I started riding at 47, almost 48. I did ride a lot as a kid, though, until I moved to Florida at age 16. Although I was fit and was a fitness instructor for 10 years before I started riding, I had never really done any outdoor activity, at least any more than taking a stroll in the woods or sitting on a beach chair. And I definitely have some coordination issues. I wish I had started seriously riding at a younger age, as I think i might have had the potential to be really fast! I've had my ups and downs since I started riding, with illness and chronic muscular things, but I am a lot more confident now. I think I would have had a lot more fears in my 20s/30s, as what I am doing now was so far out of my frame of reference; when I actually started both my DH and one of my kids had been riding/racing for a couple of years, so I had some familiarity with the stuff.