Rode my first half-century!

[OakLeaf]

Woot! Sounds like great fun. Congratulations

It's hard to tell from your aches and pains. Could be fit, could be conditioning. It sure wouldn't hurt to have someone go through your fit before you start ramping up the mileage much more.

Hot spots could be a lot of things too, but one easy culprit is just shoes being too tight. Your feet will swell over a long ride - you might just try loosening the straps a bit about halfway through. Still, a lot of people do better with pedals that have a large platform like Look or SPD.

[Jiffer]

\

Hot spots could be a lot of things too, but one easy culprit is just shoes being too tight. Your feet will swell over a long ride - you might just try loosening the straps a bit about halfway through. Still, a lot of people do better with pedals that have a large platform like Look or SPD.

Yes, I meant to mention that. Particularly when it's warm out, I almost always have to loosen my shoes midway through a long ride. I don't think this is typically an issue for me when it's cool, though, and only on longer rides. I don't recommend you loosen them to begin with, because your shoe should fit fairly snug. I had SO many issues with my feet before I finally got a pair of shoes that fit my very narrow foot well. A loose shoe can give you blisters, etc.

I use Speedplay pedals, which allows my heel to move slightly left and right. I don't know that it is "necessary" for me to use them, like my friend who's right heel naturally tends to stick out just a bit when she rides. When she got a bike fit she was told she had the right pedal for the way she rides. A pedal that had no float would give her problems (cause pain somewhere.)