Sounds like a very good plan. Good luck.

Reading some of the other posts in this thread and symptoms of your own, I would recommend also seeing a chiropractor or kinesiologist. I'm not 50+ but I saw this thread scroll by on the iSpy feature and figured my own personal experience may be useful information to those who are experiencing a sequence of pain starting with ankles then knees then hips.

In my situation, I have very high foot arches. Because your typical off the shelf footwear doesn't account for proper support for my arches it was causing my foot to twist inward slightly. I was getting a clicking sound in my ankles, then eventually quite a sharp stabbing pain in my knees whenever I climbed stairs or any sort of hill climb on a hike. My hips were starting to get sore as well.

My chiropractor made some casts of my feet and the lab created some shoe inserts. Almost immediately the pains went away. Within a couple months there were no signs of there having been any problems.

I bring this up simply to point out that not all symptoms are necessarily the result of the same affliction that another person has. If you have the joint pain in your knees but nowhere else, it is likely some sort of mechanical error like mine, rather than disease such as arthritis.

It is a little more difficult in the US than in Canada (I live in both during different parts of the year) to get to see specialists but I certainly recommend pressing your doctor for thorough examination and references to see the proper professionals for your situation. If your insurance covers chiropractic it is well worth it since an insert that lasts 3 or 4 years is a little easier pill to swallow than a daily arthritis medication you may not need. Always research your symptoms and get multiple medical opionions, if at all possible. I hope you're able to pinpoint your pain cause and alleviate it and enjoy some good rides. See you down the trail.

Thank you for your suggestions.

I too have high arches. I didn't know that until the source of the toe pain was diagnosed several years ago. The podiatrist said I have "flexible high arches", and made casts of my feet for custom orthotics. I wear the orthotics daily. I LOVE them! Since I started wearing them, I have significantly less back pain, and the hip achiness (a general achiness of the muscles, NOT the grinding groin pain I have now) virtually disappeared. Like you, I now sing the praises of shoe inserts to anyone who complains of back or leg pain. However, they do not relieve the type of pain I'm having now (though the pain might be worse without them, I don't know).

I will seek medical attention soon, at least for baseline x-rays and to rule out other conditions. I do a lot of my own research and ask questions to stay informed and educated on the latest information.

While you are taking it easy here is some reading for you:

This one you can find a lot about all kinds of ailments
https://orthopedics.about.com/cs/patelladisorders/a/chondromalacia_2.htm

Some exercise:

https://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NAH/is_9_31/ai_80679955
https://www.tusalud.com.mx/220903.htm (no es en englis, you will get the picture though)

A great cycling site period, here is the hip and knee page

https://www.cptips.com/knee.htm

I went to the doctor (a well-respected orthopedic surgeon). He said the x-rays didn't show much so he suspects inflammation from over-use or a physical abnormality. He ruled out RA. He recommended Advil 3x/day for 3 weeks to eliminate any inflammation and to turn down my activity just a notch (I'm not walking now) and see him again in 3 weeks at which time he will order a bone scan. Cycling doesn't bother them, but a lot of walking does. It does not hurt to rotate my hip outward, but inward rotation is painful and limited.

Interestingly, Hubby told me that while riding behind me he noticed that my left foot is turned slightly inward so that my toes point toward my bike, while the right foot is pointing forward as it should. As soon as he told me today, I became aware of it and quickly corrected it, but time and time again my left foot reverted back to that turned-in position. I don't walk that way, and I never have, so why do I automatically turn my foot in on the pedal??? I'm wondering if it could be rotating the hip just enough to bother it, yet my hip doesn't hurt while I ride (though sometimes the hip joint feels like it needs to be popped while riding).

Maybe try raising your handlebars?

Most of my bikes have 170 cranks. A couple have 175's. The longer cranks flex the joints more. I can feel the difference between the two sizes because of my arthritis and the increased joint flex of the 175's. I discovered Bailey's trike has 140 cranks. (Yes 140) the BB is low and the wheels are 24". The shorter cranks don't flex my hips as much and when my joints are hurting the shorter cranks feel better. I do need time on longer cranks to keep my range of motion better, but the 140's are great when I feel lousy. If you have a bike that is a little on the big side or even exactly the right size, you might feel a lot better with shorter cranks than a person with no joint problems.

I have not found any bike shops or even other cyclists that understand this. They typically only think in "normal" fit solutions. They would probably wrongly advise against this.

I think that we tend to wear out from the bottom up.

In my case the ankles were the first to go and I had to give up running. Then my manly pecs slipped down to where my abs used to be. My vision went south so now I have to wear glasses. Then I lost my good sense and finally went bald.

In general, exercise when the pain is relieved by activity, and rest when the pain is worsened by activity.

In the 18 months that I've been cycling, nearly all of my joint pain has disappeared, so I keep up with the activity.

Switch sides and that's me. I also sat crooked in the saddle--twisted slightly to the left. At a fit session, the fitter suggested that it was because my right leg is slightly shorter (it is, how did he know that?). We put some inserts in my shoe and the problem is solved.

Do you ride with your orthodics? If not, try them. If so, you may need different ones for your cycling shoes.

I like this poem!