Once an elite cyclist, now a paunchy, sedentary senior.

In January of this year I turned 65 and was horrified at how my physical appearance had deteriorated. Only five years ago I was an elite senior cyclist, able to stay with sport riders half my age in the challenging Oakland hills (San Francisco Bay Area.) Now, on my birthday, I could barely make it up the warmup hill behind my condo community. None of my cycling clothes fit. My weight was a genuine danger to my race bike's carbon frame.

It's scary how your health can change in the twinkling of and eye. Just before I turned 60 a hormone shutdown happened to me and I felt so crummy I stopped riding. (I thought I was overtraining.) My condition took a year to diagnose and then was treated improperly for an additional year. Finally I found a good endocrinologist, and, long story short, after five long years off the bike my hormone levels are back to normal.

But I'm not. When riding I was a whip-thin 140 pounds, putting in 300 miles a week and living clean. After I quit riding, my hormone imbalance packed 70 pounds of fat onto my medium frame (I'm 5'10").

Getting the right hormone supplements got me down to 183 pounds, where I am now. And though I've been trying sporadically over the last year, my weight won't let me go more than 15 or 20 miles, and every hill is an ordeal.

March 1, twi days ago, I said to hell with it! At 65 it's now-or-never. If I don't start taking training and nutrition seriously, I'll die a fat old man, and probably not very long from now.

So I acquired MyFitnessPal and the day before yesterday began measuring my rides and my food intake. My goal over the next 12 weeks is to drop 20 pounds and be fit enough to ride the Pinecrest Loop, one of the region's more challenging routes.

I'd love to swap notes with other "serious" cyclists, especially seniors, her at MyFitnessPal. For me the fire stilll burns. On the bike I feel 18 years old. My plan is to incorporate cycling into a full-time health program that will keep my from becoming elderly until the very last minute of my life.

I've cycled throughout my adult life and know the "glow" a fit person experineces all day long. Fitness adds immeasurably to the quality of one's life. And it helps with mental sharpness, too. And, you look more impressive when fit, especially in a country where 80 percent are fat.

As I get older I consider fitness to be more important than ever as a way to retain bone and muscle mass, keep off excess weight that can tax the heart, and provide physical energy for everything I do, from getting out of your chair to attending events. A fit senior is less likely to sit on the sidelines of life and more likely to be engaged with people from all generations, and be involved in enjoyable and productive work, even if it's the volunteer variety.

So to sum up my immediate plan: Over March, April, and May I plan to build up a base of miles I can use as a foundation for a great summer riding season. Over these months I intend to get down to 163 lb., the "starting point" for getting to my racing weight, and low enough to enable me to do long, fat-burning rides.

Other senior cyclists, drop me a line! And if you're from the San Francisco Bay Area, let's ride!