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177 Years And Still Cycling: This Couple Finished 1000 Miles on a Tandem

By Monica Buck

Enjoying life and being healthy after turning 90 is an achievement in itself, but Betty Cox, now 91, didn’t want to stop there. Together with her husband Graham, 86, she bought a tandem bicycle, so they could still enjoy their life-long passion. And after just one season of riding, they managed to clock up astonishing 1,000 miles.

“We’ve always loved cycling,” said Mrs Cox. “My husband was cycling since he was 10. I’ve been cycling for 69 years and my husband for 76 years. We started on the tandem soon after we met and have loved it ever since. In 1949 we cycled from our home to Cornwall and back in a week. We also got to Scotland in a few days. We love going on it.”

The achievement is all the more impressive considering the couple didn’t even try to reach the 1,000 miles mark. It just sort of happened to them.

“We had a look at our device that records our distance and it said that we had reached 1,000 miles. We were quite surprised at it. We’ve never really thought of how many miles we do. And, I suppose, not many people manage to reach that amount at our age.”

Betty and Graham go out on their tandem approximetely four times a week and over the years they have cycled all over the place. North Wales, Ireland, Norway, you name it. And they believe that’s the secret of their healthy lives.

“Regular exercise, like we do on the tandem, is the key to a long and happy life,” said Mr Cox.

“Just look at us. By looking at our ages is proof that exercise really does benefit you in the long run. We’ve never been ones for staying in the house all day long. We’ve always found cycling fun and relaxing.”

Do you have a sudden urge to go out and ride right now? We get you…