Get It While You Can!!..Age The Great Leveller!
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edward.s wrote:Zest28 wrote:However, a lot of the top guys on Strava set those times in group rides. That makes a huge difference. So don't try to compete against those times. Just keep riding and have fun
Took me a while to work this out :-) My awful brother in law was bragging about averaging 18mph on his rides and how I am too slow. Turns out that is on club group rides and doing that on his jack isn't quite so easy!
I totally agree with the above. I've only ever cycled on 1 ride recently in a proper group, 3 of us, and we averaged 17mph over 65 miles and we didn't go full on as the next day I felt fine.
I've a mate who is a feather weight younger rider than me and rides in a group for nearly all of his rides. He has better PRs on climbs and his average speed is decent but sometimes hes out with 10 riders so only has a good pull 1/10th of the time as hes in the group drafting for most of the time hes out.....Totally different thing doing the speed solo....0 -
JGSI wrote:bristolpete wrote:48 now. 165 miles this weekend 'bloc' and one thing to note, is I ride with intensity and TSS readings post ride via training peaks which you can attain with power or HR.
I do not think too much about average speed or time and ride a lot of middle distance 40-70 miles. I realise speed relative to time and distance are the metrics we used for years and years but with the advent of affordable power it is easier to ride smart with age and actually continue to develop. This morning got my best 1 minute power of 2019 at 380 watts and 10 minutes creeping along nicely at 258 today.
But it never gets easier to coin the famous phrase.
c'mon, 48 is hardly what I'd call old.
Try continue to develop at 68.. it just dont happen... especially when you have already been riding and racing for donkeys years... its a battle just to keep the speed for those LVRC races.
I'm off the bike for a while and I know, if I want to race next season (this one is written off) , I have one hell of a winter to get through. Its a good job I hate indoor training sweatfesting zwiftifying and prefer the cold and wet any day of the week.
True but all relative as a sport aimed at young single people. Ten years ago I was 38 ( basic maths ) and I am a better rider now, but less fit as less zone 1 / 2 plating about.0 -
Even if you have less genetic potential you still have masses of potential to improve through being focused and well, a bit selfish, as cycling tends to be rather time consuming to the cost of other things in life.
In old school terms that means the 150 - 200 miles per week of training stuff mantra though.
When you are older, you do have the time (more if you are retired), but let's be honest, you tend to look less good in lycra.
Sometimes , I think thats why I call timetrialling a better call as a vet - you can cover up for better aerodynamics.
Oh , I still work full time to cover the cost of the cycling habit, so on a losing wicket...0 -
I'm 56 now, main issue over the last couple of years has been that my rate of recovery from injury has slowed dramatically and I now take months to get over issues that used to take weeks. It's good to encourage folk but at the same time you need to strike a balance. All in the mind? I wish.0
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Is there an age when anyone looks GOOD in lycra?When you are older,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but let's be honest, you tend to look less good in lycra.0 -
Franco di Banco wrote:
Is there an age when anyone looks GOOD in lycra?When you are older,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but let's be honest, you tend to look less good in lycra.
When I get down to 10 stone I think I look pretty good in lycra. But it is pretty unforgiving; put on a few extra pounds and you can see where it is...0 -
Apologies to all, when I first posted I did not mean this to become a thread about how fast person A can go compared to person B.
It was merely an observation on my part of how much I had deteriorated with the passing of one more year and a message to enjoy your cycling (other hobbies) whilst you still can.0 -
Apologies to all, when I first posted I did not mean this to become a thread about how fast person A can go compared to person B.
It was merely an observation on my part of how much I had deteriorated with the passing of one more year and a message to enjoy your cycling (other hobbies) whilst you still can.0 -
Franco di Banco wrote:
Is there an age when anyone looks GOOD in lycra?When you are older,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but let's be honest, you tend to look less good in lycra.
How you look in lycra has nothing to do with age. If you are older you have simply had more time to shove an excessive number of calories down your throat and more time to sit on your backside.0 -
Is there anyone who wouldn’t have time to do this regardless of their age.lesfirth wrote:Franco di Banco wrote:
Is there an age when anyone looks GOOD in lycra?When you are older,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, but let's be honest, you tend to look less good in lycra.
How you look in lycra has nothing to do with age. If you are older you have simply had more time to shove an excessive number of calories down your throat and more time to sit on your backside.0 -
Actually this is a thread about aging but , always good to roll this out for the younger ones with more responsibility than a carbon framed bike
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I’ve never seen those Zipvit shorts look good on anyone, regardless of age!
I’m getting there - 52yo but never giving in to the age thing - I managed a solo 126mile jolly with 5200’ of undulations at 19.2mph average the other week https://www.strava.com/activities/2512320979 four days after a double century at 16.4mph average and 9600’ of ups and downs (took it really easy for the first 140 miles as I wasn’t sure if I could do 200miles!) https://www.strava.com/activities/2501817231
I work full time, on varying shifts (no pattern) with incredibly disrupted sleep patterns and lose about 8hrs sleep per week, in an extremely sedentary job. I get out as much as possible when I am off to try to offset the damage that my job does. Many colleagues never make it to retirement due to ill health and losing their licence on medical grounds. I’m determined to keep as aerobically fit as possible to stave off the heart and weight related problems.
I’m nothing special on a bike, I just find amongst my peers that it all comes down to how much time I can commit - those rides above where during a week’s leave from work and with better sleep and good preparation I found the rides relatively easy. This last week I’ve only managed a couple of rides and actually spurned the chance to ride on a couple of days off work due to feeling so lethargic after long shifts. Of my mates that work, I probably put more hours in per week on the bike and thus seem relatively stronger.
I do ride with a couple of groups of mainly retirees and they have the time on their hands but age is taking its inevitable toll. They go a bit slower, which is great and still impresses the hell out of me for their age, but the biggest, most common comments are regarding the greater length of time required for recovery between rides. Most of them say they can’t ride back to back days (I’m talking 70 mile at 17mph average days).
So I’m looking forward to doing less work and more cycling, but these sort of comments make me realise I need to try to address that balance sooner rather than later as I head towards retirement.
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Wow if that’s your missus stood by the doorway,she looks mightily p*ssed off. I guess you won’t be getting out on your bike much in the futureJGSI wrote:Actually this is a thread about aging but , always good to roll this out for the younger ones with more responsibility than a carbon framed bike
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Orders have been given, and out you go and the bike is all you are getting. He is happy. The kids less so.
The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
The beginning of the end.SloppySchleckonds wrote:E-bike0 -
^^This, no place for Ebikes on a cycling forum as they are mopeds so should be on motorbike forums IMO.Clickrumble wrote:
The beginning of the end.SloppySchleckonds wrote:E-bike0 -
Proof that with age does not necessarily come wisdom? Or modern a modern allegory for those who fail to adapt to survive?Clickrumble wrote:
The beginning of the end.SloppySchleckonds wrote:E-bike
Ebikes are the best thing since sliced bread to get and keep people active regardless of age or ability. The foolish notion that cycling always has to be hard work should have been realised long before you're 70.
Jeez, I was brought up catholic so know the utter pointlessness of causing yourself needless suffering. Their is no honour and glory in continually beating yourself up on a bike when, possibly with assistance, it can take you back to what it was like to be carefree when you were a kid.
No sane person ever lay on their death bed in insufferable, incurable pain and thought to themselves, "I wish I punished myself more and suffered more in my life".0 -
PhilipPirrip wrote:
Proof that with age does not necessarily come wisdom? Or modern a modern allegory for those who fail to adapt to survive?Clickrumble wrote:
The beginning of the end.SloppySchleckonds wrote:E-bike
Ebikes are the best thing since sliced bread to get and keep people active regardless of age or ability. The foolish notion that cycling always has to be hard work should have been realised long before you're 70.
Jeez, I was brought up catholic so know the utter pointlessness of causing yourself needless suffering. Their is no honour and glory in continually beating yourself up on a bike when, possibly with assistance, it can take you back to what it was like to be carefree when you were a kid.
No sane person ever lay on their death bed in insufferable, incurable pain and thought to themselves, "I wish I punished myself more and suffered more in my life".
No E bikes here please.
I am past 70 and compete in the odd triathlon. I don't bother whether I am considered wise or foolish but I do know that when I have been out on my bike the more gas I have been giving it the more I buzz when I get home.
Recently there was a TV advert for Seat cars where a woman swims under the ice of a frozen lake. I did not understand the advert, the link to cars was lost on me but the punch line was " YOU DON'T STOP BECAUSE YOU GET OLDER. YOU GET OLDER BECAUSE YOU STOP".
I remember that every day.0 -
And the perfect punchline for ebikes also.lesfirth wrote:" YOU DON'T STOP BECAUSE YOU GET OLDER. YOU GET OLDER BECAUSE YOU STOP".
Not everyone might have your physical health at 70 but it's no reason to stop them enjoying cycling as it's not just about the importance of maintaining physical health but also maintaining mental wellbeing as you get older.
It's not just as the OP says, 'get it while you can' but being thankful in the knowledge that we now have the option to continue even when 'it' has gone.0 -
God this is depressing.. I'm 52 and haven't noticed a significant decline in the last 12 years or so, but I suppose it will be inevitable at some point.
I have 6 or 7 years of power data and will be monitoring it like a hawk. I have this irrational hope that if I just keep trying to hit the same numbers every year I will be able to maintain the same level.. Maybe if you can see the decline in minute detail (thanks to power) it's easier to slow it, a stitch in time etc..?
When I do decline I know how it will work, I can see the trends already. It's completely to do with recovery from hard efforts, making it more and more difficult to reach the levels of weekly/monthly training load necessary to achieve peak fitness. I'm convinced that if you could recover just as well you would never lose fitness and never age.. But I also suspect that in addition, it's also more difficult to maintain fitness. It seems that if I take two weeks off now (e.g. for a holiday or work trip) my fitness falls a little further than when I was a little younger. Might just be because I'm more aware of it though as I'm using specific fitness metrics I wasn't using in the past.
<edit - one thing I'm definitely going to do when I reach 55 in two and half years time is smash all of the Strava segments in the 55-64 category while I can.. > 0
