first "real" road ride

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Originally Posted by bounceswoosh

They're the Shimano SPD pedals for the road bike. I would imagine they have the same play as my mountain bike's pedals, although those pedals are a few years old. Do pedals get more play as they get older?

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Shimano SPD-SL ?

These are "Look-style" pedals. They do have some float, which is set by the type of cleat. There is only one float setting for SPD-SL, because there is only one cleat. Look pedals (Look cleats are not compatible) have a few float options based on cleat color. Black = no float. Red (Delta and KEO) = 9 degrees, and Grey (KEO only) = 4.5 degrees. I don't know the exact amount for Shimano, but I believe it's about on par with the grey KEO cleats.

No, they should not get any extra float as they age. Mountain bike pedals come with a variety of float options, so that is irrelevant.

Speedplay pedals are the tiny lollipop looking ones. They are ROAD pedals. Some of them have crazy amounts of float. Because this pedal system is essentially reversed (the main mechanism is in the cleat, which is huge, and the pedal is tiny), float can be set in the cleat, based on which model of pedal you use. Some people complain that they have too much float and that they feel like they're skating on ice and that they lose too much energy with the lateral play on the pedal. Others think that this system is a godsend for their joints.

I would never use a camelbak, and I never drink ice cold water. My belly would cramp up so bad. If I have to because I stopped at a store and have nothing else to drink, I swish it around in my mouth first to warm it up before it hits the stomach. Anyway, for comfort, I'd rather stick an extra bottle in a jersey pocket than wear a camelbak.

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Originally Posted by Kano

I don't know about hot to have your back covered with a 100 oz pack of ice water....

(yup, even when it's 105 outside, an icewater pack on your back feels pretty darned good!)

Karen in Boise

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Ice water doesn't stay ice water under the southern sun for more than an hour or so. And at 97 degrees and 85% humidity - anything on your back that doesn't breathe is pretty miserable!

I'm not saying a camelbak doesn't have it's advantages - I'm just offering up the reason most roadies in our old neck of the woods didn't use them.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Are you sure your shoes aren't putting pressure on those tendons? Not rubbing, just pressing. Some of my running shoes do that. I just had to re-lace a pair of shoes because I bruised them pretty hard on my second-to-last run.

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It's definitely possible. One thing I didn't mention in my initial post, but maybe should have, is that my right (dominant) ankle hurt much sooner and worse than my left, and that my right big toe is injured -- I went to kick a soccer ball and my big toe hit a girl's planted foot a few weeks ago. So another possibility is that, even though my foot seems fine in the cycling shoe, it may be positioned slightly differently than it normally would be. That could tie to the ankles as well as the knees (although I still think my knees were just arthritis -- that's what it felt like, and we've had the kind of weather recently that tends to make my knees ache.)

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Arm fatigue is probably more conditioning than it is form. You should be using your arms when you ride, particularly when you're climbing.

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Maybe. It was kind of an ache to the outside of the elbow; I tend to put weight on my hands rather than supporting myself from my core, so I suspect that my arms were too rigid and too weighted.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Descending, you're much MORE stable in the drops. Your CoG is lower, plus you have better access to the brakes if needed.

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Better access to the brakes, really? I will have to play with that.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Sounds like you had fun! Yee-ha!

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I sure did!

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Originally Posted by aicabsolut

Yeah, well the anterior tibialis muscle connects to the extensor tendons at the bottom, at the ankle. These are the tendons and muscles involved in dorsiflexion (bringing toes up). So, really any overexertion in dorsiflexion (whether you think about raising your toes or pushing down with your heels) will make you sore there. It's more likely that you're going to wear things out near one attachment area (here, ankle versus up by the knee). This also indicates that there's something going on with your ankle action or toe action rather than something from the upper leg. An example with the lateral calf: Tendon pain in the peroneals is more common for cyclists down around the outer ankle, alongside the ankle bone to the attachment of one of them at the 5th metatarsal. These tendons also attach up around the fibular head, but most fibular head pain tends to be because of hamstring tendonitis, at the attachment of those tendons.

Obviously, if this persists, you should consult a physician, but I was trying to think of reasons you'd be straining that area on these road rides when you wouldn't overexert yourself on your commute or mountain bike.

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Thank you. I will have to read that post a few times to understand fully =) But it certainly could be that I was pedaling differently that day than usual, or just more than I'm used to.

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Originally Posted by aicabsolut

Shimano SPD-SL ?

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Sorry -- I should have been more specific.

My several-year-old mountain bike pedals are the SPD-style M647. The ones on my road bike are also SPD-style, the A520, which is one-sided.

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Originally Posted by aicabsolut

I would never use a camelbak, and I never drink ice cold water. My belly would cramp up so bad. If I have to because I stopped at a store and have nothing else to drink, I swish it around in my mouth first to warm it up before it hits the stomach. Anyway, for comfort, I'd rather stick an extra bottle in a jersey pocket than wear a camelbak.

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Amen. I do the mouth-swishing thing too, although not if I can help it =) I have also overcome my embarrassment and have learned to ask the friendly waiter bringing the table glasses full of ice water to please bring me water without ice instead.

In a pinch, I would rather drink hot water than cold.

[QUOTE=GLC1968;319772]Ice water doesn't stay ice water under the southern sun for more than an hour or so. And at 97 degrees and 85% humidity - anything on your back that doesn't breathe is pretty miserable!
QUOTE]

The one I have has some "lifter padding" against my back, and while out in 95 and 14% humidity (desert life -- they say it's "muggy" when the humidity is like 25%. what they've got to learn around here!) on Sunday afternoon, water loaded at 8:15 in the morning was still nice and cool -- and my cell phone was downright chilly!

naw, it wasn't an all day ride, it was down to my daughter's nail salon, sit around, downtown to the home show and outdoor concert, sit around, and then home at the hot part of the day, when DH finally got tired of sitting around! Good thing we had a nice breeze and some shade!

Karen in Boise

I am continually dehydrated because I hardly ever drink. Never have. The only was I remember to sip at my water is having the mouthpiece flopping on my shoulder. If I knew I was on a supported ride, however, I might consider just doing a water bottle. I need to practice that, actually.

I tend to use my drops more than most people, it seems. Especially when I'm in an area where I am afraid I might have to break suddenly, or like was mentioned earlier, if I'm descending quickly. I do have aero bars, but I only use them for positional changes, not speed.

I wish I had some recommendations for the ankle pain. Hope it goes away!