daoswald

I think your signature says you're 79. So yeah, if you were riding and in reasonably good shape at 50 you're probably going to be slower at nearly 80. But it's fantastic you're still in the race, so to speak.

When I turned 50 I weighed 212 pounds (I'm 6'3"). Getting out of a deep chair required a little push from my arms. I would get winded easily. As a software engineer, I spend a lot of time at a desk, and my body was fat and out of shape.

In April 2018 I set out to lose ten to twelve pounds. 200 seemed like a reasonable goal. And I set out to overcome this fear I had of not being able to get home after descending the 300 foot hill near my home that I have to descend pretty much no matter where I ride. The first time down the hill (and more importantly back up the hill) I was coughing and wheezing. I thought I had exercise induced asthma or something, and even got myself checked. Anyway, I kept riding.

In October the weather turned cold, and I had achieved about 2500 miles of riding, with rides up to 70 miles. My weight had dropped about 30 pounds, so instead of 212 I was 182. As the weather turned, I started hitting the gym, at first to keep up my cardio workouts, but later to layer in weight training. I started doing squats, dead lifts, and other really un-fun things. My weight continued to drop a little, settling around 178.

I turned 51 a couple days ago. At 51 I am 178 pounds, and suffer none of the issues I mentioned at the start of the thread. I'm stronger and healthier than I've been in a decade.

So yes, age is a factor, and we are all going to "age out" someday. But while we're here, staying fit is a huge factor for quality of life, and it's not too late for most of us to get there.