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Maximum heart rate will depend on a number of things, as people have mentioned. The best way to test and find yours is to find a nice gentle hill somewhere that is .5 miles long. Start at the bottom and sprint up the hill until you feel like your heart is going to explode. Then go a bit further.
Stop, slump to the ground, pant, moan, whine, walk down the hill, and do it again. Repeat it maybe 5 times or until you feel that you’ve definitely hit your peak. Doing this method yielded my maximum of 198BPM, which isn’t too bad for a 33 year old in okay shape. I think. I really don’t have much to compare it to.
You won’t find out your maximum heart rate doing a 20 minute endurance session. You need to be in anaerobic work, where your entire body is working towards propelling you forward at the FASTEST rate possible. And once you’ve figured out your workout zones by having a proper maximum heart rate, you’ll realize that 165BPM is more along the endurance zone, where you should be able to sustain that pace for extended periods of time.
The "equations" are not precise. Best thing to do is just go push things to the limit and see what your body tells you.
SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY! 😆
Okay, found a hub generator made by Nukeproof. Disk brake, and 15QR capable. So, looks like I found the source for the front tubeless setup. That hub, coupled with a tubeless wheel, and all the other bells and whistles to go with it.
While awesome for keeping the GPS logging smartphone going, imagine what you could do with lights and night riding? Never have to worry about batteries dieing on you, or whether you can go for one more loop around that loop area. Even if the generator just slows the battery drain down, it might be worth it.
Any mention of 15QR skewer compatibility?
Lights are one of next year’s purchases, and adding something like this would be kinda cool. Use this to help keep a pair of decent bar mounted lights operating at peak light output, so that I don’t have to worry about the helmet mounted spot light would be a nice option.
Hopefully in effort to draw attention away from competing against others, Strava has just instituted the ability for paying members to put "GOALS" for segments (as long as the overall grade is > -.25%). Which means I can see what I’ve ridden so far, and tell myself that I want to drop 1.5 minutes off that time by the end of this season. While it is great setting PRs on segments, knowing I have set goals for this season might get me to train harder.
For instance, I’m planning on riding in the 6 Hours of Rosaryville next year, doing the 3 hour solo race. I have a LONG way to go, and lots of awesome long trails in the area to train on. I’ll be setting goals for the overall pace I’ll need for Rosaryville along those longer segments and working to meet and beat them.
It is a fun tool. A shame people have pervaded it to the level it is at.
If you are interested in building it yourself, troll your local Criagslist "FREE" sections. I’ve got a contact with a local window blinds installation company that has 2x4s, 1x4s, and other lumber for free just sitting behind their shop every so often. I’ll swing by with the forester, armed with a sledge hammer, mallets, crowbar, hammer, and a few other tools and pull apart as much as I can and take it home. A great source of lumber for small projects that I don’t need to look good, but be functional.
And seeing JT’s backyard gives me plenty of new ideas. I can’t WAIT to have a large enough back yard to do something similar with.
JT… EPIC!
Yup, close to certifiable on that level.
I’d like to work my way up to riding a lot more than I do. Hopefully this site is still operational in a year. I’d like to compare my map from now and then.
Sadly, I work a normal job 40 hours a week and cannot even attempt to put miles like that down under my tires. I know a "job" like his is entirely different, where being sick can cost you a LOT more than it costs me (yay PTO!). But holy crap is that map epic.
Now I have to troll a few other people I’m following on Strava.
Productivity was already low thanks to being out late at a KMFDM concert last night. This link officially makes it plummet off the charts. 😆
I like how if you reduce the opacity of the lines, it shows you where you ride more often than not due to a greater concentration of pixels. Kinda cool.
I’m going to have to bookmark this at home later for future reference. Awesome find!
If the rotors are hot, to me, it means the pads are making contact and causing the heat build up, and subsequently, the noise as well. I don’t know enough about how to get it done, but you’ll just need to adjust the brake pads so they aren’t rubbing on the rotors all the time. This [i:14sgzkcu]should[/i:14sgzkcu] stop the noise and heat buildup.
"musikron" wroteThere is much more to this story than meets the eye, this was a government hit.
Wait, what? Are you serious? 😏
Back on topic, yes, a very tragic story.
David and the boys were found Sunday morning on the bluffs near Black, Mo., with their Labrador retriever, Bear, who survived. David was pronounced dead at the scene. The boys — Dominic, 10, and Grant, 8 — were carried out of the woods and died about 2 p.m. Sunday at a hospital in Ellington, Mo.“They took my babies and worked on them for more than two hours,” Sarah Decareaux said Monday, describing the efforts of hospital employees.
Officials believe David Decareaux and the boys traveled on a hiking trail from Brushy Creek Lodge south for about 8 miles, reaching Sutton’s Bluff by about 2 p.m. By then, rain was falling, and a passer-by offered the family a ride, but David told the man they could make it back, according to the Reynolds County sheriff’s office. By evening, temperatures had dropped into the 20s.
David Decareaux had a light jacket, one son wore a fleece pullover and the other a sweater, officials said.
The trio eventually hiked the 8 miles back north, but apparently missed the turn that led to the lodge, said Reynolds County Sheriff Thomas Volner. They would have been just 20 minutes from their cabin had they made the turn. Instead, they were found Sunday morning about a mile north of the turn.
So, they were slightly prepared for the weather, but not for the large swath of bad weather that has been rolling across the south for the last few days.
However, being cold and wet can do massively bad things to you. I’ve had my core temperature down to around 96F, maybe slightly lower, and was quickly removed from the exercise when people notice my complexion was turning smurf blue. The simple task of buttoning my jacket up was nearly impossible to me, and I was pulled from the 40F and rainy weather, and sent to the local treatment center to be warmed up to normal.
Hypothermia can help you miss that trail turn, forget which direction you should be going, and generally make stupid mistakes that you wouldn’t otherwise. It took them 3 hours to get 8 miles south, and the article mentions that the rain was already falling, and I can only assume the temperature had started dropping, too. You have to figure another 3 hours, at least, easily MUCH more to get the same distance back north and go a mile further. By then, all three would likely be hypothermic and not making sound decisions.
Tragic, indeed, and I do feel sorry for the remaining members of the family. But accidents like this can be avoided. It is unfortunate that we need reminders of how to stay vigilant and be aware of your situation through means such as this.
"98special" wroteI got the Zepher HxM and use it with Sporttracker,even sends me an email of my ride.Lets me know when im slacken off and need to do better the next time,lol.
I just picked up a the Zephyr unit, as well, and really like it. It is comfortable, lightweight, does its job well, and provides me with yet another set of data points to analyze my workouts with. Coupled with Strava, as a statistics aggregation device, I’m better able to my progress through workouts and see how I’m progressing.
I have not been using it for very long, so I am still building a baseline. I didn’t know I’d enjoy biking so much and having websites, apps, and devices to better keep track of what I’m doing is a huge benefit.
I picked mine up for $79 + shipping from Amazon and it was at my door within a few days of ordering.
"brianW" wroteWhen I first started to ride in the early 90’s one f the mt bike magazines had a section that reader sent in pictures of little things that made their bike theirs. They called it "show of your MoJo"
Well, my kids gave me this and I knew it had a place on my bike.
What is it with mountain bikers and Vader?
The guy I bought this bike from had him zip tied to the bars. I’ve since removed the bars, but I may move Vader back to his prominent front riding position.
Mainly as I’m interested in seeing if I can make a trail video with him in the foreground and put it all to Star Wars music. 😆
As an update, I picked up the Zephyr and have been able to use it on a few runs so far. Here are my initial thoughts.
With MyTracks, it doesn’t show any sort of connection until you start recording. This baffled me for a few minutes at the start of my first run. I kept poking things, changing settings, and generally looking for some mention that things were working. Finally, I just started recording my run and it flashed "Connected to HXM…." on the screen as it searched for the GPS signal. A bit funky, but at least it worked.
Getting readings on how long I’m spending in specific zones is nice. I’m trying to build my stamina, so knowing I’m spending most of my run in the right zones is perfect. I’ll see what it is like on the bike, but I’m sure it’ll be nearly the same. Hopefully I can get out this weekend and give it a shot.
The strap is comfortable and I haven’t had any issues while working out. And I just realized that the band snaps apart, which will make getting the unit on and off a bit easier from here on out.
Having a program or website to aggregate your stats and show you how much time you’ve been in one zone or another is a huge help. There may be some apps available to help with this, too, but I haven’t done any research into that avenue.
All told, it is a very useful tool. Pure numbers says I should have a maximum heart rate of 184 based on my age. However, I spent 10+ minutes at >188BPM on my last 5k run. Sometimes the simple math just isn’t quite correct in gleaming your true abilities. I’m very happy I bought this. Now to either spend the money on a separate GPS receiver or extra battery pack to aid in keeping my phone’s battery from draining on longer rides.
1: At least triple the miles I accomplished in half of 2012. Looks to be 600ish, which shouldn’t be hard, but working it in with other duties (job, personal business, running, etc.) will be the tricky part.
2: Ride more trails in neighboring states. There are a number of Epics and Top 100s near me that I’d like to try. Maybe even make weekend trips of it if my schedule permits.
3: Pick up a cheap road bike? I’m considering this as a means to exercise when it is consistently wet. I may resort to running, but we’ll see what I end up going with.
4: MoCo Epic, and probably the 25 mile version to start. I’d like to ride each and every length option as the years go on, culminating in their 65 mile route.
5: Ride longer distances in one sitting. I’ve done 25 miles in a day, and my body/legs were DEAD by the end of it. I was granny gearing up every hill. I want to increase my stamina and put more miles under the tires without feeling like I’m about to roll backwards down the hill because my legs will give out.
6: Put up a personal record on every trail segment I’ve ridden in 2012. I probably won’t ever get KOM on Strava, but if I can better the times I had last year, I’ll be happy.
He didn’t mention Whistler specifically, but BC is certainly on his mind. Just ran out of slots too quickly.
Wait a minute is this already my last choice for my bucket list? I haven’t even mentioned BC or the North Shore, Copper Canyon Mexico, Annapurna Circuit Trail in Nepal and many others.Greg provided some good insight and ideas on how to feel comfortable with the feeling of the tires sliding instead/while rolling. It is a sensation that causes the stomach to jump up into your mouth, but controlling that impulse, being comfortable with it, and knowing what to do will help. Seat time will bring all that about.
With motorcycles, controlling this is a bit easier. Just give it some more gas and use weight on the pegs and bar input to control where things go. But with a bike, it is a bit tougher, since your only means of providing power is through the pedals, and putting that inside pedal closer to the ground can lead to issues. The best option is to just have enough speed to carry you through the slide and let the slide scrub off the speed such that you maintain control and end up going/pointing the direction you want.
As I said, having that inside pedal to close to the ground could lead to it catching on a root, rock, or just striking the dirt, which could lead to a much worse situation than sliding. Set up to a turn by having the outside pedal lower, and more weight on that pedal. It seems counter productive, but having more weight lower on the bike helps stability.
All of this goes hand in hand with looking down the trail. Sliding means you’ll be going in a tangential direction, or not in the direction you want to go. So, you have to initiate the turn long before you actually have to so that by the time the slide is complete, you’ll have the correct exit direction and NOT be sliding OFF the trail. Seeing the turn and knowing you have far too much speed going in to it gives you the perfect opportunity to try and slide through it to both make the turn and scrub off some of that speed.
Best bet, find a turn/curve you are comfortable with and practice on it. Fine one in each direction (left and right) so you can become comfortable with both directions. Then, just apply it to other turns and riding in general. This won’t be an overnight thing. It takes time to build that confidence in knowing that even though your tires are not gripping as well as they could, that you’ll stay rubber side down and continue riding.
I’m half tempted to bring my camera to my local bike shops and start snapping away at products. 😆
"Uh, excuse me, can I help you?"
"Yes, shut up and let me keep going! There’s free gear at stake!"That said, I’m thinking 4th is the highest I’ll get. I don’t have any other gear and I’m not sure how easily I can get out to other places to grab photos. Well played, Singletracks and all that have submitted information. This was fun and I hope we’ve provided a good influx of information and data points to the Reviews section.
Awesome write-up, and something I take for granted, being male. It is unfortunate that you (and probably other female riders out there) don’t feel comfortable out there, but I can’t say that I blame you. Your line of work, and the efforts of such a small portion of society, makes it tough for women to feel comfortable at times.
However, I am very glad that another good guy out there has helped rebuild your faith in humanity. And, more importantly, rebuild faith in other bikers.
That said, if I see anyone on the side of a trail, I always ask if they are okay and need a hand. So far, none have required anything worse than directions or help finding the best trail, but I keep asking. Because it was the people who rode past me after my spectacular off and asked if I was okay that helped me collect myself and continue on. I needed some time to come together and bring myself back to 100%, but the queries of "You need a hand?" helped that process immensely. I didn’t feel alone out there, sitting on a root on the side of the trail, bruised and bloody and covered in dirt.
Thank you, your little write-up put a huge smile on my face this morning.
Here I thought selecting multiple images at once was a fluke. Good lord that could have saved me time the other night. 😆
I have a bit more gear to review, but I’m quickly coming to the end of my available resources. And daylight. Shooting in the garage is okay, but lighting stinks. Hopefully the coming weekends (and days off from work) will afford me the ability to get a bit more depth to my images.
"Jarrett.morgan" wroteIn the blog post explaining the rules, it talks about using original pics. It also says the pics will be reviewed first. Overall, people can cheat the system if they try hard enough, so just have fun with it and share your knowledge and experience with others.
"jeff" wroteExactly Jarrett. The community is also pretty good about identifying folks who aren’t playing by the rules…
Works for me. Going to break out the 50 f/1.8 tonight and see what I can pull from the bikes. 😄
