rsbob 

An unscientific pole to see how the 50+ crowd feels about cycling and aging. Yeah, I know it is worthless, but what the hell.

I for one, at 69, don’t fell old unless I look in the mirror. Sure there are the aches and pains, but in general am fortunate to be doing ok. How about you?

terrymorse 

At 65, I'm missing a few watts at the top end, and it takes a little longer to recover from a hard ride.

Overall, not much different from 20 years ago.

Polaris OBark

I look and behave younger than I am. (My wife calls it immaturity.)

Waaaaaa. I am going to sue everyone unless you add this as an option.

PS: I thought your user name had to be all caps to post these kinds of threads.

gobicycling

Yes, at 84yo, I am feeling 84. Perhaps it is because my wife (86yo) is having multiple medical issues, and for a while there I was providing, literally, 24/7 care. Total exhaustion! I am finally getting back into some routines - strength, stretching, but cycling is way in the future, if at all. I am feeling some balance problems in my walking, and I did some PT before my wife's medical issues, which helped the walking. She is stable - hoping the treatments will help. Lots of my friends are dying - perhaps 1-2 per month. That doesn't help. I never felt my age until this year. Edit - got out for 30 minutes of bicycling and it was great!

plumberroy

I'm 62 I've worked construction and maintenance All my life . Not always treating my body right . It's starting to catch up with me

rando_couche

Feel "old"? Nah. Sure I'm slower, but that's because I don't train like I used to, and just ride for fun. ;-)

Steve B.

All my injuries from a very active life are catching up to me, some as arthritis, some just as bad joints, weak ligaments, etc. I used to backpack a lot, haven’t been able to do any real hiking for decades. So bet it, I can road and mt bike and swim pain free, that’s good enough.

jadmt

I had to google middle age and it is defined as between 40-65 yoa....so based on that I am still middle age as I am turning 65 yoa in a few weeks..I have been blessed, I have zero aches or pains and literally I mean zero. I can hike 16 miles in the snow at 16-18 minutes per mile pace and ride 100 miles at 18+ mph and get home and walk the dog and mow the lawn. If it were not for photos or mirrors I would think I was 30 years old, it is only when I catch my reflection or see a photo of myself that I realize I look old and ugly..I spent my entire life outside and worked my whole life at jobs that beat your body down but for some reason it just has not happened to me. genetics play a big role no doubt. My grandfather on my dads side made money bending horseshoes with his barehands, I saw him do a flagpole stand when he was around 70yoa and he could do pullups at close to 80. and my dad was an absolute power house he could do feats of strength that were crazy and he never worked out a day in his life, I have an uncle who was a world arm wrestler I believe he won the canadian championship and was 4th in the us at one time. My cousin who is my age is still competing in lifting competitions. I had dinner last night with a life long friend who is 64yoa and we spent a lot of time together over the years. He is on insulin has a tough time walking and has tremors and is being treated for afib, he told me another one of our old friends has early onset of alzheimer's and another acquaintance just had his foot amputated due to complications from diabetes. other than being an ugly old guy I am very blessed indeed.

rsbob 

Super genes. I had your energy through my mid-60s but have noticed a definite downturn from ‘going all day’ in the last couple of years. My father is 91, mom 90, and dad is still a dynamo and can never sit still. Just this year for the very first time, I developed arthritis in a thumb joint.

May your good genes and fortune keep going for quite some time.

Fredo76

I am not one of those who kept up their fitness for their whole life, and qualify fully for the Pills & Ills forum. In terms of capability, vulnerability and fragility, I am definitely feeling my age.

BUT, after my hip replacements and taking up cycling, I feel considerably younger than I did ten years ago. And I know how lucky (blessed) my wife and I truly are.

As Carly Simon sings, "These are the good old days...

Merry Christmas, everyone.

downtube42

I don't have any reference for what old feels like. Vision isn't as good, balance isn't as good, tinnitus is there, short term memory isn't as good, max heart rate is lower, prostate is larger. Seems like of all the things, ability to put out power is one of the least affected by age, thus far.

I tend to think this is what 63 is, for someone who's been physically active their entire life. Better than my sedentary peers, far better than the smokers, but I'm not 30.

PaulH

At 76, I think of myself as a thirty year old with a terminal illness that will probably kill me in ten years. Ambitious enough to worry about being too aggressive and getting into trouble at work. Healthy enough that a bike is my primary form of ground transportation. Curious enough to be immersed in completing my PhD.

andrewclaus

On my 50th birthday (almost 17 years ago) an older friend asked me how many 100 year old people I knew. I told him I personally didn't know any. He said, "You still think you're middle aged?" Some friend.

A lifetime of good diet and exercise, and a good choice of parents. lets me do pretty much everything I've always done. The other day on a rock crew working on a trail, I yielded my bar to a young guy who outweighed me by 50 pounds, just 'cause the weight was helpful, moving a 600-pound boulder. The only time I can remember feeling some age was during a giardia infection, which I got while hiking the Colorado Trail (again) about five years ago. And after a root canal in my 40s.

jadmt

I drink like a fish and probably have what would be considered a poor diet... just finishing my dinner know...I think many people don't realize the power and health benefits of beer. I have one of those fit bits that tell me how much I sleep and it is usually between 4 and 5 hours but I am rarely if ever tired. Never have needed an alarm and I can only think of a few times in my life where I was actually waken up by the alarm. My wife says I am a freak as the minute i wake up I am out of bed wide awake.

wolfchild

I consider good quality beer to be superfood.

TiHabanero

Genetics are everything.

Bully4

TiHabanero is right-genetics. But I also think that stress is a major influencer. Job, family situations, etc. can really influence your overall health.

Old guys can still be fast; it just hurts more!

staehpj1

I don't know how to answer since these things are all relative. At 72 I feel blessed with good health and fitness compared to most folks I know who are my age. So if using that as a measure I guess I feel younger than I am.

Jughed

51 here, so still not really old.

Physically I feel great. Probably the best shape of my life.


Mentally I’m effing smoked.

Been at my job for 30+ years. I had kids later in life, love em to death, but I’m tired - one in college, one doing college tours all over creation, one 12 year old boy.

Over extended time wise in things I have to take care of - 4 cars, 8 bikes, camper/boat/house - plus trying to ride 6-8 hours per week minimum…

Ive heard that people spend the first 1/2 of life acquiring stuff, and the second 1/2 purging. I’m entering the purge phase.

Chuck M 

At 59 I like to think I'm pretty OK for my age. But the last couple of years I've not been able to run a half marathon. I still think I could do 13.1 if I trained for it, but I used to do at least two half marathons a year without really training. Some of my performance decline is age, but a good part of it is lack of commitment. I need to do better as far as getting out and getting the work in.

spclark 

Funny that.

I'm closing on 10 years beyond age 65, work part-time 3 day a week (and cover about 7 miles every workday on my feet around the store), never did much to give myself a 'healthy' lifestyle.

Had a heart attack (workplace stress-related; mild, caught early, left hospital with two stents and Rx for lower BP & cholesterol) in '06 that literally opened my eyes, caused some soul-searching, some lifestyle changes. Exercise being one of them.

I still consider myself to be middle-aged, given my mindset. My body however leaves me in no doubt that it's not at this point. Met Mr Art Rightous a year or so, he's got some associates he's been trying to introduce me to. I carry on as best I can.

It's not cycling season to my way of thinking where I live so I'm looking forward to when suitable conditions will return in a few months. Just got back onto the saddles last spring after a multi-year hiatus, enjoyed my shortish rides immensely despite starting out with inappropriate gearing for the local terrain, which I've since resolved. LBS crew believe I'm the only rider in the county still on tubulars, so there's that.

Indyracer

At 62 years old and on a race team where the next oldest mechanic is 20 years youger than me, I make it my goal to make them look soft. It keeps me feeling like I am 30. Occasionally me back disagrees but nothing a few Advil won't solve

Kai Winters

I'm 68 and don't feel any different than when I was much younger. I suspect being retired sure helps...I get as much sleep as I want or need. Don't set an alarm. Don't have to go work. Ride when I want...etc.
I'm not as fast as when I was 35 but meh I wouldn't trade my current life style unless I can keep it just like it is for the next few decades lol.

BobbyG

I'll be 62 next month and I feel great! 18 months ago I landed a video production job in a larger company with much younger people. I work mostly at a desk but am up and down the stairs all day. Three days a week there are projects in the field with lots of lights and camera stuff to carry. I hustle with the best of them, and I'm the only one who bikes to work (and year-round rain or snow). I'm up on all the latest computer, sound and camera stuff. Adapting to a new company and learning their ways, and meeting so many new people made me feel even younger.

When I caught COVID I felt physically old for a few weeks. And when I remember people and places now long gone it makes me feel old, as well as remembering how I did my job before computers. Also, while there is still so much "new-ness" to my job, I see the younger folk going through aspects of life and work for the first time that I have experienced many, many times...that makes me feel old. Also when I find out some young co-worker is the same age as my grand-kids it's a quick, reminder of my age.

freeranger

Just turned 73 and I notice that I feel different than 10 yrs ago or so, but I don't feel "old". My wife and I have both been lucky enough not to have any ongoing medical issues (she did have a malignant melanoma successfully removed-no further problems). Other than a statin I'm not on any medication. Still manage a decent workout at the gym 3 times a week and don't feel I've lost muscle tone as I've heard happens when one ages. Yes, I do notice I'm not as "spry" as 10 to 15 yrs ago, but far from feeling "old" Had no idea I'd feel so good in my 70s, wasn't what I envisioned when I was younger--just happy to feel this good and be this healthy!