One of the advantages of keeping lots of data in a training log is that I can look back at similar events and see how much I have improved. Improvement is not something that is normally associated with someone my age but in the cycling world I have been able to get some slight improvements over the past 7 years I have cycling.

I belive this has come about because I lost weight, did a better job of training, and improved my cycling skills. These factors have combined to more than offset the effects of aging.

I took a look at the Solvang Double century, something I have competed in three times. It is the same courses, but there are some variables, such as wind, that I can not fully account for. But comparing the three times, I get this comparision

From 2003 to 2007 I made only a 5 minute improvement in riding time, but took off an additional 20 minutes of stopping time. For the recent event, I took another 14 minutes off my riding time and even more off my stopping time. So from age 55 to age 60, I took off 1 hour and 19 minutes, of which 19 minutes was riding time and 1 hour stopping time.

The non-athelete might think that such an improvement is not signficant. To average that additional 1.1 mph means putting out an additional 14% power when you look at the effects of drag and resistance. Anyone who does any type of sport knows that even a few percent improvement is hard to achieve.

I am therefore pretty happy with the improvement I was able to achieve, while aging 5 years.

For the recent Solvang Double Century we had 47 riders who rode it for time and all started together. This group was made up of mostly the fastest cyclists. Another 400 or so riders did not want to be timed. I ended up coming in 20th place amongst those 47 riders. I believe I was the only one over 60 in the entire group of 47 riders. They do not have age groups so I am not sure. The riders in that group just looked a lot younger than myself.

Another event I looked at was the Davis Double. I have completed it twice with these results. It is a somewhat more difficult ride than Solvang.

I plan to ride Davis again this May and hopefully I can show some further improvement from last year. Before that I will be doing the Devil Mountain Double and hope to show a big improvement over last year when I didn’t do well.

I realize that old father time keeps marching and there will soon come the time when I am just happy that I have not decreased my performance as fast as others. We all need to appreciate what we have and know that all we can do is our best. There will always be others around us that are much better and some that are much slower. But if we are doing what we can, within our abilities, we can take pride in that. Today I received an email from a cycling friend who turned 50 in the past year. He said “If I’m able to do the things you do in ten years, I’ll be the happiest man on earth… You keep us young guys on our toes.”

Categories: Ultra Cycling Events
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