Lotsd of good advice here .... both for going easier on yourself anf pshing yourself harder, so you have lots of options.
Originally Posted by
Wildwood
I did a hilly ride with a guy on one of these ... he was a little older than I, around your age, maybe, and we talked a little ... he didn't want to devote more of his life to riding but he also wanted to stay with his group, so on the hilly rides he got a little help. I didn't even notice when I was checking out his bike until I looked at it from behind ... but he wasn't hiding anything. He wanted to be able to live his life as he wanted, and he wanted to finish his rides with his friends and not so knackered that the rest of the night and the next day were spent in a hot tub, suffering.
if you are interested in riding more miles, Carbonfiberboy and others have solid info, which they have tested themselves. As for recovery, I can attest and also others have told me, that is the first thing to go. You can do the ride but you pay for longer. Even so, being stronger will help with that.
Hope I am not repeating myself, but I knew a guy who was 82 who told me he kept going strong until 77, when his recovery times started increasing---and he was still going strong. He didn't lose a lot of time to injury and illness, unlike yourself, but you can get that back if you choose to, probably. If you choose that route, and proceed sensibly, you could well continue to perform at ridiculous levels (and embarrass the rest of us) for many, many more years to come.