Notes of a Velo Gringo:

Hydration back packs:

I've tried the Camelbak watering bladder on a few short trips and there's no way to get enough water out of the itty-bitty bite valve. Camelbak claims to have improved things by 50% since my model, but even a 200% improvement wouldn't be enough. It may be fine at 12MPH (19 kph), but after a sprint in a ride that averages even 16 MPH (26 kph) it's like trying to suck water through a coffee stirrer. I'm glad it was on sale 'cause I'm not out too much money for a conversation piece.

Ok, you can get enough water eventually, they carry 40 to 90 oz's. Time makes the difference because you can't breath through your mouth while drinking from the Camelbak. There is no comparison between how fast a squeezed water bottle can fill your mouth and the time an effort to get the half that water from the Camelbak. Maybe if pressurized the Camelbak'll deliver the water, but it'll probably be more practical as a squirt gun.

The Big-Bite valve is an improvement, but just makes the hydration system adequate. I know a number of cyclists who use hydration packs, but then I also ride with some people who take a single water bottle on a two hour hard ride.

Gloves:

Never sniff your gloves. - Todd D. Very good advice on gloves, here, smell mine!

Beer:

To properly carboload you need to down 56 beers. Upon hearing this someone remarked, "I didn't know beer had that much carbohydrate." Beware, it does and not all of it is in the alcohol - most of it is in long chain carb molecules.

Maximum Heart Rate Formulas:

The Karvonen formula for targetted heart rate requires that you know your current maximum: and resting heart rates.

HR = (max_rate - rest_rate) * percent_of_max + rest_rate.

There are several formula for maximum heart rates, most of which are inaccurate for fit cyclists. The formula calculation assume a fit male cyclist at 45 years old. Highest measured heart rate 192 (but not the maximum), resting 45.

The customary version is still published in the instructions with heart rate monitors and even with cyclometers containing heart rate monitors use:

HR = 220 - age.

175 = 220 - 45.

This could be right for a couch potato, but for for our test case it comes to about 20 beats/minute below the measured heart rate. The 220 value is the assumed heart rate for a newborn and it's further assumed that people loose 1 beat per minute per year.

Another estimatation of maximum heart rate, found at Stevens Creek Software offers two other formulae, but again they' fall a bit low.

HR = 205 - (age / 2) (MALE)

183 = 205 - (45 / 2)

HR = 211 - (age / 2) (FEMALE)

This is a formula to be used for 'fit' people and is much better, but low by at least 10 beats/minute. Perhaps if there was a resting heart rate correction (HR = 205 - (age - resting_rate) / 2) it would be more accurate at 205.

Stevens Creek Software offers this as an alternative:

HR = 214 - (0.8 * age)  (MALE)

178 = 214 - (0.8 * 45)

HR = 209 - (0.7 * age)  (FEMALE)

This is a little worse, as it would predict a rate 14 beats/minute too low.

The best way to determine your maximum heart rate seems to be through a difficult cycling effort as described in these cycling tips from Great Outdoors.com . In a nutshell they suggest warming up, then in two minute stages increase your effort by 10% until done. Other cycling techniques manuals suggest the same sort of workout but with better defined work increases (10% greater output is pretty hard to guage). Bicycling Magazine's book Training Techniques for Cyclists suggests finding a "long, steep hill" and performing the same test. In lower Delaware look for a strong steady wind.