Just a few questions

[lovemybike]

I am preparing for a 120 mile ride. In my trainning rides, I find that 20 or so miles in I am starving. What are some ideas for meals before long rides? What about snacks in between?

Also, I need help. I have just had a few adjustments done on my bike and nothing seems to help the pain in my knees. Last year is was my left, now it's my right. I had the "body Scan" done to get a starting point for my bike fit, and like they told me there, this isn't exact, but it's just a good place to start. Well, my knees are still hurting. Is it the seat? Too high, too low? is it too far back? where should I begin looking for the problem. This pain in the backs of my knees has to stop.

[Eden]

Search around here and you'll find lots of good advice and suggestions about what/how much to eat. My advice is to try to make sure you eat during your rides. If you ride more than an hour some solid food is good - energy bars, fig bars, bananas, bagels, pretzels, trail mix, etc. are all popular - try to stick to things that are easy to eat, easty to digest and mostly carbohydrate. Gels are good for quick energy. For less than an hour a good sports drink with some carbohydrate should get you through. If you eat better during your ride you should be less starving after you are done. Before a ride I like oatmeal, but I have to make sure I eat well ahead - at least an hour or better yet 2 hours if it will be a hard/fast ride otherwise I will get stomach cramps - ouch! In any case I think that it is pretty common to be quite hungry after a ride especially when you first start out. You are burning lots of calories! I have found the more I've ridden the more that feeling has gone away.

Lots of things can cause knee problems so it may be a bit hit and miss for you for a while. A few things that I found helped me get rid of knee problems - don't try to push big gears - that will hurt your knees quickly. Learn to spin a bit more. Be sure you aren't too stretched out on the bike. I found that when I got a smaller frame and I was no longer over reaching that any knee agravation that I used to have up hills went away and I could use bigger gears without knee strain. It was mostly a change for my upper body position, but it really did make a difference to my legs as well. I also found that I had fairly weak hamstrings -common in cyclists - and as soon as I worked on those my knees were fine too - in fact what I was feeling at the back of my knees may have been hamstring strain. The best exercise for me was the leg curl machine at the gym - the one where you lie on your stomach with the bar at your ankles and bend your knees toward your butt.

[Grog]

Welcome, Lovemybike!

On the knee issue:
you could always go back to your bike shop and get a refitting in a while, but I think Eden has pointed a very important fact: SPIN. Your legs should be spinning at a cadence of approx 85-95 RPM when moving along on flats. It will make a world of difference for your knees.

Otherwise, as a rule of thumb: pain in front of the knee, seat too low, pain in back of the knee, see too high. But it's really only a rule of thumb. If pain doesn't go away with spinning (or if you are spinning already), consider seeing a specialist instead of playing around your settings by yourself...

Enjoy!

[lovemybike]

Hey, Thanks for all the advice. After checking with my Doc, and being sure nothing major was wrong, I am going to PT for a few days, and lowering my saddle. I am fairly sure that my problem lies in the saddle height.

Happy and safe riding!

[Brandi]

yea where is your pain? Top or bottom? Mine was top of knee when i first started riding. But now that I know what to do as far as an adjustment here and there mine is better. Do you bike everyday?

[CyclaSutra]

One more knee pain idea...

If you just got clipless pedals, and your feet are fixed into a position that's not natural for you, that can cause knee pain. Maybe you need pedals with more "float," or, my bike shop guy tweaked my left cleat a few degrees because I am a little pigeon-toed on that side, and the pain instantly stopped.

One telling sign that your knee is in an awkward position is if one of your feet is occasionally clicking out of the pedal unintentionally. That was happening to me because I'd be unconsciously twisting my left heel out a bit more than the pedal could handle, and it would click free. Like I said, affixing the cleat just a few degrees twisted fixed it.

Good luck! I'm sure it's got to be one of these things mentioned here...