stapfam

Todays ride started OK- Sorted a few problems on the bike and in the back so just a gentle ride to bring myself back into a bit of exertion on my trips down for PIE. Winter rides have just been turning the pedals really and although a few hard rides have been there- no real effort has been expended.

So on with the heart monitor-another of the problems solved this week- and see if I can do a ride at 75 to 85% of my max. Down to the cafe but straight past and up to the top of Beachy Head- Suicide capital of the South. Only about a 400ft climb at 8% and kept the heart rate within my limits. In fact- no matter how hard I pushed I could not get above the 85%- Mentally I could not do it. The HR hit 140 and it just stuck there. Then it was back down the hill- but down the 15% to get a bit of adrenalyn going. Didn't get above 45mph and normally I am pushing for 50. Just could not wring that final bit out of the brain again. Then to the cafe- Large black coffee and--sacrilidge- All I fancied was a slab of rich dark Fruit cake. NO PIE or even cheesecake or Gateaux. Mind you- It was good and it was a bit on the large side so mentally this put me right.

Then the way home- No diversion today as F1 on the TV at 1 pm so just a steady ride up the back roads. Got home- put the bike away and decided to watch the F1- I actually watched it instead of napping when the crucial bits of the race came up. Then it was sort the bike and plug the Garmin in to recharge.

Hold on- Milage was 35 miles- average speed was 15.6mph and total climbing for a flat ride was 1,460 ft.

So for a steady ride where I could not the HR up- I did not want to push myself and I did not have PIE to sustain myself for the ride- I am quite happy. I'll have to try it again next week-

Except for the no PIE bit. That was one step too far.

Couple of boring pics from this morning- at the start of the 8% and halfway up it- and the 15% downhill was taken last year so some may have seen it before.

And in the first pic- the mud path up the grass is climbable about twice a year. Normally it is too wet but met a couple of Mountain bikers that "Claimed" they had ridden it. Reckon they could have done as the bikes were spotless to show it was a "Dry" day

East Hill

I am so looking forward to having some real fruit cake when we head for the Chelsea Flower Show in a bit less than a fortnight from today .

East Hill

stapfam

It's Strawberrys and Cream at Chelsea- But I am sure you will find PIE if you look. But you may be looking from under an Umbrella. Could be wet there.

BengeBoy 

East Hill, that should be great! I tried to go once but the crowds were pretty thick - my wife went, though. Pretty cool event.

Retro Grouch 

Took Mrs. Grouch out for a spin on the tandem today.

Good news:
1. Knee didn't bother her. The last time we tried to ride together it hurt her so much right at the start that our ride was limited to 1 lap of the block.
2. Other than a bit of sliding about, she completely forgot about her new Brooks saddle. I told her that the sliding about will cure itself in another ride or two.
3. Overall pace was pretty good considerning she has had so little training this spring.
4. Another tandem team saw me loading our Santana into our Honda Element and acted suitably impressed. Made me feel good.

Bad news:
1. We only rode about 15 or 20 miles.

All-in-all an excellent outing.

East Hill

Strawberries and cream for Chelsea, but the fruit cake is to be found elsewhere. I don't know why American Fruitcake has those narsty flourescent bits of citron .


This will be the second time I've gone. Me mum and I will be going on a Member's Day. Still some thick crowds, but nothing like the Public days.

Road Fan

Real nice ride report!

Just one thing about HR: If you're not training seriously on a structured plan, there's (IMO) no real good reason to go above that 85%, and hence no reason to worry about the inability to do so. At least from a non-doctor's naive point of view. I know that I can go higher than that, but it isn't fun. You're probably a lot more fit than I overall, so things will be different for you, but I would personally not worry about it.

Road Fan

kr32

Who won the F1? Too lazy to google it.

BengeBoy 

Jensen Button, after his team manipulated their pit stop strategy to put him ahead of his team mate, Rubens Barrichello. "Team orders" - the notion of a team favoring one driver over another - is supposed to be illegal in F1 so the teams find other ways to make sure the "right" team mate wins.

The Smokester

I've been back riding for about 2 years now and I would be very pleased with the times you are achieving. Good job.

stapfam

In a way- after the poor riding I have got in over the winter- I am happy with the stats from this ride. I am not a sprint merchant so top speed is not my forte- but saying that I live in an area that does not have many flatbits. I can find them but don't do them because they are boring.

What disapointed me though was the inability to push myself into the "That Hurts" range. Perhaps after another couple of rides and I will get there.

Bud Bent

I know the feeling of not being able to get your heart rate where you want it, stapfam. Losing half a lung totally changed what I can do with my heart rate. It lowered my max heart rate 15 beats, and on shorter rides I usually can't even get anywhere near 85% of the new max, either because of fatigue or shortness of breath. I guess surgically lowering your vo2 max isn't a very good training technique.

I also don't see the gains I used to get from intervals. In fact, I see no gains at all. It takes such a long buildup to reach a higher rate that it seems too long to be called an interval, anyway. Tempo riding seems to do me more good these days. On my 124.2 mile ride Saturday, I had an average heart rate of 142. I'm thinking that's a pretty good effort for a ride of that length.

The Smokester

Maybe it just takes a while to rebuild the appetite for endorphines.

Here in California I have been able to continue riding through the winter.

Robert Foster

Winter in California? That lasts what, a few weeks at most even in Northern Cal? Last winter I missed 5 days of riding because of winter rain. But I live in Southern California.