What speed / experience / heart rate

[VictorL]

I am still very new to cycling - have been on one 35 mile trip and now a couple of (just under) 20 miles trips.

I as 18 stone 10 until last year, but by eating sensibly and going tot he gym and doing cardio work (ironically never using the bikes!), I have come down to just under 14 stone now - still looking to lose another 1 1/2 stone.

Anyway, question is, at the moment I have achieved an average of 15mph on the 35 mile ride and 16mph on the 20 mile rides.

My heart rate (wearing a polar monitor) is going between 150 - 165 which is probably a bit high, but seem to be okay with it. When using the cross trainer I usually tried to keep it at 150.

edit - I am a 35 years old male

Does this sound good to you?

I am planning to go for a long ride this weekend (maybe 50 - 60 miles)

(oh and I am riding a Trek 7.3 FX hybrid and I am in Norfolk so relatively flat)

Also, if I was to join a local cycling club (which I am not planning on doing), what sort of speed to they do - ie is 15 mph average, good, beginner etc?

 

[VictorL]

p.s. nothing against cycle clubs - it is just that I tend to cycle at 6am - I don't want to go on rides when my wife is awake - much as I enjoy cycling, I prefer spending time with her (and she can't ride)

 

[ttcycle]

The useful thing to look out for is when you're riding - when does your breathing change and become noticeable - then the burn in your legs should kick in a bit after this - this is referred to as your lactate threshold and if you know where your heart rate is at that point you can reference it and know whether you're working too hard or not...averages for ages can really be inaccurate. How you feel during a ride is also useful to take into account.

You'll find heart rate can fluctuate especially in the early days when you're building fitness. Useful to take a reading in the morning when you wake up as a comparitor but heart rate is only one element of training/how your body works.

Apparently if you're aiming to lose weight - you should be working at 65% of your maximal heart rate and the general formula is 220-age- so yours would be 185 -I know using this formula for myself is really inaccurate and technically you should be at 120 or less....hmmmm???

Let me know if you can work out when your lactate threshold is and I'll look up the rest of the heart rate zones for you.

 

[Sam Kennedy]

I'm not too sure on what a good heart rate would be, but congratulations on your weight loss! Keep at it!

 

[HLaB]

I'm 33 looking back at my records from a year ago my average heart rate seems to be around the 165-175 rate (maxing around 240 or higher but them levels seem to fallen dramatically as i've got fitter. Actually I've not bothered with the faff of attaching the HRM for ages.

 

[The Jogger]

I'm 33 looking back at my records from a year ago my average heart rate seems to be around the 165-175 rate (maxing around 240 or higher but them levels seem to fallen dramatically as i've got fitter.

At a guess, i'd say the 240 was a blip with the hr monitor , probably caused by overhead cables or something.

 

[VictorL]

Thanks for the replies - will monitor my HR a bit more - though at the moment I am not getting any burns in my legs. On my 35 mile run, I did get a bit of a stitch after 21 miles, but it was quite mild and I ploughed though it. HR at the time was pretty much the same though.

What about speed - what sort of speed to cycling clubs ride at?

 

[jimboalee]

Thanks for the replies - will monitor my HR a bit more - though at the moment I am not getting any burns in my legs. On my 35 mile run, I did get a bit of a stitch after 21 miles, but it was quite mild and I ploughed though it. HR at the time was pretty much the same though.

What about speed - what sort of speed to cycling clubs ride at?

The club where I am a member have four Sunday rides. The slowest averages around 13 - 14 mph with some fast cruises at 16 -17. They ride for 25 miles or so before stopping for tea and cakes. This is the 'D' ride and will be 45 - 50 miles total.
They set off at 09:00 ( so your Missus won't like that ) and return to the pub for about 13:00.

The 'C' ride averages 15 - 16 mph.

There are some Hybrids on the 'D' ride, but not the 'C' ride. Members prefer use of full mudguards on the 'D' and 'C' ride because most of the route is on Country lanes where there may be puddles and farm stuff on the road.

No-one uses a HRM on the 'D' and 'C' rides. Some lads and lasses on the 'B' and 'A' rides use them.

 

[HLaB]

At a guess, i'd say the 240 was a blip with the hr monitor , probably caused by overhead cables or something.

Sorry, wrong smiley it was meant to be a

Yeah they probably were blips but there was a lot of them. My max seems only to have been around 200 in the latter days before I didnt bother with it anymore.

 

[HLaB]

Thanks for the replies - will monitor my HR a bit more - though at the moment I am not getting any burns in my legs. On my 35 mile run, I did get a bit of a stitch after 21 miles, but it was quite mild and I ploughed though it. HR at the time was pretty much the same though.

What about speed - what sort of speed to cycling clubs ride at?

I think our club says 15mph for beginners, the next group averages 17-19, my group averages 19-22 and the suicidal group do 25+. The middle two groups usually brake into different sub groups.

Before I converted my Sirrus to drops (it was a hybrid) and it had 28 mm tyres it could handle the begginer group no problem and the 2nd group at a push (winds a killer though).

 

[NutSack]

Whilst I have no idea reference the speeds congrats on losing that weight, thats a great achievement.

As far as the heart rate goes 150-165 is not a worry. Assuming you have a healthty heart (and I found out that at 31 I didn't) you'll be capable of more. I've been setting 150bpm as my level whilst at the gym and stuff for the past few months as I've had a pacemaker fitted this year and want to make sure I don't over-do it (at my 6 month check this morning the nurse could see from the computer when my heart rate had gone a lot higher than 150 but those were times I was at work so you should be fine).

 

[VictorL]

Thanks for your help and advice (again) folks