Minimum altitude: 184 meters
Distance: 32.8 km
Slope Aspect: Various
Vertical Climbed: 503 meters (1,650 feet)
Vertical Descended: 491 meters
Rating: 3
They say to find your maximum heart rate you need to ride hard then go as hard as you can. Well nothing better than Mont Thou and the ramp in the village to do that. You climb for 20 minutes well into the upper part of zone 3 (or zone 5 if you use 5 zones) then you turn a corner and there is a 20% hill for 200 meters. Nothing you can do but get out of the saddle and ride - otherwise you fall off or have to walk up. At the top my heart was at 188bpm, the fastest it has been for a long time.
That gives my LT2 as 163bpm and LT1 as 150bpm. LT1 is around this point as that is where I begin to breathe harder as the body starts to work clearing lactate.
I continued up to the top of Mont Thou, it seemed reasonably easy afterwards. Apart from the ramp I rode mainly in the saddle due to my femur injury. Very pleasant on the Top of the Rock then a fast ride back into Lyon.
Warm on the climb and ok with a T shirt on the descent. Just avoided the weather front which passed to the south. Roads generally clean.
