RIDE FOR ONE HOUR AT RPE 6 WITH A TEST TIME TRIAL AT RPE 8 TO 9: Every two to three weeks, do a short time trial to test your fitness and see if you're improving. Find a three- to four-mile section of relatively flat road with little traffic and no stop signs or traffic lights. Mark a starting point and a turnaround so that you can use the same course each week. An out-and-back format reduces the effects of wind (that is, if you have a headwind when you start out, it'll become a tailwind on your way back). After a 15-minute warmup, start from a very slow roll, accelerate, and ride to the turnaround at a hard pace of RPE 8-9. Look carefully behind for traffic, make a U-turn, and ride back to the start, maintaining your hard pace. Check your elapsed time and record it. If you used a heart rate monitor, also record your average heart rate for the time trial.
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