Oct 31, 2026, 2:31 AM@fullywoolly @ascentale @uxMark @bikenite
Do you actually track your heart rate when you ride, or just go by how you feel? Because monitoring my heartrate with an armband monitor and displaying it on my mounted phone while I ride, as well as tracking my stats in fitness apps, has been a major chainge for me this year. I'm not a fitness freak, I'm just getting old and need to take gym classes to keep my body from breaking apart (and fix my cholesterol). :p
@ned @ascentale @uxMark @bikenite I wear a heart strap every ride which is helpful for comparing heart rate between rides. I don't usually look at it until I start feeling it going on the higher side.
The comparison is more of a, I've had my heart rate not climb or being 20 bpm higher than similar efforts and it usually means I'm over doing it or I'm getting sick.
Also I love watching my HR drop while doing box-ish breathing! 4 sec in - 4 s hold - blow out through pursed lips >4s - 4s hold.
@ned @ascentale @uxMark @bikenite "the higher side" to me is when I notice I'm starting to breath heavier, sweat more, and it is harder to control my breathing.
Every body is different but for me the magic number is 156 bpm. Below that and things are easy. Above it and I know I'm working.
My commute yesterday, with my ebike, was a lot harder than I was expecting. Took much longer to get to work, was hurried, and I skipped carrying weight home for ease to need to beat a storm.
@ned @ascentale @uxMark @bikenite compare to my analog bike on the longest ride of the year for me. Where I go over the average consistently is where I was definitely feeling tired and couldn't catch my breath despite going similar speed. The average is 151 bpm, but until 1hr 43 min it was usually below that which is comfortable for me. 33 miles @ 12.8 mph average (53.3km @ 20.6 kph) .
I was also riding with some very fit older folk that I wanted to keep pace with.
