wthensler 

Somewhere I have a heart monitor that straps to my chest for riding, but I misplaced it. I'm riding in a 70 miler this weekend and was wondering, more out of curiosity, what my rate would be here in flat Florida. I ride pretty steady at about 18 mph, can converse when riding.....At the gym, I also do cardio, and on the spinner when I'm out of breath, I top off around 150.

I'm 59, in good shape, and guessing I should be good to about 160 bpm for short durations. But I suspect I'm nowhere near that when I've settled during a nice pace and cadence. Anyone have experience they can relay to me?

RandyO

I'm 62 years young, in reasonable shape, and not a "heavy rider". About 60 miles each of the last 2 weeks. Not much riding for a number of years before I started again this September. On my last ride I was on a flat stretch doing about 14 to 16 mph on my 24" folder (Tern Node) which is a good pace for me on that bike and I was about 10 miles into the ride and I checked my heart rate (pulse & watch method) and both times I checked I was at 132. That seems to be my normal pace when I'm maintaining my cadence.

DiabloScott

Not flat, but this is my regular ride and the chart that my Mio Fuse creates.

TejanoTrackie 

Yes, I do. I'm 70 and like to maintain my hr in the 100 to 130 bpm range to get a reasonable cardio aerobic benefit from the exercise.

Carbonfiberboy 

Only for the past 20+ years. None of us here would have any idea of what your heart rate should be. That's for you to figure out through long experience. Since you won't be using one, I don't understand your interest. For long rides, or say much longer rides than my usual, my mantra is "no pain in legs." I feel pain in legs, I gear down.

TimothyH

Heart rate varies wildly from person to person.

There is no way anyone can say what your heart rate will be and other people's heart rate cannot be used as an example of what yours will be.

This weekend is too soon to be reliably determining your level of effort based on heart rate. At a minimum you need to have been using it for weeks or months in order to establish a baseline. The proper way to do it is to get a book, learn about heart rate training, test for max heart rate, set up your zones and go from there.


-Tim-

wnl256

What Timothy said. I'm in the 160s on a typical ride, which is faster than most folks. And I've seen it as fast as 180. Perfectly normal for me, but could be dangerously fast for someone else.

I freaked out the nurses in cardiac rehab once or twice when I let the heart rate sneak up there!

I haven't used the heart rate monitor much lately because it started irritating my chest.

wthensler 

Thanks, all. I wasn't asking for advice on what my HR is, I was simply wondering if there are cyclists out there that monitor their's during a brisk ride. When my curiosity gets the better of me, it'll be time to go through all the unpaxked moving boxes.

MinnMan

I wear my HRM on all my rides (except when I forget). It's not just for the "big" or unusual rides. I couldn't possibly understand the HR info from those unless I had a background of dozens of rides at all levels of effort.

It's no use as a one-off. Use it regularly or don't bother.

StanSeven

I find one helpful when I haven't been doing fast group rides for a while. It's easy, especially riding by myself, to slack off rountinely with someone or something pushing me. So a HR monitor shows me if I'm taking it too easy.

peterws

I would get a pulse rate monitor if it didn`t have a chest strap. But in the gym there are bicycle type machines which enable measuring of hr whilst in full flow. And you can go as fast and slow as you like.

I`d be wondering about bp because mine drops alarmingly after exercise for a time.

woodcraft

I do- useful information.

I did a CX race over the weekend, & showed an ave. HR of 156, including a mile to and from, & a short warm up.

High for me, as I usually ride distance w ~130 ave.

GlennR

I'm in the mid 130s with peaks to 160.... over 40 miles.

OldsCOOL

On long rides I'll stop to check if temps are high or when climbing steep grades and the breathing feels at a deficit. I've topped 186 enough to know what that feels like.

justtrying

I just turned 63 &I use a Garmin vivioactive HR. I have been averaging an HR of 127 with an average MHR of 155. When I first got it I thought the HRs were inaccurate but after double checking it with my older monitor it was right on that he money.

Hermes1

62 years old. I do wear a HR band to monitor my heart rate on my rides. I find it helpful.

memebag

I got a HRM chest strap last month. I use it on all of my rides.

Last weekend I did a 176 mile charity ride. The first day was 100 miles, and I pushed myself too hard at the beginning. I was feeling a tired by the end, so the next day I decided to leave my Garmin on the HRM page, ignore my speed and stick to a comfortable heart rate. I settled on 145 BPM because it felt good.

My average speed was slower on day 2, but I spent much less time resting at break points. I finished the 76 miles earlier than most of my team and felt great compared to how I usually feel after these things.

TimothyH

The answer to your question then is yes.

Just about everyone here wears a heart rate monitor and most of us pay very close attention to it during rides.

Chances are that most of the cyclists you see on the road will be wearing a heart rate monitor of some kind and recording their ride for future analysis.

Good luck. Let us know how you do with it.


-Tim-

47p2

I'm 59 and my maximum heart rate tops out at 192bpm, I usually average between 150-155bpm when cycling

Rick@OCRR

I always wear the heart rate monitor and occasionally check my heart rate (Garmin 800) as I ride. My cardiologist has "limited" me to 165 bpm (due to my age - 66 - and family history of heart issues) but I've been known to exceed that occasionally when properly "testosterone inspired" on hill-climb sprints with my friends.

Casual competition is a wonderful reason to have a heart monitor, actually, and I check it often when "digging deep." All kinds of fun!

My average bpm varies depending on the ride (low while commuting - 112) and up in the high 120's on club rides. For long climbs on mountain roads I'm usually seeing something in the 135 bpm range (5-6% climbs) and up to 145-155 bpm range approx. on the 10% or steeper bits.

Your bpm's may (probably will!) vary.

Rick / OCRR

mephisto2k2

I wear my HR monitor on every ride including trainer rides, plus power meter. If I have a specific goal for the ride, i.e. limiting to Z2, then I'll actively monitor during the ride to ensure I stay within the range. Otherwise it's just informational during the ride and I may or may not analyze the recorded HR after the ride.

Juan Foote

I wore the chest strap that came with my Garmin for a bit. According to the charts, I am about to nearly die from an exploding heart for my age every time I ride. Paired with the discomfort of wearing it, I misplaced it somewhere.

Barrettscv 

I use a heart rate monitor while riding on most rides. On a century ride, I target 140bpm and try to keep my maximum heart-rate below 155bpm.

On shorter rides, I usually push my heart rate above 160bpm for 30 seconds at a time. I can do this if the ride is less than 4 hours in duration without a negative impact on the last hour of the ride.

wphamilton

Taking up running this summer - mostly treadmill - I'm monitoring it constantly. I don't fully trust my system under unaccustomed stress, and if it gets too high I back off. That's just common sense at our age.

While cycling, not very often because by now I have a good feel for where my HR is on a brisk ride, and so far it always reacts within my expected tolerances.

47p2

Family history of my father and grandfather having heart attacks led my cardiologist fitting me with a heart monitor for 48 hours to ensure everything was 'normal'... I had to go back to the hospital to have the monitor removed so decided to cycle there on my single speed bike. Only problem is there's a leg breaking climb of 3/4 mile long to reach the hospital so it made for some interesting reading when I went in for the results. Resting HR 48bpm (sleeping) maximum HR cycling to the hospital 184bpm... Result is I'm not going to die of a heart attack.