Road Cycling - calling all speed demons

everyone loves to go fast. but what happens if there becomes a day when you can't go fast anymore? would it diminish your love of cycling? do you cycle exclusively to either train to break your PR's or to actively persue your speed goals?
am also curious to hear from others who are currently seeing the downside of the mph battle.

I am in my mid 50's and I sure can't push the gears that I did in my 20's or 30's or even mid 40's. I started slowing down in my late 40's, but my endurance is still there . I have no trouble doing 100 mile rides but at a slower pace.I just love being on the bike under my own power. If I want to go fast I get on my motorcycle as bicycles never have satisfied my need for speed, they are slow vehicle no matter how strong you are.

A national class teenager once asked me if I didn't wish all roads were downhills. I said no, I wished all roads were uphills. Most of our competitive strategies would still work, but at 12mph (or whatever), accident severity would be much reduced. After I had explained, he agreed.

Well i know a vet racer in the club i'm in..he's such an inspiration to me and a thoroughly nice bloke to boot..72 years old and racing this season..reached elite level in his youth and could have turned pro...He still goes like the clappers !..Suppose staying clear of serious injury throughout the years and looking after his body helps..I'd love to be even half as good as he is when i reach his age :)

Before I moved back to my hometown, I was a member of a cycling club where 2 members were pros. One is the clubs official coach. He would put us in a training schedule and teach us how to spin, climb and sprint the "right" way. He was the more talented of the two winning 2 stages on his last tour, before he retired.

He is about 50 now, and still no one of us could match his sprint....

If there was a day where I could no longer able to go fast it would NOT diminish my love of cycling.

I would slow down a bit and enjoy the scenary(sp?) instead of worrying about how fast im going and whether or not I could catch the guy on the $5,000 bike that just passed me.

If there was a day where I could no longer able to go fast it would NOT diminish my love of cycling.

I would slow down a bit and enjoy the scenary(sp?) instead of worrying about how fast im going and whether or not I could catch the guy on the $5,000 bike that just passed me.

Yea I like that philosophy you know when the time comes the time comes and you just go with it...

I was thinking (from a previous conversation with friends who don't ride fast) while decending an absolutly beautiful twisty turning 7 mile decent yesterday and leaning into graceful curves and arches that there are some people who will never know how great the speed is b/c they fear it or lack the confidence to go that fast, truly a shame. I'll wait till later in life to slow down and of course maintain a level of safety that I'm comfortable with.

I'm 65 and can no longer hold the 20mph range by myself - don't mind drafting a bit. It is all relative, the wind in the face the effort to move along at a reasonable clip,THE BIKE, etc.. Besides I have a hill that once in a while (with a tail wind) I can still top 50mph and that gets the endorphins (sp) moving. It is alot like sailing - 10 knots in a power boat sucks - try it into a good stiff breeze, with your butt hanging over the rail, and you feel like you are going 60. Keep riding, you'll never know your slowing down.

Not being able to ride fast would diminish my love of cycling. It's always been about speed. I'm unable to truly enjoy riding without it.

Heck - I can't go fast now, and I like it!

After my last two rides, I'm a confirmed wind junkie. Not so much when it is with me, but now when it is against. I don't care about the speed right now. I care about beating the wind. Refusing to stop spinning. There is a perverse pleasure I've found in the pain inherent in battling the wind. Having said that, the absence of wind doesn't lessen the pleasure of riding!

I'm with ya MacMan! I like fighting the wind a lot. I get the same "perverse pleasure".
But right now I'm finding the same pleasure in steep hills. When I get to the tops I'm so pumped I feel like I can rip a tree out of the ground. :D 45 and lovin it!
As far as speed, me and the wife were sitting at a popular bar overlooking the river Sunday, watching the jetskis playin around and she says, "let's buy one". :eek: .... :D Well I'm a sucker for speed and horsepower, so my weak kneed response was, "Sure! LET'S GO!" So now I have a Yamaha XLT1200 sittin in my driveway waiting for me to get off of work today.
I know, I could've bought a couple really nice bikes with that money, but she ain't all that into it. That's OK, my present bike serves me very well.

I am soon to be 43 and I don't notice the reduction in speed/power so much as I do the time it takes me to recover. My focus has always been to enjoy myself more than performance, so "getting slower" isn't that much of an issue with me. Don't get me wrong, I don't like getting dropped and when the competitive juices start flowing I don't get dropped. I consistently ride with a group of guys that are at least 5-10 years younger and the fastest/strongest rider in our group is 44. That guy has the fire to blow anyone away even on his worst days!

I'm not sure if I like the speed better, or the competition. Probably the competition, since I do tris also and I sure can't run very fast! :D So, when I'm older, I'll be fine as long as there are still a couple of guys I can try to drop on the hills!

I know a number of guys in their 50s who can still turn up the heat so I'm not too worried. I figure I still have another 20+ years before I need to worry about slowing down.

My dad is now in his late 60s and moved to a Rivendell a number of years back. Loves to ride, just takes his time. I hope I'm the same way in 30...

I train and work to ride fast. If you want to find me, look for the guy that looks like he's working way too hard to be having fun - that's me. I do enjoy the work and measuring my progress. I enjoy, and even look forward to, going slow on the days I allocate for it, but I'm not sure I'd like that to be every day.

It's a good question that only time will answer for me.