Colorado Kid

My friends tried to convince me that I should think about a early retirement (I'm 55.) and live near them at the old folks home. (Give me a break!) My doc says I have a body of a 30 year old so why stop now? How old is too old to keep riding often?

fietsbob

how long is a waterline?

hilltowner

My brother is 61 and still an active bicycle courier in San Francisco.

Reynolds 

I am nearly 65, ride every day and expect to go on for some more time...

tjspiel

I don't know about 55 but I did get a good idea from some friends of my mother. Of their own volition, they moved to a residence that was popular with senior citizens and had optional levels of assistance, from none to a lot. Their reasoning was that if their health started to fail them they could get help without burdening their family or dealing with the added trauma of having to move out of their home. I'm guessing they were in their late 60's to mid-70's when they did this.

As far as riding goes, I'd do it as long as you can. I have a friend in his 60's that still does long distances races and can average 20+ mph. I knew a guy in his 70's that rode from Minnesota to New York one summer with his daughter.

Deciding when to retire depends on your financial circumstances and how you'd spend your time if you weren't working.

I like my job but it comes with a certain amount of stress and I'd certainly love more free time. Retiring at 55 doesn't sound like the worst idea to me. We have neighbors who became teachers in this district at a time when teachers were hard to come by. Early retirement was part of the deal so they finished teaching when they were 55. He has a job/hobby framing pictures and she still works for the schools on a part time basis, or at least she did for awhile. I don't think they regret retiring.

JerrySTL

I have friends who also tell me to retire. That's so I can ride with them more. The average age of their group is about 65 YO and they ride about 200+ miles a week when the weather is good. In the winter they ice skate; play volleyball; and other indoor activities. Also they do a lot of walking and hiking.

I turn 62 in a few months and ride about 4K miles a year plus walk 3 or 4 half marathons. I'm looking to up my mileage when I retire!

alan s 

Who retires at 55 these days? I can see not working if you have the means, but nowadays people will be lucky to retire at 65. If you have nothing to contribute to society by working and can afford to retire, then by all means do so and make room for those who want or need to work.

Dave Cutter

Advise and criticism from friends and family is how we keep our perspective.

I retired early. I had always appreciated the idea of the freedom of a planned retirement. If at 55 you haven't figured out the direction you plan on taking... maybe you never will. Most people work until their health fails and they can no longer work.

Last year I spoke with a gentleman that rides 3 miles everyday. He was 89. He said some days he has to use an exercise/stationary bike. And that besides the 20 minutes of spinning everyday, he does weight training three times a week. I would assume he also eats 3 meals a day and sleeps 6-8 hours a night. All are basic health activities. Don't stop.... till it would kill you.

tjspiel

Volunteer opportunities abound. You don't need to get paid to contribute to society.

alan s 

I agree. Go volunteer, and leave the paying jobs for those who need the income.

Darth Lefty 

My grandfather on my mother's side died of trauma after a car knocked him off his bike at age 91, and he'd had a heart attack at 80. I don't know about working, I guess if you can afford it. But this I know, keep riding...

Darth Lefty 

Long enough to go all the way around

tjspiel

"I wish I would have worked more." - what no one utters on their death bed.

The founder and executive directory of my company recently retired. I believe he was in his 70's. He's a vital guy and my guess is that he won't disappear entirely. He'll end up serving on the board or in some advisory capacity. I understand why it was tough for him to leave, but IMHO you shouldn't be spending your last 10 to 20 years of good health working a 9 to 5 job.

My mom was in apparent perfect health at 70, osteoporosis set in not long after and she died at 80. She spent most of her time in the last 6 years in bed.

People are different though. Some peoples' health declines once they retire and they lose the daily social interaction and purpose that they enjoyed at work. So don't retire without a plan that keeps you engaged in life.

Loose Chain

I am not sure I understand this? At 62 I have a resting pulse of 44 BPM. I swim 3 to 5 miles per week, I do strength training at least once if not twice per week, I run (or primarily now my elliptical due to a titanium bits in my leg) and I ride either indoor on my fluid trainer or outdoors approximately 75 miles per week or more or less depending on weather and my other interests. I am fully capable of destroying people half my age in triathlon but admittedly most do not actually systematically train as I do. No, I do not go as fast as I used to and the broken femur (and resulting stroke) now five years ago took a lot out of me but in any case, I am not exactly all that slow either.

I do not but rarely compete in a tri but I will from time to time do my own. I will go swim a mile, jump on my bike and ride 25 miles and then run my 6 miles. I admit the running is an issue though.

One thing, a balance of exercise is important, not just riding a bicycle and if that means cutting back on the cycle, so be it. Keeping the weight in check is critical so that one does not become a captive to a huge gut and butt. I have had a hard time of late staying below 175 and at least five pounds of that is muscle mass increase after I upped some of my strength regimen.

I do not know---------. BTW, I take absolutely no medicine of any kind. It does get harder but what is the other choice. My new secret training method:



Good luck, do not be a captive to some artificially imposed standard.

J

chedarhead

My doc says I also have the body of a thirty year old but I should give it back because I am getting it wrinkled.

highrpm

Definitely retire! To me, the fact that you are considering it means that you are financially ready for it.

You've worked for most of your adult life. It's time to do something different.

Take some trips. Do a bike tour or two. Have fun.

Worknomore

I worked hard and saved hard so I could retire asap. Retired at 56. I live relatively cheap. I'm never bored. I ride, hike, skate, paddle, xcounrty ski, work out indoors when the weather sucks. For 3 months each winter I hide out in a laid back old florida town in my little travel trailer where I ride every day. I no longer cringe on sunday night cuz monday morning follows. I now have an abundance of the most precious commodity in existence; time.

CliffordK

I'm still hoping that cycling and exercising will be the fountain of youth.

bmthom.gis

I would be happy to retire at such an early age...but certainly not move into a retirement community or give up biking! I know plenty of "old dudes" who ride just about every day and can whoop my butt in speed. Back when I was in the boy scouts, one of of assistant scout masters was in his late 50s/early 60s when he hiked the entire Appalachian Trail (couldn't through hike...had two stops - 1 for a death in the family and another for getting lyme disease),

tsl

I guess it depends on how much (or little) you like your job, and how much (or little) it adds to your life.

I'm healthy, happy, and my job contributes to both.

I love my job. I like the people I work with. I like that part of my job is training recent grads on how to be a superlative public librarian (we won the 2015 Library of the Year Award last year, so we know a thing or two about that), and I like our patrons and cultivate friendships with them. Why would I want to give up that?

Until I took a job at the library in my mid-40s, I hated every job I'd ever had, and planned on quitting at age 55. I'm 59 this year and recently set my retirement date: June 30, 2027. That's the end of the month after I turn 70, when I'll no longer be allowed to contribute to the state pension plan.

I haven't yet decided whether it will be that autumn or the following spring when I'll use an entire 90-day tourist visa bike touring Japan.

As for retirement communities, moving to a senior apartment would cut my rent by about half. Why not? So I'm on a couple of waiting lists.

supercycle62

I will be 54 yrs old next Saturday. I gave up working "full time" years ago. I now work part time about 25hrs a week in a non-stressful job. I have no kids to worry about and I have no debt. My only expenses are my rent and my food. I live very simply and do not own a car or a credit cards. I also have other hobbies that keep me well occupied in my spare time.

Outnumbered

Its too old to ride when your body says so or you don't enjoy it anymore.

I'm 58 and can out ride most of the guys in their 30's that I work with. I ride just about everyday I enter cyclocross races in the fall because its fun to me. I figure I can spend my money at the bike store or the DR's, the bike store is a lot more fun. I'll be retiring when I hit 60 just because my job is moving about three hours north in two years or so I don't think I want to go. Wife and I will downsize and sell our house move to a small ranch (I like my own land not a big condo fan myself).

But ride heck as long as I can, helps me wake up and see the grass from the right side every morning.

gsa103

The only good justification for retiring would be to get more time for riding. .

Papa Tom

I am 53. During the fair weather months here in New York, I commute to work by bike 3-5 days a week, do 2-3 overnight bike trips per year, and take lots of leisure rides with my wife. I'm not as fast and immune from pain as I was in my 20s and 30s, but I still enjoy being on the bike more than anything else -- AND I'm in much better shape than a lot of the 20 and 30-year-olds I work with every day.

Lots of people are going to try to convince you to retire. Many have their own agendas, like justifying their own inactivity at an early age or just wanting to hang out with you more. Don't let anyone else tell you when to get off the bike. You will know when it's time.

JoeyBike

Since I started retiring at age 30 (work a year - take a year off), most of my good friends were very active retired people from age 55 to 75 (because I could not find any 30 year olds to hang out with). The honest truth as I gathered it by speaking to these people is that most felt a major decline in physical capability around age 70. This is the average. One of those people still races cyclocross and his DAD still races road and cyclocross in his 90s. Is he blazing fast? No, but he is still doing it and enjoying it. I have another friend in her mid 90s who is not a cyclist, but could certainly do it. She just fast-walks for exercise and travels all over the world regularly.

So my take, given my experience, is that if you take care of yourself and NEVER stop doing athletic things, you will likely have "game" into your early 70s. After that, expect to slow down and smell the roses a little more. You should be able to enjoy cycling until very near the day you drop dead, assuming you don't get some other injury or condition that trips you up.