Lifestyle

Brian Retired in 2010. Then, at 79, He Got Back on His Bike to Deliver Newspapers Seven Days a Week: “I Just Get a Buzz”

By Erica Coleman · November 14, 2026

Every morning in Peterborough, England, the paper arrives before the traffic does. That’s because Brian Dunmore is on his bike.

ITV News followed Brian on his round for a report posted in July 2025. According to the station, he officially retired in 2010 from a job in the postal service. A few years later, he found himself a part-time job delivering newspapers, and at 79 he was still doing it every morning.

He makes it sound simple. Brian tells ITV he likes being out in the fresh air early in the morning and says it saves him going to a gym. He gets to meet different people along the way. The weather isn’t always kind, and he admits last winter brought a lot of rain and a few drenchings. He keeps going anyway, because of what he calls the freedom of it.

“I just get a buzz, get a buzz from doing it,” he says.

The extra money helps, too. ITV reports that it comes in handy when Brian goes to watch his grandson play football, and the grandson has figured that out. “He conned me in to pay him a fiver for every time he scored a hat-trick,” Brian says. A fiver is a five pound note. By Brian’s count, the boy went on to score about 72 goals, which Brian says did not leave him happy.

According to the report, Brian has been pedaling his delivery route for 11 years. He works seven days a week, delivering about 50 newspapers a day, and takes a break only for Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Someone from the business he delivers for calls him a gem of a person and the pillar of the business, and says they would be lost without him.

ITV says his wife is very supportive of his work. Brian puts it a little differently. “She thinks I’m mad,” he says, and adds that his daughter thinks so too. He says he just enjoys it, that it’s healthy, and that he likes being out and about early, before the cars get on the road.

Brian was due to turn 80 that September. ITV notes he might not be the oldest person doing a paper round, but he says he plans to keep going, even if it means trading his trusty bike for a mobility scooter one day.

He has plenty of company in working later in life, at least in the United States. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 8.5% of Americans 75 and older were in the labor force in 2025, up from 6.4% in 2005, and projects that the share will reach 10.1% by 2035.

The fresh air and exercise Brian talks about also line up with federal health advice. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults 65 and older get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate activity, such as 30 minutes a day, five days a week, along with muscle strengthening on at least two days and balance activities. The CDC adds that people who can’t meet those goals should be as active as their abilities and conditions allow, and that some activity is better than none.

For anyone thinking about a small job after retirement, Brian’s routine is a useful example. Pick something that gets you out of the house, look for work with regular hours you can manage, and check with your doctor before taking on anything physically demanding.

This article is for general information and is not medical, financial or legal advice. Brian Dunmore’s story and quotes are from ITV News’ 2025 report; labor figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and activity guidance is from the CDC. This article was produced with the assistance of AI and fact-checked against the sources cited by LightWave Reports.