Originally Posted by
SpeshulEd
Yes, I was going to say 199 seems super high for your age, but not sure what or where you were riding. I'm 35 and have been riding fairly consistently for two years now and when my heart rate hits much above 187 I feel like throwing up. 199 could be a spike from a flapping shirt or an inaccuracy. Still, most everything looks pretty good.
Raising your cadence will definitely help over time, but for starting out, 65 is fairly decently.
Garmin Connect will give you all the data that Strava will, but Strava is much more social and fun. And if you're super analytical and don't feel like doing the excel work yourself, VeloViewer can be a lot of fun for seeing how you're doing over time.
OP is 40, 5'7 190 (pretty overweight, no offense OP), sounds like he's been sedentary for a few years and just did their first ride after what sounds like several years off the bike and did 15 miles with nearly 900 feet elevation at a 15 mph avg. My heart would probably be beating out of my chest if I were him on those climbs.