Carbonfiberboy 

I had another guy at the gym today ask us how old we were. He was Army Airborne, career, now gone to fat, but back in the gym. I tried to give him some tips on fixing his messed up knees.

SurferRosa

I'm only younger, because I'm more childish with less responsibilities.

PeteHski

I don’t know about that, but exercise has certainly helped to minimise the negative associated effects of ageing for me eg. obesity, heart disease, diabetes etc.

rowerek

You don't have to be "so fit" and do a lot of exercise, including biking, to look younger than your age, especially if rely on your own mirror assessment or others persons friendly, casual comments.
People tend to believe in what makes them feel good about themselves, and that's OK.

Science of ageing is in its infancy, and it is easy and pays to make prominent claims that attract social and MSM media and create aura of guru and celebrity, and it is difficult and ungrateful to disprove many baseless claims and fluffy extrapolations floating on the Internet.

PeteHski

If you stick to reading the actual science of ageing then you will see that only a moderate level of consistent exercise is required to get the anti-ageing benefits of exercise. Something like the equivalent of 30 mins of brisk jogging or cycling, 3 or 4 times per week. So you don’t need to be super fit to get these benefits and yet most people in the general population still don’t even get close to these modest levels of exercise. But you would think that most BF readers would easily qualify.

Biker395 

Succinctly: Use it or lose it.

But given my notorious lack of discipline, I have to admit that I use it only because I enjoy it. Whether cycling increases longevity or staves off the effects of aging or not, I love it. So I’m doing it until I can’t anymore.

Vaportrail56

^^^^ This. Back when I was 55 I had a mild heart attack, so mild that the doctor couldn`t tell but I thought it was going to kill me. He told me I was on the verge of being a diabetic so I had better start exercising and change my diet.Well I knew I wouldn`t like going to the gym so I took up cycling because I love to ride a bike. I have been cycling on and off for around 13 years. It has kept me in shape. I try to ride at least three times a week. I have some long time friends I have tried to talk into taking up cycling but they are not interested and they are so over weight. I wish they would start. I am going to ride as long as my health will let me because not only do I get some exercise but it gets me out of the house and I get some fresh air and have some fun.

pdlamb

I really think this is about all exercise can do. There's a lot of other things it may or may not reduce that we seem to find as we age; things like thinning spinal discs, arthritis, cataracts, and various cancers, from skin to lung to pancreatic cancers.. (Did you know there's a substantial number of lung cancer cases in people who've never smoked?) So far I've been lucky on most of these fronts. While I struggle with excessive smugness at times, most of the time I'm grateful for what I've got (left).

rsbob 

To deviate a bit, my observation is that people without children tend to look younger. Lack of stress and maybe more time for cycling?

terrymorse 

Science disagrees with what you think.

Exercise is associated with reduced arthritis symptoms, and reduced risk of multiple cancers—including lung and pancreatic cancer. Exercise also helps reduce obesity, which carries with it a plethora of disease risks.

pdlamb

I'm not sure what we (apparently) disagree on. I agree with you that exercise may reduce arthritis, etc. (Or it may not -- association isn't causation, after all.) But things like arthritis and cancer are also associated with increasing age. I think Peter's point, with which I agree, is that exercise minimizes these risks; it does not, alas, eliminate them.

terrymorse 

The "may or may not" phrase implies that it's a 50-50 coin toss, when the risk reduction from exercise is evidently far greater than that. Or at the very least, "may or may not" casts doubt on the research findings.

Consider this statement, which is arguably correct but misleading: cigarette smoking may increase the risk of lung cancer (or it may not).

pdlamb

OK, now I see where we disagree. "May or may not implies 50/50" is, perhaps, your interpretation. However, I don't think it applies here. For one thing, to use your example, cigarette smoking may or may not cause lung cancer would imply that a full 50% of smokers will develop lung cancer; I don't think the incidence is that high.

For another, we're dealing with low probability high risk. For example, is 10% a "may or may not" in your view? How about 5%? If your doctor told you you had a 10% chance of having a heart attack within a year if you didn't start taking a statin, would you do it? Or would you ask if you kept cycling and took off 25 pounds would that reduce that risk to 5%. Either might (or might not) save you from an MI, but at least it's less than a 50% chance.

I've been on the wrong end of a couple possible health outcomes, still well below a 50% chance of occurrence; I've also been on the right end of a much lower chance of recovery. To me, if you say something like "Excercise will prevent X," you're saying something like, "with exercise, there's as much chance of it happening to you as there is that there won't be a traffic jam at the intersection of the two main roads near your house at rush hour this afternoon." I don't believe any amount or combination of exercise, diet, lifestyle changes, etc. can make a credible claim to prevent (to that extent) many of the heartache, and natural shocks, that flesh is heir to. It can, however, reduce the chances of those in the short term, whatever our age.

To sum it up, will exercise keep me from getting old (whatever that means)? No. Can it put it off? Maybe. Is it worth doing, especially if it's pleasant? Surely!

indyfabz

I think I’m the same age as others my age because I am the same age as others my age. For various reasons, I don’t think I act the same as most others my age that I know.

PeteHski

I don’t think anyone is disputing chronological age.

seypat

There's no shortage on BF of people who like to pat/slap themselves on the back, that's for sure.

seypat

Isn't there already a similar thread currently going on BF at the moment? Yes, yes there is.

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...get-older.html

terrymorse 

I don’t know if this is a self back pat or not:

I’m not as fast as I was, nor as fast as many riders my age, but at least I’m apparently aging more slowly than 99% of the general population, and maybe avoiding some age-related diseases. Some consolation.

roadfix

Totally. I found that out when I attended my 10 yr HS reunion. And dramatically more so when I attended my 50 yr HS reunion.

rsbob 

Speaking of pats on the back, yesterday I did a 30 miler with 2000’ of climbing, never getting passed (which means the hot-shoes were riding elsewhere) but had fun dicing it up on climbs with a kid going to the UW. I stopped to take a couple of pictures when a guy about 20 years younger which I passed earlier went by and said, “Man are you fast”. Haven’t heard that in years and boy did that feel good.

big john

Haven't seen you in years! We rode together way back.

roadfix

Hello Big John! Wow, I think it’s been about 16 years since we last rode together! From CSUN, we rode to Amgen to watch part of the Tour. Hope things are going good with you!

big john

We rode on Angeles Crest a few times. I'm still riding. Retired in 2019. Lot of the old BF group riders have disappeared. Happy to hear you're still out there.

roadfix

Same, retired in 2019. Hope you’re still riding as you did back then. I still frequently go up ACH, but by car, out to trailheads to go either backpacking or bikepacking. Not much road rides these past few years though…

big john

Not like I did, but still get out there on the road and the trails. Time for the Tuesday ride. Gotta go.