You’re Not Too Old to Take a Weeklong Bicycle Tour

It’s not about age. It’s about letting yourself begin.

An impulse buy during my 2025 solo tour on the C&O and GAP. Watch the video at the end of this post, and you’ll understand why.

I’m 72 now, but I didn’t get back into cycling until about 20 years ago, after being away from it since I was a kid. A few years later, I found bicycle touring and fell in love. I tour today for what put me back on a bike twenty years ago: the adventure, the challenge, and the joy of getting out and seeing where the road ahead leads me.

One thing I hear all the time from people in their 50s, 60s, and 70s is, “I’m too old for that.” It usually comes up when someone asks where I’m headed or how far I’m going. They’re impressed and immediately count themselves out of the very thing they admire about me.

That doesn’t match what I see as a trail advocate, leader, and cyclist. I spend a lot of time on trails, especially my local Knox County Trails, which are part of the Ohio to Erie Trail network. The majority of people out there doing multi-day tours aren’t young. They’re older, with the time and freedom to experience life, and they’re clearly enjoying it.

I don’t buy the idea that age is the main thing holding people back. More often, it’s just a habit of thinking that way. With that in mind, here are some of the most common reasons people give for not trying a weeklong bike tour, and why they don’t hold up as well as they think.

“I’m too old for that.”

This is, without a doubt, the most common thing I hear. People say this about a lot of things: starting over, traveling solo, learning new skills, and yes, riding a bicycle across a state.

But age is not really what they mean. Maybe it’s: “I’m nervous.” “I’m out of shape.” “I don’t know where to begin.” “I can’t do what I used to.” “I’ll look out of place.” Or even: “There are easier things I could do.”

What I’m hearing is internalized ageism, deciding ahead of time that you’re not capable at your age. Bicycle touring gets framed as something for the young, ultra-fit, endlessly energetic crowd climbing hills with ease, with gear strapped to high-end bikes.

Spend enough time on trails like the Ohio to Erie Trail, and you’ll see something different. People in their 60s and beyond are on their first multi-day tour. Retirees collecting memories instead of mileage stats. Cyclists stop for pie or ice cream because that’s part of life, too.

Bicycle touring isn’t about proving youth. It’s about curiosity and living an adventurous life. That’s open to anyone.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

Let’s start with the truth: there is no one way or standard for what you’re supposed to do on a weeklong bicycle tour.

We’re used to attaching numbers to what we “should” be doing, especially age. But there’s no universal version of what 55, 65, or 75 is supposed to feel like.

You’re not “young for your age” because you go on a bike tour at 70. You’re 70, and you’re riding your bike. That’s all.

Saying “I feel 50” still suggests that younger is better. A better way to put it is, I feel alive. You feel interested. You feel open to something exciting and new. Those aren’t youthful traits; they’re human ones.

“I could never do a bike tour.”

Bicycle touring isn’t an extreme endurance event for most people. For some, yes, but not for most of us, including me.

You don’t need to ride 100 miles a day. You don’t need expensive gear. You don’t need to camp. And you don’t need to be fast. You just need to keep moving forward at your own pace, in your own way.

Maybe that means 35 miles a day and an afternoon exploring a small town or museum. Maybe it’s nights in hotels or Airbnb’s instead of camping. Maybe it’s an e-bike to make the miles more enjoyable. Maybe it’s sharing the experience with friends.

Your tour does not need to look like someone else’s social media version. That’s where a lot of people get stuck, trying to be a person they aren’t and never should be.

“I’m too old to change myself.”

One of the things long-distance cycling does is change you without you recognizing it. The person who starts a tour isn’t the same person who finishes it.

Your body adapts. What feels hard at first becomes routine. Confidence builds day by day. You accept help from strangers and fellow tourists. You notice more about yourself. You settle into a comfortable relationship with your bike and the outdoors.

You also rediscover something that gets buried over our adult lives: a sense of play. The freedom to explore just for fun, with no specific outcome other than having fun.

Somewhere along the way, we start believing we’re where we are meant to be and no longer need to change. We’ve reached the final version of ourselves. A bicycle tour pushes back on that idea. There’s no expiration date on growth and change.

“I don’t need more challenges in my life.”

It’s easy to think that later years should be about avoiding difficult things in life. To some extent, that’s fair, but we often confuse challenge with discomfort. That leads us to avoid both. Life needs both to feed on each other to live fully.

This isn’t new. It just sounds different now: “Maybe after I lose weight…” “Maybe after I get in better shape…” “Maybe after I get a better bike…”

At some point, those become habits instead of plans. You don’t need to be the perfect version of yourself. You don’t need to prove anything. You’re not chasing youth or outrunning age.

You tour because you’re still curious. That alone is reason enough.

“I don’t have the time.”

Time is another limit we tend to place on ourselves. It’s often said that retirement can be busier than our working years. That’s true, but it also comes down to understanding our priorities. A weeklong tour might not fit. But that doesn’t mean touring isn’t possible.

Start smaller. An overnight trip. An overnight to a nearby town. A couple of days on a trail, maybe a stretch of the Ohio to Erie Trail, a few hours away, you haven’t explored yet.

Touring grows from there. You figure out what works for you, how far you like to ride, how you like to travel, and what makes the days enjoyable.

Confidence doesn’t come from age. It comes from doing. Every experienced bicycle tourist was once someone wondering if they could.

Touring by Bike Does Not Care How Old You Are

Bicycle touring doesn’t care how old you are, how much experience you have, or how long it’s been since you last tried something new. It isn’t measured by speed, miles, gear, or your past.

The doubts people carry about age, ability, or whether they “fit” tend to matter a lot less once you’re out there. What matters is showing up and moving at a pace of life that is you.

What you gain is hard to find elsewhere. Traveling by bike slows life down just enough to help you notice what’s around you: the towns, the unexpected encounters, the changing landscape, and even the mistakes that teach and become the most memorable parts of the tour. Above all, a tour interrupts your routine in a refreshing way.

Rather than deciding you’re too old or unprepared, it may be more accurate to say you simply haven’t tried it yet.

The trail is out there, enticing you to start. Pick a section of the Ohio to Erie Trail, or another long-distance trail you’ve always been curious about. Load up your bike and head out for a couple of days.

You’ll catch the touring fever. You’ll be surprised by what’s waiting for you a few miles down the trail.

Happy Trails!
Tom on the Trails