Cleave

Hi All,

I've been lurking but not participating in this sub forum as of late. I thought that I'd run this past you.

I am in my 37th year of racing bicycles. When I started, guys in their 40s were pretty old to still be racing and if you were over 50 most of us were amazed that you could still turn the pedals over, much less race. However, don't get me wrong, back in the 1970s some of those 40 and 50 year-old guys were pretty fast. It's just that there weren't very many fast guys at that age.

Fast forward to the 2000s. When I started racing 50+ the races were definitely more mellow than the 40+ races. Now mellow doesn't mean slow but the races were conducted in a more mature and stately manner.

For some reason, in 2010, a bunch of guys who were really fast in the 40+ races are now old enough to race 50+. (BTW, I also race -- hang on for dear life -- in 40+ races and they are typically the 2nd or 3rd fastest race of the day.) All of a sudden, this year, the complexion of 50+ races has changed dramatically. Now there are over 70 guys in the race (up from 45-50 guys) and the attacks start on the first lap. We even have a former pro and TdF participant in our races.

So any suggestions on how to complete my subject line? 50 is the new...?

big john

I don't know how to complete the line but I think the fact that you've kept at it and taken good care of yourself has a lot to do with it. I'm sure a lot of the other 50+ guys have done the same. There's a lot more knowledge about training and nutrition these days, that's probably a factor, too.
Hope to see you this year.

Allegheny Jet

Cleave,

I'm one of the new arrivals into 50+ racing. I was an athlete in other sports that came to cycling later in life, then needed more than the club/group rides provided. I morphed into racing, got my butt kicked by the guy's you described, developed some goals to get up to speed, hired a coach, train my ass off and still get my butt kicked by the same guys. Butt, its all good! I think a lot of the increased participation you are seeing is from riders like me. We are boomer's who don't have all the constraints of watching our kids compete in HS and college sports, are fixed income wise and have the time and means to devote to a sport.

In my part of the country cyclo cross racing is exploding with new entry level riders who are our age, there is also the segway of tri and duo guys moving into racing now that their legs are worn out. My race constraints are that our Master races' have mixed 40, 45, 50+ guys, making up smaller fields, while the really good riders dominate the race regardless of age. I acutally have better results when I ride with the Cat 4's.

howsteepisit

So why does the curent crop of very fast 50+ racers have to be equated to something of the past?

Hermes

Is the new 30 or the new 50 is what 50 really is supposed to be.

In NorCal, we have 35+, 45+ and 55+. The field size of the 45 + is large (75 riders) with waiting lists and fills up the first day open. Several racing clubs including ours, enter a few racers and work as a team. I have not raced in this category since I do Cat 5 or 55+ open.

The 55+ group is very tough with mostly Cat 1/2/3 racers. The field sizes are generally limited to 25 racers and fill up.

With respect to speed, power and power to weight, I did the San Bruno Hill climb January 1 this year in the 55+. When we lined up, there were 20 pretty skinny guys with most skinnier than me. I estimate (from a model) the average power for the entire climb for the 55+ winning time to be 330 watts and the average power for the winning p/1/2 time to be 380 watts. This is about a 50 watt spread between the fastest racers from each group. So theoretically as racers age up from 30 to 55 they carry a power advantage over the new group. That is why the most competitive moment we have in masters racing is the day we age up into an older category.

In both the NorCal and SoCal districts, we have weather that accommodates riding all year long with more available saddle time. Today, there are much superior training tools (power meters), more knowledge about what works, better coaches and a deeper understanding on how to train a cyclist for a season of racing with focus on picking your A race and peaking for it. In both NorCal and SoCal, we have greater population density and more cyclists.

IMO, as people age, they lose strength, agility and flexibility. It is probably due to hormone changes and to an extent mental attitude and of course injury and disease. However, a lot of cyclists I know (including yours truly) are using strength training and other techniques to increase peak power as well as aerobic power. If one couples increased training and knowledge with less loss of strength and more available saddle time, IMO, bicycle racing aging is slowed down.

Cleave, I think the competition will keep getting better as time goes on.

Cleave

Hello howsteepisit, I guess the past is relative, but it is the very recent past for me. There may have been a very short transition period last year as we were getting 50-60 racers for most of the 50+ races. This year, as I mentioned, the fields are 70+ racers. The overall pace of the races isn't a lot more intense, but the last three races have had successful breaks where last year maybe 1 in 4 races had successful breaks. It's as if someone threw a switch and everything changed though not necessarily for the worse. I just have to get used to it.

Hey Hermes, that is what scares me. I was kind of hoping I'd outlast most of the fast guys but it doesn't look like that is going to happen.

I think that you're right that people are taking sports more seriously later in life so the overall level of competition is getting better in the older categories. In the end I guess it's a good thing.

djnzlab1

hi,
I asked my local racing 20+ racer about the thinning out of the older guys and he says many of the Senior 50+ seem to have conistantly more aggresive riders it may be our luck or as in my case the older smarter guys gave up Jogging for a less bone jarring sport, that may increase life span. and the older rider may pace himself training and racing preventing those injuries and crashes that occur in the 20 racers.
So us ove 50 guys are never going to see a decent decline in Numbers.
Arghhhhh. Doug

I am working on a radio controled magnetic mounted brake activator for those really fast ones ....give us new riders a chance to keep up ...
hehe ps I will take orders/

NOS88

I've never really gone for the "X" number of years is the new ""Y" number of years. Fifty is Fifty. But If I were going to complete the phrase, I'd go with: Fifty is the new hot bracket.

Daspydyr 

I'm with AlleJet. I'm 56 and considering my first race. I used to play other sports, but the body can run with the 30somethings on basketball, softball and golf have become boring. I hope to have a result soon. Not many races in Vegas, have to travel to Phoenix or SOCAL.

50 is the new plateau before you start the downward slide. That slide depends on you, not your age.

Allegheny Jet

I raced the Cat 4's in the Frosty Toes Race near Columbus OH today. It was windy, 45 degrees, and rained the entire race. I passed on the Master's race since it was only 29 miles, and full of Cat 2's and 3's, where our race was 4 laps for 38 miles. During a lull between efforts to winnow the pack, I was talking to another rider and he asked my how old I am. I told him that I'm 57 and that this is my 3rd year of racing. He said that there are a lot of new riders who are older, have money to buy good bikes and extra time to train. I concurred with him and told him I only work three days a week and even have a coach.

Oh, BTW, I finished 3rd in the 5 man sprint for the win.

Daspydyr 

Let's give it up for AJ, good report. Bad weather to boot, YOU DA MAN!

Sgt. Spillco

I've been cycling for 11 years and have never raced however I do ride with the race team during their training rides each week. They've taught me more than I could imagine.

stapfam

I did all my competitive racing in other sports and put the back out and ruined the knees. A few years after I took up cycling I raced MTB's. Classed as a SuperVet at that time as I was over 45 and my only thought was that for the winner to win- he has to beat someone.---I was that someone.

But Although I was not competitive- I set a few goals that I did achieve on the bike and very proud of them- Mainly Endurance Randonnees offroad- but Prouder of those rides than I ever was racing.

Hermes

Hi Cleave: I did the Madera Stage Race this weekend in the Elite 5s. We had a blast together. I got 10th out of 46 in the crit, 20th out of 45 in the TT and 21st out of 45 in the road race. I was 18th out of 40 in the GC. The racers were very courteous, well mannered and smooth on the course.

Here is a pic at the top of the climb on lap one of the 50 mile road race on Sunday. I am in the green jersey and white glasses. We chased down a break and screamed up the hill.



Here is the sprint to the finish in the crit. I am in green behind the second racer from the left.



So for this weekend...61 is the new 30.

12bar

When I moved up to the 50-54 age group in triathlon there were fewer guys, I had to work harder to finish in the middle of my age group and the winner in this group often places in the top 10 overall. So 50 is the new 30 kinda sorta maybe

Cleave

Hermes, my problem is that I have to race Cat 3 when I don't do age-graded races. I do Cat 3 races a couple of times per year and I am either the oldest or next-to-oldest guy in the race. Sometimes I finish, sometimes I DNF.

12bar, that is the story of my life. I've watched older racers compete my entire life and as I move up the age ladder, the number of competitors and the speed of the races goes up.

Hermes

Elite Cat 3 is very tough. I have a racing friend (same age) who raced cat 3 a couple of weeks ago and finished mid pack. He usually wins or podiums 55+ races and he is a monster at the track. He passed on Madera and raced at the LA velodrome this weekend because he could not get into the 55+ and would have to race with the cat 3s. I saw him yesterday and he said the racing at the velodrome was very tough and he got his clock cleaned by a new 55+ guy who lapped the field every race.

LAriverRat

One Word, T E S T O S T E R O N E. If you still have lots of it, you will race. Like a moth to a flame.

Closed Office

50 is the new century

cervelo-van

Hermes, whats an Elite 5? Is that a Cat 5 who actually knows what they are doing?

Mr. Beanz

50 is the new 19!...I've seen you on the bike and if you're 50 yo, I'm 103!

Hermes

An elite racer is a man or woman under 29 years old but not a junior. Racers 30 years and older are masters. The elite 5 is another way of saying open cat 5. I can race in the open cat 5 or the masters cat 5 with age limits if those categories are available.

In general, racers start in the twenties and enter elite cat 5 races. A master can always race in a younger age group as long as he/she meets the license requirements.

Cleave

Beanz, you don't look a day over 100!

My racing age is 53. An age that I will hopefully achieve in September.