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May 29, 2005
39:45/156
When it gets warm, Nathalie complains about leg pain. She says it's bad circulation. I'm trying to avoid bad circulation by keeping my blood flowing and my heart in reasonable condition. It was too hot to sit around, so I got on the bike and rode to La Rochette.
The valley between Pontcharra and La Rochette is generally cooler than the Isère valley. I was hoping there'd be a breeze. Then when I got to the roundabout at the edge of Pontcharra, I decided to push it through the gradual climb up to La Rochette. Won't be able to ride much tomorrow if we have storms in the afternoon. And the chiropractor is probably going to tell me, "No efforts for 48 hours," after he treats me.
My initial aim was to hold the pace above 20 mph (32.1 kph) uphill until the roundabout at the lake by La Rochette. Failed miserably. Each time I'd get and hold the speed above the mark, I could tell it wasn't going to last. The incline is not that even, either. In spots doing 20 mph isn't that hard. In others 29 kph (18 mph) can be tough to maintain. But I worked at it. Was sweating a lot by the time I reached the roundabout on the other end.
Upon starting downhill at the intersection where you can go straight to Pontcharra or left to Allevard, I decided I wanted to hold it over 40 kph (24.9 mph) all the way back to the edge of Pontcharra. That I managed, only once or twice slipping below 42 kph (26.1 mph). I found the right cadence was around 108, but shifted only when increasing above 110 or below 105. At that number of rpms, you keep the heart pumping even if you're down on the drops, getting enough blood and oxygen to your legs to keep them relatively fresh. Plus you don't have to push hard against big gears.
Posted by Mark at May 29, 2005 08:55 PM