Hands falling asleep

[Trixiee]

Hi There,

Does anyone else suffer from this same phenomenen? I'm a newbie, so I'm just trying to figure out how to get the little discomforts out of my ride. I rode 40K on Sunday, and yesterday I had a sore butt, sore shoulders, and sore hamstrings! During the ride my hands kept falling asleep!

I have a brand new bike, and any information/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also, if I just need to toughen up - you just let me know that, too!

Thanks, gals!

Trixiee

[gapgoil]

Hi! Just wanted to let you know that a couple of years ago, when I began riding, I found that I would get a numbness in my hands after a lond ride. I found that good quality gloves were a big help, as they have pads where the nerves are, and this helps alot. I also found that I was putting a lot of pressure and weight on my arms. NOw I let my back take the weight, and I have a light grip on my handle bars. I learned that in my spinning class. I really try to focus on pushing with my legs, and not pulling on my arms, which lets them sit lightly on the bars for a lot of my ride.

I like the Cannondale gloves, they are men's, but they are comfy.
Good luck, hope this helps!
Rhonda

[ayermail2]

Trixiee - you may also want to look at bike fit - if it's not good, then you could be putting more than 1/3 of your body weight on your hands. I found that my hands would tingle when I started riding last year, and I'm certain part of it was simply that I was wimpy (having gone from pretty much sedentary to a week-long tour of 470 miles in 3 1/2 months...) and also that my weight was off-center, placing too much on my hands...

You can either go to a bike shop, or look in some books for some guidance on evening out the weight distribution among your seat, feet & hands...

Two books to try: A Woman's Guide to Cycling (Susan Weaver) & The Female Cyclist (Gale Bernhardt)

[Trixiee]

You are an invaluable source of information. My hands were not sleepy today, although I only rode 20 K.

Trixiee