Diagnosing Sore Muscles

[pooks]

Since my rides have been pretty short I haven't had much in the way of muscle soreness. You know, I'll feel a burn in my thighs if I'm pumping up hill or feel a little weak and quivery for a sec when I get off the bike, but no residual soreness.

Today is the first time I've had a little. Not enough to bother with ibuprofen, even. Which means (I figure) that I'm not pushing it. (Today I did 6.4 miles which is 1/3 farther than I've gone before.)

But I'm noticing some upper arm soreness -- the outside muscles. (No idea which ones those are.) I also noticed that my arms are pretty straight when I'm riding my hybrid, and if I'm not careful I could be locking them straight. I've read other people's comments about numb wrists, or keeping arms bent, and am wondering if I need to adjust my handlebars in some way.

So, anyway, are the outside upper arm muscles some you'd expect to be a bit sore if you pushed yourself a bit farther than usual, or are they muscles that would only be effected if something's adjusted wrong?

Also, I found it interesting that my husband says it's the underneath of his thighs that burn when we go uphill. It's the top of mine.

[KnottedYet]

I'm thinking the arm muscle you're describing is the triceps. This is the critter that straightens your elbow (or prevents it from collapsing). Do a google or encyclopedia search and see if that's it.

Could be sore because you're being careful NOT to lock your elbow - so it's acting kind of like a shock-absorber and doing work, which is how it should act. If you've not been doing a lot of arm work before, this muscle could be weak. It'll get stronger pretty quickly!

When the elbow is truly locked, you don't have to use the muscles as much. It's less work, which is why folks fall into the locked-elbow pattern in the first place.

[pooks]

Actually I looked it up and it's my deltoids.

On a hybrid, are your arms supposed to be fairly straight, since you're upright rather than bent over? I guess that's my real issue, is wondering if my arms should be this straight. I caught myself putting my weight on my wrists, which I know is wrong, too.

I'm thinking I may have to fork over some money for a bike fitting.

[KnottedYet]

Hmmmm, I can't think why your delts would be crabbing at you. Unless the bars are in the wrong spot so your shoulders are wrong and your delts are firing up to try to protect your shoulder joint.

A bike fit might be a very good idea.

[donnambr]

So here's the thing about bike fitting that perplexes me. I am primarily a utilitarian/transportation, urban cyclist who has a high performance, upright bike. (Breezer) The thing is, really excellent fitters don't seem to know how to do a fitting for a person who is using such a bike. Most of them don't seem to think you need a well-fitted upright bike. I think they have this misconception that just because you don't go long distances really fast or ride on unpaved single track, fit isn't important. Maybe they think we will just toodle around the block with it on the weekends, even though we try to assure them otherwise. I spend hours on my bike, but not the corresponding high mileage. It's in stop-and-go traffic, over bridges, potholes, a great variety of roads and streets, on bus racks, light rail trains, and usually hauling everything but the kitchen sink. Eventually, I will pull a trailer. I might be wearing work clothes, which includes skirts or I might be wearing more exercise-type apparel.

Case in point: common advice is to have your arms pretty much straight when your riding. I can see that on a non-upright bike. What I have noticed is that if I don't have a slight bend of my elbows, I will begin to put a lot of pressure on my upper back, shoulders, & neck. One chiropractor's visit and a lot of yoga stretching later, it's getting better, but still a problem for me. Heck, my chiropractor knew how I needed to adjust my upright, but the fantastic LBS fitters who do a fantastic job with road & mountain bikes don't seem to know that or think it's important to pass this along. I bought my bike from a LBS with a fantastic reputation, but I've come to the realization that he really doesn't grok fitting a upright rider - it's all road bikes for him. He sells Breezers because he's impressed with the quality of the bike and he doesn't seem to be "afraid" of internal hub gearing. I can't help but wonder what else I am missing about a good fit for upright bikes. I can't find a single book that even has a proper fit diagram.

I'm beginning to suspect this is because the dominant focus in the US is on racing, touring, & mountain biking. Well, pooh to that! Ok, rant over, thank you for your patience.

[pooks]

Exactly -- that's my question and I'm glad you spoke up because it raises a new question -- if I pay $50 for a fitting, does the fitter even know the specifics of fitting for an upright? I'd never considered that issue, but now that you raise it, it makes sense.