backinthesaddle

on the bike.

Don't know how many of you subscribe to RoadBikeRider.com, but here's an interesting article from today's newsletter (1/22/09).

https://www.roadbikerider.com/#DISPATCH

stapfam

I got to know this after a layoff for about 6 months at 52. I may not have had the speed that I used to have- but distance was still not a problem. Stamina and endurance improved- but those youngsters could still pull away from me for the first 50 miles of a ride. After that - I never saw them so couldn't say how slow (Or fast) they still were.

cyclezen

nuttin personal, but I wanna read the actual study paper.
Come on
flower-pickin, glossy interpretation by some other olde pharte does, in no way, provide sound evidence that old people have MORE endurance than a similarly trained much younger person.
I can accept that proportional to what happens as we age, 'endurance' fades less quickly than 'quick power'( and would subjectively attest to that...). But to say Old phartes have MORE endurance is gonna take a lot more solid evidence than some 'pronouncement' without accompanying data which can be scrutinized for quackitoode...
I mean, come on...

patentcad

All I can say is that I seem to feel stronger relative to the pack in the races I do when they are over 40 miles long, I actually seem to get into a better rhythm in the last few circuits/last 45 mins. I'm in the 35+, I was 50 last year racing against mostly 35-45 year old men. I think has more to do with the fact that I ride more miles than 95% of those guys than anything else (12K+ annually).

cyclezen

juice!

:-)

but seriously, its a wonderous thing that you ride 35+. really
but I would be more willing to give you more intelligence in how you use your resources, how you ride and knowing yourself - in reachin the line in better shape than many of the 'younger' guyz. And yes, if you're doin more quality miles than them, that will certainly account for a lot.
sayin that you;re smarter, more focused, and better able to dose out the effort seems a lot more likely at the moment than "old have more endurance than young'
wow, if that were true, I can't wait to hit 7-oh...

cccorlew

That's why really old people win the Tour de France, most marathons, and every Iron man.

NOS88

The referenced article lost me as someone who thought it might be credible as I read: "The January 2009 issue of Exercise and Sports Sciences Reviews investigates the entire world's literature to show that endurance improves as you age." This simply can't be an accurate statement. Hence, any other claims made are subject to an evaluation of their accuracy. I agree with Cyclezen on this one. I'd like to read some of the actual studies on the issue. While we (the collective 50+ posters) may want to feel good about ourselves, let not become stupid in the process.

Randochap

Well the abstract says:We're not told what those "conditions" might be, but perhaps they are the actual cauldron of competition or event.

For instance, the median age of entrants to Paris-Brest-Paris 1200 km marathon is 50.

In my position as randonneur route coordinator (and "recruiter") I see very few young riders who stick with the sport. Sure, you'll get plenty of young 'uns who turn out for a 200k and put in impressive times, but that drops off dramatically for anything 300k and over. Some will claim that's because marathon cycling is "boring" but it's much more likely that younger riders aren't cut out for rides of this sort -- which require feats of extreme endurance, with little rest.

Frankly, I've never been sure if that's due to mental attitude, physiological adaptations - which this study seems to support -- or a combination. Certainly, life experience, for some, tempers the mettle. But this study appears to back up a feeling I have that I'm getting better at endurance as I age (now closing on 57).

Here's their original proposal