[Sanchofula]

Are those mutually exclusive?

Probably not.

 

[DaveRider]

47
My peripheral vision is starting to suck. I have to be careful when I stand up or explode on the pedals- my knees feel a bit more fragile.
I recently started using a CPAP machine & feel years younger. Other than that, I'm still in the front few guys on a climb.

 

[North woods gal]

I'm in my early 70s and have been mountain biking almost as long and there have been mountain bikes. Three years, ago, I had yet another bad injury, barely escaping with my life. Broke my C1 collar on the first vertebrae in my neck after getting thrown from the bike while trying to clear a boulder. After recovering, I had to make my husband a promise that there would be no more stunt riding and that I would keep both wheels on the ground at all times. I've been true to my promise and have no regrets. It's always been about being out on the trail, back in the woods and the grasslands that I love that keeps me mountain biking, anyway. Keeping it less risky hasn't diminished that at all.

As for the age thing, biggest issue is now the numb hands issue after so many years of riding. Takes longer to get up the hills, too, but at least I am getting up them.

 

[motox155]

56.
Still enjoy it as much as ever but definitely feel aches and pains a bit more. Knee hurts for no real reason. Wrist hurts for no real reason. I don't have quite the amount of horsepower on tap as I used to. Especially on longer climbs. The main thing I've noticed as I get older is to not stop riding. Don't take time off! Even if it means just cruise around.The skills deteriorate pretty quickly as you age. I could take off a year from riding in my 30's, jump back on the bike and in a couple months be right where I was. Not so anymore. The reaction times and muscle memory just doesn't come back as it was.

 

[frdfandc]

45.

I still enjoy riding, I just haven't made the effort to actually get out and ride. I had my right hip replaced 3 years ago, and now I'm starting to feel the same pain in my left hip. So probably beginning of next year is when I'll get that one replaced. My last real ride was a 42 mile road ride April 2019, plus a short 10 miler with my wife on July 4th, 2019. I haven't been on a bike since. Last year I started to part out my MTB. But this fall I've decided to just rebuild my hardtail as a full rigid SS. That'll teach me from not riding for 2.5 years.

 

[targnik]

48 and counting.

Been riding 8 years.

Was introduced to the long, low & slack early on via Kona Process (slack STA, not so much HTA)

I'm hitting, sending things - that I wouldn't have even looked at when I was 40.

I'm sending stuff, I wouldn't have considered when I was 47!!

So, I guess I'm improving

Biggest difference (40 to 48) is I have a fleet of bikes now...

1) AM HT 29er
2) Short Travel 29er (moolay)
3) 29+ Rig
4) 650b Enduro Steed

Also, my two boys are getting bigger and we go on roadies together.

Sent from my Asus Rog 3

 

[Picard]

I have asthma. I can't climb hill like a teenager anymore

 

[juan_speeder]

49
Used to be a fast XC racer back whenNorba semi-pro meant a thing.

Took a 15 year hiatus from racing, just to ride, but entered a couple of marathon XC events this year. Sucked at the Silver Rush 50, got on a training program, lost 20 pounds, and got a podium in my first 100 miler.

Looking at doing 7 or 8 long races in 2022.

How has age affected me? I’m slower relative to fast 25 years olds, but not by as much as one would think.

YMMV

 

[Ailuropoda]

Just to revisit this thread....I’m now 57 and ride a lot better than I did even three years ago after extensive training (for my failed Tour Divide attempt in June, ha ha...next attempt 2023) I can ride for hours at a time even in the mountains with almost no recovery time, no pain, and no adverse effects. We had a local trail in Michigan that used to take me three hours to ride but my last time was a few minutes over two hours and I was passing people.

I ride conservatively, however, when it comes to technical stuff. My wife and I support a lot of people and I can’t risk a serious injury that would put me out of work. Now that we’ve moved to Arizona the potential for injury is everywhere. Sharp rocks and spiky plants.

But this is not new. Age is not just a number but barring some
catastrophe like cancer, you can maintain fitness long into middle age. I have never smoked, done drugs, and gave up alcohol in 1987 which helps. And I work out or ride almost every day. Days I don’t seem weird.

 

[Red Leg 2]

I'm 64, and this is the first year where I feel like age has caught up with me some. My usual 20 mile
ride isn't as easy as it use to be.

At 65, I begin every mtn. bike session with a gentle 90 min. warm-up, alternating back and forth between walking the bike slowly and riding it slowly. Then I can kick it up to whatever level I please. Standing while riding helps me. Cheers

 

[Red Leg 2]

49
I’m much slower, hesitant, scared, out of shape...I’m not fat though I’ve also found that it takes forever to recover from injuries...it also takes me a day to recover from a ride; I rarely ride back to back days :bluefrown::sad:

65 Gentle stretching might help. If it causes more pain, it may have been been stretched a little too far. Cheers 🙂

 

[nobody special]

My vision and strength/reflexes are not what they used to be.

Often I will come around a corner or something and see a rock that got knocked into the middle of the trail so I will prepare to navigate past. Suddenly the rock will take off and move away quickly. At that point I realize it was a squirrel.

I just don't have the muscle to manhandle the bike the way I was able to when I was young.

I'm 50

 

[ghettocruiser]

Late 40s, and my night vision blows.

I probably have 5X the lumens I used to ride with in the '90s, yet fail to identify various hazards.

I've also stopped riding DH, but there were a lot of circumstances there not directly related to age.

 

[_CJ]

Early 50's. Raced at a high level in my 20's for about 5 years, and spent the last 25? years just riding bikes and drinking beer. Ride 2-4 days a week now, and drink far less, but do still enjoy post ride beers once a week or so. Started incorporating some hiking due to the covid lockdowns, and continue with that now. Dabbled in motorcycle trail riding for about five years, but got out of that when I bought an ebike in 2020. Riding about 50/50 analog/digital now.

Physically, I can still lay down times that place me in the top 10% on Strava segments, if I want to, but I rarely do. I hope to get into longer distance remote area stuff for the last ten years or so that I have left to do this stuff. My endurance is better than it's ever been, largely due to changes in diet.

 

[Battery]

I'm 42 myself and it's not my age that affects my ability to ride. It's my overall health from military service. My last regular MTB ride was almost a year ago and I could only pedal 2 miles max before my back, knees, and everything else just gave out. I used to ride 7-10 miles (or more) on my hardtail.

I just picked up an ebike and it helps me out so much. Once the winter weather is gone, I plan on hitting up some really nice eMTB approved trails in my area. I'm taking it easy on my bike so I don't cause any more problems for myself! These days I just want to pedal or off-road my Triumph Scrambler/KTM 450. My MTB shredding days are over but there is still plenty of fun left out there for me!

 

[Red Leg 2]

My vision and strength/reflexes are not what they used to be.

Often I will come around a corner or something and see a rock that got knocked into the middle of the trail so I will prepare to navigate past. Suddenly the rock will take off and move away quickly. At that point I realize it was a squirrel.

I just don't have the muscle to manhandle the bike the way I was able to when I was young.

I'm 50

Despite being inanimate objects, rocks do in fact have the ability to just get up and walk away. I'm 65 whereas you are in the prime of your life. Cheers. 🚴‍♀️

 

[baker]

51. Great endurance, skills are good, fitness is good/great. I've always been a wimp when it comes to jumping and that hasn't changed. Explosive sprint capability seems to be gone. Injury recovery takes a heckuva lot longer than it used to, so I try to be less idiotic on the bike, but still love fast chunky technical riding.

My 40's sucked, with a heart surgery, 2 knee surgeries, and 1 back surgery. Changing things up and just riding for fun has made a huge difference in my motivation and fitness. I used to train for one big racing goal, do it, burn out, then take time off. Now I just ride all the time and will do a race if it happens to fit into my life schedule (kids, skiing, traveling, work, etc).

 

[Gasp4Air]

I'm in my early 70s and have been mountain biking almost as long and there have been mountain bikes. Three years, ago, I had yet another bad injury, barely escaping with my life. Broke my C1 collar on the first vertebrae in my neck after getting thrown from the bike while trying to clear a boulder. After recovering, I had to make my husband a promise that there would be no more stunt riding and that I would keep both wheels on the ground at all times. I've been true to my promise and have no regrets. It's always been about being out on the trail, back in the woods and the grasslands that I love that keeps me mountain biking, anyway. Keeping it less risky hasn't diminished that at all.

As for the age thing, biggest issue is now the numb hands issue after so many years of riding. Takes longer to get up the hills, too, but at least I am getting up them.

North woods gal, you are the very definition of bad-ass.

 

[North woods gal]

Thanks.

Fairly mild this week in the teens, so out riding the fat bike and even one of the single speeds the snow.

 

[Gasp4Air]

nwg, I'm 71 and haven't ridden in the woods for almost 2 seasons. Seem to have lost my taste for falling down on rocks. Was close to selling my one remaining bike. But I was out hiking recently and while walking on one of the newer flowy trails that keep appearing, I found myself thinking that it might be fun to get out again. The old hiking/woods road trails that I learned on are so rocky and worn in that no one rides them anymore. Rocks, roots, hill, repeat. So maybe I'll give the smooth flowy stuff a go in the spring. 🌶(my bike's a Salsa)