How hard do you ride?

[Dogtrousers]

There’s a red sky tonight so I’ll get the shorts ready for tomorrow.

The shepherd will be delighted

 

[Rusty Nails]

The shepherd will be delighted

He’s easily pleased.

 

[Alex321]

After a very entertaining trawl through this thread I have come to the conclusion that the disdain for a rule of thumb calculation for Max HR is just to allow people to brag that it doesn’t apply to the real athletes amongst us.

Not at all.

How "elite" an athlete you are, and how fit you are has very little, if any, effect on your Max HR.

It is mainly down to genetics.

 

[Rusty Nails]

Not at all.

How "elite" an athlete you are, and how fit you are has very little, if any, effect on your Max HR.

It is mainly down to genetics.

True.

 

[Binky]

Not at all.

How "elite" an athlete you are, and how fit you are has very little, if any, effect on your Max HR.

It is mainly down to genetics.

Indeed.

Apparently Chris Froome max HR was only around 170?

 

[Dogtrousers]

I think extensive endurance training will result in a lowering of your resting HR, but with max I think it's pretty much whatever cards you are dealt.

 

[matticus]

I’m assuming to train for longer distance, you would have to put more time in training.

You can just ride a bit slower than the shorter rides. Anyone that can ride 50 miles (assuming under 6 hours!) can ride 100.

 

[Ian H]

Well yes, but there has to be a cut of point, as there is limited time during the week and the one day I have to myself is a Sunday.
I’m assuming to train for longer distance, you would have to put more time in training.

One winner of the National 24 trained exclusively by riding 25s.

(Go on, tell me that 25 is further than 24)

 

[ColinJ]

One winner of the National 24 trained exclusively by riding 25s.

(Go on, tell me that 25 is further than 24)

20 of them a day, with a few minutes break between each one?


If they really did do it training no more than 25 miles a day then that is pretty incredible!

 

[Ian H]

20 of them a day, with a few minutes break between each one?


If they really did do it training no more than 25 miles a day then that is pretty incredible!

I don't know whether he rode otherwise, I just know about the competitive events. No 50, 100 or 12.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Anyone that can ride 50 miles (assuming under 6 hours!) can ride 100.

But anyone who rides 100 miles off the back of only 50 mile rides is quite likely to finish in considerable discomfort, not least on contact points.

Years ago, I rode as "chaperone" on the slow group of a club 100 miler (S London-Brighton and back). All fit cyclists, used to the "normal people" weekend rides, but not used to 100 miles. The final cafe stop with 25 miles to go, and the North Downs yet to cross, was not a happy place for many of the riders. Sore arses and shoulders all round and much trepidation about the one last big hill.

 

[VinSumRox]

I find if I do a ride a lot further than I have been doing regularly I usually get cramps in the last bit of the ride, so if planning to do 80 or 100miles then need to have been doing a few 60miles plus rides.

 

[PpPete]

Last time I had a HRM (in the noughties) my MHR was a little above the 220-age. When the battery ran out I didn't replace it.

Just recently got another and find my MHR is now about 130 (=25 below 220-age). Looking at stats on recent rides my average is in 105 to 110 range which is "conversational" pace, but as a percentage of MHR puts me firmly in the Z3-Z4 range.

Just beginning to wonder if the low MHR is indicative of something more concerning (despite feeling perfectly healthy otherwise).
RHR is in low fifties (but hasn't changed significantly in years)

 

[Webbo2]

Last time I had a HRM (in the noughties) my MHR was a little above the 220-age. When the battery ran out I didn't replace it.

Just recently got another and find my MHR is now about 130 (=25 below 220-age). Looking at stats on recent rides my average is in 105 to 110 range which is "conversational" pace, but as a percentage of MHR puts me firmly in the Z3-Z4 range.

Just beginning to wonder if the low MHR is indicative of something more concerning (despite feeling perfectly healthy otherwise).
RHR is in low fifties (but hasn't changed significantly in years)

How have you arrived at your max heart rate?

 

[ColinJ]

Yes, you've got to be able to turn the gear over without stalling the legs on any hill.

If you gear down so you can maintain your natural cadence, any hill can be done in Z2.

I use a triple crank and a11-40 cass for cycling up mountains of Europe of Canaries islands. I can/could spin over 80 rpm for hours

It is true that riding slowly enough in a low enough gear would make it possible to ride extremely steep hills, but... it can be very hard to stay balanced on the bike and keep the front wheel down on the road.

As for heart rate...

I don't often use my HRM but I did have it on during a recent attempt on my PB on the long (by UK standards !) Cragg Vale climb.

I was just browsing through the ride data and found an interesting summary of the heart rate data for the ride. You can see the profile of the climb in the background of the heart rate graph. If you look closely you can see that the maximum heart rate occurs at the top of the climb. I had realised that the PB was on so I stood up and did a hard effort for the final km. The maximum recorded was 161 bpm. I think if I absolutely had to I could maybe reach 165 bpm but I don't intend to make a monster effort to find out!