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50+ Motion is lotion?….
Like a lot of us on here I'm sure I'm over 50 👴🏻
One thing I've noticed after 45+ years or riding, racing and crashing bikes if I take more time off the bike I do get more achy, in my joints particularly. I had done a fair few miles recently so took a couple of easy weeks which tied in with being away with work so much less riding than normal, and now feel way worse for it, achy knees etc. And it's not that the big weeks were huge or a big jump up in distance (450k)
I know the old maxim "lotion is motion" but I've never really believed it...but today I maybe do...
Does anybody of a similar vintage find the same if they take time off? 🤔
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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17 comments
OP, that 450k, is that your usual weekly distance?!
I'm 57 and aim to ride between 100 and 200 km a week. I don't have achey joints but muscle fatigue is a problem. I rode two days consecutively this week, and then had a day off; the day off I really didn't feel like riding.
I get moody if I don't ride for 5 days or so. Not sure about sleep, my wife isn't a great sleeper so any bad night could just be down to her huffing and puffing.
I'm recovering from a broken clavicle in July, and got what they call Frozen Shoulder, so my whole left arm is a problem. An hour or so is ok, then it starts as a nagging pain and after about 2 hours I just want to stop. Doing physio and it is improving, but it makes the thought of long rides difficult. I could take paracetemol along with me, but I think I should focus on the physio really.
450k was a biggish week, but yeah been lucky over the summer to average 250- 300 most week.
My knees are aching at the moment though and I have traced it back to a whole catalogue of things....
Did the club end of season hill climb....no warm up - boom, my seat post slipping a bit, being away with work so no riding for the longest period in months, and I've been riding my sons lovely aero Giant Propel - its very stiff, very stretched, very fast and very much not the bike a 50 year old should be riding.
So I'm paying for all that now, I'm also now swithering as a few of us have said staying off the bike causes aches but now if I do go back on will it make the aches worse...
And the grumpiness from not riding....yes, very much so yes, I can even see it in myself, and I'm pretty bad at the best of times
I'm 71, I've been riding for donkeys years. Still pretty fit and I still have been getting close to 100 miles in a week. I've slowed my pace now, usual average speed between 15 and 16 mph there aren't many hills where I live but in guaranteed wind all the time living on the coast. Bike fit and a good pad in your bib shorts makes all the difference. I get a few aches but nothing serious. Just ride every other day and on the days I don't, I go for a 3 mile walk, usually to the supermarket and back carrying a couple of bags and a rucksack on my back. Just keep on moving. I've been retired 6.5 years and always doing something. To be honest I don't feel like I'm 71. Then again, how are you supposed to feel at my age 😊
Davey, I had frozen shoulder twice (same side) and my physio was very clear that he could help things along a bit but no more. Usually it goes away after a while but my progress was very slow.
Luckily, I was offered an arthroscopy which disrupts the scar tissue. Googling that procedure was a bit worrying but it was painless and quick. After some work to increase the flexibility of the joint, I've been pain free for a couple of years and counting. So you might want to think about it.
54 next week and definitely. One thing I've found really useful recently is a massage gun, bought one on a whim with some scepticism but it's invaluable not just after rides but especially for warming up and loosening muscles before a ride. It both reduces soreness and cuts down recovery time, highly recommended.
This programme claimed largely the opposite. I suppose if it means your muscles get more attention than they otherwise would, there may be net gain there though. And the placebo effect, which can be quite significant!
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0019kk3
Time away from any regular physical activity will have negative side effects be they physical or emotional. For me my legs ache & I sleep poorly, I even get grumpy or so I'm told. What age you are when you really start to notice is even more individual than saddle choice. There's a few simple things that may work to tide you over life's inevitable cycling troughs not least of which for me is yoga. It's simple, cheap and, if you can stand carpet rub, you don't need any special equipment. Some individual tuition over the winter months will help you develop a regular program. While reading a book or watching something on-line may be a good place to start tuition really is the key to getting the most benefit. For me at least it's been a wonder drug but not quite so wonderful that I'll say how far over 50 I am now...
52
I get cramps after a few days off the bike, usually down the outside of my calves which are particularly tricky to stretch out. Also get twitching and crawling in my calf and thigh muscles (I've always had this, usually after strenuous exercise). Elbows also ache.
Even just an hour's ride is enough to sort it.
Foam roller? It's deliciously painful down the outside of the calves.
https://www.pro-tecathletics.com/product/theorb/
Even more deliciously painfull, a massage ball seems to get right into the calf where a roller can't. Available in the UK also.
Stretching becomes more important with age and inflexibility may lead to achey joints.
I thought my knees were giving up last year (and I wasn't even 50!) but it turned out it was the muscles above and below the knee which were stiffening up and causing pain where they met. Stretching sorted what had been an increasing problem for months.
www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/flexibility-after-50-60
If I don't ride for a few days, I get cramps in my calves.
It's reassuring to know it's not just me then 😂
I'm finding I'm not really getting hugely slower yet but recovery isn't as good as it was, and days off the bike don't agree with me at all.
Only other thing is I realised my saddle had slipped about 15mm, that won't have helped, saddle height etc didn't really used to affect me unless it was way off but that's another thing I've noticed the last 5-10 years I've became a bit princess and the pea as far as fit goes 😞
Yeah, me too on saddle height, and fit in general. I've got a very small window, not helped by short legs (165mm cranks) and long reach (slammed 120mm stem on a nominal 56cm frame). My back complains very quickly if my saddle is much more than a cm off optimal
I'm 52. Sometimes I think the only time my back doesn't ache is when I'm on the bike.
At 53 my joints ache frequently. Somewhat perversely they ache enough for me to think the bike is too much, yet when I ride the joint aches do disappear for a while ...to be replaced with aching muscles.
I'm 51. I find I get restless legs if I take a couple of days off. No other issues yet.