches and pains - when a bout kicks in - it effects me off the bike for a few weeks - I have to resort to pretty hefty painkillers until it settles down. I do regular yoga and Pilates gym and try to stretch most days. - Yet some people in the club I cycle with ate loads older than me and just seem to be able to cycle as they please - perhaps thats just the genetic lottery !

Just wondered what everyone else does to keep on the bike pain free:-

Usual disclaimers - Its difficult to put an option for every possibility - please feel free to add any comments below
 

Venod

Eh up
Location
Yorkshire
I have voted for the second option, the stretching I do may help on the bike but I stretch my shoulder because I was knocked off and broke my shoulder which resulted in muscle wastage, I stretch to stop it seizing up, I would still do this if not riding the bike, I strech my back and legs because of a nasty bout of sciatica which kept me off the bike for two months and I hope it helps to prevent a repeat, I would still do this if I wasn't riding the bike.
 
Last edited:

EltonFrog

Legendary Member
I’m fifty twelve, cycle as much as I like. I’m very lucky. I do get occasional back pain, but since I started running I don’t get it so much.
 

Shut Up Legs

Down Under Member
I'm 52 and mostly pain free. I can generally cycle as much as I want, but occasionally I get unusual aches and pains and have to do a bit of stretching to mitigate it. So on the above survey I'm partway between the 1st and 2nd options.
 

vickster

Legendary Member
47, daily pain & stiffness, daily medication (prescription anti-inflammatory, paracetamol, few times a month co-codamol/tramadol) daily cycling (rarely more than 20 miles a day) /gym/walk.

Just put up with it really (being inactive is actually worse for me, the medics encourage activity). I've not taken more than a couple of days off bike over the last 5 years other than post surgery or when on holiday/travelling for work.

#4 in poll
 

Dogtrousers

Kilometre nibbler
What if you can't cycle as much as you want ... but it has nothing to do with pain, just life getting in the way? ;)

Serious answer, I'm a bit older than you. I get sore after a long day on the bike - but that's to be expected and it goes away after a bit of rest.

I do a bit of cursory stretching after gym sessions, and when I get off the bike ... sometimes. Hamstrings and hips particularly.

Back in the day when running was my thing I was constantly beset by pains and strains.
 

Fab Foodie

hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
Location
Kirton, Devon.
I've not been riding much of late, am 56 but don't get too many bike related aches and pains unless I have really overdone it (or suddenly doing a physical days DIY or similar). In fact I find that the more I ride my bike, the less general aches and pains I get. But I recognise the generally achiness you describe just from general working etc. I either have long days on my feet, long days sitting down at a computer and long days travelling by car/plane with little proper exercise or stretching in between - this is when I suffer most. I have found that a cold bath after a hard ride helps with the leg aches.

2 recent things spring to mind from the last 48 hrs or so. One was having a conversation with a fit and healthy guy that caught Lymes disease and a Chronic fatigue sufferer who both suffered from chronic aching - there could be some underlying reason. The other was from watching the Documentary on Netflix 'The Game Changer' about plant based diets. One of the things discussed was the improvement in recovery from injury due to the reduced inflammatory compounds associated with meat-eating. Sticking my science head on, it has long been known that there are many items in food that cause inflammation or promote inflammation with injury. Going plant based reduces these considerably. Fish oils can also have a similar anti-inflammatory effects. It's food for thought. Am going meat and alcohol free for a month...if there are any improvements I'll be shouting from the rooftop. Take a cynical watch of 'The Game Changers' its interesting stuff!
 

derrick

The Glue that binds us together.
At 67 i have a bit of Arthritis in my left shoulder. Does not really give me any problems on the bike. Do not like taking pills unless prescribed. Edited, i was 68 last week.:cheers:
 
Last edited:

Brandane

Legendary Member
Location
Costa Clyde
Where's the option for "Don't do enough cycling for injury to be an issue" ?
A sort of serious question. I have suffered from knee and hip problems in the past but don't do enough miles these days for it to be an issue. It's not the injuries that have curtailed the cycling though, just life getting in the way.
 

rogerzilla

Legendary Member
I'm tougher than I was in my 20s. I think it helps that I never did absolutely stupid amounts of exercise, so nothing's worn out. It may be an urban myth, but I've taken cod liver oil every day since I was 40 and my knees never complain at all, even riding fixed most of the time. I keep them covered below 13 deg C and I stand up in the saddle to save them on the hills. I also take the first half mile fairly easily to let the synovial fluid circulate, as experience shows they click rather a lot if I don't.
 
Top Bottom