caloso

I think so. I'm under my HS graduation weight. BP and RHR are lower than when I was in my 20s. Don't take any meds or supplements other than magnesium during sweaty season. Liver function is great, which is amazing considering what I ran through it until my early 30s.

FrenchFit 

Now that you mention it, I recall my grandmother playing table tennis under a awning outdoor set-up in front of her garage, well into her 80s. Neighborhood kids would stop by all the time for a game and some ice tea. She was dynamite, though her lateral moment got a little slow the last few years.

Also...the noise drove the neighbors crazy.

DiabloScott

I don't know about keeping me young, but I know a lot of non-cyclists my age who look really old.

No medications and pretty healthy... with FitBit proof:

drlogik 

Any endurance exercise will keep you fit and trim provided you eat right. Cycling is one of the better forms of exercise for "mature" adults because it is non-impact. Hence I think people ride longer and get fitter. Looking fit and trim takes years off of a mature adult. That and dressing well off the bike rather than dressing like a 20-something.

rydabent

Pretty much my story also. I went to my 60th HS class reunion last year. What a bunch of old people. Im 78 and many people tell me that I appear to be in my late 50s. Good genes of course, but the bike and trike are keeping me in shape. Again------------if you set you rust.

SHBR

Its better than being sedentary.

There is always a risk of injury, balance and reflexes tend to diminish with age, recovery time takes longer.

As others have said, everything in moderation.

Gerryattrick

Impact exercise can be good, particularly for the older (and younger) person because of its benefits for bone density. That is why I like to vary the activities I do to include impact exercises.

FrenchFit 

I think we are going to find out in the coming years that high impact and high intensity work-outs are actually health and joint regenerative activities for older men, up to a point. There are a handful of studies that indicate this now, and a lot of head scratching. This 'low-impact' thinking might need to be re-thought.

'Use it or lose it', has been a good rule of thumb for me.

drlogik 

Gerry,

Define "older".

indyfabz

My key to living as long as I have (age 52) has been not dying. I could get hit by a bus walking home tonight.

wphamilton

I agree and personally I'm working towards that, but it is a challenge. I feel like I can't get enough running to build up my conditioning, if I'm waiting 2 or 3 days for the soft tissue to recover. It can be slow going, but I believe it's ultimately worth it.

baron von trail 

During my commute home last night on the MUP, I caught up to a guy, age 68. I was about an hour into my ride; he was just warming up. So, we hooked up for a while and had some conversation as we rode along. Eventually we ramped up to a nice clip, somewhere in the 18 to 20 mph range, into a stiff wind. We held it for about 10 miles.

I'm 54. I certainly hope to be able to ride like that at 68.

Gerryattrick

My age

MikeOK

I feel better both mentally and physically since I picked up riding again. On my days off the bike I feel noticeably worse, but at age 54 I know I need rest days. A good hard ride is better than a dose of medicine!

Piratebike

For me it is just one of the secrets to enjoying life. It does not stop me from getting older. It may increase my time here, but it is not why I ride.

PaulH

Yes. every time I get on my bike in the summer, I go through a time warp and it is 1961 and I am heading to the swimming hole. In thew winter, I'm transported to being home for Christmas vacation.

elocs

As a kid your bike is usually your first taste of freedom and independence, being able to go places further than you would usually walk and not depending upon someone to drive you where you wanted or needed to go.
I still live in the same city where I rode a bike 60 years ago and have gone past the house where I lived and can still envision riding his bike down the hill in front of the house.
Then when you become a teen and can drive you often don't want to have anything to do with a bike anymore but then some of us come full circle back to the bikes again when we are older. The great thing about "older" is that it is the carrot at the end of the stick that I never reach because to me, "older" is always greater than my age.

davester

Absolutely! I'm 63 and I ride about 100 miles a week. My weekend riding partners are mostly in their 40s, and the youngest just had his 30th birthday. Most of them ride modern carbon bikes but I still ride my 36 year old steel bike. I don't think about their age, I just try to stay up with them. Often (but not always) the young guys beat me to the top of the big hills, but usually we all ride together and the age/equipment differences are meaningless.

downtube42

Not really.

The inevitable effects of aging are exacerbated by inactivity, as well as other environmental factors. Inactive people are hastening things along, and we're not.

Back when Carl Lewis was a top sprinter, people claimed he accelerated in the last 10 yards. He didn't accelerate, he just didn't decelerate as much as the other guys.

Gerryattrick

When I was younger I used to play a lot of squash. Reasonable county league standard but nothing better.

I used to play a friend of mine a lot, beating him most of the time. At 60 I gave up squash because of joint problems. My friend kept on playing a lot, he's now 73. This year he was selected for our national over-70s squash team and has played tournaments in Germany and Switzerland. He looks as if he's about 60.

I believe it shows how important it is to keep on doing the exercise that you enjoy as long as you can.

cyclist2000

Cycling keeps me in shape, but I don't do any other exercise.

David Bierbaum

I was trying to use my bicycle to catch up with my long lost youth, but pedal as hard as I might, I still ended up being dropped before the finish line was even in view...

Mostly, I'm just trying to burn off that cholesterol to keep my arteries unclogged.

berner

Osteoarthritis Is Much More Common Now Than In Ancient Knees, Study Suggests : Shots - Health News : NPR
I saw this today which tends to confirm the notion of "use it or lose it". The evidence does not seem to be conclusive but the educated opinion of the investigators points to the work habits of modern life where we sit for hours and days year after year, being responsible of bad knees.

justtrying

It helps big time. 18 months ago my MD told me to lose weight because of my A1C count(7.5). With diet & riding the weight dropped to the weight I had in my twenties & my A1C was 5.9. Last week at my physical it was 5.7 And he said my resting HR was excellent. A guy I work with saw me riding a few times and said later that I look really happy when I am riding. That says it all

zonatandem

Ask me when I get older!!!


Currently 84 years old with 300-thousand+ miles ridden; a quarter million miles of them with my wife/stoker on our tandem. But she's only 82!
Yup, going out TWOgether tomorrow.
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem