terrymorse 

TBH, that profile pic is from several years ago. I should update it, if I can find a decent one.

Maybe this one?

70sSanO

It is really quite simple. Part genetics and part desire. Some people have the genes to keep going.

Nothing has really changed over the years, even with an obvious decline that comes with age.

I started to feel a decline in cycling when I turned 70. Part health and part my own doing.

I retired at 65. Throughout my 50’s I surfed with our twin boys. Early 60’s I started to ride mtb trails. At 65 I had thrown myself back into surfing. Had some great times in the water when everyone was working. Of course the pandemic changed that.

I’m 72 and the last time I was last in the water was when I was 69. I don’t ride my mtb as much, and my road mileage is down.

I have no one to blame but myself. I need to ride more now than 30 years ago to keep what I have. And I have the time, it’s the desire. And riding to maintain health only goes so far.

John

zacster

At 63 I whipped myself into my best cycling shape ever by going hard core on the trainer over the winter. When spring came and I started riding outside I couldn't believe how strong I was and how easy it was, even going uphill. I'm 69 now and trying to do the same thing but it just isn't working as well after being off the bike. My FTP hasn't budged and it is already about 30 watts lower than it was. I'm able to go further than I could when I started in the fall, but still no faster or harder. My blood pressure dropped though, so that's good. I've also lost 25 pounds. But what I want is to come out in April and just blast away and I don't think that's gonna happen.

rm -rf

I thought the same thing a couple of years ago. "I'm much slower this spring..."
But looking at the trend charts in Golden Cheetah, I was pretty much on track to match the year before. By the early summer, I felt that I was back to normal speeds.

It's still February! see how you are riding in May.

terrymorse 

I did some short tempo climbs yesterday, not going hard, just to see how I felt.

I felt pretty good, and my times weren't far from PRs set several years ago. Moreover, my power-to-heart rate ratios were as high as they have been since I got a power meter in 2019.

And it's February! I'm attributing this early season form to all the indoor riding.

JoeyBike

It looks like a great area for professional riders to train, and ex-professional riders to continue to stay fit and enjoy their sport in hilly terrain. I have been following several pro/ex-pro/wanna-be pro riders on Strava. Most of the country roads have very low speed limits, often 35 mph. (If this was in Texas those same roads would be 70 mph). So for professional caliber riders averaging 25+mph, they would rarely be overtaken by motor vehicles and obviously the overtaking vehicles will see them sooner and have more time to negotiate a safe pass, or just slow down a bit until it's safe.

For me, averaging 15 mph ON A GOOD DAY, vehicles will be roaring up behind me due to a greater speed differential. On hilly, curvy roads with poor sight lines, every second counts.

My take: If I could keep a pro pace, I would enjoy riding the very rural roads. At MY pace, no thank you. And with the exception of the Rail-Trials and off-road trails, it seems that no one else rides a bike as casual recreation or even commuting, and I do not blame them. At least I'm not finding any "Car Free" type individuals on Strava (or other apps) pedaling around Greenville.

DaveLeeNC

I returned to cycling in my early 60's (DOB 1949). I was more of an ex-runner than an ex-cyclist at that time. My fitness peaked out around age 65 when I did a solo century in under 5 hours. Not long after that I had some physical issues ("see joint, see arthritis" in my case) but with some regular knee injections (hyaluronic acid) and a knee brace I was able to keep going. Whatever decline that happened between age 65 and 68'ish was subtle.

My mileage (150 to 200 miles per week) dropped back a good bit around age 68. But I kept up intensity and was pleased to not see much degradation (maybe half the riding that I had been doing and, as an experiment, I dropped all measurements other than time). A couple months into that I had a long trip of almost two weeks with no cycling and when I came back my fitness was obviously hugely off. I went back to the power meter and my power output was down a good 30%. And I was NOT able to get anywhere near all of that back no matter how I trained (maybe half of my fitness returned). And there were two factors here.

1) My body seemed to no longer respond to training like it used to
2) My capacity to train went way down. I used to ride until my schedule dictated a day off and if it was 14 straight days, so be it. These days I am seriously tired if I don't get 2 rest days per week. And at age 68 walking 18 holes on the golf course (carrying 25-30 pounds of clubs and stuff) was a rest day. These days (even using a pull cart) a golf day with no cycling is not adequate recovery.

This was around age 68-69. And I see the same thing (same timeframe) on the golf course (measured as distance off the tee). It is a sobering thing to run into.

dave

rydabent

Im 85 and I say it is mostly genetics. I was never a racer, or thot speed on a bike was the holy grail. However I still hammer up small hills, and being in the snow belt go to the gym and ride bike trainers there in the winter.

I try to ride every other day on one of my usual routes. They vary from from 20 to 35 miles, and on occasion even some further. At my age, I do feel that the one recovery day is a good thing.

JoeyBike

My personal observation as well.

Plus 1: Mentally, I just don't WANT to spend a long day on a bicycle anymore. Which seems to be for the best as far as overuse injuries and fatigue go. I'm pretty excited to see 20 miles on my GPS these days. I did 30 the other day on a fat tire single speed, adult "BMX" bike at a leisurely pace. 20 the day before. I really enjoyed resting the third day. Day 4 I got 20 more. This all a far cry from "The Old Days" when I could crank out 150 miles and go to work the next day.

Thanks for taking the time to report.

Calsun

What helped me a great deal was prostrate surgery that allows my kidneys and bladder to function properly. Doctors look at BHP as an isolated condition and fail to realize that it can strangle the urethra and hinder kidney function. Prior to the operation I could barely consume 16 ounces of water each day and now I consume at least 64 ounces. My blood is thinner and circulation is better as a result.

I am also conscious of the need to take supplements for my diet. As one gets older our body is less able to absorb critical nutrients and supplementation is needed for the "foods" we consume. Only testing of the blood is going to provide useful information. For example I need 7 times the RDA to have a vitamin D blood serum level that fall in the "normal" range.

I have started doing free weight training as bicycling alone is not enough for me to be physically fit. The nice thing is that I get cardio benefits as well with weight training.

bikemig 

I've ridden around Lake Pontchartrain. I'm impressed that you've done that more than once! It's flat but then so is New Orleans.

Biggest changes? My handlebars need to be around the same height as my saddle. I run my gearing a little lower and I'm not concerned about dropping it into a low gear to climb. I used to ride through minor aches and pains. Now I'm more likely to take a day off since I reckon I have a lot of miles ahead of me. I watch my recovery times as I need more time after a hard work out than I used to. To me, it's more about tweaks than it is anything major with one exception. I spend more time thinking about how beautiful the area is around me and less time paying attention to how fast or hard I'm going. The biggest change for me was attitude adjustment. YMMV though.

I grew up in NOLA and rode weekends with the Crescent City Cyclists for many years. I live in central IA now and I feel fortunate to have a world class system of bike paths literally out my front door. You'll enjoy being able to find good roads to ride on easily.

Charles Lathe

I am seventy and I am slower than I used to be. I notice that the heat bothers me more than it used to. I rode coast to coast when I was sixty-eight and I just might try it going the other way next year. I let all but my touring bicycle go (There are a couple of frames with forks in the attic.) and the smallest chainring (on a triple) gets used on some hills whereas it used to be reserved for mountains.

I enjoy riding my bicycle as much as I ever did.