They can. And ultimately, it's about being as good as we can be.

I don't know how fast I could have been at thirty, I didn't train systematically and I didn't race. But since coming back to cycling aged 49, I have got faster every year for ten years. Until this year, that is, when injury destroyed my winter training.

However, I'm confident that with a bit of patience and determination I can get back to where I was last year. I can't improve indefinitely, of course I can't. But with each year of application and training, the gap between me and the youthful me can be minimised, and the gap between me and the me I would become if I got off the bike can be maintained. I'm pretty fast, but there are 75 year-olds out there who are faster than me. I have every intention of being one of them.

I'll be finishing my 49th year in a month and will be starting on year number 50...

At 42 I was easily as strong, or stronger on a bike as I was in my 20's (10,000 miles a year does that) and could knock down a sub hour 25 mile on a whim and was training to enter master's racing to the delight of my younger friends who did not want me smacking them around in open class races.

A back injury sidelined me at 43 and I did not think I would be able to ride again but riding has served to rehabilitate me more than any physiotherapist could... I now work on endurance more than speed although I can still tick along at 18 mph all day which is pretty good for a guy with one leg that does not work at 100%.

One friend I ride with a lot often comments that he can't imagine how fast I was when both legs worked at 100%.

I expect to see more improvement and this season has been one of the best since I was injured although I don't think I will ever be able to do 25 miles in an hour on a DF bike unless I have a little tail wind... if I get a sportier recumbent a sub hour 25 would be possible.

I know cyclists in their 60's and 70's that are still strong and fast... cycling is a sport where one can continually improve and maintain although most of us are going to peak out in our mid 30's and perhaps early 40's depending on our respective biological age.

At the highest levels you are pretty much done in your mid thirties... but highly competitive riding also takes a massive toll on the body.

In my experience, young riders in great shape will outperform older riders in great shape. The equalizer is that most young riders aren't in great shape, they have lots of other distractions like work, dating, kids, partying, etc. As an older rider, if I eat healthy and train hard I can compensate to a certain degree for an increasing age. I'm 64, and if I want to use age as an excuse for being dropped on a group ride, I certainly could...but I don't, not because I wouldn't like to, but because it doesn't help. Today is the youngest I will ever be, and I'll train as hard and ride as fast as I can because I enjoy it. When I get dropped it is because the other riders are stronger than me, no matter what their age. Health problems can be a game changer, and fortunately I haven't experienced any...yet.

Can't really compare averages between groups without a comparison of the groups.

But about "gently going"... down the road...

What Makes Olga Run?: The Mystery of the 90-Something Track Star and What She Can Teach Us About Living Longer, Happier Lives: Bruce Grierson: 9780805097207: Amazon.com: Books

The horror....the horror...

This is good and is much more informative than looking at run times. Running times are a joke now with so many participants walking or jogging while saying they are competing or racing. This table has run times in the triathlon not much slower than the NYC marathon

Really has very little applicability to each of us an individuals. These statistics are of a very small population of people who have specific genetic characteristics, mental attitudes and training regimens. The statistical universe is a so small it makes our already small group seem like at least a galaxy, if not the known celestial universe.

It is fun to use all kinds of mathematical and graphical toys for play. This result is interesting for That Group but has little or no meaning to each of us.

RUNNING in my mind requires having a stride during which both feet are off the ground at some point, AND the pace is in the 8 minutes per mile or less range. 9 minutes to 12 minutes with both feet at some time off the ground would be jogging. Having one foot always in contact with the ground is walking.

My 2:11:10 half marathon at 62 and 4:56:28 marathon at 61 were done WALKING and believe me, they CAN in my opinion be considered competing or racing. I must have 2 Cho-Pat Dual Knee Straps on during training and racing other wise my knees will buckle and I wind up on the ground.

Don't believe a 10mpm pace is hard to maintain when walking???? TRY DOING IT. A cadence of 200 with a heart rate of 155bpm. Fastest walking mile 8:36. Almost died.

Being out for 13:31:48 in last year's Ironman Florida at age 63, took a lot more endurance than those who finished in 9 hours. It is us SLOW people who are the endurance racers simply because we are not gifted with the abilities allowing us to really "RACE" fast.

These studies suggest about a 1% degradation per annum at least until 60-65. Not much cycling data beyond these ages. Even if 2-3% it is not significant and can be overcome getting stronger, losing weight and working harder on legs and core (?)

And even if not overcome still very encouraging for us septuagenarians (well almost there).

The OP disagrees.

• First, note the number of responses to this thread and the length of many of the responses.
• I think most of us record our average speed if we keep a log if we keep a log. And I think most those with no log probably note the average speed after a ride.
• Also, I am pretty sure that the majority of riders in this forum (50+) and overall in Bike Forums strive to improve their riding. Many resort to even changing their diet.
• In this particular forum, I personally address age-related issues. I am 68. I cannot keep pace with most younger riders (I've done a lot of group rides) but I can with a group that rides on Wednesday morning - almost everyone is older. But I, and a lot of others, would like to quantify that difference.
• Yes, I agree that Ironman athletes are different than most of us. Note that my final chart uses 20 mph as the "standard" as the starting point for comparison, not Ironman or TDF average speed.
• I wanted to know who my 14 to 16 mph compared to other riders.

Ironman athletes are not the same as most of us. They are quite spectacular. I did not compare them to "us" - I just used their data to measure the relative strength between different age groups. There is a problem doing that, because the drop-off in performance for super-athletes is undoubtedly less than it is for "regular people." I might be proven wrong, but I expect that "their" results are not very different than "us." -

We may not be super athletes (mostly), but we are athletes (mostly), and I think our rate of performance drop is closer to Ironman contestants than it is to sedentary people.

There is no data suggesting the different age groups have common characteristics.

Many take up such things in their 30's and 40's, many from the young group drop out...

Have you seen the movie, "Men In Black"? My cycling world when in comparison to the general public is like what was hanging on that cat Orion's neck. Very small and ornamental to them....huge to me.

It would be interesting to see Joe Friel's (about 70 yo) performance superimposed here.

I have been tracking all of my cycling rides for years, and my data show steady drops in my annual average speeds for all rides. However, age is not the only reason why my speeds have dropped. About half of my mileage is from bike commuting, and my speeds are limited while commuting due to traffic, red lights, loads and riding solo with no drafting. I also have been riding more bike tours, included loaded tours, in recent years as well as riding on greenways on slower bikes with more gear. My average speed dropped a lot at age 58 because my daily commute distance increased from about 20 to 30 miles, and the past two years I have ridden substantial mileage on loaded tours and greenway rides at slower speeds.

So, I simply am not participating in nearly as many fast group rides that would increase my average speeds. When I do participate on group rides, my speeds are much higher, but the overall averages are driven down by the large number of rides from commuting, touring and greenways. That said, here are my annual average speeds by age. I typically ride 8,000-9,000+ miles/year, so the averages include a lot of data points.

Age - Avg mph

53 - 16.4
54 - 16.1
55 - 15.8
56 - 16.0
57 - 16.0
58 - 15.7
59 - 15.6
60 - 15.0
61 - 14.6

In conclusion, I have no doubt that my average speeds have decreased as I've gotten older. However, the drop in speed is not nearly as much as the data would suggest due to changes in the kinds of rides I do now compared to younger ages.

I recommend Joe Friel's latest book Fast After 50. (https://www.amazon.com/Fast-After-50-.../dp/1937715264) Joe turned 70 and did a study of what he could expect regarding continued competitive racing at that age. While the book is directed towards racing fitness there is much to be learned for the more mature riders to slow the effects of ageing on performance. I don't race but I have to "train" to be able to ride with the Saturday morning club ride. BTW the book is an easy read, not overly technical like The Racers Bible or even Cycling Past 50.

I think at some time you just have to throw out the speedometer and computer and just ride until you feel you have gotten a good workout. Genes play a huge part in your speed strength etc. When I come back from a ride and see how slow it was I try to do better next time but also am glad I put in the work.

Seems like the more you ride/workout stay active the better chance you have of being alive your whole life.

Use it or lose it.

Once you reach a certain point, you're no longer competing, so speed barely matters. Yes, we all want more speed or range, but you have to take what nature gives you.

Doesn't mean that you can't continue to improve, nor that it pays to push a bit toward that end. But statistics and averages don't mean a thing. It's what you can do and a realistic approach to improving if you so desire.

I'm definitely a little slower this year than last (I'm 59)and less inclined to sprint, but am doing fine mileage wise, and also seem to be less exhausted after a ride. Is this the new normal? Who knows? Two years ago I had a great year speed wise. I'm not willing to make any conclusions yet.

I ride for fun and fitness. I'm pretty fit, and having fun. (We are not the norm here. I wish we were, we'd have less of a healthcare crisis in the US. But that's another topic.) I'm sure I'll lose another 5-7 lbs before cold weather and the Holidays take their toll, and I'll be at about college weight. Blood pressure and resting pulse are very good. When I got my physical last Winter, the PA who took my Blood pressure and pulse looked at me and said, "Do you exercise or something?" I said, "Yeah, or something."

Would you care to elaborate? Maybe what you estimate the results would be if you were doing the same kind of rides? Your info seems like it might be quite useful in this thread (although I would not have chosen to resurrect this thread). I am interested in this subject. I started riding just before birthday 65, coming up on 70 (2 months), I observe that my speed seems to be dropping despite additional experience. [CAVEAT: I rode a LOT in my first months - over 4K miles in 6 months, two centuries.]

I am able to sort my data by types of rides, such as commuting and road riding. Here are what the data show for commuting and road riding (not including touring and trail) by age:

Age - Commute Avg, Road Avg

56 - 15.1, 17.1
57 - 15.4, 16.6
58 - 15.3, 16.4
59 - 15.3, 16.6
60 - 15.0, 16.2
61 - 14.9, 16.2

My average speeds commuting are more comparable because I am riding solo about the same distance every day, over the same route and in similar weather over the course of a year. I expect that my average commute speed for this year may increase because the weather has been a bigger factor than usual so far in 2015.

My road speeds are less comparable because I have been riding much fewer group rides in recent years, with smaller groups, and generally with slower riders than in the past.

My computer keeps getting slower the older it gets.
I just thought it was my bicycle that was getting slower.

Generally speaking, I'm never in a hurry. There are a lot of long hills here. I average 10 mph
on a laden tour bike, maybe 13 or 14 on a road bike,(with a tail wind). My somewhat
modified mountain bike averages 18 mph....but then i stuck a 2 hp motor on it. I don't often
ride it, but it's my hedge when I get past 70.(not too far off)

I'm 60 and switched to a fatbike in January as my wife thought it'd make great birthday present and would keep me off the road. Which it did. I've put 800+ beach miles on it and while climbing a dune trail (say 15% slope) I happened to glance at my HRM and it said 164 and I thought "Oh, sweet". I ride a back to back century every year, look to get in 200+ hours of riding a year, ride for distance, intervals, fun, fast, slow, and I enjoy riding now more than 40 years ago. Dad lived to 92 and I'm shooting higher.

Yeah the body ages and nothing can stop that, nothing will change that absolute. I will continue to do my best not to dwell on such things as I age. I will focus on my overall health and when I can no longer handle a two wheeled bike I will move to three wheels.

My brother live's in a sad state of mind, always thinking about his ailments, his aging body and fear of death consumes him completely. IMO that's so sad, he misses so much life doing that....

You get what you get so Get It On !


FWIW,
I am 56 years young and last week I was riding along with a group of late 30's riders, six of them..
Mountain biking,,

I was out front often