When you hit the age of 60, you tend to be closer to retirement. Once retired, you tend to have a lot more time on your hands to do the hobbies you love or to experience new activities. Cycling is an excellent sport, and for senior citizens, I can recommend it for so many reasons such as;
- Low impact
- It’s not super intense
- It can be made easy or hard
- Very social
- It can be done anywhere
- Works the cardiovascular and muscular systems
The question is often asked how far a senior citizen can ride a bike. A senior citizen has the ability to ride a bike as far as they like, but depending on a few things, the distance can differ significantly. In this article, i will speak about what can make it difficult and ways that a senior citizen can further improve that distance.
What Makes Cycling Far a Challenge for a Senior Citizen?
When it comes to cycling, there are a few things that can make it very challenging. If you’re a senior citizen or not, these can affect you, and these elements will have a considerable impact on how far anyone can travel.
Current level of fitness
Probably the most vital thing is your current fitness. If you’re pretty new to cycling, then riding far will be very challenging. If you are an ex-professional, then it is going to be much easier. Fitter people naturally are going to be better at cycling.
Consistency
People who cycle often are much better at cycling far. It goes with anything. The more you do it, the better the body becomes at it. Being consistent and cycling often makes going further much easier.
Terrain
If it’s hilly, you will struggle to ride far. Although they always say what goes up must come down, it’s not that simple. The hills are energy-zapping and fatigue you much quicker than if you were riding on a flat. The same goes for on and off-road. If you’re on technical off road terrain, this will hugely slow you down and make it very challenging to ride far.
Bike
Having the right bike also goes a long way to help you stay on top of a long ride. Something light and comfortable will be really beneficial to riding far. It’s pretty common to see people using road bikes for distance riding because they have these qualities.
Nutrition
Another thing many people overlook even as a senior citizen is eating. If you want to ride far, then you need to make sure that you’re eating and drinking regularly. With the correct fuelling and a decent level of fitness, you can ride super far.
Determination
Cycling can be very easy, or you can make it very hard. The further you ride, the harder it might feel, so it takes a little bit of determination to stay on the bike and keep going.
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How to Ride Further as a Senior Citizen
If you have just started riding and are a senior citizen, you might want to go further, and just because being a little older doesn’t mean you can’t increase your distance. In this next section, I’m going to tell you how you can rack up the miles easily.
Do structured training
A great way to improve your distance is to do some structured training. Using a coach that can give you a little guidance will go a long way to get you fitter and help you ride much further. I know many a cyclist who are 70+ and uses a coach just so they can enjoy doing more miles and be out for longer. It’s not a competitive thing.
Bike fit
If you want to ride further, having a bike fit will help you. A bike fit is the process of a professional adjusting your bike for you, so you are in the perfect position. This makes riding much more comfortable and makes riding further just so much easier.
New bike
I know there’s always room for a new bike, but maybe upgrading your bike to one that is more efficient at the job of riding far will help. Getting a good endurance bike makes the work much easier, and honestly, you will be more comfortable than most bikes.
Use an e-bike
If you want to ride further and quickly, a modern day e-bike will make it very easy for you. Some of them have a range of up to 80 miles, and they look identical to normal bikes. They are only pedal assist, so you still have to work to let them help you, but it will open you up to many new places and more adventures.
Strength training
Strength training is an excellent way of getting stronger and being able to ride further. It has a massive amount of benefits from strengthening muscles, lubricating joints, and even helping prevent injuries and after-ride pains. It can be as little as an hour a week, and the improvements are enormous.
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Conclusion
How far can a senior citizen ride a bike? There are way too many variables to give a certain distance. I believe as far as they like depending on the changes they are willing to make and their dedication to it, but taking note of this article and what you can improve will go a long way to help you ride further and further.
