GeezyRider 

The day I realize that I am a danger to myself or others will be the day that I become too old to ride. Hopefully, that realization won't come a day too late.

Papa Tom

I've been at the point you describe many times, and I'm "only" turning 57 next week. It makes me laugh now to think of how I was telling myself ten years ago that "this will be my last overnight ride," and "from now on, I'll just stick to bike trails and riding around the neighborhood." I don't take week-long trips any more because I just don't have the time, but I'm still doing at least two overnights every summer and I hope to return to longer trips when/if I finally ever retire.

We all go through physical and mental slumps and start to see the end of cycling right around the corner, but as any of the 80 or 90-year-old cyclists on this group will tell you, it aint' over till it's over.

zacster

Same here. I plan my day around riding. One thing I was going to do that I just didn't was to ride my regular commute in the morning, and then keep going. I couldn't quite figure out why I wanted to rush out of the house.

Wileyrat

I'll be 61 in a couple of months, and I just don't think about things like "when will I be too old".

I suppose I'll just know someday.

Vintage Schwinn

There are 7 speed three wheelers that are not a bad alternative, assuming one has a quiet neighborhood without any crazy hills, or the paved roads of a local park in which to ride. The 7 speed "trikes" are not bad riding cycles. They do require a pick-up truck and probably an assistant, fellow rider, spouse, friend, etc for those really needing such a cycle, in order to Load & Unload the 7 speed tricycle into the pick-up truck bed at the park and at home.
Those 7 speed trikes are wonderful for certain aged persons who can benefit from the exercise and enjoyment that such three wheeler would provide, yet give them the security of three wheels. It would still allow a somewhat aged and slightly frail, or recooperating person, to pedal and ride with friends and family in scenic surroundings, outdoors, away from heavy traffic. I believe that such a person would get far more than an exercise benefit from those 7 speed trikes. I'd imagine the social aspect of being out and pedalling with others, would possibly give them enjoyment, a sense of feeling good, especially if they are riding along with others who are younger and more active & athletic. They need not go fast on such a 7 speed trike to get that positive feeling boost of riding the same quiet park roads or quiet, lightly trafficked neighborhood, subdivision, cul-de-sac street. I'd think that for many, the joy of riding along with friends, grandchildren or other family members would make their day IF THEY DON'T OVER-DO IT such that they become really tired, achey and sore.
Now, I'm certain that some of you are laughing at just the thought of riding a 7 speed trike, but when you really think about it,...it is not all that different from riding a bicycle.................you simply have two rear wheels and you are a bit more secure with three wheels if you find that might be an issue.
Ride On!
........get yer pedals turning, ride up & down the park's streets, lookin' for adventure.....

canklecat

Too many variables to generalize.

I'm stronger now at 62 than I was a little over four years ago when I resumed riding after a 30+ year hiatus from cycling.

I expected getting back into shape would be difficult. But by 2017 it seemed like I was making no progress despite a lot of hard work. Turned out I had thyroid cancer, after a long bout with Hashimoto's, an auto-immune disease that attacks the thyroid. Thyroid supplement medication helped. But eventually I needed surgery and a long period of gradually increasing the thyroid supplement. Took almost all of 2019 to get the balance right.

Some loss of energy is inevitable. Testosterone production decreases. Few doctors will authorize using testosterone, human growth hormone, etc., to compensate for loss due to aging. They'll usually tell us it's an inevitable consequence of aging, so get used to it.

There are readily available supplements that can help some folks, but there's also a lot of overpriced junk and woo out there. Takes a lot of reading and some experimenting to find what works. And it's not without risks. Messing around with the endocrine system is always a risk. I'm probably trading an increased risk of bone density loss and cancer in exchange for better energy for bicycling. I'll take that risk. But I don't do so lightly.

And in a few years I'll probably accept the inevitable and be happy to just ride my bike at all, if only puttering around 8-10 mph.

rydabent

You can always go to a trike, and then an electric assist trike. Keep getting out there, if you set you rust!!!!!!!!!!

With an electric assist trike there is really no reason that you ever have to quit riding.

KraneXL

Well yes, and no. I'd say don't compare yourself to other unrealistic riders like Chris Froome if you're someone in your 60s. On the other hand, other riders in your age group (or older) can be of great encouragement and influence, especially when you feel you've gotten too old or out of shape to continue riding.The only naysayers I'd experienced would be those in the medical community. Then again they have liability, and will always err towards being overly cautious. The rest is just advice, and there's nothing wrong with that. Simply take it, or leave it.If that's true then you have the last of the old-fashioned doctors. Get rid of him and seek someone better educated in 21st century medicine. TRT treatment is not just a viable health procedure, but acceptable within the medical community. In fact, many doctors now specialize in TRT and GH replacement.

BlazingPedals

Recumbents aren't just for old folks, they're for any age. I'm your age, and I've been riding them for over 20 years. I still love my lowracers and plan to ride them for at least another decade. Someday when I can no longer balance one, there's always 3 wheels...

Champlaincycler

I'm 67, rode 2300 miles this year Many here, my age and older have done lots more. Cycling will be one of the last things I give up. Sold my sailboat last year, just too old and stiff to be running around on the foredeck in a good wind, gave my longboard skate board to a kid down the road, don't go up on roofs anymore, downhill skiing is boring as I'm too afraid to go fast.. For me, its easier to balance on a bike when your moving then most any other activity and I'm prone to mild vertigo. I'm not aggressive on downhills, am downright cautious, but do fine otherwise and I'm faster now then I've been since restarting riding some 15 years ago. Retirement helps. Where I live, there are some great trails and logging roads that I usually ride in the fall. This year I found myself thinking about my safety when I'm 10 miles from nowhere on a road no one else would be on for a few days, falls could be life threatening. when you ride alone, as I usually do. That"s the kind of thing that ageing makes me consider, but I can't see stopping., just adapting. I do ride a lot more upright then most, bad neck and back, but cycling helps by strengthening core muscles. Cycling, swimming, hiking and x-country skiing, all low impact and keep the Drs. at bay.

donheff

Another 71 yo. I too have begun to feel the difference in the last few years but I notice plenty of people my age and older still cranking much faster than me. I am hoping to continue riding through the decade and am keeping my eye on ebike developments to help me into my 80s. But Sh** happens when you get older. If something takes out biking maybe walking or swimming will still be possible. I will be really devastated if I can't read at some point.

fly135

When you can't get the bike past the 2 to 3mph required to keep it upright, then you are too old.

John_V 

Don't let your age keep you off the bike. I did my first MS150 at age 64 (getting ready to do my 10th in March). Since then, I've completed several years of 10,000+ annual miles. The last weekend of October, I completed my 6th consecutive, 230 mile, Cross Florida bike ride. I'm 73 and we had two females on the ride older than me. One was 76 the other was 79. Although the 79 year old struggled some on the last day, they both completed the ride. The girl in my avatar, standing next to me, is Amanda Coker. I rode with her many, many times when she was on her HAMR challenge to break the world record for most miles ridden on a bicycle in a single year. BTW, she did break the record by almost 10,000. As long as your body is telling you that you can still ride, do it!

JanMM

Correct answer!

Closing in on 70 and looks like I'll hit 5,000 miles this year, which is several hundred miles further than recent years. Increased distance aided by retirement.

rando_couche

"Too old"? Not there yet at 65 yo. My stock answer is "as long as I'm physically able to ride, I'm not too old." We'll see how that goes.

FWIW, I'm retiring in a couple weeks (but who's counting?) and am aiming to get back into randonneuring with an eye to riding the next PBP (2023). I'll only be 69 yo, so...

tcs

My then 8 y.o. stepdaughter was diagnosed 25 years ago with brain cancer. So the doctors cut out part of her brain and blasted the rest with radiation and chemo. She's vision impaired, hearing impaired and can't balance. If she can ride, you can ride (if you really want to).

ironwood

If you keep riding and don't have any major health setbacks, you should be good up to about 85. I don't know anyone personally over 85 who still rides. but there are some people who do.

Lower gears make sense for most riders.

One problem is that if you are sick or have an injury, it is harder to get back in shape after a period of inactivity. You lose muscle tone and lung capacity.

BlazingPedals

There is a group of guys in my club who tell everyone they're in the "40 club," because they were born in 1940. That means as of this year they're all 79 years old. Most of them can still average 18-19 mph on a 30+ mile club ride.

tcs

There is, of course, an alternative to growing old and no longer being the cyclist we once were.

Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.

TheDudeIsHere

I met this dude like 25 years ago. He was 65 at the time and I thought it was old then. Now not so much ha ha!

This guy since the day I met him, he has pretty much dressed the same. Actually this helmet is a new looking improvement of what he was wearing when we met. He was riding a bike called a Zuno that he picked up at a yard sale for $60. Never heard of Zuno but it was Columbus steel tubing and actually a really nice bike but the never cleaned it. He kept the bar tape hanging off and would not fix it. His bike looked thrashed as far as appearance but that thing rolled. Kept the drive train clean and hubs well maintained.

I even offered to buy bar tape for his bike but he said no, he liked it that way. I asked why, he said if he looked fast, others would expect him to be fast!

And yes, at 65 when we met, he was fast. He caught us on a ride from behind. We chatted for a minute or so then he said, Bye kiddies!" and dropped us like bad habits. No way could we keep up. He did the same ride most times and on the 20 mile ride, he averaged 24 MPH at best. I would not believe it but busting my young bawls, no way could I keep up. So yeah, I believed him!

One day, a local bike shop had their team out on a ride. We ran into them at the coast, about 20 of them all in the same uniforms looking pretty spiffy. Jack rolled up and we chatted for a bit. Just when the team was about to roll, Jack said,"well I'm going to roll out with these guys to see if I can keep up!".

I said, "you take it easy on them Jack." I said it loud enough so that the dudes from the team could hear me. Yes, I did, mainly because they looked and acted like a bunch of arrogant you know whats!

A couple guys looked over and me and smirked at what I said. I didn't say a thing but yeah punk, keep smirking!

They all rolled out together, then I rolled out about 5 minutes after. Down the road I saw the team at a park refilling their bottles. I stopped and asked, "where's the old guy?".

The same dudes that smirked said, "wow, that old dude flew away and left us behind!".

This guys was 65 when we met him 23 years ago.

Last time we saw him out on the bike, it was a bent for the last couple years we saw him at age 86 last I heard. Sadly we haven't seen him over the last year and last time his mind did seem to wander so maybe he is still alive, just not allowed to ride.

Almost made it to 90 out there!

Dude was, is a bad azz!

Machka 

Did you have an accident or serious health issue to make you slow down at 64?

epnnf

Well, there were several things. I have been inline skating almost as long as I have been cycling, but my technique was wrong. Skating is more fun than cycling, but more dangerous. My bad technique was causing knee pain; my doc told me to strengthen it. This temporarily solved my knee pain but caused leg soreness. Then, I fell while skating, and went into physical therapy for my arm. But I was overdoing the knee strengthening and stretching my arm too much. I finally figured out my problems: quit skating, knee heals; stop overdoing knee therapy, legs recover; scale back arm therapy, arm recovers. Sometimes physicians don't know everything.

1saxman

At 74 I just returned to biking a few months ago, at the urging of an old friend from work. I wouldn't have done it alone but with a buddy it really helps. I'm riding my 1992 trek 930 with some slightly thinner combo tires that are great for where we ride, the Capital Trail between Richmond and Williamsburg, a 50-mile paved, safe trail alongside State Rte. 5, a 'Virginia By-Way'. We just completed our fourth ride, 16 miles this time, after missing last week, but the plan is to do one every week. We both also take one-hour rides around our neighborhoods in-between just for the 'seat-time' and to stay engaged in cycling. Even when I was in a bike club years ago I didn't go on rides this long every week, and both of us are really improving. Today was brisk, 50F with a spanking breeze which was a tailwind on the way out and a headwind on the way back. Still, we noted that our time had improved from the first time we did the 16 miler to about 1 hr, 45 min. Not earth-shattering at all, and plenty of riders pass us (okay, all of them pass on, including girls on touring 3-spds) but we're enjoying it and getting some good exercise.
Another thing I have noted - half the riders I've seen on this trail were seniors, and they were actually riding real bikes and doing great! As a previous poster said, don't let the number of your age get you down - it means nothing. We all age differently, and if you enjoy cycling, do it for as long as you can!

KraneXL

No they do not. Nevertheless, don't forget the most basic body healing factors: rest and nutrition. Provided those two major things are sufficient (and assuming an otherwise healthy individual), the body will heal itself. No medicine man necessary

Retro Grouch 

Yup. "You don't stop riding because you got too old, you get too old because you stopped riding."