I think I recall reading somewhere that a woman's heart rate is generally ~10 bpm higher than a man's for any given activity (all things considered). Anyone see that same bit o' info?
DH has me by 7 years of age, but it's startling how different our HRs are on the same hill. I can't swing my leg over a bike without my HR going up to 150 or higher. Highest I've seen for me was 188 (vs. my Polar's "predicted" maxHR from me of 185). To do real training in my 70-80% zone, I could never take the bike out on the road. I'd be forever on the rollers.