1000 watts? Mark me down in the “no way” column. Maybe 800 if I worked at it. That would be over 13 w/kg for this featherweight.

I can, if properly motivated. Evidently, getting buzzed by a driver and chasing them down qualifies.

Well I did manage to out sprint a dog in hot pursuit. Only heard the clacking of claws rapidly gaining on me so I gave it my all. Another time, tried the same but the medium sized dog was faster than me in an out of the saddle sprint. I looked back to see how close he was and he was running along side me at 28 MPH. He ran along side for about a quarter mile and got bored and went home. No teeth, no biting, just having fun.

I think the last time I sprinted was a few hours after eating a bad burrito.
I wasn't on the bike, thankfully.

Semi-related, I was watching a video regarding, "Why old people can't jump". Long-story-short, you don't use it, you lose it... If one doesn't actively work on muscles required for things like jumping and sprinting, don't be surprised when you try to jump or sprint one day and nothing happens. :eek: As mentioned by a few previous posters, sprinting on a bike may need to be something you have in reserve in case Fido decides your calf muscles look like a tasty treat!

Maybe that’s why I can’t do one pull up.

A couple of years ago, getting out of the saddle and powering up a short climb was a ‘no can do’ or a very short ‘do’. I have been working on sprinting up short ones whenever possible and it has made a significant difference. I now can do it but the major obstacle is running out of air rather than power. But then, no air, no power. Nonetheless, I am happy with the result of being persistent and pushing myself. It just goes to show that even after 70, one can still improve, which should give most of us hope.

Just looked up max watts (what’s?) on Garmin and it said 848 last year prolly for a nano-second. But a win is a win. I’ll be damned if I could remember where or why or being chased by a grizzly.

Yep - but I weigh in at 185#'s +.

1 second 1148
5 second 1077
10 second 964

All on different days, and without really trying. I'm afraid to really give it the beans as they say. I've broken chains, its not fun.

If I trained hard at it, really focused on it and worked on technique - 1400+ would be achievable.

But instead I focus on FTP and my paltry W/KG. Trying to make my sprinter body into a climber...

74 old male.
700 is all I can do now.

All this talk about sprinting watts reminds me of why I never bought a power meter and don't intend to... I don't need to watch my watts decline every year. :o

PoorInRichfield Okay, this thread has stuck in my head for four months, and I have tried sprinting quite a few times during my daily bike commutes to the office, and while they are still slow and brief, they are improving slightly. The main thing for me is that the sprints aren't destroying me. I have been keenly aware that my overall strength and quickness has been slowly declining since turning 61, but my stamina seems to be holding together. (I rode 64 miles for my 64th birthday last month.)

But the main thing I wanted to mention is that this thread you started has me thinking "SPRINT!" occasionally which I then attempt.

So thank you!

These days my sprints usually involve an unleashed dog suddenly appearing, the silent ones really get the heart rate going...

Well it was sometime around 2023 before the knee replacements. I had a few issues with the quads quitting to fire when I sprinted and I'd flop to the side. So I stopped for safety reason. I'm hoping this year to get back at them as other issues get resolved and I'm cleared to ride again.

I bought a new bike - an ebike - last month, and I find that my riding style is different than my regular bikes. On those, I always stand on the pedals and sprint from stoplights to get my speed up. In fact, years ago I came across a guy while commuting and rode with him for a while. He commented that he had never seen someone do that. I'm like, I just want to get up to speed as fast as possible so I can spin again. I would also stand to do short steep stretches of a climb (sort of counts as a sprint? My heart certainly thinks so!).

But on this new ebike I find that I am doing much more seated starting and climbing. Part of it is that the gear ratios are much different from the triple that I am used to riding. This is a 1x, 8-speed. I'm thinking I would like three more gears, between 2-3, 4-5, and maybe 6-7 ( haven't figured out the exact ratios yet). But I find that when I do stand or try to sprint, I run out of resistance, so to speak, and I end up just sitting back down.

I may ride my road bike on Friday, so I will let you know if I can still sprint. :)

Today. 30 seconds at 388 Watts. Plus maxed out the VO2 max scale for dottering old men.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ca4b57493.jpeg

You're welcome and thank you for letting me know my post stuck in your brain. :D

One thing I've learned about my own health is that a new habit should usually start with "baby steps", just like you're doing. If you haven't sprinted in a long time, a short sprint here and there is a good way to let your body know that it's going to have to adapt to this new habit... and given enough time and consistency, it will. I think there's a general misconception that just because we're getting older that we can't do things like sprint... when the reality is that we can't sprint because we often stop trying and the ability fades away.

That's all the more reason to practice sprinting... If you don't, your calf muscles could end-up being a snack for Fido :eek:

I did this a few times over the summer... I.e., sprint away from stops and got up to cruising speed as fast as I could rather than just gradually getting back up to speed. In doing so, my average speed increased +1 MPH, which is crazy! Nothing else I've ever done while riding the same routes has increased my average speed that much.

Not sure what app you use, but it must feel good to feel "SUPERIOR" :D "Your fitness age is 20"... what the!?!?!?

I grew up playing baseball and softball. In youth leagues and everyday in summer day camp growing up in Chicago. By high school I wasn't in a league but daily phys Ed classes and the like, plus many trips to the batting cages. After college the radio station I worked at would play charity games throughout eastern Iowa.

At 30 I moved to Colorado Springs, and while I didn't play ball, I'd bike to the batting cages.

In my early 40s a friend invited me to fill in on his rec league softball team. We started warming up by tossing the ball. When the ball came to me my hand and arm came up reflexively and caught the ball as second nature. BUT...when I went to toss the ball I realized I hadn't thrown a ball to an adult since my radio days (just to the kids). I had a little trouble "relearning" to throw.

And then I went to shag flies in the outfield. I say the batted ball go up to my left. My brain said "GO THERE, NOW!" My body said, "Who...me?" I had to make those connections again. And base running? Very slow and upsetting, because I was a daily bike rider.

By the end of the season I was playing like a champ again, and I played one more season...still a little slow, but then the team broke up as the younger guys would rather drink beer and show off for the girls, while us "older" guys worked on our ball playing skills.

And it's kinda like that with my bike commuting. After 33 years of serious bike commuting I'm riding better, safer, smarter and more satisfyingly...just not as fast or showy, but still kinda quick and more visible.

Ooh, that's interesting. I love sprinting from stop lights.

All these softball comments remind me of my experience last summer. I waited until I was in my 60s to try rec league softball, and had not really played in decades (and it's not like I tore it up back then!). But it was nearby and minimal cost, so I gave it a shot, thinking, "Sure, I'm in shape, I'm a bicyclist."

First game (I suggested it, but only one person came to a pre-season practice), I managed a dribbler to short, and busted out of the box. Holy crap, that hurt, what was that?! I realized that I couldn't run without looking like a gimpy old man, and I pulled something in my hip. I would have to warm up for 20 minutes just to have a semblance of ability. It didn't help that the outfield where I played a couple of games was nothing but gopher holes. Yeah, I ain't running full-bore on that (even if I could).

I may do it again this year, with more of an idea of what I need to do to get ready.

I use a Garmin head unit in conjunction with a HRM and power meter. The fitness age of 20 is a joke unless we are talking totally sedentary, out of shape 20 YOs. I would say my fitness age is closer to a 50 year old.

There are quite a few former racers (and a few current) in this crowd. I have never raced in my 35 yrs of biking. So no I haven't sprinted other than goofing with friends within 20 yards of our car or some such, never really trying.
I hope you can all keep up your sprints and have a blast doing it!

Just started sprints after an 18 year hiatus. Nearly killed me, figuratively speaking.
I used to ride single speed (Genesis Io with a few modifications) to work, and play "beat the bus", where I'd try and get ahead of a bus and beat it to the next stop. That would literally kill me now!

Started doing intervals two days ago - which are like prolonged sprints, but not quite at full power. Since I am still getting used to how much power to put out, as well as heart rate, I still have some dialing in to do. However yesterday on a 26 mile flatish ride I did insert 3 sprints, getting me over 700 watts. My peak watts were 781 last year. Hope to hit 800 this year at least once.