Older riders: Has your strength/fitness gradually declined or in noticeable steps?

[Dogtrousers]

I still maintain the Covid shot in 2022 was the trigger in all of this. I`d be interested if anyone has had a similar experience or is it just in my head ?

No change related to that from me. Mind you there aere lots of things that have happened that I could blame my decline on. Using Microsoft Teams, riding on the Wuppertal Schwebebahn, chatGPT ...

I think just getting older is the most likely candidate.

 

[Drago]

I still maintain the Covid shot in 2022 was the trigger in all of this. I`d be interested if anyone has had a similar experience or is it just in my head ?

Not me. That said I made a point of asking for the anti-covid shot and not the covid one.

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

I still maintain the Covid shot in 2022 was the trigger in all of this. I`d be interested if anyone has had a similar experience or is it just in my head ?

My three covid vaccine jabs in '21 (April, June ISH and December iirc) each hit my cycling fitness like having a respiratory infection (high heart rate for given power compared to normal, so ended up doing ~z2 power rides instead of intervals), taking about a month to get over each time.

 

[Webbo2]

My Covid jabs had absolutely no effect on fitness.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Same here, no effect what so ever.

 

[Shearwater Missile]

Thanks for the replies. I`d had the other vaccines and there was no problem, including the Astra Zeneca one, my first one. I`d also had others since that Moderna one, again no problem, well nothing other than a sore arm and feeling a little under the weather for 24hrs. One of life`s mystery`s I suppose.

 

[teeonethousand]

I accept the getting older thing has some sort of impact and to some extent can be mitigated...and certainly life/health events = step down or up.

Also in play though, at least round here, is the worsening state of the roads, the road furniture, crossings, lights, no of cars, tractors, lorries. Sometimes gates and sometimes lanes that you need to pull over for cars to pass just for self preservation. All these thing drag average speeds down. Perhaps the thing to notice is the ‘steady state’ speed ie not hill, no interruptions periods of the ride where your travelling speed might be say 18mph and you could notice that is always around that vs getting slower/harder.
The other thing for me is motivation with might change with stages of life where your more focussed on enjoying stuff that pushing boundaries and subconsciously your just not up for it.

i could do with an out front device, let’s call it a YeeHa, that measures those factors that contribute to enjoyment, socialising , experiencing stunning vistas, general health etc etc 😂😂

 

[Drago]

I've had thr MRNA ones each time. Other than feeling hugely exhausted for a day or so I've suffered no ill eff....urgh....aarrgghh...gurgle...thump.

 

[oxoman]

I've read with interest the various accounts of what happens as we age. My personal journey is i was probably my fittest around 8yrs ago at 52 when I could sub 2hr half marathons and riding 100miles in under 6hrs was achievable several times a wk. Then I ended up with carbon monoxide poisoning and my fitness went downhill, speeds were slower and recovery longer move on to post covid I can cover longer distances both running and cycling but slightly slower than previously experienced. I started doing gravel events and thoroughly enjoyed them, but have decided the longer race type events like the dirty reiver are no longer enjoyable like they used to be so im doing shorter events upto 50 or so miles and touring / bikepacking. Slower pace but longer distances. I did the King Alfred's Way a couple of yrs ago and rode with an old club rider in his 70s, he impressed me immensely how he kept going and he just said he was to stubborn to stop until he'd done a few more milestones. He's still riding now but maxs out at 40 miles and refuses to go the ebike route. Me personally 2026 ive a new bike being built and I'll be doing a few endurance events but not at 14 / 15 mph anymore. I'll be down to probably 12 mph as carrying my gear. Got a few multi day loops planned so hopefully by reducing my speed i can still go the distance. I should add i also suffer with high blood pressure and the tablets dont seem to help energy levels, but do control the BP along with regular exercise.

 

[Big T]

I regularly ride with 3 retired GP’s and a retired pharmacist. Collective opinion is that there is a small risk of myocarditis from the COVID jab, which is why it is now only given to people over 75, who are the ones most likely to die from catching Covid. The thinking being for those under 75, that the risks of the jab outweigh the benefits.

 

[Sea of vapours]

I regularly ride with 3 retired GP’s and a retired pharmacist. Collective opinion is that there is a small risk of myocarditis from the COVID jab, which is why it is now only given to people over 75, who are the ones most likely to die from catching Covid. The thinking being for those under 75, that the risks of the jab outweigh the benefits.

From reading a few published studies (three of those cited in the Wikipedia article on myocarditis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myocarditis#Myocarditis_and_COVID-19 ) the risk of myocarditis is 'very low' (low single digit percentages) for those actually contracting covid-19 and 'rare' as a result of the vaccination, so that speculation as to the cause of the change seems 'quite improbable'.

What the JCVI have actually said (from a BBC article, and several others since these are their public statements), is the following:
The JCVI's annual advice said Covid-19 was now a "relatively mild disease for most people", with rates of hospitalisation and death having "reduced significantly". It said focusing on the oldest adults and individuals whose immune systems are compromised, as the two groups who continue to be at higher risk, was based on "a standard cost-effectiveness assessment, in line with other routine vaccinations".

So this is, at least as stated by the JCVI, about costs versus efficacy [at a population level since that's the JCVI's role], not about absolute risks of the vaccine itself to an individual. I shall continue to pay for covid-19 boosters I think (though my partner, a retired GP, does not).

 

[wakemalcolm]

So Dave from my cycling club who is 75 recently rode from North Yorkshire to Barcelona and you are of the opinion that cycling is not that great for health, fitness and longevity. What you recommend for him to get fit and healthy.

Bet he were gutted when he found out he couldn't buy a curd tart when he got there.

 

[wakemalcolm]

I have noticed a slowdown in my 6th decade but I put it down to 2 things. Firstly, I used to commute 100 miles each week (although in the winter this used to sap my enthusiasm for riding at the weekend), but I think the main thing for me has been the increase in cycling infrastructure.

When I set a route these days it's probably only about 25% on roads shared with car users, and when you're on paths shared with walkers and horses you have an obligation to slow down. The surfaces are also not conducive to riding as fast as a sealed tarmacked road.

 

[Jameshow]

Any exercise is better than nothing of course.

Cycling is popular as a activity because it essentially makes something difficult - travelling distance - relatively easy. Sure you can make it difficult if you have the will power to do so but something like running keeps you on task by default - no coasting or easy downhills when you run. Fact is there are many better, more efficient and safer choices for fitness and health than cycling.

If anyone is seriously committed to health, fitness and longevity then cycling should be really be supplementary - not the main course.

But running is likely to damage joints much more than cycling.

 

[esoxlucius]

Fact is there are many better, more efficient and safer choices for fitness and health than cycling.

We're on a cycling forum so few are going to agree with you on that one.

And besides, which "choices" would you say are better in regards to a low impact cardio vascular workout where you're in the great outdoors.

I believe cycling simply can't be beat. Running to me is brutal, especially on aged joints, ligaments and tendons, and the older guys on here, of which there are many, I believe, would agree wholeheartedly.