New Older Cyclists

[pyxichick]

I've taken up cycling at the age of 36. (I'm amused at the idea of starting a sport at the master level.) I'm not completely new to physical activity, as I've been a nordic skier for several years, but I feel like my body is still adjusting to cycling.

I'm out there riding 100+ miles a week, try to train smart with varied workouts etc., but I still get smoked by the 25 year olds on my rides. I'm not sure if it's their youth or cycling experience that beats me.

I'm interested in doing some races, but wonder if I'll ever have the potential to be competitive, based on my late start.

I'd like to hear about other women's experiences with starting a new sport later in life.

[DeniseGoldberg]

Older? Late in life? To me, 36 doesn't qualify for either of these labels. I don't consider myself "older" or "late in life", and at 54 I'm almost 20 years older than you.

As far as your speed goes, some people are naturally faster than others - I suspect it's experience and not your age that is letting others pass you.

--- Denise

[SadieKate]

I'm trying to compute "older" and "36."

[mimitabby]

yeah, me too! my "real age" on that health test is 45 BECAUSE i'm biking.
I'm going to be 55 in November. I was all excited, wanting to read about some 66 year old gal who just got onto a bike for the first time.

having said that;

You're not older, you're about middle of the road. And why not bike? It's low impact aerobic exercise...

have fun.

[SadieKate]

Ok, now for a more thoughtful answer (and on a Friday!). Last night's insomnia reading (let's talk about "older" ), was Joel Friel's Cyclist's Training Bible. He feels that anyone just taking up cycling with the dream of racing needs to spend a year just riding. Their bodies need to adapt to the motion and stresses, etc., of cycling before they start to train for racing. That was very badly paraphrased, but I think it is the same thing Denise is saying. It takes experience and muscle memory and a whole bunch of other things to become competitively fast. If those 25 year olds have been training since juniors, you have a long way to go, baby. Just don't give up. Do some reading, get a coach, train smart.

[SadieKate]

Mimi, my friend Marty went from 0 to 100 at age 65. She started cycling in July 2005 and in June 2006 rode her first century at the Little Red Riding Hood in Utah. She wasn't 66, but is 65 close enough?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Older?? ....36 is like being a kid just out of the starting gate!

Lisa- 52 and just hittin' my stride...

[Trek420]

Older? Older? Bwaaaahaha I need another cup of coffee now and to clean the screen Thanks

Somewhere here there's a thread "over 40 show of hands" which changed to "over 50 show of hands" here:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...ghlight=oldest

and suspect we'll need "over 60..." etc soon, sure hope so

Trek-I'm 50 but it is the new 30-420

[Squeaky]

I've taken up cycling at the age of 36. (I'm amused at the idea of starting a sport at the master level.) I'm not completely new to physical activity, as I've been a nordic skier for several years, but I feel like my body is still adjusting to cycling.

I'm out there riding 100+ miles a week, try to train smart with varied workouts etc., but I still get smoked by the 25 year olds on my rides. I'm not sure if it's their youth or cycling experience that beats me.

I'm interested in doing some races, but wonder if I'll ever have the potential to be competitive, based on my late start.

I'd like to hear about other women's experiences with starting a new sport later in life.

Sounds like we have the same goals. I'm "old" too at 39 (I guess that makes me older than dirt) and just started. I think you had a valid question about whether or not it's silly to consider racing as a goal, since you're just starting out "at your age." But really, how cool is that?? I know we're still spring chickens in the scheme of things, but it doesn't always feel that way.

Anyway, the thought of being fit enough and good enough to race one day really gets me motivated. Sadie Kate had some good ideas. It's definitely a long term goal and one that I'll reevaluate after at least a year. In the meantime, I think it's great and you should go for it!

Um, did you say master level? Oy! Talk about making someone feel old. And don't think about those 25 year olds... if you don't ever catch them, that's okay, and if you do... teehee....

[Trek420]

pyxichick, you may be our new Jeannie Longo.

TE gals, isn't she still competing? She still makes riders not even born when she started to race suffer, she's 2 years younger than me? IE; decrepit

As she says ~

"Everyone is trying to put me out to pasture. Maybe I just haven't found the right field yet," -- Longo-Ciprelli

[pyxichick]

Thanks for the responses, and I deserve some of that criticism for my bad choice of words.

I'm sorry, I didnt' mean to imply that anyone is decrepit
And by "older" I just mean relative to others I've met who are new to cycling.

[RoadRaven]

Hey there Pyxi

You should not compare yourself with senior women's levels.

You may be faster than some women either older and younger than you in training or recreational cycling, but if you are thinking competitively, then dont compare yourself with women in their 20s who are "at their peak" as far as age goes.

The sad truth is that the further we move away from 30/35, the further we move away from the potential we might have had in our 20s.

Compare yourself to the same age categories for guidance as to what is realistic to achieve and revel in being the best you can be.

I started cycling 2 years ago, and started competitively in March this year. I will never know what I might have achieved as a cyclist in my 20s, but man am I setting my goals high for what I can achieve alongside women within a ten year age span around me.

[velogirl]

Hey there Pyxi

You should not compare yourself with senior women's levels.

You may be faster than some women either older and younger than you in training or recreational cycling, but if you are thinking competitively, then dont compare yourself with women in their 20s who are "at their peak" as far as age goes.

Compare yourself to the same age categories for guidance as to what is realistic to achieve and revel in being the best you can be.

Unfortunately, in the United States, with rare exception, all women race together by category, not by age. So, she will be competing with women younger (and older) than her.

Women's racing is pretty diverse in this country. There are certain parts of the country (CA, CO, NY) where there are lots of women racers and there are separate races for separate categories. In CA, it's not unusual to race in a full field of 50 women. In other parts of the country, there might be one women's race for Pro through beginner and only 10 women show up.

Occassionally, you'll find a master's women's race (usually 35+). Even in CA, where we have tons of women racing, we don't see this very often. It's more common at District and National Championships, where you can race against your peers in 5-year age groups. The other exception is the rare mtn bike with age categories.

Now, back to your original question. You're not too old. Most women don't even begin to ride until their 30s. And then it takes 3-5 years to hit your potential. And yes, the 20 year olds are tough to beat, but you can be a successful bike racer into your 40s. In mass start races (crits and road races), being smart can win races just as much as being young/fit.

Give it some time. Train smart, learn everything you can, ride with groups, take a clinic, watch some races, and compete when you're ready.

[Mimosa]

This year (at the age of 32), after a decade of not cycling due to other commitments (work, relation, house etc), I started it all up again. I was so fed up with the fact that I was slowly gaining weight and having a poor health level.

That training really got me into the spirit again, up to the level that I am currently doing 150-200 miles a week. For next year I want to have a go (again) at competition riding. Luckely I found a team nearby which is of mixed age so I can start at club level with the team and gradually work my way up to the elite level. Which is going to pretty hard since that is a very high competition level. Still, you got to have goals in life. I will be one of the 'older' galls in that highest competition but over the last couple of years some of the 'oldies' have returned to the competition and proven to be able to defeat the youngsters.

My advice would also to just cyle for a year long and gradually increase distance and speed to slowly gain strength and technical skils. Riding offroad is also good to improve steering qualities. What you can do in that same year is to look for entrance level races near you and at first just look at how racing goes. And see if you can find a team to join, girls already driving can learn you the required race driving skills (how to I attack a curve, driving in a group, using the other driver to sit out of the wind etc) and race tactics.

[RoadRaven]

Unfortunately, in the United States, with rare exception, all women race together by category, not by age. So, she will be competing with women younger (and older) than her.

Yeah... we race by ability at club level, so my grade at Ramblers ranges from 15 - 60+, both men and women.

The club champs are graded by age and gender; under 15, under 17, senior, then the vet categories.

Our club races all the vet women together (because there is not usually a big turnout for the champs by women, though this year it was bigger than usual) so I raced against women last weekend aged from 35 up.

At National level it BikeNZ sticks to what I thought was international categories defined by age... I didn't realise that the USA didn't categorise people by age - thats very unfair.