AChristie

After a fall yesterday at 19mph and breaking three ribs I've been reflecting on road bikes.
I think I could be just as happy on my hybrid going 12 mph, doing some light touring. As opposed to flat out on the road bike for 40 miles.

In my 60's and no health issues. I know it's kind of wussy, but at some point we all have to slow down. Right?

George

I do have health issues and I'm 71 and I don't want to dial back at all. If anything I'd like to get faster and ride longer. Usually my daily ride is 35 to 42 miles. Some days I hammer and other days I cruise.

If you think you would be happier just taking it easy, there's nothing wrong with that either.

Oh, I had a bad fall at age 66, going in the low twenty's and had to stay off the bike for a few weeks. I had 3 cracked ribs and a lot of road rash, but couldn't wait to start riding again.YMMV.

DnvrFox

At 71, I don't want to "dial it back" - instead I have found a riding style, mode and frequency that suits my goals for where I am in life. That is different from what I did and my goals when I started at 58. Certainly my riding style and goals do not include how fast and far I can go. Instead, they include regular and frequent opportunities to ride my bicycle for enjoyment and fitness. Each of us finds our own "niche" for our particular time in life. I also do flexibility, resistance, and other cardio exercises such as swimming and walking.

I think you must find the answer to your own question consistent with your happiness, goals, fitness, etc. Fortunately, we are all different. YMMV

OldsCOOL

I cant dial back. The knob is broke off.

BluesDawg

Pain can make us have some crazy thoughts. Heal well.

10 Wheels

Slow down..Get a camera and look for pics to snap.
You can ride slow on a road bike..I do.

RonH

Things don't have dials anymore. Everything is digital.
I'm 66 and no dialing back for me. I'm still trying to get back to what I could do at 58.

tsl

Three broken ribs will give you cause to reflect. Been there, (three over the right kidney). It wasn't a bike crash. Still, it caused me to re-examine some things and I made some life decisions based on the experience.

In your examination of things, do not forget to consider that perhaps the reason you're in your 60s with no health issues, is exactly because of flat-out 40-mile rides.

Noodling around the neighborhood on a bike yields one kind of fitness--which is still more fit than the vast majority of Americans of any age. However, flat-out over 40 miles yields a different kind.

Meanwhile, I'm keeping it turned up to 11.

AChristie

Thanks for all the food for thought. Luckily I have plenty of time to digest it.

I realize that the two things I love are cycling and the high from getting into the zone at a hard pace. High speed doesn't do anything for me, though. Maybe that's why I like riding into the wind.

Possibly I could get that same cardio zone from an elliptical or stair master and leave the bike for pleasure.
Anyway, no hurry.

Phil85207

I am going to fight it off as long as I can. I like to ride as fast as I can for as long as I can some days, and others I want to ride as long as I can. But cutting back? not so much.

CSG

New member here, age 60. I've been cycling since I was a kid but living in Idaho the last 17 years (vs. California before), it's seasonal. I never dialed it forward enough to dial back. I just ride for the fun of it. Never liked going fast, never liked riding flat out. I'm a smell the roses type. My riding usually includes stops to look around and enjoy the place I'm in.

jdon

The most difficult thing for me to do is dial it back for recovery rides. We are all different though. Ride to your comfort level. There are plenty of ways to get cardio and resistance training in to maintain peak fitness.

NOS88

+1 Heal quickly and then revisit your thinking.

DnvrFox

If the cardio stuff you are doing on your bike isn't pleasure, then why . . . . ?

willb1046

I hope by the time I get into my 60's I will be able to hold 19mph.
Take your time, like stated above you are in good health because you are active.
Heal well, you will know what to do when the time comes.

jppe

Have you woken up from you dream yet?

stapfam

Age will naturally slow us down. Those hard rides I used to do are no longer attempted. Still found a different form of hard ride to do but You ain't gonna get me out for 12 hours offroad with 100 miles of torture again. Might try the 65 miler though sometime if I can get the training in.

Red Rider

No.

If anything I'm doing more, and faster, and different (just tried track racing last week for the first time and can't wait to do it again). I wake up every day, another day closer to 57, feeling compelled to find what else life has to offer, both off and on the bike. I'm driven by curiosity -- how do I know what I can do unless I try?

I've had a couple of broken bones -- the broken wrist kept me off the road for weeks -- and I didn't deal with them well. By the time I could ride solo again I'd rediscovered the beauty of a casual social ride, which I use to balance out the hammerfests and racing rides.

It's all about balance in life. I hope you find yours, and hope you have a speedy recovery.

MinnMan

I dunno. I'm a lot younger than some of you and am relatively new to riding, but I've concluded that to keep going I need a mix of attitudes- sometimes I need to hammer and sometimes I need to take a gentle ride. Trying to put myself in the OP's cleats, I can see a time when the mix might shift to a greater proportion gentle rides, but I can't see a time when I'd want it to be 100% easy. THere will always be some days when I want to hammer. Until I can't.

cmckenzie72

Just got ran over by a car on Wednesday, I'm 56. Broken clavicle, rib and punctured lung. Was supposed to be racing today and tomorrow. Will be on the trainer soon, no plans to slow down.

NOS88

Wow. Hope you have a full and speedy recovery.

rydabent

Dial up----dial back???? Again dont over think. Do what you can do and keep doing it as long as you can. Do what is comfortable. Dont be driven by what you think others think. The thing is as cyclist for the most part we generally are in better shape than the ave guy.

cranky old dude

Why not just ride uphill?!?!

Your speed will be less and you will be "In the Zone" for that exhilerating high!!

LAriverRat

You don't pedal with your ribs.

Kurt Erlenbach

Getting older has made me more careful, but I'm on track for the most miles ever this year. My father started jogging in the sixties, before jogging was cool, and now at 81, he is healthy as a horse (except for the arthritis that 30+ years of running caused). That my goal.