Fifty Plus (50+) - My fast ride report

Sorry if this is boring but I needed to tell someone who understands since the only response from my wife was "that's nice, are you going to be ready when our guest come?". The rains quit on Saturday afternoon long enough to get a ride in before the remains of hurricane Ike pushed thru. It was 85 degrees and humid with 10 mph winds from the South. I didn't ride the day before and there was no reason to not ride hard so I decided to see how fast I could do a 32 mile ride. I set up the GPS and turned it on at the end of the drive way and went off on my ride. I usually warm up but did not this time and worked into a fast pace within 1/3 mile. I watched my HRM and kept the heart rate at the top end of zone 4 (150 bpm) for most of the ride. The wind was from the South so I rode to the South and West hoping to have a tail wind on the way back. The loop is sort of a reverse "P". While riding into the wind I focused on HR and not speed as I was only going 17 to 18 mph and my HR was up where I wanted to maintain it. I made it to the turning point at around 15 miles and still felt good. I checked my average speed at 20 miles and it was 20.3 mph. I was starting to hurt but kept it going in hopes of averaging 20 mph + for the ride. It gets more hilly near my home so I knew I needed a cushion and kept pushing even on the down hills and always stayed in the drops. I finished the last two miles including the ride down my subdivision street as if I was in a race. The end result: 32.1 miles @ 20.13mph ave, average HR @ 149, 783 feet of climbing. My best solo ride of the year.:D My hamstrings were cramping while we watched the OSU/USC game but I did imbide in antidotes. :beer:

Sorry for the self promotion, I just needed to share with this someone who knows what I talking about.

Thats nice ---------- Tain't bad for a geezer !!!! Lp

That's gotta feel good. Great ride!

That's pretty darn fast, mister. I'm glad to hear your hamstrings were cramping otherwise I'd think you were just cruising. And yes, beer is a good muscle relaxant.

After doing some conversions from metric I find that my 23 mile loop on Saturday which I thought was quite fast was actually only 16 mph average. I do have to go slowly through a small, busy village for about a kilometre though so that brings the average down a bit.

I've got about another month of decent riding weather so I'm going to extend my loop and try to increase my speed.

That's nice. Were you ready when the guests came? :lol:

Great effort and result. It is great to be at the top of your game at the end of the season.

That's nice. Were you ready when the guests came? :lol:

I was still sweating 1 hr after taking a shower.

Great effort and result. It is great to be at the top of your game at the end of the season.

+1 Hermes,

Those interval and hill workouts really pay off. Now, I'm back to doing longer rides and group rides and am having a really good time on hills and town line sprints.;)

Not going to hijack but those fast rides do come from out of the Blue. Like you this morning I had a couple of hours to get in a ride. Left at 8.30 with the Commuter traffic and School mums for a 20 miler. Just down to the seafront for a coffee. The trip down only takes about 45 minutes so Trip down- Coffee and trip back should take a couple of hours before I had to run the Daughter to the Airport. 9.06 and we got to the cafe. No problems other than a bit of Sexual Harrassment from a couple of girls in a car. (something about nice A** sexy- but once they got in front and saw the age of the rider, they shot off)

36 minutes for a trip that should have taken at least 4 minutes longer. Had plenty of time for the coffee- but a bit early for PIE. Even had time to go into the LBS and get a couple of Tubes for the MTB.

Trip back only took 40 minutes and that is uphill---just about.

So you now know what to do- Decide to do the rides when the wife has invited guests round. Improves the speed no end.

20.1 over 32 miles solo is very fast. Thats an "A" ride. With that kind of power you should be able to ride in a 22mph group. Around here, that qualifies you to ride with almost any club I know of. I wish I could turn in those kind of numbers.
WAY TO GO!

Great effort and result. It is great to be at the top of your game at the end of the season.

What is this "season" you speak of?

What is this "season" you speak of?

Many racers and coaches consider late August early September the end of the road and track racing season.:)

Many racers and coaches consider late August early September the end of the road and track racing season.:)

I know, my friends who race have mentioned it. I was jerking your chain because we ride the same way all year here, except the heat of summer hurts some. I feel the best when it's not hot and do my best climbing in cool weather. Looking forward to fall temps, but it's supposed to be over 100 here tomorrow.

Sorry for the self promotion, I just needed to share with this someone who knows what I talking about.

That's a pretty fast ride.

I never average over 16 mph or so on any ride -- I tell myself it's because of the hills I ride in, but I think I'm just slow. :notamused:

At least having a good ride should have helped to make up for the lousy football game!
(assuming your a Buckeye fan)

Maybe today's the day. Six of us were climbing a 1.3 mile 8% hill I have used as a time trial a couple of times. I made it to the top 1 minute faster than ever AND I stopped to take a picture!

and Oh, SO sorry about the USC / OSU game. :roflmao2:

That's really impressive to me. I am nowhere close to that level. 17 to 18 mph into the wind with a HR of 150 is amazing to me.

I rode in the wind yesterday (15 to 20 mph wind) and did 41 miles at 16.7 avg with 1755 ft of climbing. My HR yesterday ran in the mid to upper 170s (186 max observed) just trying to keep up with the faster guys on that windy ride. We were running 18-20 mph into the wind. I finally backed off halfway through the ride and let the HR get back into more sane numbers for me.

Good job.

Are you guys for real? If I really, really push myself, I can get my HR up to the 145 or so range, but I can't keep it there long. Averaging 130 for a 25 mile ride is about the best I've ever done, and that translates to overall average speed of 17 to 18 mph.

I'm 58, almost 59, and have some after market heart parts due to a congenitally deformed aortic valve and resulting aneurism that have been replaced with a cow valve and dacron hose, but my heart just doesn't beat that fast.

If I could keep my HR in the 140 to 150 range for a good ride, I suspect I would be hitting 20 mph, but I don't think it will ever happen.

Do any of you other over 50 riders have the same slow heart rate issues?

I suspect we are all different in the HR department. I'll be 58 in December.

The normal HR numbers I see for me are cruising in the 150-160+ range and I get into the 170s when I'm pushing it. I'd love to be able to average 18 mph with a 130 avg HR.

When I first started riding with a HR monitor last fall, I was cruising in the 140s and could hold the 150s for only a short while. I did a solo metric century today and averaged 17.1 mph with an average HR of 146. That seems pretty normal for me. If I get in a group ride and the pace picks up, I can see higher numbers.

I'm impressed! You're entitled to the self-promotion among those who understand. :)

In my haste to razz you about USC and OSU, I did neglect to say "nice going". Impressive numbers. As said above, we are all different. I haven't really figured out how to use my HRM information effectively. Mostly, I just try to keep much of my ride in the Aerobic zone, which I think I need to adjust. The HRM calculated it at 105 to 135, but I have no trouble at 145-150.

good on ya, Jet! well done.

for me... if my heart is doesn't stop during the ride, and keeps beating after the ride, i'm calling it good. (that qualifies as heart rate monitoring, right?)

be well,

jim

Are you guys for real? If I really, really push myself, I can get my HR up to the 145 or so range, but I can't keep it there long. Averaging 130 for a 25 mile ride is about the best I've ever done, and that translates to overall average speed of 17 to 18 mph.

I'm 58, almost 59, and have some after market heart parts due to a congenitally deformed aortic valve and resulting aneurism that have been replaced with a cow valve and dacron hose, but my heart just doesn't beat that fast.

If I could keep my HR in the 140 to 150 range for a good ride, I suspect I would be hitting 20 mph, but I don't think it will ever happen.

Do any of you other over 50 riders have the same slow heart rate issues?

Had a bypass 9 years ago and HR - After recovery from the op- was the same before and after.

I treat my max as 165 but that is beginning to hurt the body. I like to ride around 130 to 140 but I cannot do that right from the start- I need a warm up.

1/2 mile from home and a slope and I get to 120. Let the HR come down to 100 and then sprint a bit to get the HR up to 130. Then rest to 100/105 and then go again to get HR to 140. Rest again and then I go to 150. That will hurt on the lungs and legs and sometimes takes some doing. Then I slow down and get back to around 110. From then on I can ride at the 130 to 140 mark and uphills will raise it to 150. And if the hill is steep enough or the youngsters decide they want to race me up the hills- I will get near my 165.

This takes around 4 miles from cold and is just a routine I got into. And it still works at 61.

But everyones HR is different. My son in law can get to 195 uphills and is breathing less than me. His normal riding rate is around 160 and at that he can go all day. I know he is 30 years younger than me- but his HR is just naturally faster. He does a ride with an average of around 160 wheras mine on a hard ride will be around 145/ 150.

I'm pretty sure my heart is beating when I ride.

Are you guys for real? If I really, really push myself, I can get my HR up to the 145 or so range, but I can't keep it there long. Averaging 130 for a 25 mile ride is about the best I've ever done, and that translates to overall average speed of 17 to 18 mph.

I'm 58, almost 59, and have some after market heart parts due to a congenitally deformed aortic valve and resulting aneurism that have been replaced with a cow valve and dacron hose, but my heart just doesn't beat that fast.

If I could keep my HR in the 140 to 150 range for a good ride, I suspect I would be hitting 20 mph, but I don't think it will ever happen.

Do any of you other over 50 riders have the same slow heart rate issues?

From my reading and comprehending HR training information eveyone's heart rate zones are different. My resting HR is around 52 and my maximun HR is around 170. I'm 55 yrs old. For me to ride at a 150 HR, that is in my upper zone 4, I can expect to ride for up to 2 hours at that intensity. If I was to ride at a HR of 155, which is zone 5, I would expect to ride 1 hour or less. When I do interval training, the High Intensity Intervals, are done in zone 5 for anywhere from 4 to 15 minutes with differing rest. An important HR number to know is the LTRH (lactate threshold heart rate). That is the intensity of effort that your body can no longer process waste and provide fuel and O2 to the muscles. That is also the HR that time trail racers are most interested in. They know that over a long and sustained ride the body will be able to continue to work at a pace "just under blowing up". As you get near LT (lactate threshold) you will feel fire in your muscles and burning or shortness of breath. I have learned that a certain amount of pain is expected before performance is effected, it's called the "lactate burn". Through training the LTHR can be improved to allow the muscles to work more efficently at a higher HR. I began to train and prepare to race last fall and competed in 7 road races and two 10 mile TT's this year. This was my first year of racing and I learned a lot and enjoyed it and I plan to continue for the next couple years. One thing that I did learn is to not pay attention to the heart rate monitor in races. There are HR numbers showing that are scary.:D The last race I did my average HR for a 24 mile race was 154 and there were several times it was in the mid 160's. The average speed for the race was 24.1 mph. In a race you have no control of the intensity and just have to deal with the pain of the hills and pickups in pace if you want to stay with the pack. That is where the hard intervals with short rest help the most. The pain and suffering over lonely country roads on Monday night's makes all the difference on Saturday mornings, and now since the racing season is over, on weekly group rides.:D

Our group ride this Sunday ended right after the winds started picking up from Ike. Riding home from the group ride, I was cruising at 30 mph with a good, but not max, effort. That was fun. Then, near my house, I was doing 8-12 mph into the same headwind.

On heart rates:
I was riding hard up a 4% grade this summer next to one of the other regular group riders. I mentioned I was right at a 150 heart rate, and he told me he was at 135! So it's all different for different riders.

At least having a good ride should have helped to make up for the lousy football game!
(assuming your a Buckeye fan)

Saturday night was a bad night for all our guests. My wife and I are from PA so we are not affected too much by OSU's lack of big game success. It was a bad weekend to be an Ohio sports fan. However, Sunday night's Browns/Steeler game was so sweet.:D

I did a recovery ride on Sunday decked out in my new Gold/black/white Cannondale jersey. I just couldn't pass it at the LBS.

I agree with you on the Sunday game! (poor browns):(

I'm a transplant from PGH, been here for 23 yrs now but still bleed black and gold (yellow).