Is age really just a number?

I took up cycling at the age of 42 during the lockdown caused by the pandemic. I used to cycle as a child, of course, but I took it up again as an adult when going outside was a way to regain some freedom. Cycling was a great way to explore, exercise and breathe fresh air without a mask.

I understand that I will not reach the top of the professional podium, though I once came third in an amateur race and received a prize for it. But that shouldn't stop anyone from trying, because if not now, when?

I have to admit that my mum was really worried at first. It's hot (please take care of your heart!), there are cars around (please come home safely) and it's dangerous (but fun!). I proved her and many others wrong – I started with short rides, cycled around the island of Singapore, bought professional cycling gear (I'm not afraid to wear lycra, even though I'm not a skinny, fat-free cyclist – I'm a middle-aged woman going through perimenopause), started using contactless pedals and have cycled more than 50,000 km in six years.

I have done some crazy challenges - like, having a 300km ride in one day (took me less than 14 hours to complete but everything was hurting). Or riding 1000 km in seven days for the annual Rapha Festive 500 challenge. I still have the ranking page where I came 108th out of hundreds of thousands of athletes worldwide, including some professional cyclists! I have participated in amateur races in Malaysia and Singapore, overcoming my fear of being alone in rural villages and making new friends along the way.

And every year I took my fat backside to ride for a charity in Cambodia; I realised that I can enjoy what I like (cycling) while helping others (underprivileged children from Battambang community). Every year I put myself through the torture of long days in the saddle, dust, sweat, occasional accidents, to get into the HOPE school in Battambang and help spread the word about what a small action can mean for these children.

I am not the only one challenging the status quo, either.

Take Mrs Siregar from Singapore, for example. In her late 70s, she started exploring ChatGPT independently to understand its real-life applications. Once she understood its capabilities, she upgraded to Plus and now uses it with NotebookLM (which her son showed her) to prepare presentations and teaching materials for church sermons. She is now an AI enthusiast within the church community, inspiring other members not to be intimidated by technology, but to embrace it. That's a generation of AI influencers you hadn't thought about !

My friend Svetlana (https://www.instagram.com/elkinasvetlana/) retired from her fitness business in Russia at 55 and moved to Indonesia to volunteer at turtle conservation centres. She speaks Bahasa, uses digital devices, dives better than I ever could, lives on remote islands, cares for turtles, protects their nests and releases newborn hatchlings. She also makes videos that I am in awe of. She's 65 now and absolutely rocking it!

Someone wise once said: age is a matter of mind, if you don’t mind – it does not matter. And I agree, in the age of possibilities, the only limitation to the process of not aging is your mind(set).