What matters of the heart? We\’re talking about cycling; not the dating scene. Well, when it comes to \”training\”, maybe I need to pay more attention to advice like this.

My Garmin lets me see how much time I spent in which heart rate zones on any ride. All very well; but how do I sort out what it all means?

Heart rate, I suspect, is rather like speed in that it can vary according to conditions. Riding against the wind is going to result in a higher heart rate than riding on a day when it\’s dead calm.

For that reason, I find it hard to judge from my day-to-day rides whether my heart rate is indicating improved fitness. I do suspect that I need to make more efforts to get my HR into its maximum range if I\’m serious about increasing my cruising speed. And if I can improve my pace, I can cover more miles in X amount of time. I\’m rather time-crunched, after all.

There is one thing I notice: riding up the access ramp to the MRT used to send my HR into the max range. Now it doesn\’t, so I guess I\’ve gotten somewhere. But it still feels hard.

Since we\’re talking about matters of the heart, maybe I need to take to heart Greg LeMond\’s comment: \”It doesn\’t get easier, you just get faster.\”