Last Nights Ride

Finally found some time to get out on my bike last night! Full details are on my Sports Tracker profile, which you can access directly or via the new widget I have added to this blog.
Due to a later than planned start and an overcast early evening, I decided on a shorter ride to beat the fast darkening light.
Decided to head out of Merley and down into Wimborne to then ride up as many hills as I could find. Riding with my heart rate monitor I endevoured to keep my heart rate above 72% and below 90%.
The route was all on-road, so traffic was a bit of a concern, but rode hard as I could muster.
Final stats were:

• 7 miles total ride length
• Max speed 33mph
• Average speed 10.2mph
• Time 36 mins

Heart rate stats were a little disappointing

• Average 64%
• Max 97%

Latest Ride 8th June 2011

Took advantage of the great weather last night to go for an after work ride along the Castleman Trail-way with my friend Ashley.

Prepared my bike the night before. Mainly focused on cleaning, de-greasing and lubricating my chain, rear cassette and front mech. As I have blogged about previously I have started using Muc Off Degreaser. This stuff is fantastic, you just spray and watch the build up of grime, oil and grease just melt away; brilliant stuff that I can not recommend highly enough. I then tried a tip that I had read about on the Muc Off cleaning guide via their website of using Muc Off Bike Spray to help dry and remove moisture from your chain once you had cleaned, degreased and then wiped off any excess. This I tried and it worked really well. Then it was on with some chain lube. Recently I have purchased some Muc Off Dry Lube, so with a clean chain I dripped this thick gloppy lube on my chain as instructed. Again I would highly recommend this lube, chain glided really nicely all ride!

So my bike was fully prepped and I was ready for a high intensity fun ride. Met Ashley at 7:30pm and we joined the Castleman Trail-way at the top of Gravel Hill. This is fast becoming my favorite part of the route as it is a twisty, tight, downhill piece of single track that rolls really nicely and is a great way to get the legs turning. Within a few minutes we reached Broadstone and continued at a good pace through Creekmoor before descending off the trail-way for a quick blast along a straight section that brings us out near Upton Country House. Found a small short cut through that avoids crossing the fast paced roads where the dual carriageway exits, by taking a pathway used by the local farmer to move his cattle. A little overgrown, but fun to ride through at pace.
Then into Upton Country Park, hang a sharp left and then hit the pedals hard as we ride along the great gravel paths through the very picturesque country park. Soon we are out the other side onto Holes Bay. This is a little challenging at first as we are into a head wind. But side by side with good conversation we are soon at the end of Holes Bay and by Asda. Quick discussion of where too next, sees us heading towards Poole Quay and over the lifting bridge, through Hamworthy via Blandford Road. A quick glance at the development site of the new Twin Sails bridge and then on up the hill heading out of Hamworthy.
Finally reach the train arches and then back into Upton Country Park. Still maintaining a good pace, we are soon through and back out on to the Castleman Trail-way. Approaching the big short climb back up and onto the Creekmoor part of the trail-way is always good for a laugh, with granny ring selected we try and shift the body position to keep traction on both front and back wheels to reach the top, which we did!
Fast pace for last blast back to the end of trail-way at Merley by the Willet Arms pub then head for home. Great ride, excellent company and a fast pace.
As per previous blog I now ride with a Polar Heart Rate monitor. My stats were an average heart rate of 73% and maximum heart rate of 83%, so not too bad.
My route, speeds, altitude, distance and Google map of my route last night is on my public profile within Sports Tracker. Last night's route can be viewed by clicking here

• Total route was 15.4 miles
• Average speed was: 10.3 mph
• Max speed was: 21.6 mph

Riding With A Heart Rate Monitor

Last night I decided to try riding whilst wearing my Polar heart rate monitor. I have owned a Polar model for a couple of years but never really used whilst out on my bike. So after reading an article on the Polar website about how cyclists are benefiting from training using a heart rate monitor I thought I would give it a go.

So I strapped on my heart rate monitor via the chest strap. This is quite simple, you initially wet or dampen the inside of the chest strap and then locate on your chest centrally below the chest muscle.

Then I put on my Polar F7 watch.

This displays your heart as bpm or as a percentage. My intentions was to ride at an intensity of 70% + at all times, but without exceeding 95%.
A better and fuller explanation from the Polar website is below:

INTRODUCTION TO HEART RATE BASED TRAINING

People often wonder how much and in which intensities they should train. The simplest means of determining this is to listen to your own body. Heart rate based training gives clear guidance on how to train to reach your individual goals, based on your personal heart rate and heart rate variability. Although there are many subjective clues as to how your body is doing during exercise – such as perceived exertion, breathing rate, and physical sensations – none is as reliable as measuring heart rate.Being an accurate measure for workout intensity, recovery level and long-term progress, heart rate is a window to your own fitness. Each person reacts to physical strain individually, depending on the size of the heart, fitness level, skills, and daily changes of stress level. This can be seen in heart rate variability, which measures the variations in the time between successive heart beats. Unlike common misconception, heart does not beat as regular as clockwork. On the contrary, the healthier the heart, the better it adapts to different situations and changing circumstances. Polar training computers can detect these slight changes in heart rate variability by measuring beat-to-beat intervals in milliseconds.With regular training, the heart muscle becomes stronger, so it does not have to contract that often – therefore decreasing heart rate both during exercise and in rest, and increasing heart rate variability, which is a sign of fitness and a healthy heart. Polar has introduced number of features based on heart rate and heart rate variability that help athletes and active people in fitness assessment, guide them in their training and give tools for training follow-up. This way heart rate monitoring enables you to accurately adjust your training program, helping you vary your training depending on your fitness level and the goals you want to achieve by training.

EXERCISE ZONES

Exercise zones are ranges between the lower and upper heart rate limits expressed as beats per minute (bpm) or as percentages of your maximum heart rate (HRmax). HRmax is the highest number of heartbeats per minute during maximum physical exertion.Heart Rate Target ZonesExercise can be divided into three different intensity zones. Each of these intensity levels corresponds to various health and fitness improving mechanisms in your body. 

Light Intensity Zone

When your heart beats at 60-70% of your HRmax (HRmax %), you are in the Light Intensity Zone. Whether you have just started working out or you exercise fairly regularly, much of your workout will be in this zone. Fat is the body's main source of energy at this level of intensity; therefore this zone is also good for weight control. This intensity still feels fairly easy for most people and provides, for example, the following benefits:

• Helps in weight control
• Improves endurance
• Improves aerobic fitness

Moderate Intensity ZonePush on to 70-80% of your HRmax, and you are in the Moderate Intensity Zone. This is especially good for people who are exercising regularly. For most people, this is often the fastest pace they can maintain and still remain comfortable and free of pain. Exercising in this zone is particularly effective for improving aerobic (i.e. cardiovascular) fitness. If you are out of shape, your muscles will use carbohydrates for fuel when you are exercising in this zone. As you get fitter, your body starts using a higher and higher percentage of fat for fuel, thus preserving its limited stores of muscle carbohydrate. Exercising in the moderate intensity zone results in some additional benefits:

• Improves aerobic fitness
• Improves endurance
• Helps in weight control
• Accustoms your body to exercising at a faster pace
• Begins to raise the speed you can maintain without building up lactic acid

Hard Intensity ZoneAt 80-90% of your HRmax, you have moved into the Hard Intensity Zone. Exercise in the hard intensity zone definitely feels "hard". You will find yourself breathing heavily, having tired muscles and feeling fatigued. This intensity is recommended occasionally for fit people. Exercising in this zone is intensive, so it provides some unique benefits:

• Increases muscles' tolerance to lactic acid
• Improves hard, short effort ability

When you exercise in the correct intensity zones, it guarantees your enjoyment in your favorite sports. Alternate between intensity zones to improve your fitness and get variation in your exercise. Remember that the lower the intensity the longer you can comfortably exercise in it. Exercise in the higher intensity for shorter periods.Note: Polar target heart rate intensity definition is modified from international exercise science authorities' recommendations in which light intensity can reach lower than 60% of HRmax. 

My results and experiences were quite enlightening! I managed to mainatain a 73% heart rate intensity average with a maximum heart rate of 91%.
The big thing for me was how it changes your riding pattern or style. At times I was ridding much harder on sections of trail-way where I would normally have taken it a little slower, plus it made the hill climbs a lot steadier as I tried to maintain the heart rate rather than big pushes and then recoveries.
Overall my ride was much more enjoyable and interesting as I was focusing on not just my route and immediate pathway ahead but also on what my heart rate, how I was feeling and what speed I was doing.
The biggest change to my ride was gear selection. It made me think about what gear I was in most off the time. Considering the terrain ahead and what gear I needed to be in to ensure my heart rate and work rate aligned to keep my heart rate above 70%.
This morning I feel like I had a great ride and feel physically much better for it.
Worth considering for your next ride maybe? I will defiantly be using my Polar heart rate monitor much for my training rides.

My ride details and route is available to view on my Sports-Tracker profile http://www.sports-tracker.com/#/workout/gtrudgett/in7qaov40kqkpo1v