First Solo Ride!

Since this afternoon was so beautiful (sometimes it pays to live in the desert), I decided to venture out for my first solo ride. My shorts just came in (Sheebest SSS) and I was excited to test them out. After being a little skittish at getting started, it felt wonderful to fly across the pavement :)

My half hour jaunt was lovely, except for a nagging pain that developed between my shoulder blades. Is this normal? It felt almost like maybe I was clenching my shoulder muscles backwards. The pain was alleviated when I held the top most part of the handlebars, instead of where I usually grab on down near the shifters. My hands were also a bit sore, but I've heard that's pretty typical for beginners.

Also, while my shorts beautifully saved me from saddle assault, I was still slightly uncomfortable at the very front most part anatomically speaking (sorry, trying to be sensitive!). My saddle has a cutout, which I've read relieves pressure from that area, but I also noticed that most chamois are not very thick in there. Is this just one of those "you'll get used to it" things?

Thank you so much for your support - without it I would have no clue what I was doing. From Walmart bike to a pretty little Trek 2200, I've come a long way :)

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Originally Posted by jetsetmeg

Since this afternoon was so beautiful (sometimes it pays to live in the desert), I decided to venture out for my first solo ride. My shorts just came in (Sheebest SSS) and I was excited to test them out. After being a little skittish at getting started, it felt wonderful to fly across the pavement :)

My half hour jaunt was lovely, except for a nagging pain that developed between my shoulder blades. Is this normal? It felt almost like maybe I was clenching my shoulder muscles backwards. The pain was alleviated when I held the top most part of the handlebars, instead of where I usually grab on down near the shifters. My hands were also a bit sore, but I've heard that's pretty typical for beginners.

Also, while my shorts beautifully saved me from saddle assault, I was still slightly uncomfortable at the very front most part anatomically speaking (sorry, trying to be sensitive!). My saddle has a cutout, which I've read relieves pressure from that area, but I also noticed that most chamois are not very thick in there. Is this just one of those "you'll get used to it" things?

Thank you so much for your support - without it I would have no clue what I was doing. From Walmart bike to a pretty little Trek 2200, I've come a long way :)

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It can take time to get used to supporting your head and neck when you are bend over the handle bars. The further you bend over (the difference between the top of the bars and the hoods) the more there is to support. Try to relax your shoulders as you ride. It will get better the more your ride.

First, congratulations on the new bike! I have recently returned to the road after a 20 year hiatus and am familiar with your issues.

None of your pains seem unusual for a new rider. You are taxing little used muscle groups and they are complaining. As you get stronger the pains should go away.
As for the personal matter...you need to look into something like "Chamois Butt'r" or a similar product.

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Originally Posted by jetsetmeg

Since this afternoon was so beautiful (sometimes it pays to live in the desert), I decided to venture out for my first solo ride. My shorts just came in (Sheebest SSS) and I was excited to test them out. After being a little skittish at getting started, it felt wonderful to fly across the pavement :)

My half hour jaunt was lovely, except for a nagging pain that developed between my shoulder blades. Is this normal? It felt almost like maybe I was clenching my shoulder muscles backwards. The pain was alleviated when I held the top most part of the handlebars, instead of where I usually grab on down near the shifters. My hands were also a bit sore, but I've heard that's pretty typical for beginners.

Also, while my shorts beautifully saved me from saddle assault, I was still slightly uncomfortable at the very front most part anatomically speaking (sorry, trying to be sensitive!). My saddle has a cutout, which I've read relieves pressure from that area, but I also noticed that most chamois are not very thick in there. Is this just one of those "you'll get used to it" things?

Thank you so much for your support - without it I would have no clue what I was doing. From Walmart bike to a pretty little Trek 2200, I've come a long way :)

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Congrats on your ride!

If your shoulders/upper back were sore, it is likely that you were unnecessarily tense. Try to relax your arms and shoulders while riding. You might have to consciously think about doing it for awhile, especially if you are a little nervous riding, but soon it will be second nature, and your body will be very relaxed on the bike. But you do need a strong core to really ride comfortably, so in keeping with what was said above, until your body adapts to the stresses of riding, your back/core will feel it. . .

However, you do want to rule out problems with fit. You don't want to be too stretched out (or too scrunched up). Since you had pain when on the hoods (as opposed to the tops), is it possible that you are too stretched out? Also, was the pain in your female parts greater when you were on the hoods? You need to lean over more to reach the hoods, and could be putting some extra pressure on your girl parts - again, this could be exacerbated by too long a reach.

. . . just some thoughts for your consideration . . . if you think the bike fits well (remember that minor adjustments can make a big difference), then you probably just need to keep riding, and as your body gets used to the activity, you will feel fewer little aches and pains. . .

Good luck!

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Originally Posted by chicagogal

(remember that minor adjustments can make a big difference)

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Oh - do they ever!?:o

Quite a while ago I was having lots of issues with sore bits at front and at the sides where the legs join in. I was all ready to buy yet another seat, when I had a talk to the bike fitter at my more distant LBS who is a bit of a specialist in fitting for women. He was eating his lunch at the time and grabbed his sandwich and hauled me outside and asked me to do laps of the carpark while he watched.

End result after a bit of fiddling and asking me to various things..."erm - change out your stem for this shorter one and lower your seat by 2mm." He then went into earburning detail about female anatomy and why even though I like to ride fairly long and though my pelvis didn't rock at all, I just needed to be a bit shorter in reach and a bit less rocked forward and that 2mm would take the pressure off the girly bits enough to stop the hurt.

I went home and told DH (who should have been happy I didn't pony up the $$ for the seat) and he laughed about the lowering of the seat 2mm because it seemed like such a minor change. Right up until it was a miracle and it worked that was!:eek:

Fast forward about a year and all of a sudden I am back to being really sore again. I wondered whether it was because I'd been off the bike a few weeks being injured, sick, wet weather etc, so persisted. I tried a newer pair of knicks. I was at my wits end. Had my seat gotten old? Did I need a new one?

So what had changed I wondered? I got a lovely new pair of SIDI shoes for Christmas. Could the stack height be lower than my old shoes and be pulling my foot down further at the bottom of the stroke?:confused: Nope - looked pretty close.

Finally I realised. I had been having trouble getting up the really big sucker hill in these parts and decided to try a set of compact cranks. DH had his old set in the drawer (he hates compact cranks) so we whipped them onto my bike for me to try. I suddenly remembered that they are 5mm longer crank arm than mine! My feet are going 5mm further down at the bottom of the stroke! I might as well have put my seat up 5mm if you asked my butt!!:o Just didn't really think about it at the time! 5mm seemed like so little.

I hated the compact cranks anyway and am going back to my own, so hopefully I will be back to having no saddle soreness. But it just goes to show that just a tiny bit less length in reach for both legs and arms can make a huge difference to your comfort level on the bike!:)