Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
I haven't randoed since my mid-60s. It's fun, but I moved on. Main thing is to be in really good shape. I recommend all-out 4-5 hour hilly rides, TTing the course, once a week. "If you can still walk at the end, you could have gone harder." A few months of that will get one in good enough shape. In my mid-60s I rode a hilly 200 in under 8 hours, a hilly 400 in 18.5, and a flat-ish 400 in under 15. ...
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I have always been a low wattage rider. Finally learned why about eight years ago, my Dr office ran a bunch of extra tests on me. Had some of the same tests run again two months ago. Normal red cell count is between 4.4 and 5.8. Mine is 3.5, has always been way below normal. Hemoglobin also way below below normal range. The bottom line is that every blood test that is related to oxygen carrying capacity, I am way below normal. Eight years ago there were a bunch of other tests like EPO etc., same thing. So, I will always be the last one up the hill. Some of us are born that way.