
105-Year-Old Cyclist Rides 14 Miles in an Hour En Route to a World Record - happy-go-lucky
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/04/508213332/105-year-old-cyclist-rides-14-miles-in-an-hour-en-route-to-a-world-record
======
emptybits
For those inspired by "old cyclists", I encourage you to look at the sport of
randonneuring.

TL;DR: randonneurs ride in timed, regulated road-coarse events that _start_ at
200 km and work up to a traditional distance of 1200 km (and beyond). It's
endurance cycling and ... the kicker ... it's full of "old" people (because
they seem to have the wisdom and gumption to ride smart and long). In my local
club, there are definitely young riders in their 20s and 30s but the most
prolific riders are over 50 and the top two are gentlemen in their 70s. "Top"
as measured by most events ridden in a year and most event mileage in a year.
Their average speeds put young riders to shame more often than not.

Slow and steady wins the race, for values of "race" greater than 200 km. ;-)
There are local clubs all over the USA, Canada, Europe, and everywhere.

Anyways, not everyone knows about the sport of randonneuring so I just wanted
to share in the context of inspiration, no-age-limits cycling -- it dates back
to the 1890s and I personally think its community and values are better than
regular competitive road or mountain biking, having done all of the above.
Ride safe.

~~~
bazzargh
I heard about the Ardechoise cycling festival off the back of Robert
Marchand's previous record - it's his club, they named a _hill_ after him, etc
- and got inspired to travel there and enter one of their Randonneur routes a
couple of years ago. The festival has many different routes you can choose
from, which overlap, and all of which are marked by the same yellow arrows on
the road - which leads to fun times if you miss a turn. Mine was this one:
[http://www.ardechoise.com/Carte-interactive/Les-Gorges-
Monta...](http://www.ardechoise.com/Carte-interactive/Les-Gorges-Montagne-
Ardechoise) ... 608km, but over 4 days.

As it turned out, I arrived at the top of the final hill before Saint-Félicien
at the same time as a small peloton of riders and journalists surrounding an
old man on an electric bike...it was Robert himself. Hope I can still be doing
this at his age.

------
Lio
You don't stop cycling because you get old, you get old because you stop
cycling! :)

~~~
paulddraper
Data fails to support your conjecture.

Marchand is one of the oldest people on earth and he cycles. :)

~~~
Lio
> Data fails to support your conjecture.

Really? Which data would that be then?

Because at least some data seems to indicate inactivity (a lack of cycling)
increases age related degeneration. :)

[http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/jphysiol.2014.282...](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/jphysiol.2014.282863/full)

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agentgt
I remember reading that there is a correlation with height and longevity [1].
He is only 5' tall. His height is probably easier on his heart.

[1]:
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1071721/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1071721/)

~~~
hahamrfunnyguy
Makes sense. The heart wouldn't need to be as strong to circulate blood, and
by extension not need to be as large or need as much nourishment either.

~~~
rubicon33
What I don't understand about this theory, is, that you would then expect
athletes of all sizes to die sooner... Certainly the heart of an athlete has
gone a lifetime working harder than a non athlete... Maybe I'm
misunderstanding something about the height/age correlation...

~~~
steinystein
My guess, is your misunderstanding lies in biology in general. There is no
constant maximum heart effort per lifetime. The heart is a muscle, if muscles
are not used they become weak, conversely when muscles are used they become
stronger and can grow (see: weight lifting). Also there is more to staying
alive than a heart that beats.

------
smnplk
He should be in a Shimano 105 groupset commercial :)

~~~
packetized
Well, he's riding an Origine Axxome 350 fitted with Ultegra, based on the
photos - so 105 isn't that far off. Heh.

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jMyles
> he set a new record for the 105-plus age group

wait, what? That's a thing? How many members of this "group" are there? How
many attempts have ever been made?

~~~
wcarron
The age-group was created as a result of his attempt. He is the only one. It's
preetty fuckin' baller of him. I bet this record is gonna stand for a while.

~~~
basseq
It's baller, but I wish they would focus on the fact that a 105-year-old is
doing what he's doing, not focusing on a "record" that's a 1/1 attempt. Add
enough caveats and everyone's a record-holder in something.

~~~
TylerE
Every record is a "1 of 1" until somebody does it.

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melling
This guy ran a marathon under 3 hours at 70, and under 4 hours at 85.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Whitlock](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Whitlock)

~~~
agumonkey
Hell, I used to ride 20km a bit under 40min when 29, and I wasn't coasting ...
that puts me just above that old man.

~~~
paulcole
A sub 3 marathon is like 6 minutes 50-something seconds per mile. A 40 minute
20k is like a 3 minute 13 second mile.

More like "basically double" not "just above."

Unless my math is off someplace.

~~~
agumonkey
I meant ride on bike. Sorry if that was unclear.

~~~
paulcole
No, it was clear you were talking about cycling but it is still a pace that's
twice as fast.

~~~
agumonkey
But I thought I read his latest bike record was 23km/h ..

~~~
paulcole
oh, i gotcha. i was thinking you were comparing running to biking

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pdxandi
I'd like to point out that he is riding upright on a standard road bike with
virtually no aero equipment (except his loose skin suit). I imagine at his age
a time trial position would destroy his back and neck after an hour (if he
could even get in the position) so, to me, that makes his distance that much
more impressive. I bet he could tack on 1-2 more miles if were fully decked
out in TT equipment, maybe even more.

~~~
Johnny555
At 15mph, there's not that much to be gained by tucking into an aero position,
I'd be surprised if he could go 10% faster (or farther) just by tucking into
an aero position and wearing more aero equipment.

~~~
mrob
In my experience aerodynamics are noticeable even at 15mph. There's a
calculator for estimating bicycle power at:
[http://www.cyclingpowerlab.com/PowerSpeedScenarios.aspx](http://www.cyclingpowerlab.com/PowerSpeedScenarios.aspx)

Assuming Marchand (52kg) rode a UCI weight limit bike (6.8kg), and assuming he
rode on the hoods for the whole hour (the position shown in the photos), and
keeping all other assumptions default, his 14mph ride required about 69W of
power.

With the optimized aero bars setting, which is approximately the best
aerodynamics possible using the relaxed post-2014 rules, the same power allows
a speed of 15.15mph. Not quite 10% improvement but not far off.

~~~
discreteevent
Yes but it's worth noting that for a person of any age it's harder to generate
the same power in a fully aero position because you are choking the engine!

~~~
pdxandi
In my experience, the tucked TT position is just as much about generating
power as it is being aero. Granted time trials aren't my strongest event when
bike racing, being in an aggressive position seated far more forward on the
saddle allows me to generate more down force – at least it feels that way. In
two similar events a few years ago I went from ~24mph to ~26mph by just adding
aero bars to my road bike, and further improvements when I got a full TT bike.
I know there are a lot of factors (wind, road conditions, etc.), but sitting
in the aero bars really feel far more powerful than sitting upright on the
hoods or even in the drops.

------
roystonvassey
Outliers (or, are they?) like this guy make me question my beliefs about
nutrition and fitness. Two days back, my uncle (who is pushing 93) was telling
my mom that he's NOW finding it a tad difficult to do his daily cycle rides of
10 kms. All his life he's smoked a cigar everyday, had a couple of glasses of
Scotch and basically eaten whatever he's wished.

And here I am, struggling with early metabolic syndrome despite eating low-
carb, doing a fair bit of HIIT + lifting and feeling guilty every time I have
a drink.

Go Figure!

~~~
andygates
Cycling takes a long time, so it burns a lot of calories. It's no coincidence
that a common club ride destination will be a nice cake shop and that half the
riders will be skinny older guys.

Get on a bike, son! :)

~~~
roystonvassey
I do have one and I enjoy my daily commutes on it :)

But, given the negligible effect it's had on my health, I want to refine my
original comment to make it clear that I don't imply causation between cycling
and burning calories. Clearly, I need to make additional changes.

~~~
rounce
Join a cycling club, it's not just about the Sunday rides. You'll find a few
people you click with more and your schedules match nice enough for you to get
in miles of your choosing.

If you're doing HIIT-type stuff, I'd recommend finding a serious lung-buster
of a hilly loop near you and playing cat and mouse with your mates. One person
at the bottom, give a head start of a certain distance (based on your
respective abilities) to the rest of the group, and then hit the climb. The
leaders need to get to the top of the hill without being caught by the chasers
(not beaten to the top, just _caught_ ). The caught leaders join the chasers
for the next hill and so on, until you can go no more. Kinda helps to break
the monotony of riding the same (albeit convenient) routes over and over and
helps everyone push each other forward.

------
neximo64
Theres also a marathon runner who runs at 100+ somewhere, quite amazing.

~~~
Fnoord
> Theres also a marathon runner who runs at 100+ somewhere, quite amazing.

Had to look that up [1] [2].

[1] [https://www.yahoo.com/news/100-old-marathoner-finishes-
race-...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/100-old-marathoner-finishes-
race-235239203.html)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauja_Singh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauja_Singh)

------
hahamrfunnyguy
That guy is in great shape! Hope I am still riding bikes at his age.

------
jakekovoor
I am a 19 year-old and I don't even know how to cycle

~~~
rplnt
Good way to learn is to get a bicycle (borrow maybe?), remove pedals and
cruise to build up confidence. Lower the seat, start at a flat ground and just
push yourself (as kids do). Then you can move on a slight downhill to gain
some speed and learn to operate the brakes. Once that becomes easy you can
move onto pedaling.. which is cycling!

~~~
f4rker
this is terrible advice

~~~
jasonmp85
You should see my three-year-old on his coaster bike. I can no longer keep up
with him, even running. I haven't transitioned him to pedals yet, but I have
to feel there's something to the idea that the balance is the hard part and
once you're confident in that you can pedal while you do it.

Edit: He became proficient with it slightly after his second birthday. He
walked fairly late, too, after 16 months or so. I don't think he could have
learned to pedal this early, but he's got the balance, steering, and speed
control (braking and accelerating as needed) out of the way. Even knows how to
ring a bell when passing people on jogging trails.

~~~
Kluny
I got my niece a tiny one for Christmas. She's one. She loves it! As soon as
her feet can touch the ground astride it, she'll be unstoppable!

------
ploggingdev
Mind blown.

His diet that consists mainly of fruits and vegetables along with his lean
body are likely major factors that contribute to his youth like health at 105.

~~~
shortoncash
I think I saw a variation on this article that said he started cycling
regularly when he was 68.

Our city has been taking steps to make bicycle commuting more friendly, but
they haven't gone far enough. I really hope we end this absurdity with having
too many cars; they are ruining everywhere nice.

~~~
aaron-lebo
If he's been doing serious road biking since that age it's probably not
something that he's doing on regular streets. Or, he's not just hopping on a
bike and taking a leisurely ride down the street for groceries anyway.

~~~
jdietrich
>If he's been doing serious road biking since that age it's probably not
something that he's doing on regular streets.

Of course he rides on regular streets, he's French. Seeing an elderly woman
riding to the shops or a group of lycra-clad pensioners attacking a mountain
pass is perfectly normal there.

It is a peculiarly American belief that bicycles are somehow incompatible with
motor vehicles. Cyclists need no special facilities, just sane traffic laws
that are actively enforced.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be48mIvXZrw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be48mIvXZrw)

~~~
aaron-lebo
You can drive to Plano, Texas and find packs of bikers attacking the open road
as well. That's not a video of Marchand in lycra speeding down a Paris
boulevard.

Is it a particularly European belief that Americans are unenlightened savages?
I mean, we are, but you don't have to assume it.

~~~
jdietrich
I don't believe that Americans are unenlightened savages. I believe that they
have a very limited cycling culture, due largely to the dominance of car
culture. America was fortunate enough to be the richest country on earth
during the 20th century, so it developed a car culture sooner and more
pervasively than any other country. At a time when cars were an unaffordable
luxury for most Europeans, many Americans regarded cars as a basic necessity.

The public discourse about cycling in America is dominated by myths, because
very few Americans have practical experience of regular cycling. Those who do
cycle tend to be self-taught, because of the limited availability of cycle
training and the lack of a strong tradition of club cycling. America is having
to rebuild a culture of cycling from scratch, for no other reason than the
ubiquity of the motorcar.

~~~
aaron-lebo
Yes, America has a "limited" cycling culture, but we're a nation of 300
million people; within that there are pockets of very real cycling culture
informed by decades of experience from elsewhere.

Some of us do cycle, too. There are miles and miles of good trails running
through some cities you wouldn't expect.

~~~
legodt
That is the exact opposite of a national culture of cycling...

