nice and steady....... forever ?

[ton]

just been going through all my numbers on strava. i like to keep a log of how far i have ridden.
i also like to see how slow i am going. this year i may top out near 7000 miles. But it will have taken me 700 hours to attain this.
no matter how hard i try i cant seem to ride any faster. it seems my past medical challenges have robbed me of 5 or 6 mph.
in my 30's and early 40's i could plod along at 16 mph all day long. now i struggle to get above 11 mph.

so i shall now resign myself to the fact that nice and steady will be my future on the bike.

unless i happen upon a miracle.

anyone else in the same category ?

[whitestone]

Just part of growing old mate

Various factors at work, mostly to do with heart and lungs. Plus as we get older we tend to avoid those things we don't like more and more. Unfortunately some of those things, like short intense efforts, are what help maintain stuff like high stroke volume in the heart so you can't pump as much oxygen around the system meaning you can't work as hard.

You are doing well to get 7000 miles in though. Even in a good year I'll only do about that.

[woodsmith]

I used to have a simple speedo on my bike which also displayed average speed with an arrow indicating an up or down trend. I lost it in the spring and didn't miss it at all. I 'm no longer constantly dismayed at my rate of progress compared to the perceived amount of effort expended and just enjoy the ride. I did miss having a rolling total of my mileage ( also usefull for Rohloff oil changes and tracking tyre longevity)but that was all.. Rather anoyingly I've just fitted a replacement as I'm trying to train for an event in the spring.

[Cheddar Man]

How old are you now?

[Bearbonesnorm]

Are you enjoying Tony? If yes, then the rest is just bollox.

[Al]

Best cycling related decision I ever made and was removing a cycle computer about 11yrs ago.

I was doing a lot of road riding commuting 20 miles to work and had become a little obsessed with average speed. Lost a lot of fitness from lack of time to ride around the time of first child being born and was finding riding dismaying as i knew I was going slower than normal. I can’t remember if the battery died or if it got left off by accident, but it was magic. Have avoided cycling stats like the plague ever since.

[Cheddar Man]

To be serious for a minute, how long has this decline happened over?

I used to run a lot, and over the course of about a year my Park Run time dropped from around 22/23 minutes to somewhere nearer 29/30, no breathlessness, no pain and I still felt ok, just all the time getting slower. The same on the bike, just all the time getting a little slower. I then had a tooth removed, and everything got very interesting.
I developed peri-carditis, and that started a range of other investigations, and to cut a long story short, this was actually the blood vessel structure in my heart. I don't think the thick black lines need too much explanation do they?



I now have 3 stents fitted, and everything is back on track, it's why I only did one night on the WRT last year, it was the first proper ride after having the work done!

If you are slowing down significantly, maybe worth just getting things checked out and not just putting it down to age. I am now back up to a much faster bike speed, and my 5k is back to around 24/25 minutes, although I don't push too hard now.

[ton]

How old are you now?

55 years young.

Are you enjoying Tony? If yes, then the rest is just bollox.

only time i am truly happy stu, when out on my bike.

Cheddar man, my ticker is in good nick now. after 5 years of permenant af, i had open heart surgery to fix my problem. i have a yearly check up now to keep it in check.