Cycling in your late 40's... Do you relate?

Tombo2001 · 27-11-2023 1:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121423683#Comment_121423683

FUnny that - I have the exact same thing with immune system and breathing. This time of year, always get head colds, runny noses and cold sores to beat the band.

Yoga - do you do a class or how does that work?

Londonirish72 · 27-11-2023 1:43pm

Early 50s here. I'd cycle on average 10,000 km each year but I also jog a little bit and tend to walk as much as possible.

In my mid 40s I did notice that I was increasingly suffering from constant muscle soreness after rides and I was definitely losing power on climbs and sprints. However, I took up yoga and more recently weight training in the gym and these two activities have made a positive impact on how I feel. I know that I will never really trouble Strava segments again (if I ever did in the first place) but I feel so much more flexible and a number of small niggles (clicking knees) have disappeared.

You really cannot fight the aging process but to a degree you can control your weight, fitness and overall flexibility. I think it helps to view physical activities positively and not as something you have to endure. Cycling is social, weight training allows my mind to zone out and the gym is pleasant on wet days and yoga really does seem to work for me though I am usually the only male in the class.

Tombo2001 · 27-11-2023 1:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121423726#Comment_121423726

I think to be honest - you;ve contradicted yourself there. You cant fight actual aging, but all the things your are doing will fight the aging process. I mean that as a compliment.

manatoo · 27-11-2023 2:18pm

Well my mother hasn't cycled a bike since the 1950s! But assuming you meant generally for people in their 70s, I agree it's nice to think that way but having watched my father in law (74, picture of health in all respects) who cycled continuously from the mid 1980s until about 3 years ago, slowly put an end to his cycling, it's not really fitness that gets you. It's reaction times and brittle bones. On the reaction times, he just found he wasn't razor sharp enough to cycle in closely packed groups anymore. In terms of bone density etc, he became concerned that a fall could mean serious injury in a way it wouldn't have when he was younger.

He still gets out for 15k jaunts but he doesn't enjoy solitary cycling and for the reasons laid out above he had to leave his club

rflynnr · 27-11-2023 2:38pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121423719#Comment_121423719

I know. I keep being referred to specialists but the gap between the initial referral and actually being seen is so long (from six months to literally years) that I've never had the symptons at the point of being seen so it's hard to definitive about the symptoms.

And as for yoga: my partner has done it for years and she pointed me in the direction of online resources (youtube videos). There's a terrifying range of possibilities out there. I don't want to over-state it: I do about 10-15 mins every morning (with Sarah Beth (https://youtu.be/QdvYqz-b0Xo?si=6IuvEq4j8xzCCXaf) and after a long cycle there's a couple of (Bike Radar-sponsored) post-cycle videos (again 10-15 mins) that are worth a look (https://youtu.be/uhF5_Ds21TI?si=udQPrx0tYxnAqxi5).

RiderOnTheStorm · 27-11-2023 2:53pm

Im 55 and returning to cycling after many years gap. Got a new job and decided to commute by bike. Tried a regular mountain bike and felt the muscles ache at end of day. Then changed jobs and wanted to keep up the cycle, but new job was 10 miles from home. So I got a cheap ebike and LOVE it. So much easier on the knees & hills . Cant say it has speeded up the commute (as had new bike with newest commute so cant compare to prev bike) but Im arriving fresh(ish) and not covered in sweat. The effort is def reduced bit I am getting more exercise now than last few years, and building up stamina too.

Seeing a lot of positives in prev posts for yoga. Would love to give it a go. Def feel that the older I get, the slower it is to recover if I get a twinge or stretch (which seem to happen more often now). Good diet is essential too ...

Tombo2001 · 27-11-2023 3:48pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121423968#Comment_121423968

Best I had was a dust allergy, but not sure what I can do with that bar spend 30 hours a week tidying the house. What I actually think now is that its due to jaw misalignment (years of thumb sucking) which means I have always been a mouth breather.

On the other - I have a few chronic knee problems which led to me taking up weight training and yes the secondary benefits were substantial.

Andrewf20 · 27-11-2023 4:01pm

44 here and I still enjoy the odd spin into the city and back to the suburbs. Biggest change is the lack of power on the uphills coming out of the city centre. I still try give it a good effort but ive lost a chunk of my power in the last 15 years. Head winds batter me and I curse them more than ever.

I also feel an extra layer of cautiousness when at speed. If I come off the bike it will hit that little be harder now I suspect.

Macy0161 · 27-11-2023 5:07pm

I wasn't active in my 20's and 30's, so I'm immeasurably better now than the morbidly obese person I was 15 years ago than now in my late 40's.

I know. I keep being referred to specialists but the gap between the initial referral and actually being seen is so long (from six months to literally years) that I've never had the symptons at the point of being seen so it's hard to definitive about the symptoms.

I went through the process of camera up the nose with a (private) consultant just to be told nothing wrong, just to do less exercise, outside 🙄 In fairness, I did stop swimming, where even open water could set me off, which did help a lot. I've other allergy issues (eczema, hayfever), so the GP upped my daily anti-histamines from the over the counter, and then a nasal spray and inhaler, given me giving up wasn't an option. n=1 I generally find my sinus playing up is the first sign I'm a bit run down/ need more sleep now.

RikkFlair · 29-11-2023 12:09am

45 and feeling a lot of tiredness in last year or 2, started cycling regularly about 6/7 years ago after a decade or more of no exercise whatsoever. I don't really feel like I'm losing fitness while on the bike, and the strava stats says my avg speeds are pretty much the same, it seems to be off the bike is where I struggle, the 3pm slump almost becomes a siesta. Have had plenty bloods done, nothing shows up.

I'm certainly not over-training, the minimum I would do in a week (pretty much winter months) is a 30k ride midweek and maybe another at weekend or else a 5k parkrun. Obviously in summer I would do much more than that. Strava says I have done 4,000km this year as well as 300km running. No injuries or niggles or anything, touch wood. I took a week off all exercise last week to see if I felt refreshed but no change. I'm sitting down all day, going through a process of elimination to see if I can solve the mystery fatigue.

07Lapierre · 29-11-2023 12:22am

55 years old. I average 250/300k per week. I'm on target to exceed 14500k for the year. Never felt better! Hopefully I'll be doing the same if not more when i retire!

monkeyslayer · 29-11-2023 6:42am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121422524#Comment_121422524

Far from being an expert in such matters but I suffered from tennis elbow for years and tried everything. It wasn't going away naturally. So much so the cortisone injections no longer had any effect and physio etc was a waste of money. A friend with similar chronic pain to yours reccomended me MSM supplements from Holland & Barrett about a year ago and they've been nothing short of a miracle. Took a few weeks but soon i started to think less and less about it. I couldn't tell you much of the science behind it but it's anti inflammatory properties have helped so much. Still get the occasional flare up but it hardly registers, far from that constant ache that would keep me awake all night.

beggars_bush · 29-11-2023 11:07am

the older you get the more that strength training becomes important, for muscle and heart health and bone density

AndrewJRenko · 29-11-2023 12:10pm

I'm in my fifties, and I certainly notice that I'm passed out by other cyclists more often than would have previously been the case. It doesn't bother me in the slightest, I do my cycle commute, usually four or five days a week. It's an amazing way to fit exercise into your day, and get something useful from your commute time.

Tombo2001 · 29-11-2023 12:33pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121432279#Comment_121432279

For me its by far the easiest way to incorporate exercise into your life. It was actually the only real downside to WFH for me.

07Lapierre · 29-11-2023 1:19pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121432279#Comment_121432279

Totally agree!.. I'm one of the few people where I work who does NOT want to WFH on a regular basis, as i would miss my commute too much. I do get passed by other cyclists but I just tell myself they are either on e-bikes or their commute distance is much shorter then mine.

rflynnr · 29-11-2023 2:59pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121432279#Comment_121432279

As a follow-up: I went out to Laragh last Saturday. It was cold but kind of magical, especially coming back in the dark. I joined Stocking Lane on the way up coming from the direction of Cruagh Woods and I spotted a cyclist in a hi-viz vest maybe 400m ahead. Without even thinking about it I had a "I wonder how long it'll take to catch him" moment. There were a few twists and turns and he passed out of sight but I fully expected to see him a little closer when the road straightened out.

And see him I did. Not one inch closer and, if anything. even further ahead.

I didn't speed up or slow down: in general, in the past, I've always just been a bit faster than the cyclist ahead of me. But as we climbed he remained stubbornly distant past Military Road, Glencree, and the turn for Powerscourt Waterfall. As I started the climb up past Lough Bray, he appeared to have slowed a little and I thought "Ah, he doesn't like climbing. Got him." Not a bit of it. He basically disappeared and I had an epiphany: "HE is faster. YOU are older."

(I did eventually pass him at Sally Gap but only because he'd stopped to refuel.)

Londonirish72 · 29-11-2023 3:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121423773#Comment_121423773

I guess I did not express myself very well. Yes, we cannot fight the aging process but what we can do is try to keep ourselves as healthy as possible so that we can remain mobile and independent as long as possible.

mewso · 29-11-2023 4:42pm

Some of the posts reminded me of my bikepacking trip in france over the summer. At one point I was struggling up a very long hill and considering dismounting to finish it on foot only to turn a bend and see a group of french cyclists getting ready to go for a spin. Now I'm not the most ego driven of people but at that point I became determined to stay the course. I was not about to give up while passing the local club cyclists (all very friendly to be fair - bonjours all round). They obviously set off shortly after I passed them and eventually they all passed me. Then once they were out of sight I could stop and collapse on the ground.

Large bottle small glass · 30-11-2023 9:51pm

Soccer on Sunday, gravel ride tonight.

18 months from 50.

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light

😊

koutoubia · 30-11-2023 10:14pm

Just turned 54.

Took up cycling in my late teens early 20's after I destroyed my knee playing football.

Looking at the above photo reminds me I actually miss it.

Anyway a bad crash during the summer nearly had me hanging up the wheels. Re-found the goo so am back at it.

Regards being that bit older I take the supplements Glycine and Nac. Apparently as we age our body stops making these naturally and they are two parts of a 3 part amino acid that make Glutathione. GOOGLE Glutathione.

Its been a bit of a game changer to the way I feel and my breathing and snotty /runny nose have dramtically improved.

Just Saying.

De Bhál · 01-12-2023 12:32pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121431101#Comment_121431101

I find if I'm not getting water in during the day, I get fatigued. Again I seem to require it a bit more as I get older and force myself to get a few glasses in. Previousely I never really went out of my way to drink water on it's own unless doing sports and basically took all my fluids in though tea etc.

Obvious stuff I suppose but sure no harm saying it