The legs do take longer nowadays to ease after a day in the saddle but I enjoy the lakes & generally 5 to 6 hour rides, from the of it’s 20 mins to get things working & strangely I start to feel good after a few hours, 51 now & maintaining a half decent level gets harder plus working away month at a time is really naff for the fitness, but this year to date I’ve managed a few half decent times on strava, roll on the cod liver oil capsules & copper wrist band, do they really help??

Cheers Mark

I’m 47 and train regularly on the mtb and more so with ‘Ard Rock approaching and I’d say my fitness is still pretty good and getting regular KOM’s and beating the lads on their CX bikes ! on my trusty enduro bike so I must be doing something right.

But I’m finding that my recovery now from any injury is a nightmare, but that’s age for ya ! 😕

A lot of this can be summed up as: “running to stand still”! Keeping strength, fitness and weight at whatever level takes more and more effort and attention.

In theory experience should let you keep going, know which battles to go for, etc. In practice you still push harder than you should before blowing up halfway up some climb 🙄

I would think on average it is around mid thirty’s when you are past reaching maximum performance that a you are capable of reaching during a lifetime.

41 here (almost)

Stamina and all day fitness is as good as it’s ever been, but outright speed/power suffer the minute I back off the effort. Work hard for a month or 2 and I can feel quite fast. Have a week off, and it’s all gone.

Muscle rcovery is Ok (although I lead a fairly healthy lifestyle). Injury recovery less so.

Warm ups – It takes me a good 45 minutes to get properly going. The first climb from cold, if there’s also a headwind makes me want to go home and hide under the duvet. Utter agony. (I usually start climbing ~100m from my front door)

I rowed at a fairly high level in my late 30’s early 40’s and packed it up when I couldn’t continue to train 5 days a week without suffering like a dog for the other 2! Knocked out a couple of sub 4 hour London Marathons in my mid 40’s but really hit my cycling stride at 50 – sub hour 25 mile TT’s good run in the Duo Normand and a string of XC wins at club level 🙂 Since then I’ve gradually declined and find maintaining the training pain really difficult. Doesn’t stop me trying though.

As good standard club runner, I would say 35.

42.

Punchy speed has gone, 55 now went late 40,s. Average speed still pretty good. I work on repeats of peak power so I can push and recover during racing.
I don’t bother with shed loads of miles anymore. Just club rides and turbo training and some weights. Its a case of adjusting to the changes.
Like many here distance and stamina go with the age. Did a 600km non stop last year with no issue.
When I go on club runs even the most average newcomer is hard work for me to follow, then after a good few miles the tables are well and truly turned.

I recently turned 60 and had to have 3 months of following an operation been back riding for 6 weeks but can’t seem to get back to the fitness I had like a lot of others I can do distance but only steady. At 57 I’d have been up at the front on the steep hills but now resigned to being middle to back.

50 – it all just broke? Health rather than fitness was the issue, my fitness is currently ok (nearly 52 now) but it disappears very quickly even if you have a week off the bike. I think health is a bigger issue in respect to your overall ability to maintain your fitness

50 – it all just broke? Health rather than fitness was the issue, my fitness is currently ok (nearly 52 now) but it disappears very quickly even if you have a week off the bike. I think health is a bigger issue in respect to your overall ability to maintain your fitness