Old Fast Guys?
09-11-18, 08:26 AM
#51
Veteran, Pacifist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Seattle area
Posts: 13,325
Bikes: Bikes??? Thought this was social media?!?
Mentioned: 284 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3897 Post(s)
Liked 4,823 Times
in
2,226 Posts
I'm riding the Mondia, not the Merckx.
__________________
Vintage, modern, e-road. It is a big cycling universe.
Vintage, modern, e-road. It is a big cycling universe.
09-11-18, 12:48 PM
#52
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,545
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5222 Post(s)
Liked 3,576 Times
in
2,340 Posts
not as good as I once was, but as good once as I ever was
09-11-18, 01:26 PM
#53
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times
in
1,417 Posts
I like positive threads and it is always fun to steal the kids candy. The men and women I train and race with are very accustomed to masters racers of all ages doing well so I do not think they are surprised when older athletes do well. I always appreciate the opportunity to train and race with the younger riders.
I raced a 20k two person team time trial on time trial bikes with my wife as a parter (ages 68 and 69). We were 3 of 5 in the open division and 1st of 3 in the M/F with an average speed of just under 25 mph. I did not check drivers licenses for ages but I suspect we were the oldest ones in the event. I love team events since you have to start and finish as a team with the last rider's time being the one that counts.
I started racing in 2007 so this is my 11th year. My sprint power and aerobic power have improved with time and a lot of effort.
I raced a 20k two person team time trial on time trial bikes with my wife as a parter (ages 68 and 69). We were 3 of 5 in the open division and 1st of 3 in the M/F with an average speed of just under 25 mph. I did not check drivers licenses for ages but I suspect we were the oldest ones in the event. I love team events since you have to start and finish as a team with the last rider's time being the one that counts.
I started racing in 2007 so this is my 11th year. My sprint power and aerobic power have improved with time and a lot of effort.
09-11-18, 06:49 PM
#54
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Lebanon (Liberty Hill), CT
Posts: 8,473
Bikes: CAAD 12, MASI Gran Criterium S, Colnago World Cup CX & Guru steel
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1743 Post(s)
Liked 1,279 Times
in
739 Posts
Last year at age 71 I did my 6.35 mi. TT (250 ft. elevation) at 17.4 mph. Today I did it at 19.0 mph. Does that qualify?
09-11-18, 07:16 PM
#55
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: SW Fl.
Posts: 5,612
Bikes: Day6 Semi Recumbent "FIREBALL", 1981 Custom Touring Paramount, 1983 Road Paramount, 2013 Giant Propel Advanced SL3, 2018 Specialized Red Roubaix Expert mech., 2002 Magna 7sp hybrid, 1976 Bassett Racing 45sp Cruiser
Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1065 Post(s)
Liked 780 Times
in
502 Posts
NOT for this OldTryGuy. Had decades of an excellent heart healthy/cancer prevention diet that minimized Osteoarthritis Inflammation in knees, wrists, shoulders to the degree of not needing pain meds with an almost meatless diet BUT/lots of veggies/spices all failing to prevent Gleason 10 prostate cancer. Began treatment with a bilateral orchiectomy so that ended any "as good once as I ever was" possibility. Now it's just ride as best as I can and push for a bit longer rides like the 103 miles I rode today in the 80/90'sF temps.
09-11-18, 08:48 PM
#56
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 9,201
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1186 Post(s)
Liked 289 Times
in
177 Posts
That's very impressive. I started racing and riding consistently about 10 yrs ago. Made fairly rapid gains in the first few years but then FTP kind of plateaued. I think my FTP is about the same but my sprint power has gone down by 10-15%. I'm 10 yrs younger than you but just assumed reduced sprint power came with age. Maybe I'll add in some specific training.
09-11-18, 09:02 PM
#57
☢
Not for me either. But racing was never my interest even back at the start. It can happen for others but rarely. Unlike "old man strength" which can routinely equal and surpass your younger counterpart, cardo requires multiple capabilities.
Not just superior heart and lung capacity, but endurance and flexibility as well, which are some of the first things to go as we age. That said, I know of at least one silver haired gent that blows the doors off of any cyclist I've seen on the roadway. Haven't seen him in a while though, since I no longer take that route.
Not just superior heart and lung capacity, but endurance and flexibility as well, which are some of the first things to go as we age. That said, I know of at least one silver haired gent that blows the doors off of any cyclist I've seen on the roadway. Haven't seen him in a while though, since I no longer take that route.
09-11-18, 10:04 PM
#58
Firm but gentle
Former ameture racer speaks
I raced in the Midwest when I was age 19 to 23, I was a decent time trialist but that was about all. There were darn few road races, sprinters that looked liked football players ruled the field sprints that every race ended in. Fast forward to age 32, I was living in San Francisco and my friend who was new to any kind of cycling wanted to start racing, I got a USCF license to go with him and partake in his first wobbly steps as a racer. I got bitten by the racing bug (truly great road courses) all over again and peaked at age 35. With no signs of slowing down I have no doubt I could kave kept getting stronger for at least another couple of years, and I was climbing like I never could before. I couldn’t overtrain, I felt indestructible on the bike. After four years of racing I was burnt out on all the traveling to races, I was interested in my wife to be more than another season of racing, got married and instantly put on 10 pounds of upper body muscle. At age 56 I got trained to a very high level of fitness, was back down to about 150 lbs. I didn’t think I was ever going to get old! I just turned 60 this summer, and the fitness is proving quite elusive, but in all fairness I have too many irons in fire to get in quality miles or any sort (misplaced priorities).
09-12-18, 01:42 AM
#59
☢
I raced in the Midwest when I was age 19 to 23, I was a decent time trialist but that was about all. There were darn few road races, sprinters that looked liked football players ruled the field sprints that every race ended in. Fast forward to age 32, I was living in San Francisco and my friend who was new to any kind of cycling wanted to start racing, I got a USCF license to go with him and partake in his first wobbly steps as a racer. I got bitten by the racing bug (truly great road courses) all over again and peaked at age 35. With no signs of slowing down I have no doubt I could kave kept getting stronger for at least another couple of years, and I was climbing like I never could before. I couldn’t overtrain, I felt indestructible on the bike. After four years of racing I was burnt out on all the traveling to races, I was interested in my wife to be more than another season of racing, got married and instantly put on 10 pounds of upper body muscle. At age 56 I got trained to a very high level of fitness, was back down to about 150 lbs. I didn’t think I was ever going to get old! I just turned 60 this summer, and the fitness is proving quite elusive, but in all fairness I have too many irons in fire to get in quality miles or any sort (misplaced priorities).
Last edited by KraneXL; 09-12-18 at 01:45 AM.
09-12-18, 03:15 PM
#60
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times
in
1,417 Posts
09-12-18, 06:19 PM
#61
Version 7.0
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: SoCal
Posts: 13,118
Bikes: Too Many
Mentioned: 297 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1338 Post(s)
Liked 2,474 Times
in
1,449 Posts
That's very impressive. I started racing and riding consistently about 10 yrs ago. Made fairly rapid gains in the first few years but then FTP kind of plateaued. I think my FTP is about the same but my sprint power has gone down by 10-15%. I'm 10 yrs younger than you but just assumed reduced sprint power came with age. Maybe I'll add in some specific training.
Also, FTP is a cruel mistress. It is like filling a commercial swimming pool with a garden hose. Infinitely doable but it takes a long time. And one has to run the water over a long enough period of time for it to count.
Translating that to training, I have to do a lot of solo 10 minute plus efforts at or above FTP to increase it.
Last edited by Hermes; 09-12-18 at 06:24 PM.
09-12-18, 06:25 PM
#62
Version 7.0
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: SoCal
Posts: 13,118
Bikes: Too Many
Mentioned: 297 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1338 Post(s)
Liked 2,474 Times
in
1,449 Posts
Love the orange kits. Were those just for the event or standard team issue?
09-12-18, 06:26 PM
#63
Version 7.0
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: SoCal
Posts: 13,118
Bikes: Too Many
Mentioned: 297 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1338 Post(s)
Liked 2,474 Times
in
1,449 Posts
09-12-18, 08:13 PM
#64
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times
in
1,417 Posts
Those were our team kit. For years JBL was one of our sponsors so we always had orange as a highlight, finally one year we decided to embrace it as the main color. I liked it because it made it easier to find teammates in the pack.
09-12-18, 08:17 PM
#65
Full Member
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 282
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 71 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 30 Times
in
18 Posts
I do not think I am fast. I did a group ride in Albany , Ga. this past weekend and averaged 17.5 mph over the 65 mile course. I did not think that was too bad for being 64 1/2.
Got quite a few compliments from the small group I got hooked up with. A rather strong young guy told me after the ride he was impressed with the speed I had when pulling the group. We were doing 20-22 quite a bit. ( or so it seemed to me) There were multiple climbs. They were short and not too steep for the most part. That was when I was able to pass several younger people in the group. I just kept the cadence up and pedaled.
So to answer the question, No, I am not fast, but I sure am old. ( or feel that way)
Got quite a few compliments from the small group I got hooked up with. A rather strong young guy told me after the ride he was impressed with the speed I had when pulling the group. We were doing 20-22 quite a bit. ( or so it seemed to me) There were multiple climbs. They were short and not too steep for the most part. That was when I was able to pass several younger people in the group. I just kept the cadence up and pedaled.
So to answer the question, No, I am not fast, but I sure am old. ( or feel that way)
09-12-18, 08:55 PM
#66
☢
09-12-18, 09:11 PM
#67
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times
in
1,417 Posts
One season we were all black, which I hated. For one, it gets really hot here. For another, several other NorCal teams went all black that season too. One race I thought I had a teammate on my wheel but it was another team and I executed a perfect lead out for their sprinter. And then finally, it’s nice and bright for drivers on the roads we train on.
09-14-18, 11:45 AM
#68
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Off the back
Posts: 143
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 19 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times
in
2 Posts
I like to think I'm fast in the "diesel" sense. But I can't accelerate or sprint, so I'd be toast in mass start races. I just did 2 hours (no aero equipment and no stoppage time) on an easy out-and-back course and got 41.25 miles for an average of 20.6 mph the day after I turned 60 (added on a ton of slow stuff and a few openers before and after to make it 81.7 miles total). And I'm extremely confident I could solo 20.0 mph for 100k (maybe even 70 miles) on that course. So it's pretty fast for my age. Then again, there are a few others in my surrounding area that are both older and faster than I am.
Last edited by Zuzus pedals; 09-14-18 at 11:51 AM.
09-14-18, 12:53 PM
#69
- Soli Deo Gloria -
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Northwest Georgia
Posts: 14,779
Bikes: 2018 Rodriguez Custom Fixed Gear, 2017 Niner RLT 9 RDO, 2015 Bianchi Pista, 2002 Fuji Robaix
Mentioned: 235 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6844 Post(s)
Liked 736 Times
in
469 Posts
I like to think I'm fast in the "diesel" sense. But I can't accelerate or sprint, so I'd be toast in mass start races. I just did 2 hours (no aero equipment and no stoppage time) on an easy out-and-back course and got 41.25 miles for an average of 20.6 mph the day after I turned 60 (added on a ton of slow stuff and a few openers before and after to make it 81.7 miles total). And I'm extremely confident I could solo 20.0 mph for 100k (maybe even 70 miles) on that course. So it's pretty fast for my age. Then again, there are a few others in my surrounding area that are both older and faster than I am.
09-14-18, 01:52 PM
#70
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,971
Bikes: Habanero Titanium Team Nuevo
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 399 Post(s)
Liked 185 Times
in
121 Posts
So today solo ride perfect temps, no hills flat for sure, 57 miles 2:58 19.1 mph. Total time 2:59 one short pee break. I don’t know if that is fast but did 50 yesterday and i think with a group could go faster.
i just wish i could run 3 sub 10 minute miles.
i just wish i could run 3 sub 10 minute miles.
09-14-18, 02:10 PM
#71
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Alpharetta, GA
Posts: 15,280
Bikes: Nashbar Road
Mentioned: 71 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2934 Post(s)
Liked 341 Times
in
228 Posts
I'd be happy to get within 1 or even 2 mph of that on 57 miles this year. I blame the running thing you mention, taking away the riding time. Can't call myself fast on running either
09-14-18, 02:25 PM
#72
aka Tom Reingold
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Posts: 40,496
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
Mentioned: 511 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7342 Post(s)
Liked 2,443 Times
in
1,426 Posts
I'm not amazingly fast, but I'm good on hills, and I'm faster than most cyclists out there. I'm 57, and I ride about 3,000 miles a year, most of it commuting. I really like hills.
__________________
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
New York City and High Falls, NY
Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments.” — Elizabeth West, US author
Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
09-14-18, 03:58 PM
#73
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,971
Bikes: Habanero Titanium Team Nuevo
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 399 Post(s)
Liked 185 Times
in
121 Posts
Unless there are any objections, which I think there won't be, we'll proclaim that as: fast.
I'd be happy to get within 1 or even 2 mph of that on 57 miles this year. I blame the running thing you mention, taking away the riding time. Can't call myself fast on running either
I'd be happy to get within 1 or even 2 mph of that on 57 miles this year. I blame the running thing you mention, taking away the riding time. Can't call myself fast on running either
I actually wonder if I have some weird neuro problem as my balance and running is not right. I cannot complain I have no pain I just have to stop and walk at times and my legs just do not want to pick up. Put me on a bike and I start spinning and moving free. Could be specificity of training or that after 80000 lifetime miles running I have pounded them down. Problem is I know other runners with more than 50000 miles lifetime and they do not have my slow down curve. I don't know but nothing nice hard 1 hour run, or a good 40 miler on a bike. I don't want to give either up.
09-14-18, 06:18 PM
#74
Version 7.0
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: SoCal
Posts: 13,118
Bikes: Too Many
Mentioned: 297 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1338 Post(s)
Liked 2,474 Times
in
1,449 Posts
I like to think I'm fast in the "diesel" sense. But I can't accelerate or sprint, so I'd be toast in mass start races. I just did 2 hours (no aero equipment and no stoppage time) on an easy out-and-back course and got 41.25 miles for an average of 20.6 mph the day after I turned 60 (added on a ton of slow stuff and a few openers before and after to make it 81.7 miles total). And I'm extremely confident I could solo 20.0 mph for 100k (maybe even 70 miles) on that course. So it's pretty fast for my age. Then again, there are a few others in my surrounding area that are both older and faster than I am.
09-14-18, 06:20 PM
#75
Version 7.0
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: SoCal
Posts: 13,118
Bikes: Too Many
Mentioned: 297 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1338 Post(s)
Liked 2,474 Times
in
1,449 Posts
Jeepers, I feel like one of those judges on reality TV show.
