How old is too old for a bike? I think that’s a wrong question. These are my thoughts on the matter.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!My husband likes to talk trikes. I think he’s just enthralled with them for some reason.
“Hey, I saw this e-trike that’s really cool. I could ride it down to the store, get groceries…”
I point out that: 1) I can do the same thing on my cargo bike 2) Trikes are huge and he already (mildly) complains about my bike storage situation and 3) I am not ready for three wheels yet.
I understand well the intrigue of new gadgets and I think the trike-curiousness falls into that category. But there’s the idea there, too, that we’re getting older and perhaps he’s thinking that a trike would be better for balance.
I’ve had a few bike falls, myself, recently. These were not due to age, but stupidity. I fractured my elbow earlier this year when the pedal fell off the bike I built from parts 1 And I fell over off my cargo bike when I had a stack of stuff on the back and used a pole for balance to get off the bike, only to find that the concrete on its bottom was not actually affixed to the ground. Ooops. The young guy nearby said, “I do that on my bike all the time.” Sure, OK.
I spent many of my career years as an Occupational Therapist working primarily with elderly people. As such, I was called upon often to talk to people about safety and fall prevention.
One guy protested to me, “life isn’t safe! I bet you do unsafe s*!t all the time!” I fessed up to all of my unsafe activities. My usual response to a statement like this was, that’s true but it’s my job to talk to you about being safer and reducing your job risk.
One of my favorite unsafe activities is cycling. If you bike, especially if you bike regularly in busy traffic (or, I suppose, if you do mountain bike tricks, but that’s not me) you know that cycling is an inherently risky activity. We tend to do whatever we can to stay safe and keep doing the things we love but then put that risk to the back of our minds so we can go out, have fun, and not live in fear.
Cycling can be a great activity as we age.
It’s pretty low-impact and with a good fitting bike is not too hard on my knees. And if it is, there are ebikes.
So get to the point, at what age should you stop cycling? How old is too old for a bike?
Asking at what age you should stop riding a bike is a wrong question. There is no one age at which one “should” stop.
As a therapist, I met a LOT of people and some of those people were cyclists. When I was young, I met a man in his early 80s who was doing long distance fast road rides. Yes, I came into contact with him as he had fractured his spine by getting into a collision with a car. But he was one of the most positive people I’ve met in my lifetime and I have to think that staying active had something to do with this.
When I was doing triathlons with a women’s group, we had women in their mid-70s doing swim-bike-run. I recall one woman doing a slow jog into the finish with kids running alongside her yelling, “Go Grandma!!!”
And there were the “Geezers of Fury,” who I used to see buzzing around a local area. I miss them. I wanted once of their matching jerseys but I am 1) a woman and 2) was likely too young to be a “geezer.”
And, of course, I also saw the other side of the coin. One such case too recent in my history to write about too specifically here — but I met someone who absolutely should not have been on a bike. I had heard about this individual riding a bike and knew that it was an accident waiting to happen but there was nothing I could do. Yep, this person was soon a patient.
But I think the point I’m trying to get to is that it didn’t have to do, specifically WITH AGE. The lack of safety, in this case, had to do with a medical diagosis.
And, yes, many medical conditions — or aches and pains — crop up more as we age. But for many to most of us, we can keep riding a bike well into our later years.
For me, getting a bit older has required a few modifications. I find that I can, unfortunately, no longer tolerate riding a drop bar bike in a very aero position. I loved the short period of my life where I was a triathlete but have decided it’s time to give that up. I’ve also given up (well, probably given up) clipless pedals as being in a fixed position tended to bug my knees and I’m tired of trying to make minute adjustments. I found that my old elbow fracture starts to hurt after riding on chunky gravel for over 30 miles. More modifications.
I’m no longer what our triathlon leader once called a “skinny wheel bitch.” I’m more of a slow fat-wheel cyclist these days. But that’s OK. I enjoy meandering around on two wheels — whatever the setup is.
But to finally try to answer the question that I posed here in this post, giving up cycling isn’t about age but about weighing enjoyment, health, ability, and risk. It’s a decision only you can make (but perhaps you should talk to your doctor and listen to their advice if they suggest you should stop). You might want to consider giving up two wheels 2 if:
- You are just not enjoying cycling anymore for some reason.
- You have too much pain after cycling. Little aches and pains might be alleviated by getting a professional bike fit — or backing off and getting a different type of bike. Or changing the terrain on which you ride. But those things aside, some cycling can be jarring.
- You’ve been told to quit by medical professionals.
- You cannot maintain your balance while you are standing (believe me, I have seen the aftermath of someone who tried riding a bike when they could barely stand and it was not pretty).
- You have known osteoporosis which would likely result in fractures if you have a fall. Note that cycling, while great cardio exercise, does not do as much for bone-building or preservation as does walking or strength training. Talk with your doctor about what type of exercise you should be doing.
