Some Body Part Needs Strengthening

[mimitabby]

Kano
me too!
My most painful rides are on long hills where I have to brake a lot because of traffic. MAN that can hurt. I'm just not sure how much adjusting can help. (I'll let you know if i have the problem on my new bike that i haven't gotten yet)

ten mph IS slow though... try to gradually increase your speed.

[Kano]

Kano me too!
My most painful rides are on long hills where I have to brake a lot because of traffic. MAN that can hurt. I'm just not sure how much adjusting can help. (I'll let you know if i have the problem on my new bike that i haven't gotten yet)

ten mph IS slow though... try to gradually increase your speed.

I know ten is slow downhill, Mimi -- the good news is I'm up from six! Downhill on the winding hills amuses me a bit when I think about it, cuz there's just NO way I let the bike go, but then, like, I get down this particular hill, and there's another downhill run right after it that's straight shot, and I fly down that stretch at 30 no problem! And thinking about that rationally, if I know full well that I could lose control at 12 going down the curving hill, and need to know I can stay upright, whatever, then what's to make it easier on the straight shot? I figure it's that you can see so much farther ahead on the straights!

Karen in Boise

[VeloVT]

I recently changed some things on my bike, resulting in a more aggressive position (new stem has no rise & there's a pretty big drop from seat to bars). For the first 2-3 weeks I was getting a soreness in my neck/shoulders and in my lower back. But as I've adjusted to the new position (and probably built a little more strength), the pain has gone away, even on long rides.

I also find that it's useful on longer rides to periodically check in to see how relaxed I am. I'll open up my hands and "play piano" on the drops, take a deep breath, and make sure I'm not tensing anywhere from my upper back/shoulders/arms down to my hands. I find that since I've been doing this, I'm more relaxed all the time and actually need to do it less.

Core strength really helps too -- if I'm starting to feel tired or tight, I'll get down really low in the drops, so my elbows are at a 90 deg. angle, and grasp the handlebar very lightly kind of high in the drop, so I'm actually NOT carrying a lot of weight with my arms/hands, but rather supporting it with my legs and core.