Fifty Plus (50+) - Cycling at 50 vs cycling at 25

Today it became apparent a startling difference between cycling at 50 and cycling at 25.

I’ve been riding quite a bit lately and am on pace to log just over 3,000 miles this year. I’ve lost a lot of weight and have toned up considerably, ridden three centuries and rode RAGBRAI start to finish. Last week I decided to increase the intensity of my rides and have been riding every day, 30 or more miles per day at one or two miles per hour faster than usual.

Today I got on the bike for some hill training. From the very beginning my legs were dead and I felt like I had no energy. I was out of the saddle frequently, something I almost never do when I climb. I had no power on the flats and I was coasting down hills instead of peddling in a big gear. Then something happened that would have never happened when I was 25.

I turned the bike around and headed home.

It was an odd feeling “giving up” on a ride without feeling any guilt at all. I guess it’s true that with age comes wisdom, at least in a modest amount for most of us. I think I’ll have a martini to celebrate.

Even God rested on the 7th day.

I turned the bike around and headed home.

It was an odd feeling “giving up” on a ride without feeling any guilt at all. I guess it’s true that with age comes wisdom, at least in a modest amount for most of us. I think I’ll have a martini to celebrate.

Amen Brother. With age comes wisdom. Theres always tomorrow.



But cut your riding down. Even the professionals need rest days.

Even God rested on the 7th day.

wasn't that the day AFTER he made women? :)

You done wore your body plumb out!

It even happens to 25 year-olds.

In training, rest is your best friend. Overtraining Syndrome is a real phenomena. You may not have classic overtraining, but you may be headed that way.

Check out this article.

http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/overtraining.html

"Physiologic improvement in sports only occurs during the rest period following hard training."

wasn't that the day AFTER he made women? :)

I think you guys have it all wrong.
Here's the proper quote; "God made Man and rested, God made Woman, and no one has rested since"

Jeff, still fat

As in any sport I have tried, whether young or old, there are those days. As a baseball pitcher there were days my fastball would move sharply. Other days the only sharp movement it had was coming back at me off the bat. Give it up on those days and take an early shower.

One of the advantages of age is realizing there is nothing macho about pain. A martini and a nap cures everything.

a martini and a nap cures everything.

+1

Make mine a "desert martini." Bombay and ice! Don't get no drier than that!

Don't ride hard every day - you are sure to have an injury. I take at least 2 rest days/week - may just ride 15 real easy miles or not at all. You will find that your next hard riding day you will do even better. I'll take that cold Corona or a G&T thank you very much!

5 days a week is plenty of training. You can even keep the total mileage per week the same, and you will still get better than riding 7 days per week

[QUOTE=snaproll;7528553]Today it became apparent a startling difference between cycling at 50 and cycling at 25.
You've discovered the first principle of physical training for any activity. It will take you twice as long to reach a a suitable level of fitness at 50 than it would at 25.

Some days you just don't have it. Dosen't matter if you are 50 or 25 ------ got to have those rest and recover days too. Lp

You have done some great training this year. But never forget that recovery is the most important part of training. The 913 miles I rode in July was my most ever in a month, and my body was telling me to ease off, which I did. Yours is telling you that now, and you are wise to listen.

You can take comfort in the fact that most 25 year old's do not have the endurance that 50 year old's have. We may not cover the ground quite as fast but on many group rides the youngins bail out early.

Last Sunday the youngest rider that showed up for a tough 60 miler the youngest to show was 52 years old.

At 50 a rider thinks its now or never. At 60 eveything now seems a bit different.

At the start of our group ride last night one of the riders said that he thought that he was going to have a hard time due to only riding 40 miles in the last 8 days due to power failure and damage to his home form Ike's winds. He's a new rider, about 45 yrs old, got his first road bike Memorial Day, but is very strong and has been able to stay with the A group on most rides. The rest did him good as he was a demon on hills and spent most of the the ride at or near the front of the group, it was his best ride of the season.

I'd rather die than give up on a ride, myself. But at 55, if I find I'm a little tired or worn out on any given day, once I'm already out on the bike, I just ride at a more moderate pace, that's all. Nine times out of 10, I seem to get a second wind a bit later in the ride anyway. I do give myself at least one rest day per week, maybe two.

But I do think that most people our age (or even younger), would do well to think of themselves as cyclotouristes rather than as racers in training.

:thumb::beer:Remember, what we used to do all night long now takes us all night long to do. Just wait till you get 67 and try to start riding again. To be 25-30 again and know what I know now. If I new I was gonna live this long I would have started riding earlier.:50:

Pop's

I do a charity ride every year which is quite strenuous (450 miles over 4 1/2 days, through Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine). A few years ago I was riding many of those miles alongside a gentleman 15 years my senior (tip of my hat to you Steve). In any event, we were in the middle of a long gentle climb, telling jokes and talking when we were passed by a pair of 25 year olds. I immediately reacted by starting to pick up my pace, and Steve gently said to me - 'calm down, when you are passed by someone half your age - that is how it is supposed to be'. We continued the climb at our pace.