On Saturday, December 10, 2016 at 11:22:06 AM UTC-8, Joerg wrote:
On 2016-12-05 09:21, wrote:
I am seldom riding with the local old folks group because they have a
habit of racing all the time. Then 3/4ths of the way into a ride they
get really tired and are dragging up the final hills.

I don't like climbing as fast as possible nor trying to keep up on
the flats to people 5 years older than me that are maintaining heart
rates at 90%. And this is directly out of the box with not one minute
of warm-up.

Now I like to exercise at elevated rates so riding with the "easy"
groups is out. But I don't riding with people whose objective is to
beat someone else to the top of the hill as if this proves them
superior. And this soon degenerates into not waiting for the slower
members.

Unfortunately, these acts of proving one's self better than others
can significantly shorten the live's of those over 55.

If you are one of those that must prove yourself on every ride there
is a target rate on
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Health...1_Article.jsp#

If you regularly ride above these rates you are a heart attack
waiting to happen. Not to mention that often you are pulling the
entire group above their safe zones.

Let's ride as smart as well as fast.


What is a good way to gauge the heart rate if the bike is not equipped
with a whole smorgasbord of medical devices such as pulse meters? Taking
one hand off the bar and counting wrist pulses isn't very safe in most
places around here.

I sometimes get carried away on long boring stretches and find myself
riding full tilt. Whatever "the engine" can deliver goes into the
pedals. But I usually don't become tired after an hour. Or two. Or four.
Is that a good enough indicator to be in the healthy zone?

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

Your heart rate will increase linearly as long as you're in the aerobic zone. If you go into the anaerobic zone it will only increase a little. At this time the muscles start burning lactate that is stored in the muscles and this is difficult to do for more than half a minute or so.

This represents your actual max heart rate. But that is not you healthy heart rate with is 220-age.

This practical heart rate has to do with your metabolic heart rate and will be below your true max heart rate.

If you are over 50 and operate for any amount of time over 90% of your max metabolic heart rate you are starving the heart muscles of it's very small storage of lactate. That is, your heart is operating in it's anaerobic. Since the older you are the slower you can reload your muscles (and the heart is a muscle) with lactate and the most chance you have of it seizing up.

Bicycling is an endurance sport and that means you must always operate within your aerobic zone.

If you start breathing harder and when you back off a little it takes awhile for your heart rate and breathing to come back down you are going too hard. If you are in your aerobic zone when you back off your breathing will almost immediately back down as well.