4th September 2021 was “schoolboy error Saturday.” I picked out a fun looking new route, one that winds its way through a series of hamlets along country lanes. I’ve used some of them before but I’ve never done a circuit of them. Anyway, I went out fast and hard with a 18.5mph average. I shouldn’t have! The next 15 miles were like the Alps (or at least felt like the Alps 🏞️🏞️🏞️🥵) and I went into them out of breath rather than fresh, a big mistake. 😩 For the remaining 8 miles I had nothing in the engine so I limped home indifferent to my average speed. With hindsight, I’m pretty pleased it was still +16mph over 33 miles.
In pics 3&4 you can see how much harder I had to work compared to a regular ride: 37% in heart rate zone 5 compared to 19% (which is more typical). For a 2hr ride that’s a lot of time at full tilt 47 minutes!
Dr Martin James 