Cycling over 50: 19 things that genuinely make riding better as you age
Ageing doesn’t mean giving up on speed, ambition or adventure. A few intelligent changes to your bike, training and riding habits could make your 50s and beyond some of your best years on two wheels.
I find one of the more hilarious things about getting older is the expectation that our bodies will function as if we’re still in our thirties. Every ride introduces a full suite of shocking surprises – recovery takes longer, strength needs more attention, eyesight changes and joints become less mobile. Yet, many of us are oddly unwilling to move on from what worked in our heyday: narrow tyres inflated harder than granite, long cranks, slammed stems, tight cycling shoes, and a crude no pain, no gain training philosophy.
Perhaps through fear of capitulation – the spectre of having to accept the changes that time has wrought – many of us want our bodies to behave as though nothing has changed, while wanting our bikes to remain exactly as they were when we were younger. Neither position is rational or tenable.
The solution, as with all evolutionary threats, is adaptation. Embracing change won’t allow us to outperform a twentysomething pro, but it will substantially narrow the gap. It also makes cycling more joyful again, which is the whole point.
Sports scientist and CycleCoach founder Ric Stern has coached riders of all ages to the highest levels.
To help broaden my own list of must-dos as the years tick by, I’ve enlisted the help of two experts. Sports scientist and CycleCoach founder Ric Stern has coached cyclists professionally since 1997, from recreational riders to World, Commonwealth and Paralympic champions. He holds a First-Class BSc (Hons) in Sports Science, has published peer-reviewed research and has spent decades expanding our understanding of cycling power and physiology. Ric continues to race himself, now into his 43rd consecutive season.
Retired physiotherapist Linda Dewhurst provides an equally compelling perspective. She only took up cycling in her 50s after a competitive running career, yet within a few years was racing at world-championship level. In 2023 she won the 65–69 road race at the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in Glasgow and took silver in the time trial. A year later, in Aalborg, she successfully defended her road title and added time trial gold; then in 2025 she successfully defended her time trial world title in Australia and took silver in the road race.
Despite being in her late 60s, her FTP (Functional Threshold Power), which exceeds four watts per kilo, enables her to run rings around much younger riders of either gender, as my esteemed colleague Steve Shrubsall discovered to his cost. And Steve’s no slouch.
Wider tyres, both road and gravel, can buy you additional comfort, grip and speed.
An obvious one to start with, but it’s worth repeating ad nauseam because swapping out tyres is a comparatively inexpensive tech upgrade, and the gains can be considerable.
For road use, the sweet spot for me is 30 to 32mm. I rode on 25mm tyres for years, but a chance encounter with a hire bike clad in 30/32c Specialized Roubaix Pro tyres (RIP but replaced by the equally stellar Mondo) was a gamechanger. More comfort, more grip, more versatility, more comfort, the same performance if not better... Did I mention comfort? I’ve never looked back.
Stern requires little persuasion here. “I can’t tell you how much of an impact this made on me – feeling less like I was being shaken to death,” he says. “I think back to my younger days riding 18mm tyres at 120psi. Now I’m on 28s and 30s at around 60psi most of the time.”
Dewhurst has travelled much the same path. “When I started, I was on 23s. I’m now on 28s on my race bike and something like 40s on my gravel bike,” she says. “You don’t lose speed by riding a 28 or a 30, but you’re gaining comfort.”
Same speed, less battering. What’s not to like? Probably the best sub-£100/$130 (if you shop around) upgrade you’ll ever make.
Bike fits need refreshing as we age
I’m as guilty as many cyclists here; my last bike fit was a good four or five years ago, and they do carry an expiry date.
“Perhaps your flexibility has started to decline, so you can’t slam your stem anymore,” says Stern. “Not that it necessarily matters – you could potentially be more aerodynamic with the handlebars raised a fraction. A bike fit or refit can help sort out niggles.”
Dewhurst is as emphatic. “Definitely get a bike fit. They’re worth their weight in gold,” she says. “You shouldn’t be uncomfortable on a bike. I love getting on mine – it’s really comfortable.”
Her physiotherapy background gives her another reason to revisit the process later in life. “We tend to get a bit less flexible as we age, especially those with sedentary jobs who often develop stiffness in the back and hips.”
A fitter cannot cure every underlying physical problem, but your position needn’t remain frozen simply because it worked perfectly 15 years ago.
Tadej has driven the vogue for 165mm cranks for performance gains, but perhaps mature riders should take note too.
Shorter cranks have rapidly become one of cycling’s fashionable talking points – to the extent that I wonder if I’m smelling a fad – but there is a practical reason why older riders might take particular interest. Reducing crank length opens the hip angle and reduces knee and hip flexion at the top of the pedal stroke.
Dewhurst moved to 165mm cranks on one of her bikes after discussing the subject with her bike fitter while preparing for the 2023 Worlds.
“I think shorter cranks are a good idea,” she says. “They do help with comfort, especially with that hip issue. That said, my other bikes all have a variety of longer cranks, which I don’t think is a bad idea either. Overusing exactly the same mechanical movement is inviting issues, whereas varying muscle usage, even slightly, makes us less prone to injury.”
You heard it first here; retired physio and world-class athlete Linda Dewhurst endorses n+1! On a more serious note, there is no suggestion that everyone turning 50 needs to immediately swap out their 172.5mm cranks for a considerably shorter set. However, if reduced mobility makes an aggressive position uncomfortable, crank length is now another tool available to your bike fitter. Just remember, it’s not a case of one-size-fits-all.
We tend to obsess about saddles and pedals more than we do our cockpits, not least because these components are easier to swap out.
Contact points are so important, yet if you’re like I used to be, you probably obsess more about shoes, pedals and saddles than your cockpit. All that changed when, in my late forties, osteoarthritis skulked uninvited into my life, followed a decade later by the equally unwelcome Dupuytren’s contracture (when 1 or more fingers bend in towards your palm).
Electronic shifting is easy to dismiss as an expensive luxury until hand strength, dexterity or cold weather make mechanical controls difficult. “In the winter I suffer badly with arthritis and Raynaud’s phenomenon,” says Stern. “I need Di2 to help me shift. And in summer races it’s just flawless.”
Dewhurst owns both mechanical and electronic bikes and is happy with either, but her experience illustrates the wider issue. “I’m going to have surgery on my hand because I’ve developed Dupuytren’s contracture. One thing I noticed was braking on my gravel bike in winter – I thought, ‘God, I can’t really feel this so well.’ Your contact points mustn’t be overlooked.”
The answer might be electronic gears, adjusted lever reach, better-positioned hoods, thicker, cushioned tape or simply a different handlebar.
As Stern says, riders once had remarkably little choice. Today, there is an enormous range of components. If something hurts or is difficult to operate, there is little virtue in persevering with it, so act.
Wide shoes don't have to make you look like you've joined a circus. The visual difference between the Fizik Vento Omna Wide shoe on the left and Fizik Tempo Decos shoe on the right is minimal, yet those extra millimetres count.
Cycling shoes have traditionally been sold on the assumption that race fit and tight fit are much the same thing. They aren’t. In fact, modern thinking is that unimpeded metatarsal spread – that’s the fan of small bones in your forefoot – results in optimal power generation. Which seems like basic physics, doesn’t it?
For older riders, newer, wider shoes have additional benefits. Foot shape changes as we age; generally speaking, our feet become broader. So, simply buying the same brand and size indefinitely isn’t necessarily sensible. The growth in wide-fit options makes experimenting easier, while cleat position is another variable worth revisiting during a bike fit.
Dewhurst uses orthotics in her cycling shoes because of her high arches. “I used to get pressure on the ball of my foot – that hot-foot feeling – so an arch support helps support the foot better,” she says.
She has another common reason for preferring more generous footwear. “I’ve got a bunion on one foot, so I need wider shoes. A lot of cycling shoes are so narrow to start with, but wider ones are much easier to find now.”
The correct cycling shoe is the one your feet want to keep wearing after five hours in the heat of a mid-summer epic, not the one that looks fastest sitting outside the café.
GPS headunits, like the Wahoo Elemnt Ace, are large, but they can be more legible if you suffer a little age-related sight decline.
Presbyopia – age-related decline in near vision – is something that I really suffer with. There is little point in keeping your tiny, antique GPS bike computer if your principal interaction with it is squinting harder than Clint Eastwood in the blazing Almerian sun. Dedicated reading glasses aren’t really a thing in cycling.
“Fortunately, modern head units let you programme what data you want to see, so the fewer data fields on screen, the larger the digits tend to be,” says Stern. “And the units themselves are generally bigger than days gone by. How small was an Avocet?”
Dewhurst is beginning to encounter the same problem. “Especially when I’m racing or time trialling, I struggle to read the digits,” she admits. She is now considering the small reader inserts that can be fitted to cycling glasses after noticing another rider use them.
I’ve used inexpensive Optx inserts in the past, with some success, but more sophisticated bifocal options exist, provided you’re willing to pay large sums. However, I find bifocal lenses rarely inspire confidence on gnarly gravel trails littered with hazards that require the odd glance down. Everything’s a blur…
Not every ride needs to test you to the limit...
One of the simplest ways of improving training is also one of the hardest for enthusiastic cyclists to follow – easy days need to be easy. Unfortunately, many of us succumb to recovery day restlessness.
Dewhurst admits she still gets it wrong. “I’ll go out, and I’m meant to be doing an easy ride, but I’ll do it slightly too hard,” she says. “Then when I come to a really hard ride, I’ve run out of energy.”
Stern believes the distinction becomes increasingly important with age. “Recovery is slower than it once was, and hard sessions need to be protected.”
That does not mean gradually removing intensity from your riding. Older riders who want to preserve performance still need hard work; the point is to arrive at those sessions sufficiently recovered to actually do them properly.
Love it or hate it, weight training because increasingly important as age.
“Strength work is crucial,” says Stern. “As we age, we start to lose muscle mass – sarcopenia – which has a negative effect on general health and wellbeing as well as your cycling. Heavy strength training will help you build and maintain muscle, build and maintain your bones, increase your short and long-term cycling power and make you less likely to age badly.”
His prescription is reassuringly practical. “Start light, get the movement patterns down, then build to heavy with minimal reps once you have the basics.”
Stern came relatively late to strength work. For years he avoided it before taking it up seriously, leading to measurable improvements in sprint power.
Dewhurst is less evangelical, a stance I can relate to. “For years I’ve been saying I’m going to do some strength training and never got there,” she acknowledges. “I think it’s important, but it’s got to be interesting and easy to fit in, with enough variety to ensure that I’m not just working the same small number of muscles all the time. I do intend to start doing some weight training this winter,” she laughs.
Remember: the perfect programme you never do is considerably less useful than a modest one you can sustain.
Four-time national road race champion and Commonwealth road race silver medallist Lisa Brambani runs regularly out on the Yorkshire Moors.
Sometimes, the best way to train for cycling involves stepping away from the bike. Stern recommends mobility work to help with posture, joints and spinal health, and sees a place for yoga for its mental as well as physical benefits.
Dewhurst takes a refreshingly non-dogmatic approach. “If you enjoy it, do it,” she says. “I think doing a variety of different exercise is good. I do quite a bit of walking and that’s a good antidote to sore legs when you’ve been cycling.”
She is also living proof that you don’t need to embrace every fashionable form of cross-training. “I’m too stiff to do yoga,” she grins, “and find Pilates too boring.”
As an advanced yoga teacher, I believe anyone who believes they are too stiff to do yoga is a prime candidate for yoga, but agree with Dewhurst that there’s no benefit in taking up a pastime or regime that you don’t enjoy. You simply won’t last the course.
Cycling is superb aerobic exercise, but it offers little skeletal loading and keeps the body moving through a comparatively narrow range. Walking, running, resistance work, swimming, yoga or another activity you actually enjoy can complement it, particularly if retirement or reduced working hours leave more time to play with.
A post-ride beer might not help you to hit your goals
There was a time when many amateur cyclists regarded nutrition as whatever could be consumed at the café mid-ride and found in the fridge post-ride.
“You can still ride hard when you’re older,” says Stern, “but nutrition and recovery are super important for the gains. Increase your protein intake, make your carbohydrates decent and match them to your workload. Eat plenty of plants.”
Protein becomes especially relevant for maintaining muscle mass, while cutting carbohydrates indiscriminately can make hard training extremely challenging. Stern puts it more colourfully: “Gone are the days when you could neck a few beers and go training the next day. You can still do that, if that’s your thing, but recovery matters.”
An older rider investing hours in structured training while habitually under-fuelling is making life unnecessarily difficult.
Linda's goals are often competition focused but they can just be wanting to get a little fitter.
Goals dictate your training structure and provide mental focus and discipline – all of which sound like lofty ideals for a non-competitive cyclist like me. However, I do appreciate that goals also provide impetus – a welcome motivational shove in the back.
“My goal might be that I’m off to the European Championships and I’d like to get a podium,” says Dewhurst. “But it doesn’t have to be that extreme. It can just be, ‘I’d like to get a little bit fitter so I can get up that hill more comfortably’, or ride at a faster pace.”
Stern agrees. “Maybe it’s not getting dropped on the big hill near you or beating everyone in the sprint for the café. Having goals enables you to focus and train with purpose.”
That purpose can become especially useful once work and family routines change as we hit retirement. Suddenly having more time to ride doesn’t automatically mean using that time productively.
Nor does a goal have to be performance-based. A first century, a multi-day tour or riding every road in your county can work just as well. The important thing is that it makes you look forward to getting on the bike.
Ric Stern has quite literally lived cycling - he fully understands ageing and its impact on training.
I’ve never had a coach, but I envy cyclists who do. Once you’ve recognised something you would genuinely like to achieve, a coach can help turn vague ambition into a plan.
“If somebody wants to perform at a better level, getting a coach gives you that structure,” says Dewhurst. “Even if you’re not competitive, if you want to improve a little, coaching can point you in the right direction. It’s too easy to fall into doing the same old thing all the time.”
She should know. Despite being a physiotherapist and having spent a lifetime in sport, Dewhurst admits: “I know what I should do, but I need somebody to tell me, ‘Do that’, and I’ll do it.”
But age makes choosing the right coach particularly important. “Training most certainly should change with age,” says Stern. “Recovery is slower than it once was and hard sessions need to be protected. A coach who understands ageing – and the additional stress you may have from work or family – is crucial.”
Dewhurst changed coaches after feeling she was training too hard and no longer enjoying it. That is arguably as important as having a coach in the first place: if the relationship or programme isn’t working, change it.
Ric Stern, pictured here at pace at Goodwood, has the ambition of racing until he's in his nineties.
“Never raced before? So what – just do it,” says Stern. “It doesn’t matter if you’re first or last. You’re not turning pro!”
Dewhurst only came to cycling in her 50s. “When I started, I was doing it just for fun to get fit again. I didn’t have any ambitions to be competitive,” she says. “But then I got involved in Masters racing and it went from there!”
For newcomers, she suggests circuit racing as one of the least intimidating places to begin. “If you get dropped, it doesn’t matter because you’ll get picked up again on the next lap. Whereas if you’re in a 40-mile road race and get dropped after three or four miles, it’s a long, lonely thing.”
Stern suggests sampling different disciplines rather than deciding racing isn’t for you after one experience: “Crits, road racing, ultras, gravel, TTs – it’s all good. Try a few and see which you prefer.”
However, Dewhurst believes masters racing still has work to do when it comes to encouraging women. “I think a lot of women feel a little intimidated and feel they shouldn’t be there,” she says. “I’ve always trained and raced with men, so it doesn’t faze me. The men in masters racing are very generous – although they don’t give you any free rides, that’s for sure. If more women did it, it would be easier.”
Dewhurst believes more grassroots-level circuit racing would provide a particularly useful route in. “It can be such a fun, social thing to do. And it gives you a bit more sense of achievement, perhaps, than just going out for a ride.”
A cycling club can provide a wonderful training environment, social contact and copious amounts of coffee and cake.
“You can cycle on your own and that can be lovely,” says Dewhurst. “But what really got me into club cycling was the fact that you stop and have cake and coffee. I thought this sounds like a great idea – cycle 20 miles, stop for coffee and cake, then cycle 20 miles back. It’s not the sort of thing runners do, that’s for sure.”
But not every club suits every rider. Some are race-focused; others revolve around touring, social riding or gravel. Dewhurst’s advice is refreshingly uncomplicated: “Try one, but if that club’s not for you, join another.”
Stern points out that a group can also make training easier – or simply help you through a long ride. “Look for one that has some riders about your age. Just going out with a group of riding buddies can be a great way to train or endure an epic ride when your legs are starting to drop off!”
As working life winds down, cycling can provide something beyond fitness: regular social contact, routine and friendships built around doing something enjoyable together. And, crucially, cake.
Cycling is at the heart of any cycling holiday, then there's the scenery, the food, the wine and the fun.
I’m not really into club rides, preferring to ride solo most of the time, but I do love a good cycling holiday. I think it’s the relaxed, no-pressure vibe I enjoy, as well as meeting new people and riding unfamiliar routes. I’ve holidayed with a few companies but found Via Roma provides a great balance of challenge and chill.
“A good cycling holiday should still feel like an adventure and a challenge, but it should take away the hassle,” says Grant Bayton of Via Roma. “The bike is at the heart of it, but so are the scenery, the food, the company and the fun. You can test yourself on the bike yet still come away feeling as though you’ve had a proper holiday.”
Bayton has also seen a marked increase in female participation. “Often around a third of the group are women, and in Tuscany sometimes half. A lot of that comes through word of mouth, particularly when women know the atmosphere will be relaxed, inclusive and supportive.”
Dewhurst needed little encouragement here. “Oh, definitely. Great fun,” she says. One of her first cycling holidays was in the Alps, not long after taking up the sport. She has since done several and was preparing for a ride from Seville to Valencia when we spoke.
There's always Zwift and Rouvy when the weather is less cooperative
I used to stick my bike way at the end of October to focus on swimming during the winter months. Unsurprisingly, this did little for my cycling fitness, so every April was a sufferfest. Now, as platforms such as Zwift and Rouvy have matured to the point where they are a joy to use (sometimes!), I train indoors a few times a week. More significantly, my gravel bike, better lights, modern bike bags and much improved cycling attire enable me to cycle a hilly 20km to the pool in all but the very worst weather.
“There is no off-season anymore,” says Stern. “People are periodising their training and focusing on year-round riding so they’re stronger next year. Winter clothing is generally excellent now, and indoor riding is much more interesting.”
Dewhurst has discovered one remarkably simple piece of kit. “My favourite thing is arm warmers,” she says. “I started wearing them under my winter jacket and the difference was huge. Such a simple thing, but it makes winter riding more comfortable. However, I refuse to go out if it’s chucking it down.”
See and be seen. Radar is a boon, especially on fast but quiet roads where traffic can appear with little warning.
Radar is not just a gimmick; it has transformed my rides, allowing me to be much more confident and assertive on the road. Garmin, which makes excellent radar units, once pretty much enjoyed a monopoly on this product category, but other brands such as Wahoo, Lezyne, Magene and iGPSport have now joined the fray with competitively priced products.
“I’ve just invested in one of those Garmin radar lights,” says Dewhurst. “I do quite a bit on my own and I have to negotiate a major A-road to return home. I struggle to turn, look over my shoulder and stay straight on the bike, so it’s been fantastic. I can’t always hear cars behind me either, so it gives me much more peace of mind knowing it’ll show me if something is coming up – especially with electric cars.”
Stern also recommends location sharing and cameras: “Roads are busier. Radar, LiveTrack and cameras can help with your safety or let loved ones know you’re OK.”
None of this tech replaces observation or road sense. But if retirement means more weekday solo riding, any product that improves our situational awareness has to be worth bolting to our bikes.
Gravel riding is a seductive pastime, even for die-hard roadies.
Much of my riding time is spent exploring the lanes that criss-cross the UK's Cotswolds, but I also adore off-road excursions on my gravel and XC bikes. Trying something different brings new energy, not to mention skills, to my riding.
Dewhurst’s introduction gravel racing began optimistically. “I thought gravel might be fun,” she recalls. Her first qualifier in Wales proved rather less benign than expected. “I thought it would be nice parkland gravel. It was awful! Much more technical than I was expecting.”
She qualified anyway and subsequently rode the Gravel World Championships. Despite that baptism of fire, she is planning more gravel riding. “Change is as good as a rest sometimes,” she says. “It’s a different way of riding. With gravel it doesn’t matter whether you’re doing 10mph or 5mph – the terrain dictates what you can do, so sometimes it takes that pressure off.”
Planning new adventures on Strava, OS Maps, Komoot and so on, can help lift you out of a rut. As can bikepacking, mountain biking, audax or simply putting the bike in the car and starting somewhere unfamiliar.
Don't allow age to become a reason to expect less from cycling
“I don’t think it’s defeatist to have an electric bike,” says Dewhurst. “I know a few older guys I used to cycle with who have them now, and it’s given them a totally new lease of life.” If assistance allows somebody to stay with friends, continue riding hills, return after illness or simply have more fun, calling them out for using an e-bike is a nonsense.
“If you’ve got to the point where you’re thinking of stopping cycling because you can’t manage any more, it’s an ideal thing to have,” Dewhurst adds.
Stern’s attitude is characteristically straightforward: “Age is just a number on your licence – it’s not a limit on what you can do, so have fun. I thoroughly recommend British Masters Racing, where you race in 5-year age bands – it is great to see the older riders still racing. I hope to be competing when I'm 90 plus!”
Dewhurst occasionally has to remind herself that the person she is comparing herself with may be 25 years younger. “Most of the time, though, I don’t even consider my age.”
Perhaps that is the most useful advice of all. Don’t allow being over 50 to become a reason, in itself, to expect less from cycling.