Dr Spin

Greetings fellow cyclists. I was an avid roadie for 25+ years then I had a heart attack in '08. Fully recovered and back in the saddle for a couple years became an indoor cycle instructor about 10 years ago. My outdoor cycling became totally obsolete about 5 years ago. I know how could I allow this to be? This summer with the gyms closed due to the pandemic I got the bike tuned and road ready again. My expectations were sorely met! I used to average 14-15 mph. Now it's barely 12. I am 68 now and tear it up in my classes. I expected to be at the same level I left on the road 5 years ago. Gonna have my ticker checked out this week but I got a feeling denial is not a river in Egypt is what it may be.


Anyone have similar experience when coming back from a long layoff. Thanks in advance and I can handle the flames.

CAT7RDR

I can relate. People do not understand how much the road, wind resistance and inclines make road cycling challenging. I had the same experience with going from jogging on treadmills to jogging on dirt trails years ago. I never realized how much the treadmill weakened me from jogging on trails. I gave up treadmills and my liquid trainer because hiking and road cycling outdoors are more bang for my time.

I went 25 years without road cycling. Went on a 55 mile ride the first time on my brother's tri-bike and got hooked again in 2015. Had severe muscle spasms where both legs locked after the ride but still kept at it. Your conditioning will improve -easy does it.

Welcome aboard BF!

shelbyfv

You will probably be fine. At age 70 I stopped riding for 9 months. I resumed in April of last year and bonked on my first ride back with my friends. I ended the year with my best mileage, lightest weight and probably best fitness in many years. Check out the 50+ section

tntyz

You don't have wind resistance to contend with indoors. Could be you've lost flexibility and not getting as aero as you used to. I have also noticed that as I age, stamina seems to be okay, but harder to keep power up there. I'm "only" 63 years old.

Give yourself a chance!

TakingMyTime

Keep it up and stick with it. Get your check-up and if you're given the green light... go for it. Start slow and build up to it. You'll be surprised how fast you can regain a lot of your "lost" stamina. I have run and biked a lot in my years and I will agree with some of the above that nothing is really like getting out and doing it. Indoor cycling and running on treadmills will only slightly prepare you for the real world.

_ForceD_

Spin -- Slowing down is just natural. I'm 59 and have been road cycling since around 1981. In my 20s...and even into my early 40s...I could go out and maintain 20mph on a solo ride. Not anymore. In the past decade or so riding has become more about just being out there, and less about how fast I'm going. A stark reminder of my regression happened recently. Last year, a neighborhood friend of my 21y.o. son told me he wanted to start riding as part of his off-season conditioning (he's on the Yale rowing crew). So, I loaned him one of my bikes, and went on a few rides together with him. I quickly learned that a nearly 60 year old man shouldn't try to keep up with a 21 y.o. NCAA Division I endurance athlete. I can still knockout a 50+ mile ride no problem. But the speed ain't there. He's a nice kid so he never "dropped me" on our rides. But, I could tell that riding with me wasn't enough for him. He's got his own bike now, and fortunately he's found someone his age nearby to ride with. He and I are friends on Strava. His rides are always at 40-50 miles with a 21mph average. I've ridden on some of his routes and attempted to mimic his average speed. It ain't happening! I could do it in my 20s...but best I can do these days is about 17mph over 20 miles. So...just keep riding. It's not "obsolete."

Dan

rumrunn6

I can relate but only in a tangential perspective, if you'll indulge my waxing prophetic. around turning 40 I began a body transformation that lasted to about age 50. took up walking, re-engaged w/ weight training & real growth & raquetball, began running, cycling & swimming. was in the shape of my life. suffered an emotional & professional trauma & fell off the training regime. combined with aging, in general, my cycling stats aren't what they used to be. I was never an "athlete", just did athletic stuff. often, when I feel my strongest I get my doors blown off. it's a marvel to witness such human endurance, strength & performance. I remember getting batting box seats at Fenway & marveling at the physique of some of the professional players. as I remember my college coach, my expectations for myself are to enjoy lifelong sports & stay away from injuries. now, I know, my stats will continue to dcline as I age beyond 60+, but so long as I "feel" strong & healthy, I won't mind that my 20+ son will disappear on the bike trail, leaving me to follow & catch up when I can. I smile, knowing I helped train him & got him the bike. life will carry on & I'm grateful, for having participated

GlennR

Spin class is nothing like riding outside. I supplement my winter riding with spin classes and can tell you my heart rate is lower and i burn less calories during an hour of spin vs an hour of riding outside.

On a spin bike there's no gravity so when they say you're climbing.. .you're not. It's more like riding into a strong headwind or dragging a truck tire behind you. Also there's no upper body and balance. On a road bike you're my physical above the waist than on a spin bike.

12mph after 5 years off at 68 is good. As time goes by you'll get stronger, but don't expect to be where you were 10 years ago. Age has a way of slowing you down, but as long as you're moving forward, you're doing great.

Oneder

It's largely cardio so even if you are very strong you are going to be affected by age. No way I can go as fast as I could as a teenager, not that I think this is the best way to exercise anyway, more moderate pace is healthiest if it is health you care about.

delbiker1 

I an soon to be 68, and I have slowed down considerably the past 3 years, even though the past 5 years are the top mileage years of my riding life. The good thing, this year I have finally realized the slowing down is not a bad thing. I am just not so concerned with the avg. speed, or even the amount of miles. I find I stop more often to look at something, say hello to someone, or just to take a stretch breather. I started this year with recording my daily mileage and avg. speed. I found I started putting stress on myself, mental and physical, To get, and keep, the numbers up. I still know at the end of a ride how many miles I have, and how much time actually riding, but I am not logging it or pushing to hit certain numbers. I still like to go out and have fast paced rides, but if that pace is slower now, that is OK. Without the self induced pressure, I find I am enjoying all the rides more.

Miele Man

My niece in her thirties was doing a couple of hours of spin-class every day at university. We went for a 20 kilometres unpaved rail-trail ride to another town. On t he way back we had to take a couple of walking breaks. She wasn't used to using all those other muscles need to balance a bike or to absorb road shock. An old sea kayaking adage is, "Make haste SLOWLY". I think that applies equally when getting back into bicycling. Slowly increase the distance of your rides. Slowly increase the difficulty of your rides.

Good luck and cheers

mstateglfr 

Interesting. An hour of zwift or spin is way more difficult than an hour of solo riding outside. I'm a puddle of sweat and noodled legs after an all out hour of zwift or spin.

Of course those things aren't real riding- wind, hills, etc all affect outdoor riding, but the inability to coast ever on trainers makes for significant difficulty for me.

nomadmax 

Ride your bike outside and stop watching the "statistics". You're at the point in your life where cycling should be enjoyable and make you healthy and strong for the other parts of your life. Chasing numbers at this point will only disappoint you.

Miele Man

A Sea kayaking adage is, "Make haste SLOWLY". I think that applies to returning to bicycling after a long layoff. Increase your distances slowly. Increase the difficulty of your rides slowly.

Also, on a spin-bike you don't use muscles to balance the bike or to soak up road shock the same way you do on a bicycle on the road or on a trail. That can lead to tiredness or soreness i a relatively short time. Increase distances and difficulty slowly so as not to strain or injure yourself.

Cheers

Pugs2xLove

Nicely put. Racing against Father Time is a race you will never win, none of us ever will so get out there and ride.

Trakhak

I reported to a friend that, at age 68, as of the first four months of this year, I can no longer deny that I'm on the downward slope and getting weaker. She said nothing. Then, two or three weeks later, I said that I'm actually back to feeling as strong as ever. She said, "Do you realize that you've said both those things every year for the last 15 years?"

GeneO 

Well heart damage can really slow you down. And if you are on a beta-blocker, that limits your heart rate and knocks you down too. Happened to me. My other problem is because of damage to my heart, I cannot safely do intense intervals. You should be able to improve some. just be happy to still be able to ride!

southpier

5 years ago you were 63 . . . . .

Thomas15

I just turned 62. I started back riding a little over a year ago after 25 years off. My entire focus last spring and summer was to train for a particular metric century over a fairly flat course. I rode at a 14 MPH average last year. I did have to deal with Lyme disease after the metric but since crossing the finish line I had the desire to vastly improve my time for this year. I want at the minimum an 18 MPH average, 20 would be better. I weigh btw 65 kg (140 ish pounds).

Over the winter I trained a lot using Zwift. 3000 miles and 250,000 feet of climbing. No question this has helped much. But in my mind I have two areas that I need to think about. The first is obviously a faster speed the second is enough endurance to complete the ride with fewer than the 4 rest stops I took last year.

I feel that riding outside I've hit a speed wall, I really struggle with 18 MPH. This is strange because I can average 14+ MPH on a rail trail riding a heavy hybred with 2" wide tires over a 60 mile ride, which i'm currently doing. The good news is I'm confident that I will be able to do the entire metric non-stop. I like to think positive but I cannot explain why riding a 20 pound road bike with 25cm tires on paved roads only at this point gives me about 3 MPH additional speed but there it is. I'm hoping that once I get more saddle time in on my road bike things will get better. Mean time I can take some comfort in knowing that at 18 MPH and no stops that would still be (for this ride) not bad and way better than last year. But I have this nagging feeling 20 is out of the question.

For logistical reasons I'm doing a 60-65 mile Metric on the rail trail on my hybred every week unit the blessed event in August. So I have roughly 15 more weekly metric rides where I'm going to focus on trying to go as fast as I can. I'm going to do some interval training during the weeks and shorter hilly local rides to fill out the week.

Having said all of this I think my bicycle riding is now the best it ever has been but that is not saying much.

canklecat

Oh, yeah, very familiar. Took me a couple of years to get back into shape after a 30+ year layoff and serious injuries from a car wreck.

I resumed cycling in 2015 and didn't feel like I made any progress until 2017. Then in 2018 I was hit by a car again, with other health setbacks. Took anther year to regain my shape from before the 2018 injury.

I just ride hard when I can, easy when I can't, and rest when I need to. Don't overlook the whole body fitness stuff -- core, arms, neck, the whole thing. It helps.

Keep in mind that beyond around 14 mph wind resistance becomes a huge factor. The faster we go the more important wind resistance and getting aero can be. It's a bigger factor than bike weight, rider weight or tire size.

After the pandemic settles down try a group ride, or ride with one trusted partner whom you trust enough to draft. You'll find a huge difference in effort. In fast group rides I could ride faster, farther, with less effort. But it wasn't really making me stronger and faster solo, so I do a lot of solo work.

That's also why I see a lot of so-so older riders on aero bars, even on the MUP (which is infuriating -- very irresponsible). They're trying desperately to hang onto a group of younger, stronger, faster riders.

noimagination

Riders consistently underestimate the level of effort needed to significantly increase speed. An increase of 1 mph over a 2 hr ride (for example) is a HUGE increase in effort, and is probably beyond the ability of most recreational riders. Think of how much harder you would have to push to increase your running speed by 1 mph over a 5 km course, for example (intended as an analogy, not a direct comparison - obviously increasing running speed is even harder than increasing cycling speed).

14 mph rail trail riding on a hybrid compared to 16-17 mph on a road bike/road ride seems about right, maybe a little aggressive - especially since rail trails are generally flat-ish.

rumrunn6

changed my rear wheel due to a trashed hub & now I’m consistently 1 mph faster. May not sound like much but aside from the stats being better I think I can actually feel that I’m rolling easier

Kabuki12

Just keep pedaling. Compare to yourself, no one else. That is easier said than done! I tell myself at 65 years old what I expect to achieve , but sometimes I am surprised that I did not do better. I started serious cycling in the mid seventies and have never "dropped it" but have had years that were less pedaling years than others. I have maintained a healthy body weight and watch what I eat . I do at least one good( 30 miles or more) a week and a few short lunch rides . I don't so much watch others as I watch myself , but that is hard as I used to pass just about everyone out there. It ain't happening no more! I just do the best I can for me and that isn't so bad. Just remind yourself that you are indeed out there for the enjoyment and not to win races. I still ride my first racing bike from 1976 ( prior to that a Schwinn Varsity), as well as others I have collected and rotate regularly. My newest bike is a 1982, so definitely I am not in it for speed! Joe joesvintageroadbikes.wordpress

SuperDave

I just finished a five-year layoff (due to location and logistical concerns, not health) and since I'm car-free and still working hard for a living - I'm 61 - I figured it would be pretty easy to get back into the saddle.

I was wrong.

The acceleration is still there, but I'm a long way from any sort of endurance. This is shaping up to be a long and incremental process.

Dr Spin

No gravity indoors bingo! Body thinks I am riding a spin cycle because that's all it's been on for the past 5 years. Been out a few times since posting and becoming more custom to the feel of the road.

I am somewhat surprised with your comparison of indoor riding. I teach a multitude of levels from novice to seasoned roadies. The roadies are particular when thanking me for the butt kicking. My experience mirrors another poster mstateglfr who said "I'm a puddle of sweat and noodled legs after an all out hour of zwift or spin".

Thanks for your input GlennR