Sue proved age no barrier to exercise as she took on Alps

Getting older doesn’t mean you need to hang up your wheels. We tend to approach the ageing process in a linear fashion – the accepted wisdom is that the older we get the more our ability to do physical activity declines. Fortunately, there is plenty of evidence to the contrary and I have seen on many occasions cyclists in their 80s tackling multi-day bike rides and exerting themselves in a way that would put many individuals half their age to shame. After all, as American essayist Henry David Thoreau once wrote: “None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.”

In recent weeks I have had the pleasure to meet several individuals whose enthusiasm for life has been an inspiration. One of those was a lady named Sue who was in her late 60s and, along with her older husband, had signed up for a six-day cycling trip in the French Alps I was guiding. The route would take them over 400km of some of the highest roads in Europe and climb 9,000 metres in total.

Sue had only taken up road cycling a few years before but had already been on several trips and, at dinner each evening, loved telling me of the routes she had already climbed. The big day for her, however, was going to be the ascent of the Col du Telegraphe and the mighty Col du Galibier, which together make up for around 32km of climbing in one day.

Sue not only made it to the top of these two giants, she did so with her customary humility and stoic Britishness. At the summit, she apologised that she had taken longer than she had expected and she may take it steady on the descent to La Grave as her legs were a bit wobbly. Her attitude was incredible and she didn’t see that what she was doing was anything out of the ordinary.

It is easy to slip into the perceived normality that as we grow older, we start to slow down and take life at a more gradual pace, smelling the roses and enjoying life at a more sedate pace, but there is absolutely no reason why that should actually be the case. In fact, we should be striving for the opposite. Instead of letting our health and wellbeing slip as we reach the autumn of our lives we can actually enrich our life experiences by approaching them with a vitality and zest. You perhaps can’t halt the progress of time, but you can keep your mind and body sharp by getting out there and being physical.

Now, you may be reading this and thinking: well, that’s not me. I’m too old to start that now and perhaps a foray into the Alps may be a step too far for just now. But every journey has to start somewhere and you may surprise yourself just how much you can achieve in a short space of time. Now, even more so than ever, with the progress of E-bikes, there are a multitude of possibilities to get out and ride at any age and stage of life.

Sue, at the end of her trip, was buzzing with excitement and already planning where she and her husband could go next – high on the list was Sardinia. For her cycling was a way to explore new countries and stay young at heart in the process.

Join the Blazing Saddles Strava Club at: www.strava.com/clubs/ BlazingSaddlesWeekendCourier

Cycling helps keep you fit and healthy.