How long have you been riding? How frequently do you ride? And for how long each time?

How would you rate your knee pain (on a scale of 1 to 10)? Is is minor discomfort when you ride? Does it persist after you ride? Is it a sharp pain? A dull pain? Does it occur after a certain point (ie an hour) in your ride? Only when you climb hills?

It's not uncommon with new riders to have some discomfort when we begin riding. We're putting our body in a very unnatural static position and cycling is a repetitive motion. It takes time to get used to both of those stressors. I'm not saying that new riders should have pain, but I will say that it's common for new riders to have some discomfort as they build strength in all the muscles that support our bodies and our joints.

For example, how would you feel if you sat in a chair with your right arm raised above your head for two hours? Does this mean your chair is wrong for you? No, it simply means you're in a static position for longer than your body is used to. Now if you were to do that again the next three days, by the fourth it probably wouldn't feel so uncomfortable.

Or, how would you feel if you turned your head in circles for two hours. Same idea, your neck and shoulders would probably ache.

Just this week I was working with a woman who's been "riding" for a couple of years, but only rides once every other week. Each time she gets on the bike, it feels uncomfortable to her (both mentally and physically). Her bike fit is good, when we really talked about her pain, she admitted it was only a 2-3 on a scale of 10, and my advice to her was simply to ride more frequently and give it some time.

I'm sure some of the experienced riders on the board could share stories of how they felt after taking some time off the bike. I ride about 20 hours a week, but recently took six days off because of a cold. The first ride back for me was definitely uncomfortable -- my triceps ached, my knees were creaky, and my tush was sore. But it wasn't pain.