Originally Posted by
genejockey
A few years ago, I stopped at the bottom of a half-hour climb to strip off arm warmers, take a drink, etc. I glanced at my HRM - 244 bpm! I almost had a heart attack from that! What the.......!?!
But I checked my pulse, which was running around 100, so I figured it must be radio frequency interference. Next time I stopped there, same thing.
Then there was another time when I looked over my data from a ride and found that my HR had risen steadily during a descent, peaking at 170 bpm. That worried me, too, till I remembered I didn't feel anything out of the ordinary then, and later I read that HRMs sometimes do that as the wet clothing around them dries out.
So, as Reagan said, "Trust, but verify!"
Absolutely. So far, so good.
Originally Posted by
genejockey
One way to feel faster is to ride with people more out of shape than you are. This may require finding ever-older riding companions. At some point, you'll run out of them, though.
Yeah, I've been accompanying riders who are recovering from injuries and surgeries lately. Age, however... last month I found myself being pushed up a climb by Ron Skarin, who is 30 years older than me! In the club, Bud is in his 80's and he sometimes waits for me. Guess that just means my strategy needs to be aimed at getting more fit. I hope I have a ways to go, but there are no guarantees.