Rode the Millhopper loop this morning (Monday). Beat my best time by 1 second. My heart rate was way up there for the whole ride, 160's-170's. My max heart rate is around 183. If my heart rate is too close to my max for a couple of minutes I start to get short of breath and light headed. This was happening quite a bit on today's ride. That sensation holds me back from going faster. It's kind of like getting the wind knocked out of you. It's just a factor of being older. As we age, the max heart rate decreases and the heart cannot pump blood as fast. It kind of sucks, but that's life. At least I'm still able to do some exercise. I remember doing track work outs as a teenager and my heart rate would be routinely be well over 200.

Anyway I averaged over 20 mph which was cool. Cars turning out of side streets waited for me to pass. I gave them the friendly hand wave. Saw a deer hanging out on the side of the road. Still rocking the harder gear and trying to bump my cadence back up to 90. It's getting there.