Training & Nutrition - Unusually high hear rate

So I've been reading through all the different heart rate threads attempting to educate myself. According to the standard 220-age (35) my max heart rate is 185. I've also seen the other studies that should better gauge my true mhr those numbers come out to be 187.

Just some back ground to help out things out. I'm 35, 170lbs, 5'7" I was a very light weight runner at 125lbs many years ago but I've given it up do to a knee problem. I have alot of upper body muscle from too much weight training. Last year I decided to drop some weight and get myself into a leaner more efficient shape. I started biking to help myself along. I just started riding in the late summer so I don't have much experience. From all the reading I've done I determined I needed to get a hr monitor to help things out. After getting the garmin edge 305 I'm coming up with some very strange numbers. When I ride around our local lake I'm sustaining a hr of 185 for 10 miles. I can push myself to as high as 205 for short periods of time. With these numbers doesn't that mean my max is actually 205 and my target training zone is actually 185?

When I ride I'm usually with 2-3 other riders. All of which seem to be much stronger riders then I am. It's all that I can do to keep up with them around the lake. I want to improve my overall performance and start riding "ahead" of the group not dragging my ass from behind. What suggestions would anyone like to offer to help my riding?

Yup. It looks like your max HR is at least 205.

220-age is an estimate for average members of the population. But because it's only an average, it doesn't work for a number of people. It apparently doesn't work well for you.

The maximum heart rate that you see on rides isn't really a great way to set your training rates. I suggest getting a book like Carmichael's "the ultimate ride" which uses the average heart rate from a 3 mile time trial to set your training zones. You could also consider Friel's "The cyclist's training bible".

It's going to take you some time building up aerobic capacity. It's okay to push yourself in a group now and then, but if you do that too often you'll compromise your progress.

If you did a poll, you'd find that "max heart rate" means nothing.

People are all over the map on this one. For example, according to the formula, my max HR should be 175. I've seen 194. And this is not unusual.

I would ignore that method of finding your max. I like the one where you ride as hard as you can for 5 minutes and then sprint. When you come to, your max HR will be recorded on your monitor.

Az