Age vs. Cycling Ability

[tulip]

So my goal now is to keep at it consistently (however challenging it is to find the time to ride with 3 and 5 year olds), because I would hate to have to start from ground zero again in my mid-40s.

I found that fitting in two spinning classes per week, even one when time was really tight, helped maintain my fitness. If you end up having trouble getting out during the day, perhaps a spinning class will help (the father can watch the kids, or get a babysitter).

[cyclingmama]

I found that fitting in two spinning classes per week, even one when time was really tight, helped maintain my fitness. If you end up having trouble getting out during the day, perhaps a spinning class will help (the father can watch the kids, or get a babysitter).

Thanks Tulip! I actually started a spin class in January to get myself ready to get back on the bike in the spring. There is a gym 1/2 mile from my office that has a 45min spin class at noon on Tuesdays, so I do that on my lunch hour, even now. In the winter I also took an hour-long Saturday morning class, either leaving the kids home with DH or at the childcare at the gym. Now I ride Saturday mornings, and my daughter complains that she misses the "Kids Club" at the gym (and our visit to the gym pool that usually follows). The funny part is she recently asked me why I don't exercise anymore, b/c she views going to gym as exercise but going for a bike ride as playing.

sorry for the thread hijack . . .

[Southside Sally]

I just started cycling this year, and I am 47. I am up to 50 and 60 mile bike rides and will do the MS 150 in a few weeks. I ride twice a week, and my average is 14.3-15.5, depending on the length of the ride.

Having said this, I started out cycling in great shape from 20 years of weights and cardio. For me, it was simply a matter of learning to ride a road bike, getting my butt used to the saddle for long periods of time and tweaking my nutrition a bit.

[cyclinnewbie]

This has nothing to do with aging and sports, but is a bit relevant to the topic at hand. My inlaws are both in their 60's, and act as if they're older than dirt. They complain about their multitude of aches and pains, and the only activities they engage in are sitting in their house watching TV, and going out to eat. They have visited every restaurant in this county since they moved here 4 years ago. They are fat, and out of shape and OLD.

Contrast that to my 96 year old grandfather who is blind, who walks 5 miles a day, has a vast social network, has a multitude of interests (he is a GREAT fiddler, despite having lost a few of his fingers to various woodcutting accidents - yes, he was operating saws while BLIND), he continues to get up on his roof when it needs repairs, much to my dad's consternation, he just sold his sailboat because his sighted buddy who used to sail with him passed away last year. He is more active physically and mentally than a lot of 40 year olds I know.

Age ain't nothing but a number; a great deal of it is all about what's in your head. Sure, biology has A LOT to do with it, but I think attitude has more influence. Just my two cents....

[han-grrl]

I truly believe that age isnt a limitation

there are so many examples where people started "later" in life

http://www.srichinmoyraces.org/us/tr...g/seventyyears

the one runner started in her fifties...

and i found this little blurb
Ottinger has not always been the healthy, dedicated marathon runner that he is today. Once an amateur boxing champion and a fast-pitch softball player, Ottinger found himself overweight and with a severely enlarged heart at age 53. His doctor warned that if he did not begin exercising, he wouldn’t live much longer. Motivated by his love for his family, Ottinger began to run. Since his health scare, Ottinger has completed a variety of impressive feats, including climbing the Andes Mountains, jogging along the Great Wall of China and beating an aggressive form of prostate cancer.


yes it might take longer for the body to adapt, but it isn't impossible..

[Mr. Bloom]

I think we have two groups here:

• those who were athletic for much of their lives
• those who started later

Silver was never athletic and started running in her late 30's. Within 9 months, she did her first marathon and now she's coaching tri-athletes!

I was never athletic as a kid (I was the drum major in the band!). 18 months ago, Silver nearly killed me on a 9 mile ride. Last month, I rode across Indiana!

My only point in saying this...and in starting this thread...is to encourage people of 'wisdom and experience' to not sell themselves short and to allow themselves to benefit from thinking big.

This has been a fun thread for me to read, there's so much wise feedback from insightful people.

Thanks

[Grog]

I never bothered checking the reference, but a long time ago my cycling coach said something about a study in which they had discovered that a majority of former elite and pro cyclists had dropped out of cycling after stopping racing.

I see lots of older cyclists, but rarely are they former racers. Maybe those who start early and go really hard are less likely to get out there in their 50s, leaving a chance to all of us who are late-bloomers athletically speaking.

[Tuckervill]

I think we have two groups here:

• those who were athletic for much of their lives
• those who started later

Silver was never athletic and started running in her late 30's. Within 9 months, she did her first marathon and now she's coaching tri-athletes!

I was never athletic as a kid (I was the drum major in the band!). 18 months ago, Silver nearly killed me on a 9 mile ride. Last month, I rode across Indiana!

My only point in saying this...and in starting this thread...is to encourage people of 'wisdom and experience' to not sell themselves short and to allow themselves to benefit from thinking big.

This has been a fun thread for me to read, there's so much wise feedback from insightful people.

Thanks

+1!

I do have to say that there's a third category:

*those who were athletic as kids, put it aside, then found it again.

I was a cheerleader, softball player, volleyball player and generally active kid. I rode my bike everywhere I went from the time I learned at 4. Then I got married and had kids. My last bike ride before almost 5 years ago was when my oldest was about 6 weeks old. I put him in the backpack and took him for a spin. It was too cold, and I never rode with him again. He'll be 26 next week!

So a 20 year hiatus from athletics (I did play a season of co-ed softball or two, but it hurt), and I'm BAAACK!

I ran a whole mile at boot camp today, just because I decided to. The whole class gave me high-fives.

Karen