Velo Fellow

After taking 2 years off from cycling to adjust to marriage (!), I'm more than ready to climb back on. A concern my wife started: I'm 69 y.o. and have noticed my skin bruises much more easily as well as "tears" or abraids more easily. My wife's last defense (besides listing pitbulls, cement trucks, etc.) was the much more dire risk I run of bad road rash.

Any of the older members here have any experience with this?

Cougrrcj

<-- Been married 30+ years. That'll give anyone a thick skin.


Thank You! I'll be here all night.

02Giant 

I am mid 50's experiencing the same issue with the bruises, tearing, etc.

It doesn't cross my mind while riding.

canklecat

I'm 58 and my skin began showing that thinning and relative fragility after I turned 50. Wouldn't keep me from bicycling. But I've considered wearing long sleeve jerseys, even in summer, as I've noticed I'm getting that blotchy look of sun damaged skin, despite the sunscreen.

A 70-something-year-young fellow I ride with occasionally seems to wear full length cycling pants and arm sleeves pretty much year-round, including Texas summers. Sleeves can be rolled down or removed if it's too hot or humid.

Even thin fabric can reduce road rash a bit. I fell a couple of times this year on the MUP at slow speed, around 5 mph while navigating around wandering kidlets and dogs on those 50-yard retractable non-leashes. One forearm was scraped a bit on the pavement, while the upper arm was protected by the jersey and just bruised a little. A couple of pinholes in the jersey but it's still usable.

Last time I got serious road rash from bicycling was 30+ years ago during a race. The leg below the wool shorts, and arm below the wool jersey sleeve, were scraped up pretty badly, but the wool fabric itself was only frayed a bit and not worn through. So even ordinary cycling fabrics seem to help a little.

Cougrrcj

OK, so my attempt at humor didn't go as well as I planned.

Yes, I've notice that my skin is getting thinner, and dries out more easily which leads to cracking, etc. Would that ever stop me from riding? Heck no! The health benefits from riding far outweigh the 'possible' hazards.

RonH

How does getting married cause a 2 year interruption in cycling?
I'm 71 and my wife AND all my docs (cardio, primary care, spine doc, urologist) say that cycling is the best thing I can do for my health.
Thin skin? Not a problem. Maybe you need supplements.

MinnMan

55 and still recovering from a little road rash I earned almost a month ago. I can't say I have noticeably thin skin, but definitely road rash, minor wounds and bruises, etc., take much longer to heal than they once did.

And btw, newly healed road rash is VERY susceptible to sunburn. I learned that one the hard way....

But following RonH, probably cycling is the best thing you can do to improve your physical and mental health. Your new wife, I hope, will encourage this contribution to your health and well-being. There are all kinds of risks in cycling, but to me they are not nearly as terrifying as the risks to my happiness and the happiness of those around me if I didn't ride.

metalheart44

So, I am 72 and definitely have the thin skin thing going on, especially in my arms, which seem to bruise easily and the bruises hang around for awhile. Unsightly, but it just seems to be the way things are. I crashed a couple of weeks ago on a fast descent and came away with substantial road rash on my legs and left arm, and some cuts on my face. Surprisingly, most of the road rash healed quickly other than a few deep dents made by sharp rocks. My left forearm was also one big bruise, but after about 10 days it had disappeared. So, yeah maybe it is a bit worse than those with younger skin, but for me it was not that bad. The bruises and cuts on my face healed relatively quickly, although I had a shiner for a week or so.

Monoborracho

I don't worry about it cycling. However, I do have some light arm "coolers" I often wear.

And I wear long sleeve pinpoints on weekdays if I'm going out to my office (I office at home, usually) if my arms are beat up.

When I work around the house, particularly outside, I wear long sleeves. I have a good set of leather arm chaps that the local bootmaker made to my specs, and I wear them if cutting or trimming brush, or doing any work where my arms get bumped. Highly recommended. You can buy some on Amazon also.

Too many years in the Texas oilfields, I guess, where I was outside half the time. And I have used sunscreen (Lubriderm SPF15 or Mary Kay 45) every day since I was 30 but my skins is still pretty thin on my arms. Getting old sucks. But not getting old even more so.

NewATBikeComute

Thanks to all who shared! I am mid-50's, and have had some, shall we say, mildly depressive thoughts about aging. Normal stuff, but when it's personal, it's personal.

Having (re-, re-) restarted bicycling this summer, I can say that my life is far better with regular exercise than without, and I enjoy cycling, learning to work on my own bikes, and reading about other experiences. My biggest concern is how far into the colder and darker season do I feel comfortable bike commuting. (and working that out requires reflection and creative thinking, another positive benefit!)

BobbyG

I'm 54 and have been bike commuting for 25 years. I used to ride down to 10F but that low-temp limit had crept up over the years to 27F. After a couple of cold, snowy winters I felt I was missing too much riding, so I pushed my cold temp limit back down to 12F. I'm definitely more sensitive to the cold (and heat) than I was when I was younger, but I found I could ride in colder temps than I had been for a while.

The big difference was bikeforums. There is so much good information here. I learned I had been over-dessing when I was younger, and not using the right fabrics. I learned that if I can stand being slightly cold for the first 10 minutes of my ride, I will warm up and be very comfortable for the next 30 minutes.

And then last year I bought my first pair of studded snow tires and dropped my threshhold to 10F. (Those two degrees were mostly symbolic.)

There are few things as intoxicating as riding along cozy and warm and realizing that you are providing your own heat, just as you are providing your own motive force.

And then there's lighting and night riding. I found a "system" that works for me and lets me see and be seen and feel safe.

Finding your cold weather threshhold and expanding it is a lot like finding your max riding distance and expanding it. Everybody's different, there may not be room for much expansion, but then again...there just may be.

rydabent

At nearly 78 the skin on the back of my hands has really thined and is easily bruised, and or can be cut very easy. Kind of bad that has worked with tools all my life. Old age is not for the weak.

jon c. 

I'm a bit relieved to hear that my tendency to bruise or bleed very easily as I've gotten older seems somewhat common.

Wanderer

After 4 stents in my heart, and all the associated blood thinners, and what the Dermatologist calls fragile skin, - I bring new meaning to bad bruising, and awesome bleeding........... But, it's still better than the alternative!

JanMM

Being of FRA (Full Retirement Age in SSI lingo) I plead guilty to somewhat fragile skin - replaced the cabin air filter in our Mazda5 this morning and in the process of working under the dash in tight quarters, got 3 bloody cuts on the back of one hand, from sharpish plastic or metal bits. Wised up and put on fingerless gloves to finish the job. Positive note: Good to see that I bleed but then quickly stop bleeding. Coagulation process seems to be working correctly.
A smart man of FRA would wear gloves and long sleeves or pants, as appropriate, whenever working on bikes or cars.

FBinNY 

I wonder how many of those who report bruising more easily or severely are on some sort of "blood thinner", or taking aspirin at the advice of their physician?

No reply needed, I'm not keeping score, just reminding people of cause and effect.

Joe Minton

Thinning skin, easy bruising and slow healing is, with age unfortunately normal.

I am 74 yrs old and still resent these indisputable facts. I have (at this time) a couple of bruesis on my forearms which I cannot a remember for (yet another 'ageing' issue) aquiring.

Wileyrat

I've crashed when I was young, and I've
crashed when I was older. I don't think having younger skin diminished the degree of road rash much at all.

Recovery times are another matter.

MinnMan

Bobby G already gave you some good practical advice about gear. here in Minnesota, I have the gear to ride comfortably down to 10 °F - studded tires, the right clothes (the right gloves, socks, and shoes are essential, and chemical hand and foot warmers can be very helpful!). I also have the lighting to ride in the dark, which greatly expands available riding time in the winter.

For me, riding outdoors, even when it's cold, is invaluable to my feelings of well-being. When absolutely necessary, I exercise indoors - I have a trainer set up in the basement - but indoors the minutes crawl by and I have to force myself to do it. Riding outdoors is the most therapeutic activity I know - it's the antidote to melancholy. I try to do it throughout the winter, albeit for shorter, less intense rides and not in the teeth of a storm or a really bad cold snap.

Doug64

It heals. A few years ago, when I was 70, I had a pretty nasty crash. I was drafting of my wife cresting the top of a hill and picking up speed, when I touched her back wheel with my front wheel. At between 17 and 20 mph, we all know how that works out.

I was not hurt badly, and rode the rest of the way home. It was obvious that it would take some sutures to close some of the deeper wounds. I landed in a deep rocky ditch, and it seemed like a full couple of seconds before my bike, which somehow became airborne, landed on top of me.

As the doctor cleaned the nastiest wound on my forearm, he held up a piece of debris and said,"this looks like a piece of a flower". He also reminded me to get a new helmet as he remove the dirt packed in my ear. The first antibiotics we tried did not work, and the forearm wound became infected. I was about to leave on a month-long bike tour in a couple of days, so he gave me another 10 day supply of a different antibiotic and wished me luck.

I don't think the thickness of skin rally made any difference in this case. Everything healed OK, and I try to keep a little more distance when drafting
Elbow and forearm



Knee

BlazingPedals

I'm 61 and had plenty of skin on my butt when I had a front blowout earlier this summer.

sch

In 2014 I noted more freckling on my arms and a more noticeable change in skin texture between my deltoid area
and the forearms. Sunscreen helps but only slows things down and now being retired I ride 4 days/week usually
35-60 miles. I looked into sunscreen arm covers last year and found some nice designs for ~$10-12 on amazon. Yes
they are a bit hot when you stop in the sun above 85F but while riding I don't notice them upto 92F or so. Nice not
to have to smear sun screen all over now. The legs are still getting freckly but the skin is a bit thicker down there
and the changes less than on the arms.

As to skin in general, all epithelium thins out as you age, generally most noticeable above 60 or so, very noticeable
in the late 70s. Fat thins out, the connective tissue is more friable and the blood vessels are not exempt, their
epithelial lining thins down some as well. The result is easier skin tears, easier bruising and longer healing. Healing
can be a particular problem in the front of the leg below the knee. Large cuts can be unsuturable because the skin
no longer holds a suture, it just tears out as you tighten the knot, this is mostly for the >80 yr olds. And of course the
various anticoagulant/platelet inhibitors don't help.

Carbonfiberboy 

Yeah, my skin is going too at 71. I wear white sun sleeves when its warm, arm warmers when its cool. They make sun sleeves for legs, too, but so far I've been going bare legs when it's warm.

If you do get road rash: scrub the area thoroughly. Hurts like hell but get it clean. Then cover with Povidone. When that dries, apply Tegaderm. Leave the Tegaderm on until you can see that the skin under it has healed, which takes a couple of weeks.

tsurr

at 72 yo the skin is thin and bruise ,easily. I take a baby aspirin daily, per doctor. My last wreck which was just some road rash and a few stitches above my eye, when I was in my late sixties. Asphalt felt a lot harder than I remembered , a little stiff and sore but recovered.

CliffordK

Every once in a while kevlar in Jerseys/shorts/leggings pops up, but apparently doesn't go very far with respect to road cycling.

Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Clothing Will Protect Cyclists From Road Rash

I am seeing armored clothing for MTB/BMX, and of course, also motorcycle gear.

Personally, my goal is to stay ON my bicycle.

I am one of the blue jean roadies... Or... should I say the ONE blue jean roadie? Nonetheless, denim will give some added protection. Gloves? I do get a lot of cooling through the arms, so I can't cover the whole body during the summer.