SHaterius

I took my second real ride today. It was a blast. I just had a few questions that came to me during the ride. First of all HR. I am 22 and in decent shape (not quite cycling shape yet) but I had estimated my max HR at 200. Today while going up a hill my HR hit 203. i was pretty tired, but I don't know if this is what I should put as my max HR or if I should estimate it at about 210 or so? Also my average HR was 185. I had the target zones on my computer set from 140 - 180. So needless to say I didn't spend much time in this zone. What is a typical average HR to shoot for on a diffucult, moderate, and easy ride? Also I was curious about cadence, I tried to keep it between 80 - 100. My average ended up being 90 so I was pleased with this, but is this a good target cadence or should I increase it? Also just a random question, how often do you run in to idiots in cars? i was riding on the sholder and there were 2 lands of trafic going in the same direction as me. Anyway there was this mustang that crossed over the line and came within about 2 feet of me. The road was not that busy and every other car at least got halfway over into the left lane when they were going around me. I am sure that whoever this was in the mustang was just trying to scare me.....which they did a pretty good job. I wish that I had been ready to at least remember a license plate or something, but the speed limit was 55 right here and they were gone before I could think about it. So anyway does everyone run into this type of idiots, and if so approximately how often?

big john

I think the heart rate and cadence are very individual things that you will figure out for yourself as you ride more. There are jerks on the road everywhere, some areas are worse than others. It probaly won't do any good to get a plate number. I got to the point that I don't get too upset unless they threaten me or my friends. Try to find the quiet roads with light traffic. Be careful out there.

bccycleguy

Not as often as I'd like

Somedays There seems to be so many of them out on the road that I've changed my planned ride for the day. It depends how much road crap is on the shoulders too, if it's difficult to get over safely because of all the loose gravel, then you'd better pick a different route.

You'll find that the rear-ends are more common at certain times of the day on certain rides too, i.e. there are routes that I love to ride on Sunday AM that I won't even consider on Sat PM. Friday late in the afternoon is often bad too, around 5:00 - 6:00 PM.
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Most people who think they are fit don't realize that they are not so aerobically fit as they thought. Just like there are lots of Red-necks with 50 lb. beer-guts who think they are fit because they are strong, but would have a heart attack if they had to walk a mile.

Like the previous poster said HR is pretty personal, the 220-age calculation just isn't all that accurate. It was pointed out to me yesterday on another thread that this subject has come up lots of times before on the BikeForms, just search for it. Case in point, yesterday I hit 173 and my age is 52. A month of daily 1 hr. rides will make a big difference - for me its about a 10% drop in average HR.

C4Byke

Max heart rate has recently(last decade) been shown to be almost completely attributable to genetics.

SHaterius

Thats really interesting. Do you happen to know where I can find an article or something that talks about max HR and genetics. In no way am I trying to say that I don't believe you. I am a biology major and have taken a few genetics courses and just find it interesting.

obliterator

How long was your ride? because thats a really impressive heart rate to average on your second ride.

SHaterius

The ride was 21 miles and it took a little bit over an hour I think about. I did take two little breaks (maybe 2 min each) because my feet would get loose feeling in some of my tose from the shoes and also because after a few of the hills a breather sounded really good. That was my second "real" ride. I have technically ridden more than that I guess. I have riden probably 2 or 3 other times just around my house for about 8 or 9 miles. I didn't really count these because there are so many stop signs and lights that it make it hard to feel like I was getting some good work in. I also have been mountain biking for a few years.

obliterator

I knew you had to have had some bike experience with that type of heart rate avg.

obliterator

Did you feel like you were straining your self during the ride?

obliterator

If you estimate your max heart rate to be 210, that would mean your avg. was 87% of your max and thats probably feasible if you've been riding for two years.

SHaterius

When it got up to 203 I felt like I was straining, and a few times going up some of the other hills, but on flat ground I was consistantly over 180 and it wasn't too bad.

obliterator

well, good job.

dekalbSTEEL

If at all possible , I would try to avoid 4 lane highways with 55mph speed limits, especially if there is no dedicated bike lane.

SHaterius

I accidently left out that there was about a 7 foot shoulder that I was riding on. The car came onto the shoulder to get that close to me. I just read over what I put and realized that it wasn't clear at all.

obliterator

I've noticed that after some drivers buzz me they purposely move farther into my lane as if to say, Your lucky I didn't run right over you buddy. Brings a smile to my face every time.