The thread about not getting old until we stop exercising triggered a thought that might be motivational for some people who have trouble getting on the bike...
I'm 64, and have been active all my adult life. Started running when I got home from Vietnam at 24, and except for the occasional burnout month off, ran 40-60 miles most weeks until I was in my mid-40s, when knee and ankle problems made it hard to continue. I switched to cycling (which I'd done casually for years) and rode year round (a lot more in summer than winter, but still year-round) until two years ago.
With modest mileage (modest on average--some weeks I did 250 miles, some weeks only 25) I kept my weight, blood pressure, glucose and all that other stuff where it should be.
Two years ago I was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis. MG can be serious, but I haven't shown any symptoms except double vision and ptosis (drooping eyelids, now under control). I never did lose strength, but the vision problems made it hard to ride safely, so for most of the last couple of years I've avoided it (usual story--"I'll make up for it walking," but walking is boring and I usually didn't). By May of this year, I'd gained 30 pounds, 30 points on my BP and cholesterol and 20 on my glucose. I'd gone from a fairly healthy middle-aged guy to an old man in just over a year.
With some med adjustment and encouragement from my doc, I've been back on the bike since May. I still have occasional double vision, but my brain has learned to compensate for it, so I can drive fine and ride pretty comfortably. I'm doing about half the miles I used to, but my weight's down 20 pounds, BP down from 160/110 to 116/65, total cholesterol 132 and glucose in the 80s. NOTHING has changed except the exercise--I'm still eating a little too much junk, but now I can get away with it. And I feel so much better every day it's hard to believe.