I hit my PR FTP years, north of 5 w/kg from 42-45. I had already been training for more than 15 years. Age is a reality, but mostly an excuse for most amateur athletes. There is usually plenty of potential to tap into.
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Iām 69 and basically got off the couch 15 years ago so was starting from a very low base. Iāve got better and stronger every year although going forward Iām beginning to think that staying the same is actually progress. Fortunately in that 15 years Iāve never had more than 2/3 weeks off the bike due to illness and or injuries. A couple of my friends have had 4/5 mths off due to crashes and theyāve found it very hard to get back to where they were.
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Itās estimated that the Earthās mass decreases by about 50,000 tonnes every year ā¦
ā¦ so gravity therefore decreases every year.
Hope this helps.
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Never thought about that, but makes sense. Had to look it up. Interesting that we actually lose about 100k tons a year, but gain half of that back with 50k tons a year of meteorites making their way to us (much higher than I would have thought).
Unfortunately, the current rate of mass/gravity reduction isnāt looking like enough to help me climb better at my target race this summerā¦ Got my hopes up there for a minute.
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I rarely fail to disappoint.
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How can that be true when the human population is increasing and as a species we are supposedly getting fatter? Maybe off set by the species that go extinct.
^ not a serious comment
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Perhaps you ought to refer to the context I was replying to 
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Totally yes. I started training and racing at 19 and had my best power numbers in my mid/late 40ās. At 56 thoughā¦.havenāt been able to get within 10% of my best. I recommend getting after it today. Like right now.
Joe
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I just turned 55 and have only been cycling since November 2022. Youāve given me a target to chase for the next 30+ years.
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Iām 52, just started on TR, have raced and self-coached consistently the last 3 years. Before that Iāve been off and on training for 35+years. So I really doubt Iām at my genetic ceiling.
Itās definitely things under my control that are limiting me ATM: How much total time per week I can devote, how consistently I can hit workouts, how much other stress I have in my life, how dialed my sleep and diet are, etc. I really enjoy training and racing and trying to improve, but I do have my limits on what Iām willing to put into it. I have stuff I want to do away from the bike as well.
The uncertainty of sport is a big part of the allure. I can put in my best off season work ever and then just have to see if it pays off when the races come back around. Pin that number on and you never know what will happen.
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I donāt have all the years of structured training that OP has (55 but have been back riding and ātrainingā for 10 years), but I like getting and going faster, and now Iām faster than ever, including where I was in the 90s (I feel like it anyway). Not sure why Iād try to hold on FTP. Sure, there may be a limit to how much time you want to put in, but low 40s isnāt old enough to stop working on pushing that TTE and VO2max and seeing what you can add on to the really solid base youāve built over the years.
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I am sure there was a longitudinal study that looked at performance and VO2. Some hadnāt seen a decline in 20 years. Guess what, they still maintained volume, consistency, frequency and intensity. Much of what were put down to ageing was really changes in lifestyle and training.
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I didnt start riding until age 55. I was doing well until my chronic disease came back with a vengeance last year. I had about 2 months off. About to turn 65 and I am down about 20% from my peak. FTP has been slowly going up even though I am just riding endurance. Cant do much volume yet but hopefully that may change if my disease goes back into remission.
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If youāve been training in a somewhat sensible way with consistency for the past 15 years, then you are well beyond substantial improvements in FTP without some substantial change.
I certainly havenāt trained like I used to in my early 20s, but I can maintain within 10% less of the fitness on maybe 2/3 to 3/4 of the volume, with maintaining sensible structure and consistency. I always make some āwithin-seasonā ftp gain (from beginning to end), but not a lifetime PR. I know thatās just unrealistic with the amount of time and effort I have to give today.
Edit: there really is no difference in training between āholding on toā or āincreasingā ftp. It the same darn training. The only difference is your expectations. So choose to believe whatever motivates you to get out and do it
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A conservative estimate therefore implies the Earth is losing something like 50,000 tonnes (~55,155 US tons) of mass every year. That sounds like a lot. But, since the Earthās mass is about 5.97 billion trillion tonnes, it would take about 120,000 trillion years for it to completely disappear at this rate of depletion. Thatās many millions of times the age of the Earth. In fact, itās many millions of times the age of the Universe! So, this loss of mass has no effect on planet Earth ā or on humans.
But the Moon is escaping, so thatās interesting. 
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The sun converts 4.7 million tons of mass to energy every second.
Joe
So, whatās your point? 
Iām just waiting for the next Carrington level event that will destroy āallā of our satellites, most of our electrical grid, and put the planet back literally into the stone age. While I prep yet another mat for use in the pain cage as the old one has cleat holes in it, and I canāt get the smell of fat tears out of it. Keep moving or rotā¦
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Pull out the dumb trainer in preparation
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At least the Tacx line will run without power, but maybe they should add a generator to power fans? There are researchers that are walking around mumbling that we are WAY OVERDUE for another Carrington level event, and the sun has kicked it up a bit, leaving damage in its wake. Several satellites were knocked out and long run power lines were trippedā¦ Living with a star within 8 light minutes can be excitingā¦
There is a poorly written book out describing what a Carrington event would cause, but itās so wildly inaccurate that itās not much of a recommended read, yet I jumped on the grenade to save humanity. 
(Aurora)