How Old is Too Old to Keep Cycling? A Reader’s Reply

By Katherine Jeter

How old is too old to keep cycling? That was the question posed to Road Bike Rider. How old is too old to keep skiing? How old is too old to keep driving? How old is too old for women to keep dying their hair blond? Of course, there is no right answer for these questions that vex elders, their spouses, children, and physicians. There was a robust study conducted in England some years ago studying serious cyclists in their 80s showing that their immune systems were that of much younger people. Of course, these findings emboldened many an old cyclist to keep pedaling!

I didn’t start cycling until I was 69 years old! My goal was to ride 70 miles on my 70^th birthday to raise $70,000 for my two favorite charities. A group of us did just that on the Little Miami Scenic Trail on October 25^th, 2008. Along the way, my closest friend, who had always cycled, and I agreed that we had become addicted to cycling. We’ve done the Southern Tier, rides in the Netherlands, Italy, Moab, and the Finger Lakes. We don’t miss an opportunity to ride.

I “caved” to an E-assist bike at 82 after we moved to the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the hills weren’t fun. And then the unthinkable catastrophe happened: Entering a gated community at the end of a fun 22-mile ride, the arm of the gate came crashing down upon me. A broken hip, head and facial injuries and then some.

I was back on my bike in four months, but I certainly was not the same rider. My whole right side was weak. It was hard to stop at intersections and remount the bike efficiently. Nine months after that crash I failed to make a sharp right turn and fell, rebreaking the healing hip. It was only the orthopedist in Colorado who didn’t tell me that, at 85, I was too old to keep cycling. As I began to mend and hanker for that cycling feeling, I remembered meeting an enthusiastic group of recumbent trike riders on a rail trail. They had encouraged our group to give trikes a try.

Coincidentally, a gentleman near my age, with an e-assist recumbent trike had just moved into our community. He had been an avid cyclist but had moved to an E-assist recumbent trike after several injuries. “Here, try mine,” he offered. I did and it was love at first pedal. He was amazed that I wasn’t more resistant to giving up two wheels. I have savored every mile of wind in my hair, fabulous scenery and fresh air since the day my Catrike 559 arrived.

If the joys of returning to 20-30 miles of pedaling with no fear of losing my balance or saddle soreness were not enough, I have met dozens of men and women who have taken up triking. The most noteworthy is a group called Honor The Warriors. Wounded vets and their spouses are loving their trikes, which come in countless colors and conformations. 

I got to thinking the other afternoon during an exhilarating ride amongst the white fences, gorgeous horses, and brilliant autumn leaves of Western North Carolina, about a similar discussion on a shuttle bus about 8 years ago taking a bunch of us old geezers out to our ski resort for a day on the slopes. Someone posed this question, “If, when you get older, you could only ski easy green runs would you continue skiing or hang ‘em up?”

For the next 15 minutes until we reached our destination, I was amazed that, among the 30 or so skiers on the shuttle, the opinions were divided right down the middle with both groups being equally adamant! One half argued that any day on the snow was a fabulous day, no matter that the soft gentle slopes offered just a day of gliding, of feeling the fresh cold air and enjoying friends and nature. The other half were equally vociferous. If they couldn’t ski the steeps, deeps, trees and moguls, that was the end of their skiing! 

That brought me back to “how old is too old to keep cycling. “ I gave up two wheels, but I’m giving great thanks that a recumbent e-assist trike will take me into very old age. If you or your family have begun to wonder how old is too old, I urge you to give an e-assist recumbent trike a demo ride.