Originally Posted by RonH (Post 18144057)

This is the bike I'll be getting. :)

Originally Posted by Viking55803 (Post 17972609)

Born in 1948. I raced in the late 1960's before returning to Minnesota in 1972. After that I mainly competed in x-country skiing and running events. I had a nasty heart attack playing hockey in 1992 which left me with some permanent damage. For the next twenty years I kept some conditioning by hiking and snowshoeing year round, but finally needed quadruple bypass surgery in November of 2012. Of course I did some mountain biking, but found falling a lot did not appeal to me, but after surgery I lost a lot of extra weight and started dreaming about being back on the road bike. I started riding again about 5 months after surgery and haven't looked back. I'm at the same weight I was when I competed in my 20's which makes the dang hills around Duluth, Mn a bit easier to climb.

This spring I picked up a Raleigh Tamland gravel bike. The road around here are pretty beat up from 6 months of winter, and gravel "racing" has exploded in Minnesota and around the midwest. I did a short gravel race in June and will be doing the Filthy Fifty in October. I wear a heart monitor when I ride and started tracking all my rides on Strava. I created the "Cardiac Cycling Club International" on Strava for folks like me with heart disease. We have 32 members now.

I've had some issues with beta blockers, which limit the heart rate, but am on the lowest dose they make. My conditioning has improved steadily especially since I started weight training about a year and half ago. But here's an issue that is concerning me today. Yesterday I did a 28 mile ride with about 800 feet of climbing. Normally on the hills or during a hard effort I can get my heart rate up to about 135 - 140, but yesterday I could not push it past 124. I averaged 15.3 mph and my perceived effort was fairly hard, but that heart rate just would not budge.

Any thoughts?

Originally Posted by DougG (Post 18146623)

Ron, are you sure that a bike that flashy is suitable for someone of your age? :D But seriously, that is a really great bike! Give us a ride report when you get it. I just recently talked myself out of a new bike and will stick with my current lineup for a couple more years. This is my Cannondale Synapse Carbon 5 of 2010 vintage, with some modifications (mainly the wheelset):

Originally Posted by tmac100 (Post 18147668)

I have been away from this forum for a while but have enjoyed reading this thread. WRT #1710 and later, I still like my Arvon1 touring bicycle shown in Arvon Cycles "Expedition Grade" Touring Bike with S and S Couplings but with a new (Arvon-built) front rack. Those 48-spoke PW hubs have really stood the test of time as have the Sun Rhyno-lite rims (48 spoke 4X laced). Naturally the Brooks saddle is a blessing in terms of comfort.

At the age of 67 I finally completed a tour from Perth WA to Peterborough SA on this bicycle (July 7 - Aug 8 and 2700 km). Thus I can now say that I have used this bicycle to tour between Perth and Sydney.

Not too shabby for a Type 1 diabetic (since 1964) doing self-supported touring. :thumb: My rotator cuff issue is fixable thru surgery,, but at my age I will leave it as-is. The torn ligament does not negatively affect my legs which are the power for my touring. Such is life :rolleyes:

More trips in OZ planned next "winter" (aka July-August). Unfortunately my job (which I really love and do not need to do because I am financially independent) gets in the way of lots of bicycle touring.

Originally Posted by RonH (Post 18147825)

I'm not getting the bike because it's flashy. My spine doc said I needed a better bike than the Supersix EVO that I now have -- it's not Hi-Mod. He said the Litespeed is a great bike. He said to get something like he has --

Originally Posted by Wildwood (Post 18186634)

Spine doc picking high end bikes for his clients??? Tell him road feel is 90% in the tires, then the wheels; not the frame or components or the higher price.

Originally Posted by fthomas (Post 18186649)

Now if you can just get the Litespeed on a prescription pad as a required for "Physical Therapy" maybe insurance would spring for it verses months of appointments for PT.

Originally Posted by RISKDR1 (Post 18146722)

my theory is that your working muscles generate the oxygen demand and your heart responds to that. Some days our muscles may be fatigued and do not generate the the oxygen demand and your heart will not respond by going as high. It probably indicates that you need more recovery in your working muscles. Also, the aerobic system is more than just the heart. It is the lungs, the blood, the arteries, veins, capillaries and the blood itself including your red blood cell count. People who are on beta blockers eventually develop those other elements to compensate for the lower heart rate. You can increase the stroke volume through targeted training. Increase RBC count, capillary beds, etc. If your perceived effort is high but your power output is low our muscles are not fresh.

Originally Posted by nobodyhere (Post 18187124)

Cross training for folks in their 70's+

I think cross-training gets more and more important as we age.

So, how about you?

Originally Posted by Viking55803 (Post 18188101)

Your response was right on I think. Since that one ride I have been able to correlate my heart rate with my muscle fatigue. In fact, my legs seem to be limiting me more than my heart rate. I have been too focused on heart rate I think. Lately I've been letting my legs drive my heart rate instead of the other way around - if that makes sense. There are a lot of external and internal issues that drive heart rate - muscular exertion being only one. Stress, lack of sleep or rest, ambient temp etc. all have their effect.

In any case, the sensations in the legs are what I am paying more attention to with heart rate in a supporting role. Just last evening I set a personal record on a local 10K time trial course I've been doing regularly for the past 3 seasons. I destroyed my previous PR which was done on a road bike with aero bars while now I am riding a heavier gravel bike with 40mm tires. I think I was 2 minutes faster than my previous PR last night.

The other thing I've been doing as I prepare for my first "competitive" event - a 50 mile gravel race in October - was based on a post in the 50+ forum about 4X8 minute intervals. I've made sure I have a couple of days rest after an interval session which usually takes place in the middle of a 40 mile ride. I've been avoiding intervals but I'll tell you they seem to act like steroids and the results are evident after only a couple of weeks. My feeling, however, is that they need to be used wisely.

Originally Posted by RISKDR1 (Post 18146722)

my theory is that your working muscles generate the oxygen demand and your heart responds to that. Some days our muscles may be fatigued and do not generate the the oxygen demand and your heart will not respond by going as high. It probably indicates that you need more recovery in your working muscles. Also, the aerobic system is more than just the heart. It is the lungs, the blood, the arteries, veins, capillaries and the blood itself including your red blood cell count. People who are on beta blockers eventually develop those other elements to compensate for the lower heart rate. You can increase the stroke volume through targeted training. Increase RBC count, capillary beds, etc. If your perceived effort is high but your power output is low our muscles are not fresh.

Originally Posted by Badgerfog (Post 18192463)

I am on a Beta blocker and it has really messed up my hart rate, and I have to use the RPE method that gives me a idea of how hard I am working. My hart rate changes with my RPE as I ride, and is different for each ride.

I had a hart attack in April 2015 and my cardo doc says I need to be on the Beta blocker for one year, and after a year current research indicates that Beta blockers are no longer needed. I have a friend who was on Beta blockers for several years, and finally stopped and he lost weight and his performance on the bike improved (he and his wife completed Paris Brest Paris last month. I recommend that you revisit the Beta blocker with your doc.

I have not really done serious intervals; but you just convinced me that I need to start.

Good luck,
wayne

Originally Posted by Wildwood (Post 18194181)

Every now and then I think about jumping in on a group buy of the 50+ jersey. And every time I decide it sounds a little.... how to put it?.... immature. Is there a 65+ jersey?

Originally Posted by McBTC (Post 18194355)

I hear >65 and <70 shirts are moving quicker'n iPhone 6s

Originally Posted by McBTC (Post 18193788)

I'm not a doctor but it's pretty easy to Google that apparently, "once you start taking a beta-blocker, be prepared to stay on it for the long term. Some people stop taking their blood pressure medicines when they think their blood pressure is under control, but doing this can put your health at risk."

Originally Posted by Wildwood (Post 18235947)

So I was looking at the lastest thread from the the 50+ jersey buy.
Just wondering if they offered a 65+ jersey (in the same red design) would there be anyone interested???

Originally Posted by RonH (Post 18236937)

I'd be interested in 65+ or 70+ if the jerseys came from someone other than ChampSys. Their fit system is for European cyclists (tall and thin) which I am not. :rolleyes: