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

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Life might begin at 40, but your body is starting to change. “Genetically, you hit your peak aged between 15 and 30, as that is when, in the distant past, you had the speed, strength and flexibility to outrun a predator,” explains Cavell.

You may endure a loss of motivation, disrupted sleep and stress. “This impacts on performance and can lead to niggling injuries. Women also become more insulin-resistant, resulting in weight gain.”Men enduring symptoms of low testosterone – such as fatigue and muscle loss – should also see their GP, because blood tests and treatment are available.

For most recreational cyclists, this is the time to enjoy rides for the sheer pleasure. But it is worth broadening your activities. Weight-lifting can also help female cyclists manage the perimenopause. “Lower oestrogen can cause insulin resistance, and weight gain,” explains Roberts.

You don’t want to become one of those skinny bird-like cyclists who could function well on the bike but can’t function anywhere else.”

Both men and women may feel weaker on the bike, with strength declining by 30 per cent from age 50 to 70. Watch out for weight gain, too, which will make life harder for you on climbs: our fasted glucose levels rise after the age of 50. This is possibly because we are less efficient at metabolising glucose. What changes should I make?

At Cycle Fit in London, Phil Cavell – author of The Midlife Cyclist – and Nichola Roberts – owner of Velophysio – have been helping ambitious cyclists navigate the ageing process for years.

Eating a higher proportion of complex grains such as brown rice or quinoa, and fibre-rich veggies can prevent weight gain. Sixty-something riders will benefit from an extra resistance session. “Drop out another cycling session and add in resistance training to preserve muscle mass, bone density and range of motion,” says Cavell. It’s time to adjust your diet too. The bike is quite flattering as it is low loading, but sitting on your turbo trainer at 350 watts for 20 minutes does nothing for bone density or muscle mass,” says Cavell.A Midlife Cyclist is the 3rd book written by Rachel, the other two being ‘Running For My Life’ and ‘Running For Our Lives’. Or perhaps my sense of disjointness is because there are some pretty wild leaps here. I didn't find it surprising when she struggled with a night mountain bike ride, the pedestrians on a canal towpath, or main road lorries. But then it leapt to cycling up volcanoes in Costa Rica, and even though she was pointing out how she'd underestimated the challenge, I rather struggled to believe that anyone could really underestimate by that much. The impact will cause the body to produce more muscle and bone mineral,” explains Cavell. “It will also aid weight control, along with your low-intensity rides, which burn fat.” Cyclefit offers an in-depth and highly personalised approach to bike sales. Whatever your riding discipline (for me it’s road, gravel and MTB) the team in Covent Garden will find the right build for you. All this is built around a pro level bike fit and detailed component selection. Add to this the important items often overlooked beyond the bike itself such as shoes, insoles and saddle pressure mapping and it’s a full service operation." JH