TL;DR (Too Long, Didn't Read)
Are you still able to ride in an aero position (Position 1 and 2 in the diagram below)? If so, how old are you? Do you stretch and do core exercises?
The Long Story
As the image below shoes, Posture 1 and Posture 2 are the preferred position for being aerodynamic while riding a road bicycle. As we all know, to be fast, aerodynamics are key and body position plays a bigger role in aerodynamic efficiency that just about any aero bike or bike parts do. When a rider is young and potentially stronger and more flexible, these riding position are quite common and usually involves having a "slammed stem" on the bike to allow the rider to stay in a low position with a horizontal back. As a rider ages, he/she often migrates more towards the Position 5, gradually replacing one's aero road bike with a more leisure bike that allows for a very up-right and very un-aerodynamic riding position. This makes me sad (I.e., it makes me sad that people feel obligated to by recreational bicycles instead of race bikes due to the stiffness and muscle loss that is a part of aging.)
I am currently 46 years of age with "50" being my next major age milestone. In my experience, I was starting to migrate towards a Position 3 riding style simply because I wasn't doing any stretching or core exercises to keep my upper body strong. I used to think that stretching was unnecessary as long as I "warmed-up" at the beginning of a ride to avoid injury. However, due to some nagging lower back pain that was lasting the better part of a year, I started doing daily stretching and regular upper-body exercises in the Winter of 2019 and am still doing them.
Thankfully, I got my lower back pain under control and as an added bonus, I've found that I am once again able to ride in Position 1 and 2. I have my road bike setup with a nearly "slammed stem" and as of right now, it's working well for me. Also note that I do have an endurance bike (2020 Trek Domane), so that has also helped me feel better on each ride but probably doesn't allow me to go as low as a pure race bike would. As of the last month or so, I've been able to do solo 60+ mile rides with regular frequency and feel really good when I'm done. This is something I wasn't able to do decades ago, so I'm super excited that I'm still able to ride like I want to without all the pain!
My concerns is whether or not riding in Position 1 or 2 is possible
throughout my entire life (like in my 60's, 70's, 80's, and beyond?!?!?!) with proper stretching and upper body exercise, or is aging and stiffness inevitable and it's only a matter of time before I'll be looking for a more up-right bicycle?!?!
