Too Old to Start Cycling? Four Riders Who Started in Their 60s and 70s.

"I'm too old now."

It's one of the saddest sentences we hear, because you’re not.

Over the last 14 years we've coached thousands of cyclists, and one thing has become clear, age is rarely the thing holding people back. When I speak to new riders it’s usually fear, closely followed by lack of confidence, or not knowing where to start. My clients below all had perfectly good reasons not to begin. What makes them different isn't that they were fitter, younger or more talented. They simply refused to let age decide what was still possible. In doing so they found far more than better fitness. They found confidence, purpose, friendship, adventure and a version of themselves they never thought existed.  Sadly, many people half their age never experience that same sense of freedom, adventure and fulfilment.

It's no coincidence these riders are healthier and happier today. Research consistently shows that regular cycling can improve cardiovascular health, muscle strength, balance, mental wellbeing and overall quality of life well into your seventies and beyond. But these stories show what can happen when those health benefits are combined with structured coaching, a meaningful goal and the courage to simply begin.

Monie: Started at 62. Still Living Her Greatest Adventures at 73.

When Monie first contacted us, she wasn't an experienced cyclist. She was a complete beginner. In fact, she'd only decided to start road cycling because a friend suggested riding London to Paris. She was 62 years old.

There was just one problem. She'd never properly ridden a road bike. She'd never used cleats or clipless pedals, lacked confidence riding with others and had no endurance background.

For many people, those would have been reasons not to start. For Monie, they became the reasons to begin.

What started as one-to-one coaching to help her complete a single cycling challenge became something far bigger. It ignited a passion for cycling, a renewed sense of purpose, and opened the door to a life filled with adventure, friendship and experiences she never imagined possible.

So we started with the basics. Learning to ride confidently in cleats. Cornering. Climbing. Descending. Using gears effectively. Building endurance. Developing the confidence to ride with others.

Over the last eleven years we've watched Monie achieve things that would have seemed unimaginable when she first clipped into a road bike:

• Qualified to represent Team USA Masters at the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships at 66.
• Climbed Mont Ventoux from its two toughest sides in a single day, at 65 - 72.9km and 3109 metres in one day.
• Became the oldest female finisher of the Mallorca 312 two years running, completing 167 km with 2,500 metres of climbing each time.
• Completed RideLondon 100 on multiple occasions.
• Finished the 6 day stage race, Giro de Sardegna, twice.
• Taken on Njinga Challenge Series trips and cycling adventures across Spain, France, Italy, Montenegro and Greece, riding hundreds of kilometres and climbing thousands of metres with friends who share her passion.

Today, at 73, we're still coaching Monie. She continues to set ambitious goals, train with purpose and is currently preparing for the Etape Caledonia.

What surprised her was discovering a version of herself she never knew existed.

Through cycling, Monie found confidence, freedom, adventure and a community that has enriched every part of her life. Every challenge she conquers reminds her that she's capable of more than she ever believed possible.

Her story is proof that some of life's greatest adventures don't begin in your twenties. They begin the day you decide to just do it.

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Will: From Couch potato to London - Paris in 24 Hours

When Will joined Njinga in 2019, he was 64 years old and described himself as a complete couch potato.

After more than 40 years working as a successful lawyer, he had no endurance background, little cycling experience and felt the effects of years spent behind a desk. Like many people later in life, fitness had taken a back seat to career, family and the demands of everyday life.

But Will had a reason to change.

He wanted to share something extraordinary with his daughter, Jen. Together, they set themselves the challenge of cycling from London to Paris in under 24 hours.

That goal became the catalyst for something much bigger.

Through personalised one-to-one coaching, we focused on building the foundations: strength, fitness, bike handling, endurance and confidence. As his fitness grew, so did his belief in what he was capable of. He later joined our group coaching programmes, where the shared challenge and camaraderie pushed him even further.

Since then, Will has achieved things he once thought impossible:

• Completed London to Paris in under 24 hours twice.
• Finished RideLondon 100 on three occasions.
• Completed the New Forest 160 km sportive three times.
• Taken part in multiple Njinga Challenge Series trips and cycling adventures across Spain, Italy and Greece, covering hundreds of kilometres and thousands of metres of climbing.
• Successfully completed six annual corporate cycling events in Italy, riding between 70 and 100 km with up to 1,300 metres of climbing each year.

The journey hasn't always been straightforward. Injuries and setbacks have come along the way, but they've never defined him.

Over the last eight years, Will has lost more than 10 kilograms, transformed his health and built a lifestyle centred around movement, purpose and adventure.

Today, at 72, he's still setting new goals. He's preparing for another multi-day cycling trip in Spain and already looking ahead to riding from the Channel to the Mediterranean next year.

For Will, cycling became far more than a hobby. It gave him a reason to stay healthy, adventures to look forward to, unforgettable experiences with his daughter and friends, and the confidence that his best years weren't behind him.

His story is proof that it's never too late to change direction. With the right support, consistent coaching and a meaningful goal, you can build a stronger, healthier and more adventurous life at any age.

Jamie: Cycling the Coastline of Britain at 70

For many people, approaching 70 is a reason to start slowing down.

Jamie saw it differently.

As his 70th birthday approached, he decided it was the perfect time to pursue a dream bigger than most people would ever dare attempt: cycling the entire coastline of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, including the Orkney and Shetland Islands, a journey of almost 5,000 miles.

Already an active club cyclist, Jamie wanted to discover what he was truly capable of. He knew this challenge would demand far more than fitness, so before he committed, we spent time exploring every aspect of the journey together. Once he decided he was all in, we began working one-to-one to prepare him.

Over the following eight months, we built the endurance, resilience, pacing and confidence needed for a challenge of this scale. There were setbacks along the way, as there always are, but each one became another opportunity to adapt, learn and keep moving forward.

When Jamie set off in late April, he was beginning the adventure of a lifetime.

As of July, he's already covered thousands of miles, ridden the length of eastern England, explored the Scottish coastline, reached Britain's most northerly points, crossed the Orkney and Shetland Islands, and is now making his way through Northern Ireland before returning home to Brighton to complete his remarkable journey.

We'll be there waiting to welcome him home.

We spent eight months building endurance, resilience and pacing. What came out the other side was Jamie living a dream he'd had for years.

The joy, confidence and sense of purpose Jamie has found on this journey are impossible to measure. After months of preparation, sacrifice and overcoming setbacks, he's living every day with a sense of adventure that many people spend their whole lives searching for.

Jamie's story is a reminder that growing older doesn't mean your world has to become smaller.

Sometimes it becomes bigger than you ever imagined.

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Egnetta: Learning to Ride at 76, Then Cycling Solo Round the World

Perhaps the most extraordinary story of all belongs to Egnetta. When she came to us in the summer of 2023, aged 76, she had one dream. She wanted to learn to ride a road bike with enough confidence to cycle around the world.

Not around her local park, around the world.

It was an ambitious goal, but from the moment we met her, it was obvious this wasn't just a dream. Egnetta was completely committed to making it happen.

Over the next eight weeks, we worked together one-to-one, building every skill she would need for life on the road. From riding confidently in cleats and handling traffic to climbing, descending and controlling a fully loaded touring bike with front and rear panniers. We also covered navigation, route planning, bike maintenance, equipment selection and everything else needed to prepare for months of independent travel.

She embraced every lesson with remarkable determination.

Not once was she late for coaching. Most days she travelled more than two hours each way to train with us, before returning home to practise everything she'd learned. After more than 30 years caring for others as an NHS nurse, she had finally decided it was time to invest in herself and pursue the adventure she'd always dreamt about.

Nothing was going to stop her. Her first destination was the Netherlands.

It was only the beginning.

Since then, Egnetta has cycled through more than 20 countries, navigating mountain roads, deserts and bustling cities. Along the way she's battled food poisoning, been robbed, experienced extraordinary kindness from complete strangers and celebrated her 77th birthday while still out on the road. The last time we heard from her, she was cycling through Egypt, still chasing the horizon.

Most people spend their seventies looking back on the adventures they once had.

Egnetta is still creating hers.

For us, helping her prepare for this journey has been about far more than teaching someone to ride a bike. She got the confidence, the skills and the belief to go and live the life she'd imagined, instead of spending years wondering "what if".

Sometimes the bravest decision you ever make is simply deciding it's your turn.

And when you combine determination with the right support, extraordinary things become possible, its been a real privilege  helping her bring her dream  to life.

What These Four Riders Have in Common

Their stories are all different. Different ages. Different starting points. Different dreams. But they all shared one thing. They stopped waiting for the "right time."

None of them began as exceptional cyclists or knew exactly how they were going to achieve their goal. They simply decided to start. And that's often the hardest step of all.

The biggest barrier isn't age, it's believing you're capable of more than you've convinced yourself.

Your Best Years Might Still Be Ahead of You

Over the last 14 years, we've watched this happen time and time again. We've helped riders in their 40s and 50s achieve personal bests they never thought possible. Riders in their 60s qualify for World Championships. Riders in their 70s complete extraordinary cycling adventures and fulfil lifelong dreams that many people wouldn't attempt at any age.

The human body is remarkably adaptable when it's given the right training, recovery and support and our goal has never just been to help people ride further or faster, but rather to achieve things they never thought possible. Creating memories instead of regrets.

What Dream Have You Been Putting Off?

Maybe it's your first sportive. Maybe it's London to Paris or maybe it's climbing Mont Ventoux, riding across a country, or simply feeling confident enough to enjoy cycling again.

Whatever it is, don't let your age decide your future. Life has a habit of passing more quickly than we expect, and the dreams we keep postponing have a way of remaining just that, dreams.

So here's my challenge to you. Dream bigger.

I've coached Monie, Will, Jamie and Egnetta myself. None of them knew, at the start, whether they'd actually get there. What they had was a reason to begin and someone in their corner while they figured the rest out.

If reading these stories has made you think, "Maybe I could do something like that...", I'd love to invite you to a complimentary "Create Your Next Adventure" Call.

It's a relaxed 20-minute conversation about you, where you are today, the dream you've been thinking about, what's holding you back, and the practical steps that could help turn it into reality.

You'll leave with greater clarity, a clearer direction and, hopefully, the belief that your best years on the bike could still be ahead of you. And if, at the end of the conversation, you feel we're the right people to help you get there, we can talk about what that might look like.

If not, you'll still leave with a plan, renewed confidence and the first step towards making your dream a reality. One day you'll remember the adventures you took far more than the ones you only thought about. I'd like to help make sure this is one of them.

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WRITTEN BY: Togo Keynes
Togo is Head Performance Coach at Njinga Cycling and has helped more than 3,000 cyclists worldwide improve their performance, health and longevity over the last 14 years. Learn more about his coaching and book a free discovery call today, or read his other Success Stories.

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