Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

...last year I developed for myself my"Time-restricted, Personally Ambitious, but Non-competitive CyclistTraining Routine,"…based on ”Relative Perceived Exertion (RPE).” My basic premise was that I wanted to get significantly fit, within a busy work/family time-crunched life, but not suffer so much that I would abandon the program.

I do have the advantages of a very nice minimum 14 mile one way commute that is easily extended; and a high end, very comfortable carbon fiber road bike that encourages riding.

The RPE scale ranges from 6 to17, with descriptions of the intensity. Multiply the RPE by 10 is the approximate heart rate. Jim's scale is the equivalent on a 0 to 100 scale, easier to think about…My basic training is to ride at my RPE of 50% for six miles to warm up, then cruise at an RPE of 60%, and do intervals (on hills) at 70% [described as“hard”; 60% is“somewhat hard," and 80% is “very hard" (lactate threshold;breakpoint between hard but steady breathing and labored with gasping. 50% is "fairly light" (my usual happy-go-lucky pace without thinking about it)].

I try to change gears to maintain a cadence of about 85-90 rpm on flats and rolling hills, and about 60 to 80 rpm on harder hills, to maintain my RPE. Shift up to higher gears as the cadence rises, and shift down as the RPE increases.