sore bottom and shoulders

[KnottedYet]

Be sure to read the Favorite Saddles section. And keep your elbows loose...

Unfortunately there is some soreness involved in picking up biking again, but it shouldn't be torture or extreme.

(and there really shouldn't be any soreness at the privates.... they shouldn't be doing any weightbearing)

[SnappyPix]

DDH

Sorry to hear you've developed biker's bum!
Just a word of warning - don't make too many adjustments at once, otherwise you won't know which factors are affecting/influencing your discomfort.
The fore/aft (forewards/backwards) position of your saddle shouldn't really be used to bring you closer to the stem/handlebars - it's more to do with bringing your hips in alignment with your pedals.
The angle of your saddle may be a factor in how your sitbones are seated on the pads - as KnottedYet says, your front bottom shouldn't be doing any weightbearing to cause soreness/chafing. Minute adjustments to the up/down tilt of the nose of the saddle can make a massive difference.

[Luci]

I'm right there with you and posted my cry for help on another thread . This is such a great forum! I have a vacation in Aug where I'll be on my bike for about 40 miles every day and am trying to figure out what saddle/bike short combo works for me right now. I'm about ready to use my ancient shorts and old reliable saddle. It usually takes me two weeks before I have a baseline of leg stamina and it begins to be more fun.

I have a neck that doesn't like the position of looking up all of the time. If that is what is making yours sore, one of the things I do is look down. Sounds silly, but I don't need to always be looking so far ahead and the breaks really help my neck. If you're riding in traffic, that may not be a good thing to try.

[mimitabby]

DDH
For many of us that are older (I am 54) the low posture of the racer is NOt a good idea.
you might read this article about sizing that Rivendell has on their website:
http://www.rivbike.com/html/bikes_framesize.html


your symptoms sound like the bike is not set up for you or it is the wrong size. How nice that DH is helping you with it!
Your neck hurts because it is not accustomed to holding your head in that posture! your girl parts hurt because you are too far down and forward. you should be on your sitting bones, not your crotch. Unless you want to race, there's no reason you can't have a more upright posture. I have exactly the same problem and am going back into the shop for the 4th time to fit myself
to a bike I bought a month or so ago.
m

[MomOnBike]

What kind of soreness is it? The muscles complaining like a teenager 'cause you finally are asking them to do something? (They'll get over it...) Or skeletal system informing you that you're doing something you really don't want to do?

If it's the first, acknowledge it and keep going. The second needs some attention.

Of course, the trick is figuring out which kind of soreness you have.

[SadieKate]

DDHThe fore/aft (forewards/backwards) position of your saddle shouldn't really be used to bring you closer to the stem/handlebars -

Absolutely! Listen to Snappy.

You might be able to flip your stem to raise the bars or get a shorter stem. Do not move the seat forward to solve this problem. The fore/aft position of your saddle is dictated by angle of your hips and knees over the crank. This is the first item that is determined in fitting a bike. You then use the stem or bars to change the reach.

Are you on a road bike, hybrid, mountain bike? There are road bars which are also very short front to back that can help shorten your reach (the cockpit length).

[DDH]

I am riding a Trek mountain bike. The soreness I am having in my butt, I expect, but not in my private area. That is a numb, skin irritated kind of feeling. Almost like a fresh burn feels as far as the skin and then the numbness is there too, and it seems to be more on the left side, on the fatty part of your privates kind of at the crease of your leg. I don't know how else to describe that. Then my shoulders and neck are sore like I have been doing push ups. Like to much weight is on the front part of my body. Now that may just be normal, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't because I was sitting incorrectly on my bike.

Okay, anyway, I rode this morning after DH raised the stem up slightly and it seems to feel better. Now I will ride a few more times to make sure, before I change or do anything else, because it may just be that I was focusing more on my seating position since I was already sore.
I hope that was it, because I don't want to be so sore and then not want to go.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

DDH,
I was plenty sore after getting on a bike for the first time in 37 years last month. My thighs, my shoulders and arms, and especially my behind where I sit. But it slowly faded away after a few more rides- about 2 weeks worth.
Don't forget you are using muscles and tendons that haven't been asked to do much of anything in a long time. You are making demands from muscles that you don't even have yet!
Be patient. The body will respond.