Saturday, March 5, 2016

MTB riding at 100% and higher ... not recomended

On my last ride this week, I had the nice opportunity to ride at 100% + of my ability. I would not recommend riding like this - it can be dangerous. Thankfully for me, for the time that it lasted, this time it wasn't.

On my bike, the thing I like even more than catching someone, is not letting someone catch me. When I ride on the trail, I'm usually alone and will occasional come up on someone who will let me pass. On this day I was riding moderately. Twenty 2 minutes into the ride I heard someone on the trail behind me. I didn't see them, but I heard them say something. So, rather than pull over immediately, I know that I'm riding at 70% or so, ... so I step on it. I was able to maintain my lead, but could hear him behind me at sharp turns. After 2 minutes and 22 seconds my Garmin is beeping .. letting me know that my HR is over 181. One last burst of 110% and I pull over after a long fast stretch. About 6 seconds later a rider comes by and gives a few compliments / encouragement as he passes by.

I start back out at 70% - allowing my HR to come back to a manageable level. It was fun, the highlight of the ride, going at 100+% and not wiping out. The bike is working great. (I have noticed some flexing in the rear wheel that I hadn't notice before, but I think this is much like hitting golf balls every day - you start to be able to feel where the ball is hitting the face of the club. Much like a NASCAR driver can tell if the a tire needs more air.)

Every once in a while during a ride, I like to step on it. Usually it's when the wind is blowing through the trees and it sounds like someone is on the trail behind me...! If you see someone on an old 'lefty' pull away when you get behind them ... maybe it's me ... and you just encouraged me to bump up the effort and training level... Thanks!

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