i am fortunate to live within 1 hour of a great climb (Mount Palomar, 11.7 miles, 7% avg gradient) in San Diego, CA. in late '05, i tracked the results of 2 climbs of the mountain 1 week apart.
Fast forward to '09, and i repeated the same climbs, once again 1 week apart. unfortunately, my results were quite different.
I have attached a Word document depicting the results of the 4 rides for those on the board who are "coaching oriented". I think i know what i need to do improve my form to the level i was in '05, but i welcome your comments.
a few stats -- now i am 51, probably weigh 177 lbs; then i was 47 and probably weighed 164. then i rode a lot more than i do now.
then, averaged about 8.5 MPH and 280 watts for the 11.8 mile ride. now, i averaged 7.5 MPH and could only crank out 238 average watts.
then, i was using a Polar power meter with altimeter; now a Powertap SL with an Garmin Edge 705 for altitude tracking.
then, i was doing regular hillclimbs around my home (nowhere near Palomar -- 1.5 miles, much shorter but steeper), but i was doing them with regularity. now, i don't do local hillclimbs as much.
the gearing of the bikes is different now -- i am on the same cannondale as i had back then, only now i have a 50/34 + 13/29 instead of 52/39 + 12/26. on one of the rides then, i used a similarly geared specialized (52/39 + 12/27). I am not sure if i could keep up 70+ RPM on the Specialized today.
on the most recent ride, i started out a little harder than last week's ride, and I ran out of gas in the last 30 minutes. i had to stop 4 times for 1 minute breaks in order to finish.
I know my weight and possibly 4 more years has SOME impact, but i know there are others on this board who are my age but still cranking out 280 - 300 watts as their threshold power.
on one hand, it was depressing to see the lower results. on the other hand, it gives me something to shoot for as i re-map my
Fast forward to '09, and i repeated the same climbs, once again 1 week apart. unfortunately, my results were quite different.
I have attached a Word document depicting the results of the 4 rides for those on the board who are "coaching oriented". I think i know what i need to do improve my form to the level i was in '05, but i welcome your comments.
a few stats -- now i am 51, probably weigh 177 lbs; then i was 47 and probably weighed 164. then i rode a lot more than i do now.
then, averaged about 8.5 MPH and 280 watts for the 11.8 mile ride. now, i averaged 7.5 MPH and could only crank out 238 average watts.
then, i was using a Polar power meter with altimeter; now a Powertap SL with an Garmin Edge 705 for altitude tracking.
then, i was doing regular hillclimbs around my home (nowhere near Palomar -- 1.5 miles, much shorter but steeper), but i was doing them with regularity. now, i don't do local hillclimbs as much.
the gearing of the bikes is different now -- i am on the same cannondale as i had back then, only now i have a 50/34 + 13/29 instead of 52/39 + 12/26. on one of the rides then, i used a similarly geared specialized (52/39 + 12/27). I am not sure if i could keep up 70+ RPM on the Specialized today.
on the most recent ride, i started out a little harder than last week's ride, and I ran out of gas in the last 30 minutes. i had to stop 4 times for 1 minute breaks in order to finish.
I know my weight and possibly 4 more years has SOME impact, but i know there are others on this board who are my age but still cranking out 280 - 300 watts as their threshold power.
on one hand, it was depressing to see the lower results. on the other hand, it gives me something to shoot for as i re-map my
