Originally Posted by Carbonfiberboy

There are things you can do to help. Practice helps. Take your shoes and socks off while standing. Brush your teeth while standing on one leg, different leg on alternate days. Practice standing one one leg with your eyes closed. Walk on narrow stuff whenever you see a convenient practice item, curbs, walls, RR tracks, etc. The problem is a loss of priopreception. Google priopreception exercises. Ride your bike slowly around a parking lot, making sharp turns at low speed. Try to ride a precise circle several times in the same path. Etc.

But yes, one's balance among many other things does decay with age. Eventually, maybe 90s, it's going to get dangerous to ride. But for now, just like everything else, we can fight back against the effects of aging with training.

At 72 I still descend aggressively but a little slower than I used to. Not that I feel unsafe, but rather I know I might break a little easier so I back it off a hair. One injury can ruin your whole season. At my age, losing a season is very serious business.