One thing that definitely seems promising is the idea of continuing to “compete” against folks in your age group. Whether that’s KOMs or events that’s a target that will remain relevant. With that, I think it’s great that we focus first on juniors and newcomers to the sport, but we shouldn’t neglect the vets categories either. Hotbeds of racing in the US (like Northern California) do a much better job of supporting masters categories than in the UK, where there’s otherwise a lot more participation.
and here i was getting salty about turning 30, good to see it’s not all doom and gloom.
Your problem sounds like was past success. You maybe did so well you set a high bar. Maybe on shorter events. If not you got 10 years of good riding minimum coming to you. Check out Ironman age group times. The 70.3 and full distance. Studs! Keep at it!
I’m 46 and getting back into things after a 4 year hiatus. Why I stopped is the greatest mystery of all.
I did try my hand at iRacing for 2 years and while I had fun, I got pretty fat and lost any fitness I had.
When I’m comfortable in my own skin, I feel half my age. My plan is getting back in race shape even if I don’t ever actually race again (but the plan is to do just that).
I have a friend from Colorado who started back up when he was 50 and now he’s 61 (or so) and still racing and kicking butt.
Had to chip in here - I’m 51 and cycled everywhere when I was a kid up to the age of 22 when I got a car. Didn’t touch a bike till 2011 when I bought a used Bianchi road bike and starting doing some 20-30km spins around where I live (Suisse Romande) . Found it a great way to spend a Sunday morning and gradually got a little bit more adventurous, helped by a friend who does Ironman taking me beyond my comfort zone up a few horrendous local climbs. My wife bought me a Trek Domane 4 years ago as a birthday present, and once I had the nice bike I got much more enjoyment out of it and started extending the rides, doing the tour du lac (176kms) the year before last and lots of local climbs of 900-1000 metres. I noticed though that I wasn’t really getting any faster, the times up the mountain on my new bike weren’t all that much faster than my old bike. In fact, I was getting measurably slower if you looked at Strava, from 2016-2019. This was exacerbated by starting to cycle with better cyclists, they really really made me feel my age. I’d sort of assumed that was it, that I’d just get slower and slower till I popped of this mortal coil…which was when covid lockdowns started, I bought a basic trainer and started some structured training. Its 1 year on, I started with trainerroad 6 months ago, and honestly I feel 10 years younger. I’m setting PR’s every time I go out, even when I’m just out for a casual spin! I firmly believe that activity = longevity, if you want to stay young you have to challenge your body all the time. I see old dudes here, well into their 70’s spinning along or up the hills, guys with great diesel engines, churning out high power at low cadence after a lifetime of experience, and I want to be that old dude. I want to be in my 70’s, spitting out youngsters in my wake… I AM IMMORTAL; THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE (oh sorry, got a little carried away).
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I think it depends on the discipline - the UK cyclocross scene is very strong, and organised by age groups (not the Road category system); typically an open race, then V40, V50, V60.
There is only one discipline 
(The age groups for CX over here -that are mostly lacking for road events- are exactly what I had in mind)
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Might as well keep this going… anyway how does cycling determine the age brackets? I know that an age bracket {strava} that is 55 year old to 64 is nuts. I guess if you are or were an elite athlete it might make a difference but there is a noticeable decline in strength/endurance from 55 to 60 and it doesn’t get any better after that. I would suggest 50-55 year old; 56-60, 61-64, 65-68; 69-72; 73-75; 76-78 and so forth. Competing even if it’s virtually with people closer to your age just gives more incentive IMO. Any thoughts? is this just an attempt for a higher place in a specific segment? Again I’ll be 64 this month
Depends on numbers and discipline I think. If it’s road racing and you want each category to start individually then you need broad enough categories to get a meaningful field size. If it’s more individual timed events like CX or TT then I guess field size is less important in terms of how the race plays out, but you still want a big enough field that getting a podium actually means something and you’re not getting on it just by showing up.
UK veterans TT racing has an interesting approach which is simply to have a standard for every age against which each time is compared to provide an overall winner who in theory could be any age. VTTA - Veterans Time Trials Association - Standards
nearly 50, life long cyclist, been on strava since 2012 and had a PM since I was 43:
last week I did 30’ power PR and PR & top 20 on my local climb (admittedly I only moved here late 30s ). This improvement is down to WFH and more volume. I’ve said in other threads that for most of us our limiter is time not age. No doubt a slow down will come eventually but I don’t see it yet and I keep on working to put it off as long as possible!
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Agreed. I’m not saying individual races for age brackets. Many rides/races list the ages of competitors within these broad ranges. Just saying to narrow these age ranges.
I do it for the chicks. Obviously not working out for me, but I pedal onward.
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I’m 55 years young, found cycling at 46, lost 16kg, found CX at 47, lost another 20kg, found a National Podium 6 years later, lost the ability to stop training, still going and loving it.
Gets rid of life stresses, helps to keep me focused and just makes me feel better (and slimmer) all round.
Couldn’t think of life without a bike now! Got to go, bikes calling!
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I never think that at 56. I discovered cycling at 49 and only regret I didn’t try it when I stopped running competitively. Now, it is just super fun. When I’m out on the bike, 30 miles from home, I actually feel sorry for everyone who is not doing it (don’t judge). It makes me feel like that middle school kid when I ran to school every morning and enjoyed exploring where the power lines went. The work is - almost always - fun and man, I’ve improved my fitness because of it. It feels like I discovered a life hack or cheat so I never wonder why I do it. Not yet, anyway 
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It really is as you describe. The benefits from being active are amazing.