Most fitness enthusiasts face an uphill battle as they age. Past your thirties (and I certainly am), fitness levels can drop off markedly – and you can often see quantifiable performance losses year on year. But with careful training, judicious use of the best supplements and by continuing to do the sports you love, you can keep your fitness at a respectable (and healthy) level well into your later years.
Come Sunday my battle will literally be uphill. I’ll be taking on the steep cobbled climb of the much-missed Frome Cobble Wobble – a popular hill climb event, which returns to the pretty Somerset market town after a 13-year hiatus. Its previous four iterations attracted riders in their hundreds from all over the UK. It even lured in a number of pro cyclists, such as six-times British Trials Champion Chris Akrigg, who took the King of the Cobbles crown in the second edition in 2010.
Of particular note is the inspiring return of four-time British Biketrial Champion and GMBN presenter Martyn Ashton, who suffered a life-changing spinal cord injury a year after the last Cobble Wobble. The year he raced, Martyn had set the fastest qualifying time, only for a mechanical to scupper his chances of success. This year he’s back, riding an adaptive bike and looking as quick as ever.
The original Cobble Wobble
The first Cobble Wobble took place in 2009, as part of a festival of cycling coinciding with the Tour of Britain, a stage of which departed from Frome that year. (Stage six went from Frome to Bideford and was won by Edvald Boasson Hagen.) I took part in three of the four original Cobble Wobbles and enjoyed each one immensely. I may have been a second slower each year, but the festival-like atmosphere generated by the crowds lining Stony Street and Catherine Hill helped propel me to the top each time. Then in my late 30s, I was fairly pleased with my 30, 31 and 32-second ascents of the 179-yard-long climb. However, my somewhat unappealing competitive streak made me feel there was room for improvement.
Some 13 years after the last event, and now in my early 50s, I shouldn’t be surprised (or disappointed) if a 45-second-plus time beckons. However, working as a health and fitness journalist has helped me shed 5kg since then, improved my overall conditioning and done nothing to quell that competitive element. So maybe I can still turn the clock back a little and challenge those original times.
I’ve been doing fartlek sessions and uphill sprints since July, as well as regular kettlebell HIIT workouts. Plus I’m a firm believer in the benefits of weight training for men over 50. I’ll be riding the race route under cover of darkness this week, to make sure I get my tyre pressure dialled in. I’ve even been walking the route to figure out the best racing line (as well as looking for loose cobbles). But maybe I’m going about it all wrong.
Why so serious?
Instead, maybe I should take a leaf out of the book of the rider who dressed as Big Bird from Sesame Street one year. Or the bowler hat-wearing city gent with his briefcase strapped to his Brompton. Or the chap wearing a cumbersome robot costume made out of hand-painted cardboard boxes. Maybe I should just embrace and enjoy the experience.
These are the participants who just turn up for the buzz, to be part of the festival, to look ridiculous and love it. Maybe, for one senior cyclist at least, the 2025 Cobble Wobble is an opportunity not to take cycling – or life, for that matter – too seriously.
Entry to Cobble Wobble 2025
Anyone interested in taking part in this year’s Cobble Wobble should head over to www.thecobblewobble.co.uk to book a place before riders take to the start line this Sunday, September 14. Believe me, it’s an event you won’t forget in a hurry.
I, for one, will be taking note of organiser Andrew Denham’s advice: a wide bar, big-volume tyres and lower pressure at the rear. Oh, and maybe dressing up as a banana.
See you on the start line.
Main image credit: Tom Rickhuss
