Many people ask me if riding a century is something they can do despite being in their twilight years. The first thing I tell them is that last year I coached an 82 year old rider to cycle his first century. Anything is possible with the right training.

The big fear for many older people is that riding 100 miles on their bike will push their body over its limit and will cause them to have a heart attack. This is not true. in my experiences the only difference between. Young and old bodies is their ability to recover. When you are older this means it may take you a couple of days to recover from a hard ride as opposed to a day for a young rider.

All the above means is that any century attempt by an elder rider should be more carefully planned. Central top any plan should be a good training schedule. All too often people can end up over training and end up actually getting slower on the bike or even worse injured.

Any older rider can successfully ride a century. All the extra age means is that more attention is required to your training schedule to ensure adequate recovery time is allowed. In fact riders of all ages will benefit from having a well structured training schedule to follow. Not only will it help with your motivation to go out and train but it will also ensure your riding reaches the best of your abilities, allowing you to enjoy your century ride.