Hi guys,
Finally broke down and bought a new bike. I'm 67 and will be in the NC
state Senior Olympic finals in October. I really had to work my tail
off with my old 30-lb Motobecane just to place third in the local races
so I knew I needed a better bike for the state races. By the way, I'm
not a racer. This year's senior olympics are the first race I've ever
been in. Great fun! Been riding for 12 years and this year have been
going steady at 300+ miles/mo.
I read all the literature on the Internet USENET bike groups and have
been an avid reader and poster on BIKENET. Conclusion: I bought a 
Cannondale R-900 road/racing bike that is 19.1 lbs with Ultegra gruppo.
(Where did the word gruppo ever come from?). Anyway, there goes the new
Pentium PC that I also wanted. What the heck, PC prices are dropping and
bike prices are rising so I did the right thing.
I love my new Cannondale! It is without a doubt the fastest bike I've
ever ridden and I'm setting new speed records everytime I ride it. For
example, I can accelerate to 24mph in nothing flat that was impossible
on my old bike without a good tailwind!
And thanks to all you guys that finally convinced me to quit stomping
gears - well not all the way. Instead of 60 rpm @52/13 to get 19mph, I'm
up to 72rpm @53/15 to get 20mph. The faster cadence does help. What
really helps is the neat index-shifting of one rear tooth at a click
to quickly get a comfortable cadence. 
As far as heartbeat goes, my max is supposed to be 153 bpm (220 - age67)
and 85% is 130 bpm. I find that while riding at a pretty good pace
my bpm runs about 140. That's high but since I have no muscle tiredness,
I suppose everything is ok. Rest pulse is around 48-50. I think some of
these general rules simply don't apply to old codgers like me!
Dave
~~~ Blue Wave v2.12 [NR]
--- Squish v1.11
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