The Midlife Cyclist: The Road Map for the +40 Rider Who Wants to Train Hard, Ride Fast and Stay Healthy

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A 30-year lifespan seemed to be the upper end of the age spectrum for hundreds of thousands of generations of our ancestors for a very good reason. It allowed the individual to mature, breed and parent offspring to maturity. So, while there’s certainly evolutionary pressure for Homo sapiens to survive to 30 years old, that still leaves me very unlikely to win an all-out sprint against my 29-year-old self, whether on a bicycle at Eastway or running away from a hungry leopard. I’ll almost certainly lose because there’s plainly no selective imperative for me to win. Indeed, if you take a strictly gene-centric view, there’s actually a selective advantage to me losing a sprint for survival against a younger close family member, so they can survive and propagate shared genes through their offspring. I agree that the majority of training should be endurance and that should be Z1 in a 3 zone model or Z2 in the 7 zone model and going above this can lead to fatigue so that may leave you too tired to carry out the HIIT intervals on another day in the week.

bike fitting makes good sense for every regular cyclist because the body adapts in potentially damaging ways to an unsuitable bike; Nigel is a friend, a client, and I'm a patient of his. So our relationship is quite multilayered. And he's in the book because one, he is a superb cardiologist and second, he's a superb cyclist. And thirdly, he comes out with the best pithy one-liners I've ever heard. The one you're alluding to, I think, is that we trade cardiovascular and cognitive protection for the occasional orthopaedic incident, which is just beautiful. The heart of the matter is that if you cycle hard or moderately, you're almost certainly going to be cognitively protected and have cardiovascular protection. But you are occasionally going to fall off and hurt something. That's the proposition. Alejandro Valverde, aged 41 and thriving in the pro peloton (Image: Getty) We older and less fit midlife cyclists are, as a group, riding harder and faster, relative to our maximum, than the top-ranked professionals in the world. And we're holding down jobs and trying to be great parents and partners. The complex and highly interactive relationship between age, health and athletic fitness is the holy triumvirate – there are many out there who feel that only two can increase significantly at any one time – age and fitness or age and health.There's a slightly philosophical almost New-Age final chapter about 'mindfulness' which also didn't quite work for me. Interesting, although with perhaps too much of the medico-technical for my slender intellect to absorb. Angus, a fellow cyclist with strong interest in sport and training mentioned it. The book has lots of discussion and exploration of performance athletes, which is interesting, as much as anything because I have never, ever considered myself to be one and I take no interest in spectator sports. But such humans are undoubtedly extraordinary in their combination of mental attitudes and physiological adaptation. But he does also deal with non-athletes. With a longstanding partner, he runs Cycle Fit, a consultancy in Covent Garden. They have helped many people recover from injuries and have improved the bike setup and performance of many more. I think it was Sean Kelly who said "The difference between amateurs and Professionals is that when an amateur isn't going well he will train harder whereas a pro will rest." A growing theme through the book is to simplify training and put more emphasis on lower intensity efforts, focus less on FTP, trust how you feel with an emphasis on rest and recovery, supported by HRV measurement. For cyclists trying to balance a training schedule with competing demands for time from work, family etc, this is a great dose of common sense. The honesty and frankness of the author about his own "chaotic" training is refreshing and relieving. It has changed the way I think about cycle training. I'm not competitive but now I feel good about cycling the right amount, in the right way, to add healthy years to my life instead of getting hung up on the latest Strava KOM. It’s an interesting read by an author who really, really likes the word “ameliorate” and who might have spent a bit more time off his bike proof-reading the text – there are a few too many sloppy errors throughout.

You could use a heart rate monitor and use a percentage of your highest recent recorded heart rate or you could use the RPE/Borg Scale and the ‘sing-a-verse’ methodology (which I prefer, incidentally). It’s important to note that riding in an oxidative state involves metabolising fatty acids as a fuel source, which could be important if you’re also trying to manage weight as well as gain fitness. T he Midlife Cyclist is entertaining, insightful, well researched and vital reading for all youngsters over forty who have a love affair with the bike ― Norman FosterPhil is eminently qualified to write The Midlife Cyclist . Well, he is certainly old enough.' Fabian Cancellara, Tour de France rider and two-time Olympic champion

Hip surgeons and physios love cycling and always prescribe it because it's not traumatic on your body if your bike is set up properly. But actually, your body needs a bit of trauma. It needs a bit of micro tear to try and generate it to heal stronger. So cycling, in some senses, when you get to my age, is too kind. You need to do your base with cycling and then challenge your body a little bit differently. Dr Baker thinks that most amateur riders function at only 60 per cent of their theoretical aerobic (oxidative) capacity due to training incorrectly — mostly from riding too much at too high a level. You need to be a fast tortoise before you can become even a slow hare. Starts well. Good science - especially about potential adverse effects of excessive exercise on the ageing cyclist (and by extension) the older athlete (all a bit scary but the literature cited is slim). Useful stuff on nutrition and the value of cross-training. Phil is eminently qualified to write the Midlife Cyclist. Well, he is certainly old enough ― Fabian Cancellara, Tour de France rider and two-time Olympic champion Every time you go above this level, you’re having to use enzymes to break down the excess lactate. Dr Baker's coach’s eye view: ‘If you feel good on an endurance ride, go longer, not harder. Going harder is risky. Going longer is safe. It’s the same with intervals — if you feel good, do an extra rep or two, but don’t increase the power.’As you’d expect, the committed cyclist will find lots of info here on the bike itself and biomechanics. For example, do yourselves a favour and don’t be worrying about the technicalities of the “upstroke”. The author asks the question - is high level athletic training on a bicycle risky or damaging to one's health as we move from our 20s and 30s, into our 40s and on to our 60s? Phil Cavell draws a balance between referencing research directly and building on it with his own opinion and that of practising cardiologists. It would say try and look at a broader basket of metrics other than just FTP, (functional threshold power). I would say enjoy your cycling, enjoy how you increase your performance: how you climb, how you descend, how pleased you feel on the bike, how much you enjoy cycling. Renowned cycling biomechanics pioneer, Phil Cavell, explores the growing trend of middle-aged and older cyclists seeking to achieve high-level performance.