New rider - couple questions about pain

[cusepack]

A little update . . today, went for a 20 mile ride . . . hands felt much better and feet better as well. I moved back a bit on the seat which seemed to help my feet, and by relaxing my shoulders my hands naturally relaxed too. Oh happy day!!

[CorsairMac]

first and foremost: there are no mundane questions here - if you can't ask here where can you ask??


as for the feet: make sure you're not mashing your pedals either. especially if you're doing any climbing. It can tend to put a lot of pressure on the balls of your feet. Think of pedalling in a circle and "light" feet! Glad to hear things are working out better for you and keep it up....it will get better!!

[kestrel]

The whole road biking position is pretty awkward, really. I'm still getting comfortable. When I got my bike fitted the position that I *wanted* to be in was a little too stretched out in my LBS' opinion. Being new, I was more than willing to follow their suggestions but have readjusted things for me when I've gone back. I like my bike shop.

In regards to the pain on the outside of you foot, some people get insoles. I purchased Superfeet insoles for my road shoes pretty early on when I got setup with my beautiful road bike, so I don't know if its just a muscular adjustment or it really was fixed by the footbeds. I have different insoles for my casual shoes and wear birkenstocks otherwise.

Of course, my big toe goes numb when climbing in spin class and on hills on the road. The sports medicine podiatrist says that its a matter of strengthening my back muscles, but its nice to be sure (the xrays they took to rule issues out are pretty spiffy). Again, to that, I've both loosened my straps and kept exercising and its not as evident as before.

And those mental suggestions for better, more efficient pedaling helps, too!

Hope your efforts to avoid pain work out!

[Dogmama]

I would give it a good 100 miles or 2 weeks, whichever comes first, before pushing the panic button. If you don't have a good level of fitness, you will probably get some pains. As you increase mileage, you may find that your neck/back/quads are talking to you the next day. That is normal. Cycling is not supposed to be totally pain free. If it was, the bike lanes would be too crowded.

[caligurl]

my hands hurt for MONTHS when i started riding!