I restarted cycling when I was 47 mainly due to more time available with all of the kids having left home and to get my weight and cholesterol under control. At age 50 I started racing and found also that there were too few masters races and due to my late star, the master races were too long for my endurance ability. I found that Humana sponsors the National Senior Games for ages 50 and older. All events are broken into 5 year age groups, which makes competition a little fairer. Almost every state has cycling events each year, 40 & 20K RR + 10 & 5K TT.
I also like the Gran Fondo events and bucket list rides. One such bucket list ride is to complete riding all the roads in Yellowstone. Almost done and I live on the east coast.
In short is it the riding or the competition that you enjoy? Analyze what you like and dislike about cycling. Then pick events or activities that support what you like. Finally analyze those bucket list activities for distance, time, effort, etc to determine what training is needed to achieve your set goal(s).
I’ll be switching to multi-day stuff this year as I’ve got zero interest in turning myself inside out for shorter events, but I still want to stay active / fit / healthy.
Plenty of things out there to pick from, doesn’t have to all be super extreme.
One thing that has made racing easier for me is to not chase results but chase results.
Essentially I sign up for races and my goal is not to win or podium. Its to put my self in positions to be successful. A race I did a few years ago I got dropped on the 2nd large climb and did my best the rest of the day. When I got off the bike I was something like top 15 out of 500.
Was I happy with 15, no. I wanted to podium. When I looked at the numbers on the way home and my NP was my FTP. I was happy with the results at that point. I had done everything I could to get on the podium.
This mindset of not chasing the results but chasing the result has changed how I feel about racing. I no longer get upset when I don’t get on the top steps. As long as I put everything out there I have, I am successful.
I am sure there is some word for this, i dont know it or im not articulate enough to figure it out.
Totally agree. I am pretty much always happy/fulfilled after a race (regardless of results) if I ride strong and execute well. Results usually depend on who else shows up and there is also usually luck involved. And racing without the pressure of results often leads to the best results. I never want to be scared to roll the dice and take tactical risks during a race. I hardly ever regret taking chances, even when it results in blowing up and hurting my finishing spot. Much more common for me to get a decent result and kick myself for being too conservative, execute poorly, or just not give a great effort.
I felt silly stopping racing at 32. Had a small crash in a crit where I banged my head (had helmet on) and had the worst concussion ive ever had. Couldnt concentrate for 2 weeks at work and i was so annoyed at ruining my suit, saddle and brand new lake 403.
I found I didnt get enjoyment from racing anymore and quit. I was never very good and it took an ungodly amount of hours and money to be average.
I had a good mindset shift in all of my sports back probably 15 years ago where I started worrying more about “did I give my best effort” or “did I execute my plans well?” rather than “did I win/podium?”. It started in triathlon, I carried it over to some running events, and tried applying it in road racing as well. My wife didn’t really understand how I could be upset with a race where I won my AG or placed overall, and would worry when I’d finish like 8th or something. Made it fun to have to explain it to her. She thought I was nuts.
I always told her in a triathlon I wanted to turn myself inside out, give my absolute best effort, and finish 4th, because then I’d be satisfied with my day and could leave before awards.
Some of my cycling teammates never really seemed to understand it and it definitely led to me doing “Kurt things” in bike races. That’s code for dumb stuff that wasn’t likely to lead to a win. But man, when it rarely did, it was the most fun, and way more fun than sprinting for 6th.
I agree. It’s a process, as mentioned above. Sometimes we need to sort through whether “not enjoying” it is a bad day/week/season (most of us have had them all), vs. “it’s time”. I do mostly triathlon (from Sprint to IM). This hasn’t been a great year for me. I’m not done yet, but it’s not too far off. The best we can do is enjoy the whole process (try to learn from our struggles), and keep on trucking until we really know. When it’s time, I hope to take my fitness and learning with me, and keep moving and enjoying life in other ways!
