At 65, B.C.'s Jonathan Lyons not slowing down at Canadian track cycling championships

At 65, Jonathan Lyons isn't slowing down. The opposite, in fact.

The author and retired journalist finished fifth Friday in the 500-metre time trial in the Masters D 65-plus division at the Canadian track cycling championships, which wrapped up Sunday at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, Ont.

While Lyons favours longer races — he won bronze in both the pursuit Saturday and the points race Sunday — he still improved on his winning time over the shorter distance at the recent B.C. provincial championships.

"A good start to the event," he said. "And it's just great to be here."

This year's nationals, which have drawn more than 170 competitors from elite to masters divisions, featured a 65-plus class for men and women for the first time. Lyons, who makes his home in B.C. on Bowen Island, had to compete in the 55-plus division last year.

Lyons may have helped accelerate that change, writing a letter to the head of Cycling Canada to make a case for the older age group.

"We give a lot to the sport," he said. "We mentor younger riders and a lot of our fancy equipment, which we're lucky enough to afford, trickles down to other riders. And we're part of a fit Canada, so I think it's a very important thing to do."

Lyons is no stranger to being on the move. He spent 21 years with Reuters as a foreign correspondent and editor with posts in Indonesia, Iran, Russia and Turkey among others before leaving the news agency in 2007.

Lyons, whose undergraduate degree was from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., then earned a doctorate in sociology from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, focusing on the ways in which Islamic culture has influenced Western society and science.

He has written four books including