Faster IS possible
 

The older I get it seems like last year's best rides are nearly impossible to match or beat. Going back three or four years - impossible - until yesterday. In winter I ride paved trail around Lake Okeechobee and have several Strava segments - one is five miles. Best effort was five years ago. Until yesterday. I beat five year old best time by ONE SECOND.

Nice!

:thumb: Hmmm... Never too old. :50:

I've only been on Strava for about 3 1/2 years of logging most of my rides. Usually offline, and in the background, so I generally don't see segments pop up unless I know about them.

According to https://www.strava.com/athlete/calendar, 200+ "PRs" last year, mostly JRA PRs, and not too fast, although I did pick up one short flatish KOM last summer.

I hit my fastest ever commute from my house to Mom's house last year, with the first 15 miles averaging just over 20 MPH, then dropped down slightly for that last mile :(

This year, so far, only 5 PRs :( Hopefully I'll stag a few more shortly. I am hoping a faster bike will help for some of my faster PRs that I've pounded on in the past (didn't push on them much last year). :) I have a couple of KOMs to take back. :giver:

Extra points for dong that in the winter!

Older but wiser and faster.

I bet most of us have a lot of untapped potential, even past 50. If going faster is important to you, and you are willing to do what it requires, it is possible.

Well done.
"Faster" is possible over last season or so with good control of rider weight, a solid base of endurance miles followed by dedicated power and speed work.
That being said if compared with times on the same course in similar condition from seasons > a decade ago while following the same training regimen for years..........

60 is not the "new 40"......as the TT clock will prove.
That being said, what else can we do but keep at it, with the occasional "victory" to savor? :thumb:

-Bandera

you ever see any critters on the path around the lake?

Congrats on the 1 second improvement. The faster speed must have been the reason for the boom-boom I heard. :D

For many out there as you age, there is still a possibility for improvement. For some of us, it is not possible no matter how hard we try. Whether conscientiously attempting or resulting by happenstance, I tip my hat for a ride well done.


Much of Florida's winter can be better than much of the USA's summer. 112 wonderful miles for me in SW FL yesterday and more tomorrow following today's rain.

One bald eagle couple days ago, vultures, snakes, possums and racoons. If I look hard I can usually see a gator in the canal on the land side of the dike.

Probably true...

But, I doubt the Tour de France is in my future...

Unless it is with a rack and panniers.

In my case, I had ridden pretty consistently in the past, but probably around 1000 or 2000 miles a year. I've increased that significantly since turning 49 or 50, and I don't think I've quite hit my peak yet.

Our tandem team age is 142 and we get Strava PRs on most of our weekly group rides, probably because we never try for them. Sometimes we're simply faster somewhere. And some days we really are faster, period. We've been riding routes in this area only for ~10 years and have become a better tandem team during that time, so I suppose no great surprise.

Faster compared to whom?

If you want to know what fast is, try dropping strong cyclists half your age.

No way I'll be as fast as my younger self.

I don't bother trying anymore, the potential for injuries keeps me from exploring any "untapped potential".

Faster compared with one's self yesterday or the day before or the day before that or last year or two years ago or . . . Never give up. The way to keep doing it is to keep doing it. At rest stops on long event rides, youngers often ask me, "How do you do it?" Yeah, because I'm there in the rest stop with them and ahead of a few hundred of their peers. The foregoing is my reply. There's always a way to train and/or ride smarter, because one can't keep training harder. Never had an injury on the bike that I couldn't fix by training smarter.

There are some days when all the stars line up and one has a great ride.

Feeling good. Good wind. Late for an appointment. Whatnot.

I find the only way that I can keep my speed up is to keep a speedometer visible.

Perhaps I could do an all-out effort on 1 mile or less without the speedo. But any longer, I'd need goals and pacing myself.

So, for example, shooting for 20 MPH average.

I think of my rides as being highly variable in speed, but I have a few sprint segments that I have pretty tight clusters of ride times at the top of the list.

Anyway, if 20 MPH is pushing it for a cyclist. And, one sets one's goal for 20 MPH, it wouldn't be surprised to beat one's old time by a single second.

Of course, I have a local 11 mile RT out and back challenge ride. Pacing can be tough, with a small hill at about the 1/3 place (out and back), and a gentle climb approaching the turn-around. And, perhaps wind.

Like this? (Spoiler: I didn't get away. The kid who won the race was a third my age actually. He won the Juniors 15-18 and the Cat 3 race here. )


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...60f0afb212.jpg

I'm not saying that it wasn't a good effort. But, there are those days when everything goes just right, which led to my fastest cross-town commute last summer. Good weather, good lights, good wind (head/cross wind for part, and tail wind for part),

More often, I'll get out... all ready to hammer a segment. Do a little warmup, then get 1 or 2 miles into the segment, and realize that it just isn't the right day.

Fair and accurate.

I agree, its ALWAYS better to ride smarter rather than harder.

Crashing was a normal part of this process when I was younger, recovery time was measured in hours, rather than weeks as well.

I still like to ride, just more sensibly, there is a point where the risk isn't worth the reward.

Nice!

If you crash, those kids will be laughing at you though.

If they crash, its just part of the learning experience. ;)

They can also be a liability, best of luck to you.