May Ride Stats

I've picked up the pace and the ascent this month.  I'm religiously following my training plan from Total Cycling Performance, which means I'm only in the saddle for around six hours per week but spending additional time in the gym.


The month was kicked off with the Circle of Hope bike ride which was a century with a few lumps in and the rest of the month has been mostly focusing on base mile rides at the weekend and HIIT intervals during the week, with a couple of gym sessions thrown in for good measure.

We've established that my optimum heart rate is around 148bpm for the six hour weekend rides, so it's on with the heart rate monitor and onto as flat a route as possible.  It does make for an interesting ride as you tend to go fast on the flats and super slow on the drags to keep everything under control.

Something positive is definitely happening.  I'm increasing my average speed at a slightly lower heart rate.  This was evidenced on a ride that I did on Tuesday this week, when I returned from a 40M run with 1.6K of ascent with an average of 16mph.  Going up the long drags in Scotland, the pedals were just turning and I definitely felt a difference in my core, primarily where I am focusing my gym sessions.

If you compare the month data to the YTD data, it also points to that outcome.  My ride ascent ratio, is higher, but so is my averge speed - bazinga! London to Paris is only a few weeks away now, so all being well, everything is going to plan.

Month to Date
Mileage- 370 miles
Ride Time - 24hrs 10mins
Climbing - 11,750 ft
Avg. Speed - 15.3 mph
Avg. HR - 135bpm
Avg. Cadence - 86rpm
Calories (estimate) 17,314
Ride Ascent Ratio (Ascent/Miles) -  32

YTD
Mileage- 1,763miles
Ride Time -117hrs 00mins
Climbing - 37,537 ft
Avg. Speed - 14.7 mph
Avg. HR - 138bpm
Avg. Cadence - 82rpm
Calories (estimate) 66,761
Ride Ascent Ratio (Ascent/Miles) -   21.4