Hi. I'm new to the forums and this is my first post. Just thought I'd ask a quick question and see if anyone has experienced the same thing or has any good advice.

I was a mountain biker for a while and recently converted to the roads. I used to get headaches all the time mountain biking where every obstacle I went over was like a jackhammer to the brain. I've always had headaches since I was a kid, so I'm not worried about any new medical issues, but they come much more frequently while I'm riding. I always assumed that they were being brought on by the bumpiness of the mountain rides. Today I did 14 miles on my road bike and around mile 8 my head started to throb again. I've considered dehydration and heat to be factors in the past, but today I made sure I was taking in more water than necessary. It was pretty warm, though (high 80s). I'm pretty sure it's not a helmet issue since the headaches continue long after I'm out of the saddle (and I worry that loosening it any more would make it ineffective). It's gotten to the point where I sometimes take painkillers before getting on the bike as a preventative measure, but I worry this isn't healthy.

Has anyone else had this problem? Any ideas?