Interesting replies folks , especially the comments from KB , relevant to me as I was diagnosed with Osteoporosis in 2007 after they found 2 crushed vertebrae in my spine ! Told to never ride a bike off road again , got the thumbs up from GP since then did a season in Whistler in 2010 , rode Moab,Sedona,Crested Butte , Slovenia .
As for my original question today I had my best ride so far this year ! Quantocks 5 climbs,5 descents 24 1/2 mile and over 3 1/2 K of climbing , must be the rest I’ve had the last few days ! 😀

Think the “rest” between bigger rides is the way forwards .

Think the “rest” between bigger rides is the way forwards .

+1 A friend who is 65, retired and basically spends his winters skiing and summers road biking reckons that he needs 8 days after a hard club ‘A’ ride to get over it before he is capable of doing another at the same intensity whereas a few years ago he could do those rides every Sunday. He does ride on other days but not at the same speed or for the same distance.

Even with the (small) risk of injury getting out riding is going to be better for you than being a couch potato

I’m 11 years younger than your mate and I couldn’t keep up with a hard club A ride never mind recover from one in a week.

I posted earlier on, I mere youth at 51 & keen mtb rider from a youth of moto cross.
Here’s a brief on my step father, Pete Smith look him up on the web, ex international cyclist rode the Olympics with a group of life long friends from York, he packed in to raise kids etc at late 30’s, retired 65, the same day buys a new road bike & drops over a year 4 stone, he’s a life president of Clifton cycling club York, now I’m keen but geez he’s out 4 to 5 times a week & usually does 60 to 100 miles, now 70 & goes of most of the time on his own as he prefers to ride at HIS own pace… what a machine, I think the world of him & have the utmost respect for him, I only hope I can ride half as much as he does at that age, I take my hat to him.

Interesting to read about how fast you go downhill when you’re injured or ill.

My auntie (who is more than double my age) was ridiculously fit for 80 odd – they used to walk miles over the Dales almost every day. I went for a walk with them and had to almost jog to keep up! However she had some sort of illness, I forget what, and whilst she recovered she found that she rapidly lost fitness and mobility, and had to really struggle to regain even some of it.

I’m almost 57. I stopped riding from the ages of 21 to 43, I’m “racing” my Pugsley at Battle of the Beaches, but that might be my last race. It takes longer to get over hard rides and falling off. But like Epicycles I intend to pace myself and keep riding fixed and SS MTBs for as long as poss, then hub gears, then who knows…..looking forward to the Gravel Dash, 100 miles off road on fixed, what could go wrong?????

Some really inspiring posts here. I ride 3 or 4 times a week and know that I need more variety as I have reached a plateau as others have said. But what about stretching, are you all doing it religiously – I always seem to have aching knees, arms, etc.