Most of the patients I work with had joint replacement. Your doc is right re. riding in moderation. If hip replacement is in your near future, you will be able to return to regular riding. You mentioned pain in "hips". So maybe bilateral hip replacement.

Is a Bi - Laterall hip replacement done at the same time ?

Doctor here but not an orthopaedic surgeon (although looked after lots of joints over the years).
Just be careful thinking all your pain is from your hip joint OA at this point in time. There are numerous other things it could be, especially more simple things like a greater trochanteric bursitis etc.
I would still let you ride, in fact let you do as much as you can within reason.
Surgery is not a minor affair and the replaced joint has a limited life span. I would wait until you really need it to actually get it done.

I started having hip problems in 2011. Was diagnosed with arthritis in 2013. Lived with it until 2019 when I had hip resurfacing. I saw an ortho doc in 2013 and asked her if I could still run. Her response was "you can still run with a hip like that?" I said yes and she said then do as much running and cycling as you want because you won't make it worse (it was really bad. She thought it was something I was likely born with). For the next 6 years I did about 15 events per year. Finally I decided that it was time to do something and scheduled surgery for 2019. New hip is 100% with no limitations. I am 62. PM me if you want more info.

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Andrew Inkpen

Thanks , Once I have been to my Orthopaedic Surgeon I may do that .

Yes. The rehab is tougher because obviously the patient has no healthy leg for support. But the ambulation starts the next day with a special walking device called Arjo, then progress to 2 wheel walker. Hospital stay is about 5-7 day, could be longer, depending how well the patient is doing, pain control, pain tolerance etc. We see 2-3 bilateral hips and knees a month.

Acute onset of sharp pain in your hip is typically not the result of OA. In fact, 3 months ago you had the same degeneration level, but no pain! Think of it this way, you’ve had moderate degeneration for many years to reach the level you see on X-ray. It didn’t all happen in the last couple of months. Every 65 year old has some degenerative findings on X-ray. Short of an acute fracture you SHOULD continue to ride. Let your body be your guide and find a PT to reduce your pain and manage your symptoms.

 I'm a 51 year old male , Bilateral resurfacing , 2 months apart( Dr Gross). I'm cycling , running ( not much of a runner , I do like 5-6 miles a week on the treadmill) , playing hockey , concrete finisher by trade . I rode and skated till I couldn't take the pain any more pretty much. Took a bunch of glucosamine , cbd oils etc and you really don't know how good that stuff helped till 10 days before surgery ! Both my surgeries were out patient at their facility . About 6-7 hours in and out . Walked out weight bearing crutches and back at the hotel relaxing and went and had dinner , we left for home next morning. First 2 weeks were tough , beat up and bruised / swelling . Ice machine is key , least for me it was . Do the research and if you have good insurance in the States there's about 3-4 guys I would trust. Surface-hippy is a great source for information. there is another group on FB .
My main concern was loosing the bone going the traditional route. I know of a handful of people that went this way with mixed results . Every one of em you can tell something is up just in the way they hold themselves and walk ( 2 guys skate as well , 1 bilateral and 1 single side ). My uncle is suffering with nerve and ligament damage , a neighbor had complete revision and still is a mess. Gross also pioneered and help develop his prosthesis which is cementless as well.Along with doing 6000+ surgeries to date.

OP here ,
Well after after a diagnosis it has been determined I have FAI (Femoroacetabular Impingement ) it is a condition in which extra bone grows on the hip joint causing a slight impingement.
Pleased with this diagnosis as the pain has virtually gone away since my originally post .
I will work on hip mobility , stretching and strength program and I should be go to go .
Thanks for all the replies it was very helpful .

Great news.
You may or may not find this funny, but at medical school, every time we learned about a new condition, half the class would end up self diagnosing themselves with it as many symptoms etc can be quite general....it is really only after years of training and clinical practice that you can start to differentiate certain things. It is one reason why the medical profession always gets frustrated with "dr google"!
All the best from this point onwards...!!