Headaches while cycling

[m.eliza]

Wow, thanks! I hadn't though of a lot of this stuff. I have sinus tachycardia (frequent and random increased resting heart rate - not dangerous, just annoying) which causes low blood pressure sometimes. I always figured that was the main reason for my headaches. I never considered they might be tension headaches. I paid attention to my shoulders today while I rode and I noticed that I do tense them a lot. I tried to keep them relaxed and, like magic, no headache! Could have been a coincedence since I don't get them every time I ride, but I'll keep paying attention to my shoulders and see how it goes

[Chile Pepper]

Yay! Glad you prevented a headache with relaxation. You might try shifting your hand position more often, to help prevent tension in your shoulders. You might also try stopping periodically and doing a few stretches.

As for other ideas, are you riding a road bike? If so, did you take the visor off your mountain bike helmet? The more crouched position on a road bike makes it really uncomfortable to hold your head up high enough to see out from under the visor.

Someone else mentioned sun. Sun glare will give me a headache every time. Do you wear good, dark sunglasses?

[NadiaMac]

too-tight pony tail, sunglass arms crushed under helmet straps, and insufficient caffeine (eg, if you ordinarily consume a lot of caffeine during the day but skip this before or during a long ride) have triggered headaches in folks I know. For me, glare is the big issue--- squinting into glare leads to tension/eye strain headache, though usually the day after the ride. good luck

[m.eliza]

That's true, glare could be a huge problem, too. I'm pretty sensitive to bright lights and always need sunglasses when I go outside, but I never wear them when I ride for some reason. I'll give that a try next time I'm out when it's sunny.

Chile Pepper, yes I am riding a road bike and have no visor on my helmet, but that's a very good point. I'll pay more attention to my neck tilt next time. Maybe I'm crouching a bit too far?