first "real" road ride

[mimitabby]

sometimes i get tired of always carrying something on my back. However, on a long ride, I just do it. There are so many times i take a drink that i would NOT do if i just had a water bottle.

[redrhodie]

Ahhh, the camelback--looks like you hit a spot . Do what works, don't worry what anyone thinks...but, learning to drink from a bottle is a good skill to have. Don't give up, yet. There's a thread all about it. It gets easier.

I don't know enough about positoning on the bike to give advice, but it sounds like something's off. Is your saddle too high? Are you riding clipless? Could be your cleat position. Could be a lot of things, I guess. I'd start with the saddle. It's always the saddle. Oh, and you'll soon discover the quest for the perfect one is not unlike Ponce de León's search for the fountain of youth. You will look far and wide, and measuring devices will be implemented .

Glad you had such a great ride! Your time sounds fast. Looks like you're in this for the long haul. Welcome to the club!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

If you are on a downhill and run out of gears and want to pick up more speed, then crouch down low over your handlebars and tuck in your knees and elbows and get more aerodynamic. As long as you are going downhill, you'll continue to pick up more speed this way.

[aicabsolut]

The ankle thing could be that with all the fast spinning you were trying to do or with the extra climbing you had more ankle action going on. That means more force getting into the downstroke while engaging your anterior tibialis muscle and working those extensor tendons. It could also mean locking your ankles by freezing those tendons to try to get a few more rpms out on the descents. Either way, if it's not your shoe strap fit or anything then it's probably just that that part of your calf is out of shape. Whereas you'd feel it at lower cadences or hiking up a mountain (walking) towards the upper part of the calf, with the action of road cycling at faster cadences, you're more likely to tire out faster down towards the tendons the muscle connects to in the ankle.

Other than that, the only thing I can think of is that you're moving your toes around inside the shoe or doing something else abnormal on a more difficult road ride than you'd do elsewhere.

If you run out of gears on a descent, just get more aerodynamic, lower your weight on the bike, and let gravity do its thing while minimizing drag.

[Geonz]

Good heavens, I think the camelbak is more important on the road. Dropped water bottles have caused a few wrecks around here.

[GLC1968]

Most of the people I know who don't use camelbaks on the road is because of the heat factor. It's hot to have your back covered under the beating sun. When we rode in NC, we always passed enough country stores or gas stations to get water, so two bottles was plenty for most rides. Now that we are riding in country where there are NO STORES, I definitely see the draw of a camelbak. I wished I'd had mine for our ride this past Saturday - heat or no heat!

I do remember having difficulty drinking enough while riding when I first started out because I couldn't drink from a bottle while the bike was moving. Keep practicing, you'll get it! Oh, and it helps to tip the bottle up to the side (either right or left depending on which hand you use) to get water out while still keeping your eyes on the road in front of you.

It sounds like your first 'real ride' was great fun! I don't have any helpful advice about the ankle thing, but I hope you get it figured out soon!

[sundial]

Not so great stuff: my knees were making their displeasure known.

Just curious, are you using something like Speedplays that have a lot of float? My Speedplays really helped my knees and ankles.

I have been very happy using a camelbak for mountain biking, but I gather that's just not done in road riding.

It is here! We have some brutal temps in the summer and I've known fellow cyclists who got too dehyrdated by not using their Camelbacks. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

[Kano]

Most of the people I know who don't use camelbaks on the road is because of the heat factor. It's hot to have your back covered under the beating sun.

I don't know about hot to have your back covered with a 100 oz pack of ice water....

(yup, even when it's 105 outside, an icewater pack on your back feels pretty darned good!)

Karen in Boise