merlinextraligh

It was not the Kaw nation complaining. It was an outside racial advocacy group. What changed was the original organizer made what were considered to be racially insensitive remarks about an Africa American. Cummins and the name he chose for the race got swept out by Lifetime at the same time after those remarks.

wheelreason

I'm offended when the wind blows hard out of the South (or any other direction really)...

DaveSSS 

Wait until you're 70+. I came back to cycling at age 65, after 8 years off, with new knees. I kept improving through age 69, but I now think I'm on a downhill slide. I still rode my regular 52 mile route with 3400 feet of climbing and an occasional 54 with 5000 feet of climbing, but some of those rides wiped me out. Riding M-W-F, I occasionally have to back off and avoid the 12% climbs and ride a shorter 46 miles with 2500 feet of climbing with nothing over 8%. The occasional young, serious rider goes by me like I'm standing still. To pedal seated up 12% I use a 30/36 gear ratio. I sometimes stand, using my 30/24. It's faster, but takes a big toll.

I'm going to try a cassette change to get a 30/38 low gear and maybe even a 30/44 with my SRAM AXS 12 speed drivetrain. I'm fairly certain I can use up to the 38 on a 10-44 xplr cassette.

Eventually, I expect some electric assisted bike will join my others, unless I quit riding the 12% slopes.

I should add that I weigh under 135 pounds, so I'm not pulling a heavy load.

PeteHski

I will be very happy if I make it to 70 before the slide kicks in. At 55 my performance has been pretty stable for the last few years.

From what I read the key to retaining performance is our ability to maintain our training volume and intensity. Obviously there are many factors that could potentially affect this ability, some by choice eg. consciously deciding to wind down and some by circumstance eg illness, injury.

jrobe

Consider yourself damn lucky if all you have to worry about as you get older is whether or not you got slower on your daily bike ride.

PeteHski

Getting slower on my bike implies a loss of physical aerobic fitness, which is my real concern as I get older.

BMW1150

I do not think you necessarily get much slower when you get older, I feel I have been doing it so long that I have learned to enjoy the ride instead of trying to going 100% all the time. Yes, I have slowed down but not considerably. Closer to 66 than 65

jonathanf2

Some of the strongest climbers I've rode with are 50+. I thought I was crushing it until I rode with those cyclists! It took me 3 days to recover my legs after that ride and I realized I still have a good 5-10 years to get close to their level of climbing. It gives me something to look forward to as I mature!

big john

Obviously it isn't "all" we have to worry about. I think we are all aware of our mortality by the time we are old enough to participate in the 50+ forum.

Also, I think most of us are quite happy to be able to ride a bike for enjoyment/as a hobby. I realize how lucky I am to get to this age and still be having fun. I definitely don't take it for granted. This doesn't mean I can't try to keep up with other riders or have fun discussing it on the forum.

And, no, I don't ride daily. Need rest days, too.

big john

There is a certain part of it that is genetic. Long ago I understood that I would never be able to climb with the climbers. When I joined the road club I was 220# and the best climbers were 140-150#. There is just no way to overcome that. I always loved the mountains and they would wait for me at the top of long climbs.

34 years later I am down to 200#. I can still do the climbs, at least during medium length rides, but I can't chase them like i used to.
The climbers who were good back then are still good now, even though some are in their 70s. Watts per kilogram for the win.

PeteHski

What makes you think it will take 5-10 years to reach their level of climbing? If you have the genetic potential then you should be getting close within a year or two of consistent training. By 5 years you will be well into marginal gains and after 10 years you will probably be fighting to maintain what you gained in the first few years!

cyclezen

Quote:
Originally Posted by jrobe
Consider yourself damn lucky if all you have to worry about as you get older is whether or not you got slower on your daily bike ride.

I think jrobe's post brings up the point 'aging' is a multi-directional assault on the body.
'Fitness', however defined, is the 'Most Obvious Concern', since it's easy for us to discern & define. But often it's an unexpected and sudden concern that becomes the most 'real' concern.
I certainly believe, wholeheartedly, that my body's level of 'fitness' has been a major reason my recent experiences with the 'unexpected' has not been as severe as might have been, by statistical measure.
I came to realize that my prior 'intensity' to cycling had it negative effects on both my mental and physical state. Some are obviously better at finding a balance or handling a 'competitive mentality' for longer periods; longer thru the aging process.
Finding your own 'balance' is valuable. I love the whole 'cycling' lifestyle, and 'balance' has made it all better for me.
I'm way different from what I was 20 yrs ago, in my 50's - perspective is everything.
The ride of 'life', is now always about the journey - the 'destination' is known, just not sure when I'll get there... LOL!
We all do our own 'Ride', always.
Ride On
Yuri

merlinextraligh

True. Father Time is undefeated. I’m just looking to take him deep into the Fourth Quarter.

jonathanf2

Not saying it will take me 5-10 years to be as strong as them, but a realization I still have plenty of growth potential. I was just more impressed that even in their older years they could maintain a high level of fitness. Anyways after I did a ride with them, I've been practicing those same routes consistently for the past several months.

PeteHski

I see what you mean now. Yes it is always inspirational to see older guys still maintaining a high level of fitness. When I was still in my 20s I remember being impressed by an older ski instructor, who was 49 at the time. I remember thinking that I would be more than happy to be that fit and strong at 49. I’d seen so many other guys let themselves go by that age, so it was great to see that it wasn’t inevitable. It gave me hope that I could stay fit for longer than most people did at the time.

This was about 30 years ago, so now here I am in my mid 50s and I’m still going strong. I can ride and ski pretty much like I could in my 20s. In some ways I actually feel stronger now. I eat better and I train smarter. I wonder if that ski instructor is still going? He must be around 80 now and I see quite a few guys in that age group on the slopes.

jonathanf2

I have friends who are slightly younger than me, who are in terrible shape. I've realized it's not older age that makes people less physical, it's the fact they've neglected their fitness and nutrition. In fact studies even support the notion of "use it or lose it" when it comes to muscles and bone density. If you're not living an active lifestyle, your body will deteriorate. I have school aged kids and when I see the other parents around my age, it's a bit disheartening to see that the majority of them just aren't taking care of themselves.

Black wallnut 

There seems to be lots of members here that treat with disdain any who are interested in improvement and motivated by athletic progress. So much so that they feel compelled to jump in a thread like this one to boast that they have no interest in improving and just want to ride easy. Thanks Merlin, your thread gives hope that I can improve. I lost most of 4 years due to a an unplanned career reversal. Just last Friday had the best time for a route since 2017! It's taken me 2.5 years to get back to where I was before the change in job title. I'll turn 60 soon. I hope I can keep improving.

Carbonfiberboy 

As I aged, I shifted over toward endurance rides. We don't lose endurance nearly as fast as we lose max effort, and endurance is very trainable. The other favorable thing is that many riders, as has been pointed out in this thread, drop out of contention due to cardiac or similar issues, so if you've preserved your health in your younger days, there's pay off as you age. Choices, choices. Personally, I was hot in the 60+ bracket in distance events until my heart finally got tired at 77 . Oh well. I was hoping to still have it at 80, but I crapped out. It helps a lot that as one ages, the participants of similar age get fewer.

DaveSSS 

Being faster at 64 than at 50 may just mean that you weren't in good shape at 50. I moved to Colorado at age 50 and started climbing mountains for the first time. At age 53, I had improved to the point where I rode the 28 miles from Idaho Springs to the top of Mt. Evans at 14,000 feet in 2:35. That would usually be a top 10 finish for my age group on race day, but still 15 minutes behind the winner. Prior to that, I had ridden it 5 times around 2:55. In subsequent years, the average speed on my regular route up Deer Creek Canyon Road told me that I was getting slower, not faster. After age 40, strength generally declines. At 70, I'm as slow as I've ever been, compared to the previous couple of years. I still ride the same 5500-5800 miles per year with about 10,000 feet of climbing per week, but it keeps taking longer.

ppg677

I'm 46 and breaking all my PRs this summer. But I also noticed my max heart rate is getting lower and lower every year.

Keefusb

I'm 60 and this past summer I had a lot of difficulty with short intense efforts like climbing steep hills. I also felt like increasing my training volume didn't help. Nowadays I'm pushing a 38/30 low gear. I can hardly believe that 10-12 years ago, I was flying up the same hills with a 42/25 low gear.

The only explanation(s) I could come up with was having had COVID earlier this spring, and the fact that we had record temperature, humidity, and poor air quality this past summer. Or age just catching up tp me, or perhaps all three things. Getting old sucks...

terrymorse 

65 this year, and yeah, the high intensity stuff seems to be harder to attain. I am seeing gains over the season, but the one thing I've noticed is that it takes longer to improve than in younger years.

But aging up has its advantages. The Strava 65+ age group KOMs are much easier to get than the 55+ ones.

rsbob 

Last November my local Strava group had a climbing challenge for the month. Was 67 then. I certainly didn’t win the challenge against the 30 and 40 somethings, and it was laborious at first. But getting out and climbing almost daily between 2000’ and 3000’ did wonders for my climbing strength and speed. But have to say, November sucked up here for a climbing competition.

Jughed

51 now, started riding again at 48, stopped in my late 20’s.

Never reached my peak back then
, but I’ve now matched my fitness levels from back then.

I don’t have the high end power, but I have more endurance and equal sustainable power levels +\-.

Slowly improving year after year now. I don’t know what my ceiling will be, but I hope to come close before I start to decline.

choddo

Indeed but that is as nothing compared to what sadly befalls many by the time they reach (or don’t) their 60s