That's supposed to bring "solace?"

Sorry, Denver, I should have clarified. I didn't see the data of the OP as decline.

OK - I guess********************???

No, it's not a contradiction. If YOU want to keep track of mileage, speed, wind conditions, changes in elevation then feel free. I choose not to.

No contradictions there.

Well, thanks so much for your advice. It's always nice to know where one is going wrong.

I'm 57. I'm in my first season racing bicycles. Obviously it's a little late for me to aspire to the Tour de France, if I made it into Cat3 I'd regard that as an achievement. But while I may not be as fast as I could have been when I was thirty, I am certainly faster than I actually was when I was thirty, and I fully intend to get faster still.

In this context, keeping track of my performance is anything but a waste of time. And striving is not a source of stress, as you seem to assume, but of satisfaction. In this as in many other fields of activity, it is possible to learn new things about one's potential despite getting older.

You may not wish to do that. That's fine, it's not for everyone. But we'll all take our own road, if that's alright with you. Or even, dare I say, if it isn't.

My point, not very well expressed, is that "decline", in either the verb or noun form, exists as a concept. In one sense we begin to decline from the moment of birth. As an infant I was much more flexible than I was even by the age of three. At age three I fell down a flight of stairs and suffered no injuries, that would have been most assuredly present if it had happed when I was age 20. Yet, I lost that infantile flexibility as my body changed and moved to the next physical revision of me much in the same manner that I lost the unawareness of potential harm that gave me the ability to be completely relaxed while falling. The popular concept of "you've reached your peak; it's all downhill from here" is IMO an inadequate expression of the life cycle. Yet, it is the foundation of much of the thinking that age equals decline. It seems our dominate culture has an idealized image of what the perfect life condition/personal experience should be. While never explicitly defined or stated, it is expressed in much of our language, literature, art, thinking, etc. Hence, age, impairments, etc. are all seen as less than a full or idealized existence. Does this make this idealized image true? Of course not. The impact it has on your life, however, may depend on the extent to which you agree with its basic premises. Hence, for me going slower each year, as expressed by the OP, is not thought of as an issue of decline. The more powerful concept, from my view, is the ability to continue doing something one greatly enjoys for yet another year.

Perhaps "Plotting our progress"

or "Plotting our results"

or "Keeping track of where we are"

or something

I have a real hard time with "Plotting our decline."

It represents to me an inexorable trip to death and an attitude (which the OP may not have, but which I subscribe to many) that life is all downhill. I think there are many things in life, as one grows older, that can be uphill. My good friend, a minister, at age 82, sings with us. He will be doing a solo as we sing tomorrow in DeBeque, Colorado. His singing has not "declined." His attitude has "inclined."

I use a Garmin Edge 305 on my rides, so I happen to have my riding history since 2007 (plus a couple of centuries from '06 that I got from a friend). It's good to see how I'm progressing - so far I'm keeping up or improving this year - and I like to set some goals, the record keeps me on track. I don't get a lot of miles in, so I do try to ride hard on non-commuting trips, just to make the most use of the time. I use SportTracks to manage the data, it's not bad.

we all gotta go sometime...Just thought I would remind you : )

All that has been said is good, each to their own, I too ride for enjoyment and health but enjoy once in a while the statistics ...enjoy is the key

A lot of interesting views came in while I was on my ride this morning. Beautiful bright, crisp morning - I headed down to Lake Ontario and back. Played tag with a younger guy on a Cannondale but he pulled ahead eventually. Recognized at least a dozen bird songs along the way. Took note of the duration of the ride when I get back - not bad but I didn't write it down.

Thought about some of the responses so far - I also have people close to me who aren't in the best of health but I don't think they would resent my ability to get out on the bike. Maybe the title of the thread was a bit over top but I was just recognizing the eventual reality! It really is all about the ride.

Dnvr, I submit that if you ride, you ride, and who cares if you slow down a bit as you age.......you're STILL riding.

I told that to a young guy this morning. I think he said he was 61. When I told him how old I was, he said he hopes he can ride that long.

Do you believe in coincidences?

Just this morning Mrs. Grouch and I had breakfast with one of our daughters and son-in-law. I'm not sure how the topic came up but we discussed which of our kids gets the responsibility of telling me when it's time to give up the car keys. We decided on our youngest son. He'll let me go on the longest and he'll be the most insistant when the time comes.

Now that's plotting my decline!

FWIW, I'm not planning on giving up the keys anytime soon. I'm still driving a school bus every day. Starting in 2013, I'll have to pass a practical and driving test every year in order to maintain my CDL.

My question is how much improvement might I see in the future? Certainly for well trained athletes one can plot a slow diminution which is age related. As a poorly trained athlete, I'm sure I can coax better performance out of this mortal coil before the curtain comes down and I join the choir invisible. Just how much coaxing I can do, I don't know.

Hey, who knows? I'm not deluding myself that I've found the fountain of youth. But I don't think there is any doubt that regular cyclists age more slowly than the general population, and because cycling is kind to the joints it's common to stay pretty fast well into old age. So I'll aim to improve while I can, and to sustain what fitness I can, for as long as I can.*

The important thing is to ride, ride, ride. I guess to some it's stressful to keep tabs on your progress or lack there of, but what ever way you see it, its important to your health to keep on ridding. Just cause one way is right for one does not make it wrong for another. just saying.

Beast, I have to disagree. I keep a log of all of my rides. I take great pride in increasing my average KPH. There is tons of scientific evidence that intense exercise results in better health in our senior years.

16MPH on a course like that is quite exceptional for any age and I'm sure you know it.

Maybe if you take into account riders who are going for the equivalent of stroll on the bike, but not for people who are trying to keep up a reasonable pace. I get passed by quite a few people. I tried the Toronto "donut ride" a few years ago. It starts as a social ride and speeds up for the last part once you have reached a particular highway. Despite my best efforts, two minutes after the highway I was a very lonely person! So I don't consider myself to be that fast.

One thing to consider is what your natural make up is. I've always had an abundance of type 2 muscles (fast twitch) but have been lacking in type 1 (slow twitch) muscles. This has served me well for martial arts and sprints. Hasn't been a real helpful thing in anything of length. My kids were in their 20s before they figured out the reason I won every foot race or sprint to the next traffic sign is because I've never raced them outside of my range. I can still out sprint most people (on foot) and many on bikes if the distance is right (on foot it's about 60 yards - on a bike its shorter... about 40 yards). Your make up may not be the same as those who pass you. If riding alone is the issue, find folks who like riding at your pace. If getting as fast as others is the issue, it may not be in the cards. If you really want to know, I'd encourage finding a good cycling coach.

When I first read the premise of this thread, I thought it was all bad. I tried to come up with something positive. First, OP must have a mouse in his pocket since he titles the thread "Plotting our decline. I would change it to "Plotting my decline". He made an observation about his data over years not everyones. What I see in OP's data is a rider who needs motivation or assistance if the goal is to improve. There is nothing wrong with declining performance.

We do not have to plot personal data if we want to see diminishing cycling performance with age. All one has to do is look at state championship time trial times for a 40k time trial by age group to see the older riders are generally slower than the younger riders. This is not surprising or shocking. The same is true for track flying 200 meter times. The best younger track sprinters turn in better times than the older ones.

Now there are some notable exceptions where a few older racers are really good. Ned Overland (53) is an example and routinely beats the elite (under 29) category 1 racers in hill climbs. Ned is a former world champion mountain bike racer. And there are others.

So where is the positive? IMO, most of the decline is in strength which can be managed to an extent. Strength is lost and recovery subdued. What that means to me is that I have to work harder at maintaining strength and recover harder.

I started weight training in 1977 and have been consistent missing very few days in over 35 years. Today, I strength train at least 4 times per week. I focus on those muscles that cycling does not and I pay particulate attention to the back and core. I work very hard on recovery. I am extremely careful what I eat. Getting older and maintaining or improving performance is very hard work.

Since starting track racing in 2007 my times in the 500 meters and 2Km pursuit have improved and I hope to improve them again this year.

Over the weekend, I attended a two day track clinic that focused on standing starts. The standing start is highly technical and very dependent on strength, reaction time and skill. We started the clinic with each of us doing a standing start that was video taped. The coaches played back the videos and we had to comment on what we thought. One older guy said that was the best he could do. Another older guy said he was terrible at the start. The coaches countered with, we will not have any negative thoughts or discussion. With proper technique, practice and feedback, we all improved our start including the guy who thought he could not (he was the best) and the guy who was terrible improved dramatically. Both of those guys are over 60. Never sell yourself short... no negative thoughts.

OK, point taken. But a thread with a less provocative title might not have produced as many interesting responses!

I'm doing a bit of weight training, but more irregular in summer as I only go to the gym when the weather is bad. Even so my bike shirts no longer fit as well around the shoulders...

I don't see myself as a major athlete - just want to maintain my strength and agility doing something I enjoy, and there's nothing wrong with keeping track of that.

I guess it takes a bit more to provoke me as I didn't find your title provoking. That being said, I've never been a fast biker so slow and slower doesn't bother me. On the other hand, my definition of a hard game of racquetball sure has changed! This I bemoan!

The upside is he did not also quote Sartre.

I believe I may be going a little faster these days. I'm 58 now and I'm happy with my speed.

Of course, it's all downhill after 50, so perhaps that would explain it.